xiv 



PREFACE. 



whole man; whilst the pleasure and instruc- 

 tion inseparable from its study, whenever it is 

 pursued in a truly philosophical spirit, is very 

 great. 



Moreover, a comprehensive knowledge of 

 Natural History cannot be acquired without 

 producing a corresponding improvement in 

 taste, literature, and the fine arts. 



If that only which is true can be of perma- 

 nent utility in our social condition, surely the 

 study of natural forms, and their structure, 

 must be to the historian, tfre sculptor, the 

 painter, and the poet, a means of acquiring 

 new and correct information, and therefore a 

 more perfect delineation of their united la- 

 bours. This, reacting upon the public mind, 

 will lift it to a more perfect appreciation of the 

 beauties of the fine arts, and the value of sci- 

 entific literature. 



Amongst the reasons assigned as tending 

 to discourage a desire for acquiring instruc- 

 tion and information in the various branches 

 of Natural History, complaints have been made, 

 and with much truth, against many of the 

 works which have been published on these 



