INTRODUCTION. 17 



stomach, in which they deposit a store of food, whence 

 they are continually deriving nourishment. This organ 

 is essential to animals as they are not constantly supplied 

 with food : they find it not always beneath their feet ; they 

 must wander in search of it ; and were they not furnished 

 with such a storehouse, in which to lay it up, they would 

 be frequently in danger of perishing. 



Emily. Are we, then, in want of continual nourish- 

 ment ? And should we die if our stomachs were quite 

 empty ? 



Mrs. B. No, not immediately ; for though the system 

 requires constant renovation, Nature is so careful of our 

 preservation, that she not only affords us the means of sub- 

 sistence, but provides resources in case of accidental in- 

 terruption of the supply : after having consumed, or rather, 

 I should say, assimilated the food contained in the stom- 

 ach, the fat of animals is made to contribute to the nour- 

 ishment of their organs, and the support of life. In some, 

 such as the dormouse and the polar bear,* this provision 

 is carried to such an extent, that they pass several of the 

 winter months in a state of inanition ; during which pe- 

 riod, the only sustenance their system receives is from 

 the abundant provision of fat which they had made during 

 the summer ; and when they are roused from their leth- 

 argy by the return of spring, they are lean and ravenous. 



The food of animals is conveyed from the stomach to 

 the various parts of the body by the function which is call- 

 ed digestion. The food passes through small absorbent 

 vessels into the blood, and is thence circulated through- 

 out the system. 



Caroline. But, Mrs. B., one would think you were 

 going to give us the history of the animal rather than the 

 vegetable creation. 



Mrs. B. Only so far as to enable me to point out the 

 distinction between them. 



* The under part of the paws of the bear is composed of glands, which 

 are at that time full of a white milky juice, and during his confinement he 

 is said to derive considerable nourishment from sucking them. 



25. Why is it needful that animals be furnished with a stomach'? 

 26. If animals continually require nourishment, why do they not die, 

 as soon as all the food in the stomach is assimilated! 27. What is 

 said of the dormouse and the polar bearl 28. What is said of the 

 bear in the note? 29. How is the food of animals conveyed to the 

 different parts of the system 1 ? 



