PLEA FOE THE BIEDS. 



In the beginning, according to the testimony of the 

 " Wisdom of Solomon," all things were ordered in meas- 

 ure, number, and weight. The universe was balanced 

 according to a law of harmony no less wise than beau- 

 tiful. There was no deficiency in one part or superfluity 

 in another. As time was divided into seasons and days 

 and years, the material world was arranged in such a 

 manner that there should be a mutual dependence of one 

 kingdom upon another. Nothing was, created without a 

 purpose, and all living things were supplied with such 

 instincts and appetites as would lead them to assist in 

 the great work of progression. The kingdoms of nature 

 must ever remain thus perfectly adjusted, except for the 

 interference of man. He alone, of all living creatures, 

 has power to turn the operations of nature out of their 

 proper course. He alone is able to transform her hills 

 into fortifications and to degrade her rivers to commercial 

 servitude. Yet, while he is thus employed in revolu- 

 tionizing the surface of the earth, he might still work 

 in harmony with nature's designs, and end in making it 

 more beautiful and more bountiful than in its pristine 

 condition. 



In the wilderness we find a certain adjustment of the 

 various tribes of plants, birds, insects, and quadrupeds, 

 differing widely from that which prevails over a large 

 extent of cultivated territory. In the latter, new tribes 

 of plants are introduced by art, and nature, working in 

 harmony with man, introduces corresponding tribes of 



