NATURAL HISTORY. O 



Upon the earliest development of intellect, na- 

 tural history would be the first to engage the 

 attention of mankind ; since, independently of 

 the supplies which the productions of the earth 

 afforded to his wants, to class which would be 

 necessary to render them applicable to human 

 purposes, the grandeur and .variety of the sur- 

 rounding objects, the order in which they are 

 arranged, and their uniform obedience to some 

 fixed law, would naturally awaken the curiosity 

 and fix the attention of the intellectual observer, 

 long before he had acquired the power of ascer- 

 taining the particular properties of each, their 

 corresponding action upon each other, or of 

 enquiring into the causes which might have led 

 to their production. 



We accordingly find that, at a very early period, 

 the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms had 

 been subjected to something like arrangement. 

 Most of the animals, intended for the support of 

 the species, had been domesticated and received 

 appropriate names ; while others, decidedly of- 

 fensive, had their proper denominations, and rules 

 by which they might be avoided. Vegetables in 

 great varieties had been called into use both for 

 culinary and medicinal purposes ; and many of 

 their poisonous tribes had been discovered and 

 clearly distinguished from those which were 

 harmless. The use of some of the minerals had 

 also been ascertained ; and the heavenly bodies 



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