SECOND PERIOD. 



FROM 1739, TO I788. 



BuFFOtf was already distinguished by several 

 Memoirs on mathematics , natural philosophy and 

 rural economy, which had gained him admit- 

 tance to the academy of sciences; but he was 

 not yet known as a naturalist. Endowed with 

 that power of attention which discovers the 

 most distant relations of thought , and that bril- 

 lancy of imagination which commands the atten- 

 tion of others to the result of laborious investi- 

 gations, he was equally fitted to succeed in diffe- 

 rent walks of genius. He had not yet decided to 

 what object he should devote his talents and ac- 

 quirements, when his nomination to the place 

 of intendant of the King's Garden determined 

 him to attach himself to natural history ; and as 

 the progress of the science depended very much 

 upon the prosperity of the institution, he used 

 his utmost endeavours to render it worthy of its 

 destination. As his reputation increased, he em- 

 ployed the advantages afforded by his credit and 

 celebrity , to enrich the establishment to which 



