LIFE ON THE EARTH. 43 



especially the unidigital limbs of the horse? The 

 predaceous habits of the Feline races are indicated 

 by their sharp curved claws, retractile into sheaths ; 

 the Mole is strengthened for digging by the approx- 

 imation of the scapulae, and the outward-turned 

 broad anterior feet; even for suspension during hy- 

 bernation the Bat has a hooked finger prepared; 

 and thus, to close this part of the subject, we find 

 everywhere in rich profusion, what would be regarded 

 as remarkable inventions, if they were due to human 

 minds and hands, and which cannot be removed 

 from the list of intelligent adaptations because they 

 are frequent in nature, and are of higher perfection 

 and greater beauty than any work of man. 



On the whole it is evident that in the several 

 great types of animals very similar mechanical func- 

 tions are performed by means of organizations which 

 depend on the type, and have only analogical resem- 

 blances in the different types. 



In each great type the variations of the several 

 organs may be such that, while the homologies are 

 not to be doubted, the employment of the organs 

 varies much. In some cases parts of the fabric 

 dwindle to mere representatives, as the wing-bones 

 of the Ostrich and the pelvic bones of the Whale ; in 

 others they die out altogether, as the hind-limbs of 

 the Cetacea. 



