Scientific Lectures. 145 



SCIENTIFIC LECTUBE-X. 



ON COMPAKATIVE ZOOLOGY. 



By Mb. B. Waterhouse Hawkins. 



The tenth lecture of the scientific course, before the American 

 Institute, was delivered last evening, January 27th, 1869, by Mr. 

 Waterhouse Hawkins, of London, at Steinway Hall. Judge Daly, 

 vice-president, having introduced the lecturer, Mr, Hawkins said : 



Ladies and Gentlemen : My object to-night in speaking of the 

 subject of comparative Zoology is to place before you a comparative 

 view of reptiles and birds, I am aware of the difficulty I have to 

 contend with in making comparisons. Among our many household 

 proverbs, more or less true, it is said " The value of all things is com- 

 parative," and again, that " comparisons are odious," Mrs. Malaprop's 

 version of which is well known. At the same time I can only suppose 

 it possible for us to arrive at a just conclusion in questions of natural 

 history by comparing one form with another. There is a disadvantage 

 in comparing reptiles, which have the misfortune to have a bad name 

 — with birds, which every one admires. Reptiles are crawling, creep- 

 ing things. The record of their creation takes a very early place in the 

 history of the creation. They are cold-blooded, slow, and at the same 

 time scaly. They are altogether disagreeable ; and there is also a say- 

 ing that there is a kind of enmity or unpleasant feeling between man 

 and these same scaly individuals. Birds, on the contrary, are almost 

 celestial. If we do but remember the lark, " that upward soars and 

 at heaven's gate sings," as the poet tells us ; if we think of the 

 " charms of nature's jewelry," as the humming-birds are called ; and 

 especially if we think of those other creatures with wings, which we 

 may reasonably suppose borrowed them of the birds, no ! that could 

 not be, for the angels are believed to have been created first ; but it 

 is evident that the birds can use their wings better than any ima- 

 ginary figure of an angel could, we may readily suppose that the 

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