10 ON THE STUDY OF KATURK. 



should cause a fresh production, is not easy to un-^ 

 derstand. The organization of an offspring should, 

 in this case, almost seem a voluntary act of 

 tlie female ; but in what manner it is done, we are 

 not only ignorant at }:iresent, but most probably shall 

 ever remain so. Noxious animals multiply in gene- 

 ral so slowly as never to become above the power of 

 Man. But whenever we find a great increase of 



CD 



these, we generally discover something given by 

 Providence to destroy and counterbalance them. 

 Many species devour each other, and multitudes, 

 that might otherwise, b} their numbers, soon be of 

 serious injury to mankind, afford food to other crea- 

 tures. The insect tribes increase most rapidly. 

 Some bring so many as two thousar^d young each : 

 these would soon fill the air were they not destroyed 

 by innumerable enemies. 



• The number of young produced by every animal 

 invariably bears a certain proportion to the duration 

 of its life. The Elephant is said to live to the age of 

 a hundred years or upwards : tlie female produces 

 therefore but one young one, and this does not arrive 

 at maturity till it is sixteen or eighteen years old. 

 Nearly the same thing may be remarked in the Khi- 

 noceros, and all the larger animals : but in most of 

 the smaller ones, whose life is short, or whose in- 

 crease is not so injurious to Man as the increase of 

 these would be, we always find the number of yoimg 

 much greater : many of the Rat and other tribes 

 produce several times in the year, and have from 

 tliree or four to ten and upwards at a litter. — One 

 species has neyer been found to increase so much as 



