862 REPORT — 1 893. 



and functions vrhich go on continuously therein, mechanisms of so elaborate a kind 

 that we can only look and wonder and strive to imitate them a little here and 

 there. The mechanism of their own bodily frames is that with which the lower 

 animals have to be content, and whilst they are in the prime of life and health, 

 and in their natural environment, it is generally sufficient for all their purposes. 

 Man has a still more perfect, or rather a still more versatile, bodily mechanism, and 

 one which in a limited environment would be equally sufficient for his needs. But 

 he has also an enterprising and powerful mind which impels him to strive after and 

 enables him to enjoy fields of conquest unknown to, and uncared for by, the 

 relatively brainless lower animals. 



Urged on by these superior mental powers, man must soon have perceived that 

 by the use of instruments he could more quickly and easily gain his ends, and he 

 would not be long in discovering that certain other animals, such as the ox and the 

 horse, were teachable and his willing slaves, provided only he fed and trained 

 them and treated them kindly. 



First in common with other animals, he would find out that stones and sticks 

 were of some use as weapons and tools ; then he would go further and utilise skins 

 and thongs for clothing and harness ; and by selecting and modifying his stones 

 and sticks he would form them into rough implements, which would enable him to 

 cut down trees and to make rude huts and boats. Animals caught and domesticated 

 would first be taught to haul light logs along the ground, then to move heavier 

 ones on rollers ; and later, in order to avoid the necessity for continual replacement 

 of the rollers, the wheel and axle would be gradually developed. 



The mechanical nomenclature of all languages is largely derived from the 

 bodies of men and other animals. From this it is clear that animals have always 

 been recoo-nised as mechanisms, or as closely related thereto. The names borrowed 

 from them generally indicate a resemblance in form rather than in function, though 

 not invariably so. 



Thus in our own langruage we have the 'head ' of a ship, a river, a lake, a jetty, 

 a bolt, a nail, a screw, a, rivet, a flight of stairs, and a column of water ; the brow 

 of an incline ; the crown of an arch ; the toe of a pier ; the foot of a wall ; the 

 forefoot, heel, ribs, waist, knees, skin, nose, and dead eyes of a ship ; also turtle 

 backs and whale backs ; the jaws of a vice ; the claws of a clutch ; the teeth of 

 wheels ; necks, shoulders, eyes, nozzles, legs, ears, mouths, lips, cheeks, elbows, 

 feathers, tongues, throats, and arms ; caps, bonnets, collars, sleeves, saddles, gussets, 

 paddles, fins, wings, horns, crabs, donkeys, monkeys, and dogs ; flywheels, run- 

 ning nooses, crane necks, grasshopper engines, &c. 



Not only has our mechanical nomenclatiu-e been largely taken from animals, 

 but many of our principal mechanical devices have pre-existed in them. Thus, 

 examples of levers of all three orders are to be found in the bodies of animals. 

 The human foot contains instances of the first and second, and the forearm of the 

 third order of lever. The patella, or knee-cap, is practically a part of a pulley. 

 There are several hinges and some baU-and-socket joints, with perfect lubricating 

 arrangements. Lungs are bellows, and the vocal ©rgans comprise every requisite 

 of a perfect musical instrument. The heart is a combination of four force-pumps 

 acting harmoniously together. The wrist, ankle, and spinal vertebrae form uni- 

 versal joints. The eyes maybe regarded as double-lens cameras, with power to 

 adjust focal length, and able, by their stereoscopic action, to gauge size, solidity, 

 and distance. The nerves form a complete telegraph system with separate up and 

 down lines and a central exchange. The circulation of the blood is a double-line 

 system of canals, in whicb the canal liquid and canal boats move together, making 

 tiie complete circuit twice a minute, distributing supplies to wherever reqiured, and 

 taking up return loads wherever ready without stopping. It is also a heat- 

 distributing apparatus, carrying heat from wherever it is generated or in excess to 

 wherever it is deficient, and establishing a general average, just as engineers en- 

 deavour, but with less success, to do in houses and public buildings. The respiratory 

 system may be looked upon as that whereby the internal ventilation of the bodily 

 structure is maintained. For by it oxygen is separated from the air and imparted 

 to the blood for conveyance and use where needed, whilst at the same time the 



