SOURCES OF NUTRITION. 99 



carnivorous animals. Every part and portion, of the 

 earth's surface ; every tree, every building, every room 

 in which we live, and even the atmosphere which 

 we breathe, contain a greater or less number of beings, 

 which are perpetually on the alert to procure victims 

 for their voracious appetites. From the spider, which 

 " taketh hold with her hand and liveth in king's pala- 

 ces," to the lion which prowls over the deserts of Africa, 

 there is an uninterrupted series of Carnivora, ready to 

 suck the blood of any living thing they can master. 



We can see, and shudder at beholding the formidable 

 arms of the lion, and tiger, and can observe the murder- 

 ous disposition of the cat. But there are thousands of 

 insects which lie in wait for their prey, and which emu- 

 late the feline race in their savage dispositions, which 

 fall under the observation of none except naturalists. 

 Many of these when only a few hours old, begin to hunt 

 for their prey, and continue during their lives, to subsist 

 only by war and bloodshed. Many of them are canni- 

 bals, devouring their own kind, or even their own fami- 

 lies, without hesitation, when other food does not come 

 in the way. Nor are many of the inhabitants of the 

 water, whether fresh or salt, less predacious in their dis- 

 positions. From the larvae that is contented with the 

 stagnant pool by the road side, to the shark that roams 

 through the wide ocean, there exists a continued series 

 of animals, not less rapacious in their dispositions, and 

 even more voracious in their habits, than the correspond- 

 ing series which inhabit the land. 



Many of the carnivorous tribes insist upon killing 

 their own food, and will touch nothing which they find 

 already dead ; while others are too indolent to live by 

 the chase, and are contented to devour any thing that 

 once had life, in whatever state they may fiad it. 



In the absence of the larger animals, myriads of 

 insects are ever ready, in the warmer seasons, to devour 

 any dead animal, no matter in whatever place it may be 

 found. 



So strongly was Linnaeus impressed with the immen- 

 sity of the scale on w r hich the work of demolition was 



What is said of carnivorous animals, and their food 1 



