N THE 



their principal means of defence. They live 

 chiefly upon the carcases of other animals, no 

 part of the earth being without some of their spe- 

 cies ; and as they are mostly wild and ferocious, 

 Linnaeus has given to this order, the appellation 

 of Fens. 



It consists of ten Genera : namely, the Seal 

 Tribes; the Dog Genus, (embracing the domes- 

 tic Dog, the Hyaena, the Jackal, the Wolf, the 

 Fox, and the Zerdoa, a very small, and beautiful 

 animal, peculiar to Arabia.) The Cat Tribes, 

 (in which are included the domestic Cat, the 

 Lion, the Tyger in all its varieties, and the 

 several species of Wild Cats.) The Weasel 

 Tribes; the Otter; the Bear; the Mole; the 

 Shrew; the tiedgehog ; and the Opossum Tribes, 

 including the Kangaroo. 



In reviewing the animals attached to this order, 

 though we find a few of them perfectly inoffen- 

 sive, and others, which, by domestication, mny 

 be rendered the dose associates of Man; yet 

 generally, they are the most destructive to his 

 person, or to his property, of any which belong 

 to the animal kingdom; requiring his utmost in- 

 genuity and best energies, to counteract their 

 mischievous propensities. 



But this circumstance, had no other presented 

 itself, affords a proof of their utility; since Man 

 being formed of capabilities only, which, without 

 exercise, would have been of no avail to him ; he 



