68 LECTURE II. 



in the fish, fowl, and quadruped/' Mr. 

 Hunter adds, " shell is a substance made 

 use of in the animal kingdom, chiefly as 

 a defence against accidents, serving the 

 purpose of a retreat !" 



This extract convinces me that there is 

 scarcely any thing in Professor Cuvier's 

 Lectures, relative to the construction of ani- 

 mals, \^f.th which Mr. Hunter was unac- 

 quainted ; and it must be interesting to ob- 

 serve the correspondent views which these 

 highly informed men have taken of the same 

 subjects. As Mr. Hunter's object was Phy- 

 siology, or an enquiry into the functions of 

 Living Beings, he has not been solicitous 

 to exhibit all the facts relating; to their con- 

 struction. Professor Cuvier, has, on the 

 contrary, devoted his first seven Lectures 

 to display the latter subject, in so ample and 

 satisfactory a manner, as cannot, I think, 

 fail to gratify the reader. Some animals are 

 soft and undefended ; some inhabit shells ; 

 some may be said to have an external articu- 

 lated skeleton, serving also as a defence; 

 and the rest an internal skeleton. He re- 



