ADVERTISEMENT 

 TO THE FIRST EDITION 



IN preparing this edition of Smellie's Philosophy of Natural 

 History, I have endeavored to avail myself of such modern dis- 

 coveries and improvements in Physiology and Natural History as 

 ore connected with the subjects of which the book treats. It 

 will be observed that instead of the two first chapters of the ori- 

 ginal work, I have substituted an Introduction, containing some 

 very general views of animal and vegetable life, and a brief 

 sketch of the structure and classification of the whole animal 

 kingdom. That something of this kind was rendered necessary 

 on account of the light thrown upon these subjects by the progress 

 recently made in Comparative Anatomy, cannot be doubted; 

 and it was found easier to compose these chapters entirely anew, 

 than to incorporate the requisite additions with them as they 

 originally stood. 



With regard to the remainder of the work, although a good deal 

 has been added or rewritten, yet it has upon the whole been made. 

 considerably shorter, by the omission of many passages, which did 

 not seem of sufficient importance to be retained ; and also by the 

 omission of many passages and a few chapters which touch upon 

 subjects interesting only to the scientific reader, and which were 

 deemed unnecessary in an edition intended for general use. 



Some apology may perhaps be required for the freedom with 

 which these alterations have been made in a standard work of so 

 great merit On this subject it can only be said, that there 



