202 



HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



" tranfported by man, fuch as horfes, affes, bulls, fheep, 

 " goats, hogs, dogs, &c. and thofe which paffed there 

 " by themfelves, fuch as wolves, foxes, deer, and al- 

 cc cos, are confiderably fmaller in fize than they are in 

 " Europe :" and this, he adds, is the cafe without any 

 exception. This aftoniftiing effeft he afcribes to the nig- 

 gard iky of America, to the combination of the elements, 

 and other natural caufes. " There was not," fays Mr. 

 " de Paw, " one large animal under the torrid zone of 

 " the old continent. The largeft quadruped amongfl 

 u the natives of that country which exifts at prefent in 

 cc the new world between the tropics, is the tapir, 

 " which is about the frze of a calf (£)•" " ^ ne m °ft 

 " corpulent bead of the new continent," fays count de 

 BnfFon, " is the tapir, which is about the fize of a fmall 

 " mule ; and next to it the cabiai, which is about the 

 " fize of a middling hog." 



We have already demonftrated, in the preceding Dif- 

 fertation, that alrhough we fhould grant to thofe philoso- 

 phers the fuppofed fmallnefs of American quadrupeds, 

 nothing could from thence be concluded againd the land 

 or climate of America : as according to the principles 

 efiabliihed by Mr. de Buffon already quoted by us, 

 the larger kind of animals are peculiar to intemperate 

 climes, and the fmaller kind to climes which are mild 

 and temperate ; and if the advantages of climate are to 

 be deduced from the fize of quadrupeds, we would un- 

 queftionably fay, that the climate of Africa and the fou th 

 of Alia is much better than that of Europe. But if in 

 America, when it was firft difcoveredby the Europeans, 

 there were no elephants, rhinoceroffes, fea-horfes, ca- 

 mels, &c. they were however once there, if we give 



credit 



(& , Reeherch. Philofoph. part I'd. feci. Z. 



