PREFACE. 



THE following work has been prepared as an accompaniment to the " GEN- 

 ERAL VIEW OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM " a CHART which, in the beautiful and 

 harmonious arrangement of its several parts ; its lucid and orderly classifica- 

 tion ; its brief but comprehensive statements and explanations, presents the 

 subject in an outline so full and consistent as to make it valuable even to the 

 most scientific naturalist, both for convenient private reference, and as a 

 help or guide in public lectures ; while the more uninitiated, and such as are 

 just setting out in the study of Natural History, becoming familiar with the 

 details of the Chart, will, it is believed, desire and be prepared the better 

 to appreciate additional information in relation to the subject; such infor- 

 mation it is the aim of this work to impart. 



The possessor of the Chart might have recourse to works of two 

 kinds one purely scientific, like those of Cuvier and others, or the works 

 on Natural History published by State authority ; the other, of a strictly 

 popular character, in which not a single scientific or technical term is em- 

 ployed. The array of unexplained technical language in the former class 

 of works, he would, perhaps, deem repulsive and discouraging ; the descrip- 

 tions of the latter class, he might, as related to the Chart, be often at a loss 

 to apply correctly, though presenting to him the appearance of more inter- 

 esting details than those which are found in works strictly scientific. The 

 present volume, being a sort of medium between these two kinds of works, 

 is adapted to meet the exigencies of such a case. It does not give the 

 " characters " and " descriptions " with the technicality and minuteness of 

 the purely scientific treatise; to do this was found to be incompatible 

 with the desired limits, as well as the general design of this publication ; 

 at the same time, it is far from ignoring these things, after the manner of 

 some popular treatises. The "characters" of the Classes, Orders, and 

 Families will here be found given with considerable fullness ; the main or 

 prominent ones of the genera and species are also usually given : not in all 

 cases in a separate and formal manner, but occasionally are blended with 

 other particulars relating to the general habits of animals, or interspersed 



111911 



