ysegIN presenting this version of the “ Animal Kingdom” 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
es 
of the celebrated 
Cuvier to the British public, the Translator feels assured that he has 
only acted in compliance with the wishes of the most intelligent portion 
of the community, inasmuch as the great deficiency in our language of a 
complete work in this grand department of Natural History is thus 
supplied in a manner that it is impossible to excel. It is essential for 
the reader to understand that the attempts hitherto made by English 
authors to enrich British scientific literature with the labours of Cuvier, 
have been confined to the translation of the first edition of the ‘ Régne 
Animale,’ which made its appearance so far back as the year 1816. 
With respect to that translation, it is not necessary that we should dwell 
upon it farther than to observe, that it is the version of a work which may 
now be deemed to be completely superseded. The great French author 
himself, indeed, has acknowledged the imperfections of his first edition, 
as compared with the last, which is now enriched with the results of 
labours, whereby, during the interval of twelve years, an immense pro- 
gress is declared by Cuvier to have been effected in this science. It is 
scarcely necessary to add, that no part of those labours, and no por- 
tion of that improvement, failed to be examined by this indefatigable 
naturalist. His connection with the government of France, his reputa- 
tion throughout Europe, and his consequent unbounded facilities of com- 
munication with fellow-labourers in all quarters of the globe, gave to 
Cuvier opportunities of procuring information of new facts, or corrections 
of former errors, such as could not be accessible to almost any other 
individual. 
From considering these facts, the reader will not fail to conclude that a 
difference, to no small amount, must necessarily exist between the former 
and the latter edition of the ‘“‘ Animal Kingdom;”’ nor will he, upon due 
examination, be prepared to deny that the latter is essentially a new and 
distinct work, from the number of alterations and improvements which 
have been incorporated with it. Cuvier records, with the most grateful 
expressions, his sense of the value of the information derived by him 
from the vast number of faithfully executed figures in Natural History 
which were supplied by recent travellers. The difficulties presented in 
the arrangement of the synonymes in the nomenclature of animals were 
also found by our great author very seriously diminished when he came 
to prepare the second edition of his ‘‘ Régne Animale.” Naturalists of 
