INTRODUCTION. i x 



some and nutritious food, whilst others cheer us with 

 their merry songs ; and as the flowers which grow around 

 our feet delight us by their ever varying colours and sweet 

 odours, so do the beauteous denizens of the groves charm 

 us by their lovely music, their brilliant plumage, and 

 graceful movements. 



Even from the Reptile class that Which is, perhaps, the 

 least prepossessing we obtain the valuable Turtle flesh, 

 and the Tortoise-shell. Fishes not only afford us whole- 

 some food in their flesh, but their very intestines are 

 manufactured into edible preparations of great commercial 

 value ; whilst sepia, cuttlebone, pearls, mother-of-pearl^ 

 shells, c., come to us from Mollusks. 

 Not only do lobsters, crabs, &c., yield food for thousands, 

 but another group of the Articulata Insects are of im- 

 mense commercial value, producing for us honey, wax, lac- 

 resin, lac-dye, cochineal, silk, &c. To the lowest forms of 

 animal life we owe the formation of a great portion of 

 the crust of the earth, the limestone rocks, &c. ; whilst 

 whole coral islands, and immense sub-marine forests of 

 sponges attest the merciful providence of an All-seeing 

 One, who has thus caused the most lowly and most 

 minute creatures to minister to the wants of man. 



These constitute but a very few of the products of the 

 Animal Kingdom ; yet these will afford the intelligent 

 teacher ample subjects for numerous lessons ; and as most 

 of the substances can be readily obtained, the instruction 

 may take the form of object-lessons, which will be deeply 

 interesting to the pupils. 



But the knowledge thus obtained will lead to higher 

 thoughts than those engendered by the study of subjects 

 which are merely scientific, or tending to commercial 

 benefit. The science here taught is an investigation of 

 the works of the great Author of all. We are led to 

 contemplate the marvellous construction of animals, and 



