238 NATURAL THEOLOGY. 



of a quadruped, in which the course of the food, 

 from its entrance to its exit, is nearly horizontal ; 

 but it is impossible to assign any cause, except 

 the final cause, for this distinction actually taking 

 place. So far as depends upon the action of the 

 part, this structure was more to be expected in a 

 quadruped than in a man. In truth, it must in 

 both have been formed, not by action, but in di- 

 rect opposition to action and to pressure ; but the 

 opposition which would arise from pressure is 

 greater in the upright trunk than in any other. 

 That theory, therefore, is pointedly contradicted 

 by the example before us. The structure is found 

 where its generation, according to the method by 

 which the theorist would have it generated, is the 

 most difficult; but, observe, it is found where its 

 effect is most useful. 



The different length of the intestines in carni- 

 vorous and herbivorous animals has been noticed 

 on a former occasion. The shortest, I beheve, is 

 that of some birds of prey, in which the intestiuai 

 canal is little more than a straight passage from 

 the mouth to the vent. The longest is in the deer- 

 kind. The intestines of a Canadian stag, four feet 

 high, measured ninety-six feet.* The intestine of 

 a sheep, unravelled, measured ihiriy times the 

 length of the body. The intestine of a wild cat 

 is only three times the length of the body. Uni- 

 versally, where the substance upon which the 



♦ Mem. Acad. Paris, 1701, p. 170, 



