BARON CUVIER. 65 



i- fcc. The sixth, Edentata, furnishes us with that disgust- 

 i ng animal the sloth, and the ornithorynchus, that extraor- 

 : linary native of New Holland, which has a beak like that 

 i; rf a duck, feet so webbed as to resemble fins, fur like that of 

 c i weasel, and which has by some been supposed to lay 

 it 3ggs. The seventh order is called Pachydermata, and in 



it we find the largest animals which walk on the surface of 

 * the globe, such as the elephant, the hippotamus, the rhino- 

 s' ceros, and also the horse, which has been in all ages the 

 it most easily adapted to the use of mankind. The eighth, 

 > Ruminantia. whence come the cow, the camel, and therein- 



deer ; the two latter of which convey their masters over the 

 i hottest or the coldest regions of the earth ; and lastly, the 

 " ninth, or Cetacea, which presents us with the mighty 

 I- monsters of the deep. These nine orders are subdivided in- 

 ; to families, genera, subgenera, &c., and the most important 

 n jspecies are noticed with considerable detail. 



a From Mammalia, M. Cuvier proceeds to Birds : and after 

 e their physiological description, he also divides them into 

 a orders, pointing out the reasons of such divisions, and car- 

 r rying us through every portion of the winged tribe. He 

 first embraces the [birds of prey, such as the vultures, 

 who act, as it were, the part of scavengers ; the eagles who 

 prey by day, and owls who thieve by night ; the second 

 1 contains the numerous genera of the Passeres, they are not 

 '' so violent as birds of prey, properly so called, nor have they 

 the decided habits of the Gallinacese, or aquatic birds, but 

 devour insects, fruits, and grains ; those who pursue insects 

 will also feed on smaller birds, and have slender beaks ; and 

 those who eat grains have thick beaks. The first subdi- 

 vision of this order depend on the feet, and the others on 

 the form of the beaks. Among them we find our singing 

 birds, our birds of paradise, and our humming birds. The 

 third order is that of the Climbers, such as the parrot, &c. 

 The fourth embraces the Gallinaceee, whence we derive 



pur farm-yard fowls, and most of our game. The fifth, or 

 s GrallsB, gives us the ostrich, the cassowary, the sacred ibis, 



&c. ; and the sixth, named the Palmipedes, presents us 

 with ducks, geese, pelicans, &c. &c. 



As this first volume is conducted, so does the Regne Ani- 

 mal lead us through every part of the animal world, describ- 



F* 



