1 4 THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



relatives, friends, or business connections, in their native 

 country. One wishes to send a letter to his mother in 

 Germany, another desires a parcel to be sent to France, 

 and a third is writing to England ; some are sending 

 goods to the Cape of Good Hope, others to New York, 

 and others are sending letters to China. 



The first thing to be done is, to sort out these parcels 

 and letters, then it will be seen that those for Germany, 

 France, and England, have more connection with each 

 other, than those for the Cape of Good Hope, New York, 

 and China have, because they can all be grouped together 

 as belonging to Europe, whilst the others belong to Africa, 

 America, and Asia. So that we have classified the 

 parcels according to the primary divisions of the world to 

 which they belong. But this is not enough, for Germany, 

 France, and England are only portions of Europe, and, 

 therefore, the letters and parcels must be again sorted, so 

 that they may reach the exact town and street, nay, the 

 very house to which they are directed. 



How this is all clone will be best seen by following up 

 the Englishman's letter. Let us suppose that he is order- 

 ing some volumes of the " Popular Educator ; " he there- 

 fore addresses his letter to " Messrs. Cassell, Fetter, and 

 Galpin, La Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate Hill, London, E.C." 

 Now all these separate names are so many pieces of infor- 

 mation, which assist in finding the exact spot to which 

 the letter is directed. Thus the letter is found to belong 

 firstly to Europe, then to England, then to London. Now, 

 as London is very large, it is divided or classified into >vhat 

 are called postal districts, as E, (East), W. (West), &c. &c., 

 and this letter is marked E.C., so it is sorted amongst those 

 belonging to the Eastern Central division; and the sorters, 

 who again divide all these according to their streets, place 

 it in the hands of the letter-carrier, to whose district it 

 belongs, and lie again classifies hi? letters according to 



