INFLUENCE OF THE DEMAND FOR FOOD. 65 



traveller through the weary desert, from the 

 appalling silence that reigns over those regions 

 of eternal desolation ; but no sooner is his eye 

 refreshed by the reappearance of vegetation, 

 than he again traces the footsteps and haunts 

 of animals, and welcomes the cheering sound 

 of sensitive beings. 



The kind of food which nature has assigned 

 to each particular race of animals has an impor- 

 tant influence, not merely on its internal organ- 

 ization, but also on its active powers and dispo- 

 sition ; for the faculties of animals, as well as 

 their structure, have a close relation to the cir- 

 cumstances connected with their subsistence, 

 such as the abundance of its supply, the facility 

 of procuring it, the dangers incurred in its search, 

 and the opposition to be overcome before it can 

 be obtained. In those animals whose food lies 

 generally within their reach, the active powers 

 acquire but little developement : such, for in- 

 stance, is the condition of herbivorous quad- 

 rupeds, whose repast is spread every where in 

 rich profusion beneath their feet ; and it is the 

 chief business of their lives to crop the flowery 

 mead, and repose on the same spot which affords 

 them the means of support. Predaceous animals, 

 on the contrary, being prompted by the calls of 

 appetite to wage warwith living beings, are formed 

 for a more active and martial career ; their mus- 

 cles are more vigorous, their bones are stronger, 



VOL. II. F 



