PREFACE. Ill 



be here found proportioned in extent to the in- 

 terest each may offer. Thus while a complete 

 translation is given of the "Regne Animal" with 

 as much closeness and accuracy as the corre- 

 sponding idioms of the two languages will per- 

 mit, much that is interesting and important from 

 the pens of other modern naturalists and tra- 

 vellers, and from original sources, will be found 

 subjoined by way of supplement. 



It is feared that some repetitions, and per- 

 haps occasional apparent diffusiveness, may 

 have resulted from this plan ; they have, how- 

 ever, been avoided as much as possible, and 

 when detected, it is hoped will be deemed ve- 

 nial, if not absolutely necessary. 



It may be proper to state here the objects 

 Cuvier had in view in his work on the Animal 

 Kingdom, together with a summary of his la- 

 bours upon it. This we shall do in his own 

 words. 



" I was necessitated," (says the Baron, in 

 the preface to his ' Regne Animal,') " in fur- 

 therance of my object, to make anatomy and 

 zoology, dissection and classification, pro- 

 ceed hand in hand together,— in my first re- 

 marks on organization, to look for the best 

 general principles of distribution,' — to employ 

 those principles in making new observations, 



b 2 



