510 Ctwierian, or Natural, System of Zoology : — 



of men, or lambs, or pigeons, are the greatest blasphemers, 

 atheists, and idolaters in the world. 



I hope your Magazine of Natural History will make us 

 acquainted with a system of nature much superior to that 

 which has been handed down to us from the barbarous ages, 

 viz. that there is but one earth, a four-cornered platform ; and 

 one heaven, an arch over it ; and that the stars were so many 

 brass or silver nails driven into the ceiling ; and that some day 

 soon they would fall out upon the earth, like apples from a 

 tree in a whirlwind ! Truly, Sir, such doctrine is more ridi- 

 culous than that of the old woman who said she looked 

 upon the stars as so many holes which let through the light of 

 heaven ! We have been pestered lately with new theories of 

 the earth, and new systems of geology ; and if the above only 

 add one to the number, it will be that of your sincere friend. 



Some people take a pride in boasting of their great achieve- 

 ments, such as killing dragons, like St. George ; or dun cows, 

 like Guy of Warwick ; or fighting with bears, lions, unicorns, 

 or alligators ; but the only achievement of this kind which ever 

 I performed was swimming into a fish-pond, skirted with 

 reeds, and grasping by the neck a large snake, 3 ft. 4 in. long. 

 I brought him alive to land, and made him disgorge two full- 

 grown toads, one of which I had just seen him swallow ; the 

 other was three parts decomposed, or little more than the 

 bones and skin. I was but young then ; I wore the skin of 

 the snake as a hatband for several weeks ; and I kept its oil 

 in a bottle for several years, with the notion of curing dis- 

 orders, burns, scalds, and the bites and stings of reptiles, as I 

 had been taught by the old women in our country. 



I remain, Sir, yours, &c. 

 St&we, May, 1830. Agronome. 



Art. IV. The Cuvierian, or Natural, Si/stem of Zoology. By B. 



Essay 4. On Mammiferous Animals ; their Division into Orders, 

 arid distinctive Characters of each. Comparison between the 

 Cuvierian and Linnean Systems. 



(Continued from p. 134.) 



The first of the four classes of vertebrated animals, called 

 by Cuvier Mammiferous, by Linnaeus Mammalia, from the 

 Latin word mammce, breasts or teats, are the only animals that 

 suckle their young ; and this external character distinguishes 

 them better than any other from the animals of the three sub- 



