230 Animals. 



duration of their life be but as a moment 

 and their strength, when compared with 

 that of the larger animals, as nothing yet 

 their power is often irresistible. The 

 strongest animal which treads the earth 

 is frequently driven to madness by the 

 endless irritation these insignificant beings 

 produce ; the sun himself is deprived of 

 his light by the shading of their wings, 

 and every leaf that can give support to an- 

 imal life is often swept, at once, away by 

 their devouring jaws ; neither has the in- 

 genuity of man, which subdues the stron- 

 gest, and reclaims the most ferocious an- 

 imals, enabled him to devise the means 

 of defending himself from the devastation 

 of these active invaders of his rights. 

 His very existence itself, on many occa- 

 sions, depends upon his speedily with- 

 drawing beyond the sphere of their ac- 

 tive incursions. 



If their power be thus irresistible, their 

 utility is not perhaps less conspicuous on 

 this globe. Man has ever been able, on 

 some occasions, to make them become 

 subservient to his will. The bee collects 

 honey for his use ; the moth, under his 

 influence, affords him silk ; the cantharis 



