y 





DIVISION INTO ORDERS. 27 



the class Mammalia, exhibit fewer differences from those of 

 man, than their external appearance would lead us to ima- 

 gine. They are generally of such a nature as to adapt the 

 animal for the particular kind of life which he is intended 

 to lead, the motions which it is necessary for him to perform, 

 and the food upon which he is to support himself. Thus the 

 iimbs of monkeys are calculated for climbing, those of most 

 others for walking on all fours; the fore legs of some animals 

 are adapted for free and extensive motions, and furnished 

 with claws, that they may seize and secure living prey, as 

 In the tiger and the lion ; those of others are limited and 

 confined in this particular, and terminated by hoofs, as the 

 deer and horse, being intended to feed upon vegetable sub- 

 stances alone. 



It is upon the consideration of differences of this kind, that 

 the division of the animals of this class into orders is founded. 

 The structure of an animal is always found to correspond to 

 its character, mode of life, and food ; and those, therefore, 

 which have a similar structure, resemble one another to the 

 same extent in other particulars. From the formation of the 

 anterior extremities of an animal, we may judge of the degree 

 of address of which he is capable, and of the kind of motions 

 he is able to perform ; and from the structure of his teeth, 

 what is the nature of his food. Thus, the fore feet of animals 

 may be either enveloped in hoofs, like those of the horse and 

 the ox ; or armed with claws, like those of the lion ; or fur- 

 nished with slender nails, like those of man and the ape; and 

 the perfection of the sense of touch will be in proportion to 

 the delicacy of these organs respectively. Thus, too, there 

 are three kinds of teeth ; the incisory or cutting teeth ; the 

 canine or dog teeth ; and the molar or grinding teeth ; but 

 all animals have not each of these kinds of teeth, nor are they 

 of the same shape and formation in all animals. The molar 

 teeth, for instance, in the carnivorous animals, are sharp and 

 cutting, fit only for the chewing of flesh ; and in the herbivo- 

 rous, they are broad, with surfaces adapted for grinding grain, 

 or the fibres of vegetables which require more mastication 

 than flesh, before they are capable of being digested. 



It is principally from a regard to these parts, that naturalists 

 have proceeded in the arrangement of the Mammalia. The 

 orders thus formed are nine in number, as follows: 



1. The Bimana, or two-handed animals. Man is the only 

 example of this order. He has hands upon his superior ex- 

 tremities alone. He has nails of a thin and delicate texture, 



