INTRODUCTION. 



Of the innumerable crowds of animals, and of plants that share 

 between them the domain of the earth, and of the marvellous 

 events that renew the face of things, man has become the master 

 and the historian ; all have an equal right to his admiration, all 

 are equally subjects of his study. From the almost imperceptible 

 mould to the collosal productions of the vegetable kingdom; from 

 the microscopic animalcule to the elephant and the whale; from 

 the atom of sand to the summit of Atlas, he interrogates, he com- 

 prehends, he explains them all. Imagination no longer has need 

 of inventing brilliant pictures ; truth alone strikes the mind and 

 elevates the soul; and, in place of the confused reveries inspired 

 by chaos, appears a science of wisdom, of reason, and of order, 

 which is, in a word, NATURAL HISTORY. 



The individual who enters a field, or strolls upon the bank of a 

 stream, or roams through a forest, if he comprehend the elements 

 of Natural History, may read a pleasant story, and acquire infor- 

 mation at every step, from the great book of nature, which every- 

 where lies open wide before him ; but if ignorant of Natural His- 

 tory, this magnificent and varied work is to him of no more value 

 than a printed volume is to one who never learned a letter. Natural 

 History not only affords us the means of endless amusement, but 

 teaches us to discover the riches of the earth, and to gather from 

 them, the means of ameliorating and improving the condition of 

 man. 



