68 ON THE ADVANTAGES OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



hardly be called a benefit ; perhaps the following- may be more deserving 

 of the name. Secondly, the domestication, and consequent introduction 

 to the purposes of civilised life, of the various tribes of wild animals, 

 and the beauteous forms of the feathered creation. I was never more 

 struck with this, than in the perusal of the delightful work lately pub- 

 lished by the Zoological Society. The various animals, birds, &c, 

 which are there shown to be capable of domestication, and of producing 

 the most striking- benefits to mankind in general, convince us, more 

 than ever, of the benefits to be g-ained from the pursuit of Natural 

 History. To this study, in some measure at least, are we indebted for 

 the horse, that animal, the want of which we should so much feel ; for 

 all the feathered inmates of our farm-yards, and many others, the 

 enumeration of which would encroach too much on your time and 

 patience. The third direct benefit I would mention, refers to another 

 branch of Natural Science, scarcely less interesting-, viz. Botany ; and 

 the advantag-e to be acquired from this pursuit, which I should wish to 

 bring- forward is, the benefits derived from the discovery of plants and 

 herbs, which may be useful in Medical Science. Here, perhaps, we 

 may see most clearly the use of some system of Natural History. 

 The botanist knows that a plant of a certain g-enus is useful as a 

 medical herb ; arg-uing- from analogy, which is alone allowable in a case 

 of this kind, on the discovery of a new plant which may be referred to 

 the same g-enus, he imagines that this plant may be used in a case of a 

 similar kind ; a trial is made of it, and frequently the result answers to 

 the expectations of the experimentalist. An admirable illustration of the 

 truth of this position occurs in the history of the chemical substance 

 entitled iodine. Long before the discovery of this substance which is 

 procured from a kind of sea- weed, it was known' that burnt sponge was 

 an excellent remedy in cases of that dreadful malady, the Swiss goitre. 

 On the discovery of iodine, (which was then perceived to exist in sponge, 

 and most other marine productions,) Dr. Coindet, a medical practitioner 

 of Geneva, imagined that this might also be used with efficacy in similar 

 cases. He tried the experiment, and it is now well known, that iodine 

 is a safe and sure remedy for goitre. I might mention other instances, 

 but this most likely will be sufficient to establish my argument. 



We may now, perhaps, proceed to consider what may be called the 

 indirect benefits to be derived from the study of Natural Science. 



If we see that some of the most singular productions with which we 

 are acquainted, are the work of those animals whose habits and modes 



