SOURCES OF NUTRITION. 95 



carnivorous animals. Every part and portion of the earth's 

 surtace ; every tree, every building, every room in which 

 we live, and even the atmosphere which we breathe, con- 

 tain a greater or less number of beings, which are perpetu- 

 ally on the- alert to procure victims for their voracious 

 appetites. From the spider, which " taketh hold with her 

 hand, and liveth in king's palaces," to the lion which 

 prowls over the deserts of Africa, there is an uninterrupted 

 series of carnivora, ready to suck the blood of any living 

 thing they can master, 



268. We can see, and shudder at beholding the formi- 

 dable arms of the lion, and tiger, and can observe the 

 murderous disposition of the cat. But there are thousands 

 of insects which lie in wait for their prey, and which 

 emulate the feline race in their savage dispositions, which 

 fall under the observation of none except naturalists. 

 Many of these, when only a few hours old, begin to hunt 

 for their prey, and continue during their lives, to subsist 

 only by war and bloodshed. Many of them are cannibals, 

 devouring their own kind, or even their own families, 

 without hesitation, when other food does not come in the 

 way. Nor are many of the inhabitants of the water, 

 whether fresh or salt, less predacious in their dispositions. 

 From the larva, that is cojitented with the stagnant pool 

 by the roadside, to the shark, that roams through the wide 

 ocean, there exists a continued series of animals, not less 

 rapacious in their dispositions, and even more voracious 

 ih their habits, than the corresponding series which inhabit 

 the land. 



269. Many of the carnivorous tribes insist upon killing 

 their own food, and will touch nothing which they find 

 already dead ; while others are too indolent to live by the 

 chase, and are contented to devour anything that once had 

 life, in whatever state they may find it. 



270. In the absence of the larger animals, myriads of 

 insects are ever ready, in the warmer seasons, to devour 

 any dead animal, no matter in whatever place it may be 

 found. 



271. So strongly was Linnaeus impressed with the im- 

 mensity of the scale on which the work of demolition was 



What is said of carnivorous animals and their food ? 



