6 ILLUSTRATED NATURAL HISTORY. 



after him. Hence the advantage of co-operating numbers, each working in his favorite depart- 

 ment, and contributing his portion of labor to the public good. The result is an accumulated 

 ni:i^> of riches, which, transmitted to our immediate successors, may be by them assayed, refined, 

 and increased, and, in due order, passed on to generations following." 



THE MYSTERY OF LIFE. 



It is quite true, that afur all the researches of philosophers, one question of vital interest remains 

 unanswered: What is Lite.' 1 There is a mystery behind that little word, says Gosse, which no 

 (.in' has yel been able to solve. Science, with the experience of ages, with all the appliances of 

 art, and with all the persevering ingenuity and skill that could be brought to bear upon it, has 

 ardently labored to lift the veil; but philosophy, and science, and art stand abashed before the 

 problem, and confess it a mystery still. The phenomena, the properties of life, are readily observ- 

 able. We take a bird in our hands: a few moments ao-o it was full of energy and animation; it 

 sh<> >k its little wings as it hopped from perch to perch; its eyes glanced brightly, and its throat 

 quivered as it poured out the thrilling song which delighted us. Now the voice has ceased, the 

 eve is dim, the limbs are stiffening, and we know that it will move no more. Chemical changes 

 have already begun to operate upon its organs; decomposition is doing its work, and soon the 

 beautiful little bird will be a heap of dust. We say that its life has gone; but what is it that has 

 gone? If we put the body in the most delicate balance, it weighs not a grain less than when it 

 was alive; if we measure it, its dimensions are precisely the same; the scalpel of the anatomist 

 finds all the constituent parts that made the living being; and what the mighty principle is, the 

 loss of which has wrought such a change, alike eludes research and baffles conjecture. We are 

 compelled here to recognize the Great First Cause, and to rest in the reverent declaration, "la 

 Him we live, and move, and have our being." 



The researches of modern science, however, aided by the inventions which it has brought into 

 existence, though they have been unable to throw a single ray of light on the nature of Life 

 itself, have yet done much to make us familiar with its phenomena. It is a material part of the 

 design of the present volume to acquaint the reader with the more interesting portion of these 

 results. 



OBJECT AND SOURCES OF THE PRESENT WORK. 



The plan of the author is to give a popular compend of the Natural History of the Animal 

 Kingdom, as it is now found in publications of a professed scientific character. In doing this, 

 he will necessarily lay under contribution the works of the great masters in zoological science, 

 as Linnaeus, Cuvier, and Buffon; together with those of numerous authors, distinguished in spe- 

 cial branches, as Gervais, Le Maout, T. Rymer Jones, Milne Edwards, Gould, Led, Yarrell, 

 Forbes, Dallas, Agassiz, Lennett, Newman, Martin, Nuttall, Wilson, Audubon, Bonaparte, and 

 many others; besides the productions of a multitude of travelers who have incidentally described 

 the animal productions of the various countries they have visited. To them, whatever there may 

 be of actual discovery in the following pages, must be credited. The author, however, will be 

 particularly indebted for many lively descriptions of animals to two recent Paris publications on 

 the Garden of Plants, and the two volumes on the Garden ami Menagerie of the Zoological Soci- 

 etv of London, both illustrated bv manv clever, because life-like, enffravinofs. It is to the two 

 noble institutions which have given birth to these works, that the world is indebted for a sort of 

 persona] acquaintance with many of the raresl and most curious specimens of the animal kingdom, 

 and also for accurate descriptions of a great number of exceedingly interesting animals — birds, 

 beasts, and reptiles ; thus, in many cases, dissipating errors which had lingered in works of natural 

 history tor hundred- of J ears.* { 



* During my late residence in Paris, tli "< rarden of Plants" was my favorite resort, not only as a mcp.ns of study- 

 ing Natural History, but lor the- purpose of enjoying its beautiful walks ami charming \iicws. The interest thus 

 j mind has led me. to undertake the present volume, which 1 shall he able t" enrich by numerous en- 

 gravings <>>.' animals belonging to that, celebrated Bent of science. The establishment of a similar institution in one' 

 of the great cities of the United States, would be worthy the exertions of our wealthy and enlightened citizens. 



