OJf THE STUDY OF J^AtURE. 15 



^he insect tribes are generally brought to life in a 

 nidus that itself affords them nourishment. Thus 

 does an uniformly beautiful contrivance in rearino- 

 and nourishing their tender young, pervade every 

 species of the animal creation. 



It is very remarkable that birds of the same species 

 should always form the same kind of nest, of the 

 same materials, laid in the same order, and made ex- 

 actly of the same figure ; so that whenever a nest is 

 seen, the bird that constructed it is immediately 

 known. This circumstance is invariable in all birds 

 and in all countries ; with those taken, when just 

 hatched, from the nest, and brought up in a cage as 

 well as with those that have all their lives been 

 in a wild state. 



All creatures know how to use their weapons of 

 defence from mere instinct. The Calf and Lamb 

 push with their heads long before the horns begin to 

 shoot. A young Boar, in the same manner, knows 

 the use of his tusks ; a Cat of its claws ; a Dog of 

 his teeth ; a Horse of his hoofs ; and the Cock of his 

 spurs. The Calf, however young, never attempts 

 to bite its enemy ; the Foal does not push with its 

 head, nor do the Dog or Cat make use of tlieir heels. 



From the animal we will once again turn to the 

 vegetable kingdom, and examine into the contrivan- 

 ces of Nature there. If we look around us we shall 

 find it a very difficult matter to discover an entirely 

 barren spot. If-", by any devastation such is made, 

 it does not long remain unoccupied. Seeds are soon 

 scattered over it ; the downy ones of the thistles, 

 wafted by the v.lnds, are the first to take root, and 



