INTRODUCTION. 



|N the present volume it has been the endeavour of 

 the Author to give, with as much conciseness as is 

 compatible with the subject, a general view of the principal 

 families into which the Animal Creation has been grouped 

 by modern Zoologists, together with such notices of their 

 characteristic habits and instincts as are to be gleaned from 

 various writers in every department of Natural History. 

 These, it is hoped, will be interesting to the general reader, 

 and at the same time afford the student at least a bird's- 

 eye view of the extensive field upon the investigation of 

 which he is desirous of entering. 



For more copious details relative to the habits and 

 organization of the different classes, the reader is referred 

 to the other volumes belonging to the present series, and to 

 the Author's "General Outline of the Structure of the Animal 

 Kingdom." 



