SECT. XXXIX. 4. GENERATION. 571 



and a rough palate to pull off the blades of grafs, 

 as cows and fheep. Some birds have acquired hard- 

 er beaks to crack nuts, as the parrot. Others have 

 acquired beaks adapted to break the harder feeds, 

 as fparrows. Others for the fofter feeds of flowers, 

 or the buds of trees, as the finches. Other birds 

 have acquired long beaks to penetrate the moifter 

 foils in fearch of infects or roots, as woodcocks 

 and others broad ones to filtrate the water of lakes, 

 and to retain aquatic infects. All which feem to 

 have been gradually produced during many gene- 

 rations by the perpetual endeavour of the creatures 

 to fupply the want of food, and to have been de- 

 livered to their pofterity with conftant improvement 

 of them for the purpofes required. 



The third great want amongft animals is that of 

 lecurity, which feems much to have diverfified the 

 forms of their bodies and the colour of them ; thefe 

 confift in the means of efcaping other animals more 

 powerful than themfelves. Hence fome animals 

 have acquired wings inftead of legs, as the fmaller 

 birds, for the^purpofe of efcape. Others great length 

 of fin, or of membrane, as the flying fifh, and the 

 bat. Others great fwiftnefs of foot, as the hare. 

 Others have acquired hard, or armed fjiells, as the 

 tortoife and echinus marinus. 



Mr. Ofbeck, a pupil of Linnaeus, mentions the 

 American frogfifhj Lophius Hiftrio, which inhabits 

 the large floating iflands of fea weed about the Cape 

 of Good Hope, and has fulcra refemblin-g leaves, 

 that the fifhes of prey may miftake it for the fea- 

 weed, which it inhabits. Voyage to China, p. 1 13. 



The contrivances for the purpofes of fecurity ex- 

 tend even to vegetables, as is feen in the wonderful 

 and various means of their concealing or defending 

 their honey from infects, and their feeds from birds. 

 On the other hand fwiftnefs of wing has been ac- 

 quired by hawks and fwallows to purfue their prey; 



VOL. I. P p and 



