TO THE READER 
3 
J'o the Reader. 
® he study of Natural History has of late years not received 
that attention, from the general public, that its great 
importance demands ; and, indeed, the apathy is not very 
surprising, for the obvious reason that there are but few works 
upon this interesting study put into such form that they can 
cheaply reach the youth of the country. To supply the want, 
the proprietors of this menagerie have thought it advisable to 
publish an abridgment of the subject, — in which a succinct 
description of the various subjects of the Animal kingdom 
is given, and many of which are on exhibition in this insti- 
tution. There is, certainly, nothing more pleasing, either to 
adults or the young, than a comprehensive history of the nature 
and habits of the wild quadrupeds of the forest and the jungle. 
