140 Notice of British Naturalists. 



The " Scotia Illustrated," although the labor of twenty years, 

 manifests but a small acquaintance with the natural arrangement 

 of ihe subject ; and it contains many of the errors of system of the 

 older writers. Each general terra is not only strictly defined, but 

 each genus and order are traced back to their original cause. 

 Thus we find one chapter, to introduce an account of the Scotch 

 rivers and brooks, headed, " De aqua dulci^^ — " On Fresh Wa- 

 ier,^^ and informing us that " the necessity for fresh water is very 

 great, that both men and wild beasts, and even plants themselves, 

 may drink thereof and be irrigated." Another, the first chapter 

 on animals, is headed, " Z)e homimvm dignitate et prcBstantid,''^ 

 and includes an account of the creation of man, and his superior 

 worth and dignity in comparison with the inferior orders. 



But Sibbald was not only a naturalist, he was a physician 

 by profession ; and it was not to be expected that he would 

 omit all mention of a subject to which he had dedicated his life. 

 At that time there was scarcely any production of the earth, 

 the air, or the water, which was not pressed into service. In this 

 respect, and in this department, we are perhaps more deeply 

 indebted to the new and enlightend laws of science, than in any 

 others whatever. 



Absurd and ridiculous remedies were still in vogue in the time 

 of Sibbald. In one instance, he recommends the foam of a horse, 

 taken fresh from its mouth, and mixed with oil of roses, as a cure 

 for the ear ache. In another, the liver of a mad dog eaten cooked, 

 as a preservative against the fear of water. Again he prescribes 

 the skin of a mad dog in the same rabid state, prepared with galls 

 and alum, as a preventive against the gout. 



We do notlhink, that as a science, Natural History owes much 

 to this work ; and it is not only an instance, how little can either 

 be accomplished without fixed principles ; but also of the many 

 errors into which any one must fall, who for himself neglects to 

 reflect upon his own observations. It is interesting to observe 

 the then medical condition of Scotland, when so few appeared 

 to see for themselves whatever is either beautiful or excellent 

 in the world around them, and to form conclusions from their own 

 experiments and remarks. He who has succeeded m exciting 

 a more general attention to any given subject, has opened the way 

 to improvement. When men are once induced to think, some 

 will both reason correctly, and strike out new ideas. The grea'. 



