CHAPTER II. 



ON THE ANTERIOR LIMBS OF QUADRUPEDS. 



In proportion to the developinent of the brain 

 and nervous system of animals will be that of 

 their general organization. Consequently, as 

 we ascend from the lower forms to the higher, 

 we find a progressive refinement of structure, 

 involving endless modifications, which evince 

 the minutest attention to necessary details. 

 Nor is this advance produced by adding, at 

 every step, machinery to machinery, but by 

 the happiest and easiest alteration, so to speak, 

 of the machinery in common use, which we 

 may admire, but cam^ot imitate. Let us, by 

 way of example, trace the arm through some 

 of its most remarkable characteristics, from 

 that of man downwards. — The arm and the 

 hand of man have been regarded with admira- 

 tion from early antiquity, and may themselves 

 be adduced in pi'oof of man's position in 

 creation. ' 



