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INTRODUCTION. 



The mind of man is ever active in the pursuit of useful knowledge ; his all-pervading 

 intelligence extracts from every object which surrounds him some fresh source of profit 

 or rational delight ; and impelled by a love of science, he explores the natural resources 

 of other coantries, with the laudable and patriotic design of enriching his own : but of 

 all the branches of useful knowledge, there is scarcely one which is more beneficial to the 

 human race, or which is more essential to their happiness, than that which treats of 

 the Animal Kingdom. It is a study which instils into the mind the most profound 

 reflections arising from the discovery of the great and admirable harmonies of the world, 

 leading it, as it were, imperceptibly to the fountain of eternal truth, and thence to the 

 knowledge of the Great Creator. It must not, however, be considered as one of mere 

 common amusement; nor ought it to be classed amongst those occupations, which serve 

 as a relaxation from the busy pursuits of social life ; — but it should be regarded as the 

 basis of agriculture, of rural and domestic economy ; considering that the majority of 

 its productions are not only the sources, but also the nurses of commerce and civi- 

 lization, from which we derive almost all the enjoyments of our existence. 



The knowledge of the Animal Kingdom is, in a moral point of view, attended with 

 the most inestimable advantages to the rising generation. It is the foundation of the 

 purest religion, of the most genuine philanthropy; benevolence, charity, and affection, 

 can never be wholly absent from that breast which has acquired an intimate acquaint- 

 ance with the operations and the works of Nature. The mind becomes immediately ex- 

 panded, and, as it were, sublimed by the contemplation of those stupendous and wonder- 

 ful creatures which even a limited research into the Animal Kingdom affords it. From 

 the contemplation of a floating atom, it proceeds through all the gradations of animated 

 life, until the astonished mind rests at last at the throne of that Being, who laid the found- 

 ations of the earth, and who gave to the heavens their glory and their splendor. It is 

 in the domain of nature, that the human mind feels itself in its proper sphere ; the view 

 is then no longer confined within the precincts of our social dwellings, — it takes a wider 

 and more expansive range, at every step of which, some transcendent beauty, some 

 great and important truth bursts upon it. The mind becomes purified and exalted ; it 

 treads the very vestibule of the Godhead, and drinks at the fountain of eternal truth the 

 inspiring sentiments of religion and of love. 



If we consider the study of nature in a religious point of view, how pleasingly are 

 we drawn by a contemplation of the wonderful creatures which inhabit the earth to the 

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