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ORNITHOLOGY. 



PREFACE. 



The following Primer, or First Book of Ornithology, has been called 

 " Third Book of Natural History," because it is the third of the series, 

 and, like its predecessors, is only designed to initiate those who wish to 

 study this very interesting branch of Natural History. It presents a 

 general, and almost synoptical view of the subject, and will be found, I 

 hope, to facilitate the studies of those who may wish to learn. It merely 

 points the way to more extended knowledge, the acquisition of which 

 must always depend more on the inclination and industry of the student, 

 than upon the facilities he may possess. The homely comparison of the 

 horse lead to the stream may be referred to as illustrative of the neces- 

 sity for the presence of zeal and industry, in order to acquire knowledge: 

 the mere possession of the very best books will be of no use, will impart 

 no information, unless they be referred to, read, or studied. 



Teachers who are so disposed, will find in these pages, ample oppor- 

 tunities of pointing out to those they instruct, the beautiful adaptation of 

 the organization of every living thing, to the mode of life it is designed 

 to observe, and the kind of food upon which it was pre-ordered it should 

 live. To point out, or even allude to this universal adaptation of every 

 thing in nature, to the puposes for which it was designed by the benefi- 

 cent Creator, would have carried us far beyond our limits, and injured 

 our design of presenting, in a very short space, as many facts as possi- 

 ble, without obscuring the view of the division, arrangement, or classifi- 

 cation, a knowledge of which it is the great object of these little books 

 to teach. Yet, this can be advantageously done verbally, by every teacher, 

 and his pupils will soon learn that once becoming acquainted with the 

 general anatomy and physiology of an animal, whether it walk upon the 

 dry land, float through the air, or seek the ocean depths, its mode of life 

 and general habits are immediately discovered. This fact will become 

 more clearly manifest as we proceed in the series, and in the end, the 

 student will comprehend how Geologists are able to deduce, not 'only the 

 habits of the animal, but also the form of the animal itself, by the ex- 

 amination of only a few of its bones. 

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