INFLUENCE OF THE DEMAND FOR FOOD. 5i) 



but also on its active powers and disposition ; for 

 the faculties of animals, as well as their structure, 

 have a close relation to the circumstances con- 

 nected with their subsistence, such as the abun- 

 dance 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 deve- 

 lopement : such, for instance, is the condition of 

 herbivorous quadrupeds, 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 war with living beings, 

 are formed for a more active and martial career ; 

 their muscles are more vigorous, their bones are 

 stronger, their limbs more robust, their senses more 

 delicate and acute. What sight can compare M'ith 

 that of the eagle and the lynx ; what scent can be 

 more exquisite than that of the wolf and the 

 jackall ? All the perceptions of carnivorous animals 

 are more accurate ; their sagacity embraces a 

 greater variety of objects ; and in feats of strength 

 and agility they far surpass the herbivorous tribes. 

 A tiger will take a spring of fifteen or twenty feet, 

 and seizing upon a buffalo, will carry it with ease 

 on its back through a dense and tangled thicket : 

 with a single blow of its paw it will break the back 

 of a bull, or tear open the flanks of an elephant. 



While herbivorous animals are almost constantly 

 employed in eating, carnivorous animals are able 



