Introduction. xiii 



V. Marsupial/a, including the opossums and the kangaroos. 



VI. Monothrema, containing the Echidna and Ornithorhynchus of 

 Australia. 



VII. Rodentia, or gnawing animals. The principal of these are the 

 squirrel family, mice and rats, hares and rabbits, the beaver, 

 the porcupine, and the guinea-pig. 



VJII. Edentata, or toothless animals, that is, without front teeth. The 

 principal of these are the sloths, the armadillos, and the 

 ant-eaters. 



SECTION II. Ungulaied or Hoofed Mammalia. 



IX. Pachydermata, or thick-skinned animals. The principal of these 

 are the elephant, the hippopotamus, the rhinoceros; the 

 horse family, including the ass, the mule, the zebra, and 

 the quagga ; the wild boar family, and the tapir. 



X. Ruminantia, or ruminating animals, the principal of which are 

 the camel family, the deer family, the giraffe, the antelope 

 family, the goat family, the sheep family, and the ox family. 



SECTION III. Aquatic Mammalia, having no Hind Limbs, and the Fore 

 Limbs converted into Fins. 



XI. Cetacea, or sea mammalia, the principal of which are the whale 

 family, the dolphin family, the manati, the porpoise family, 

 and the narwhal, or sea-unicorn. 



THE AVES, OE BIKDS, 



Lay eggs from which their young are hatched by what is called incu- 

 bation. Their skins are covered with feathers ; and their jaws are 

 horny, without teeth. Their blood is warm, and circulates like that of 

 the mammalia. The six orders of Aves are as follow : 



1. Raptores, or birds of prey. These birds are distinguished by a very 



strong and sharp bill more or less curved, but always hooked at 

 the extremity of the upper mandible, which is covered at the 

 base with a kind of skin called the cere. The nostrils are 

 usually open. The legs are very strong, the feet are large, and 

 the toes, which are four in number, are armed with very strong, 

 sharp, curved claws. The principal raptorial birds are the 

 vultures, including the condor; the falcon family, including the 

 eagles, hawks, kites, and buzzards ; and the owls. 



2. Insessoresj or perching birds. These birds have all feet formed for 



perching, the hind toe springing from the same place as the 

 other toes, which gives them great power of grasping. Their 

 legs are of moderate length, and their claws not sharply curved. 

 This order includes the thrushes, nightingales, and all the finest 

 songsters of our groves, with the robin-redbreast, the sparrow, 

 and other birds seen about dwellings, the swallows, the larks, 

 the crow family, the kingfishers, the birds of paradise, and the 

 humming birds. 



