THE MAMMALIA— MAN AND BEASTS. 
71 
tKey do not refuse fruits. Some live chiefly on the eggs of Birds, or on Crabs and 
Insects. Others devour carcassc.?, and even venture to make unwelcome visits into 
the houses of the Americans in search of food. The Macropoda, on the other hand, 
live almost wholly upon herbs or fruits. Of the Monotremata, the one Genus (^EchhU 
na) appears to feed, like the Hedgehog, upon land Insects and fruits j the other 
(Orniihojynchus) upon aquatic Insects, Worms, and Mollusca. 
The Pachydermata being in general of groat bulk, arc obliged, by their organiza-* 
tion, to feed chiefly on vegetables, while some of the smaller species, such as the Hog, 
seem almost omnivorous. Tlie larger sq^ecies 6nd their food either among the trees 
of the forest, or in the marshes bordering on large rivers ; the smaller generally seek 
with their snouts for the coarser kinds of fruit which fall from the trees, and lie con- 
cealed beneath the surface of the soil. All tho Solipeda are essentially herbivorous. 
Among the Ruminaiitia, the tasto for food b wholly limited to the vegetable king- 
dom. The Camels, whose callous feet are well adapted to the sandy soil of Arabia, 
find in these Dc.serts a scanty herbage of prickly trees or shrubs; for this purpose 
their gums and tongue arc almo.st cartilaginous, as a protection against the spinous pro- 
cesses of their food. The Rcin-Dccr, which is the sole sustenance of the Laplanders, 
Samoiedes, and Jakutes, scratches the snow for a supply of Lichens and Mosses, 
which is sufficient for his support. On the other hand, in the sultry plains of Ethi- 
opia, the colossal Camelopard pastures on the foliage of the highest trees. The Ox 
and the larger Cattle feed on the rich herbage of the plains ; some of the smaller, such 
as tho Sheep and Goats, arc satisfied with the more stunted ]dants of mountain regions. 
The Herbivorous Cetacea feed in numerous henb on the marine vegetables accu- 
mulated at the mouths of rivers, as well as on tho terrestrial herbs which float down 
tlie streams. Some, liowover, confine themselves to Fuci. The proper Cetacea are 
chiefly carnivorous, preying upon Fishes and Mollusca. Some, as the Dolphin, do 
not refuse vegetable substances; while others, as the Grampus (Delphinus gladiator) 
and Narwhal (Monodon moyioccros), carry on a deadly warfare against the very 
largest Fishes, and even upon their own order. Combining together in troops, they 
do not hesitate to attack the great Whale, apparently for the sole purpose of devour- 
ing his tongue, for which tho Narwhals seem to have a great partiality, leaving the 
remainder of his enormous body as a prey for epicures of a lower grade. 
In general, animals of the class Mammalia seek their food separately, or in com- 
pany, in which cases eacli individual labors for himself alone. It is only in a few 
species, such as the Beaver, Uaiustcr, and Economic JMouse, all of which construct 
dwellings of great complexity, that each individual assists in accumulating a common 
hoard. In this arrangement wo see one of the simplest states of society, where there 
exists community of goods, without any permanent division of labour. It is in Man 
alone that the Mechanic becomes distinguished from the Agriculturbt. 
Tims the MamtnuUa derive their subsistence from all inferior classes of living 
beings, as well as from their own; and hence tJiey exert a very groat influence in 
regulating the numbers of all other animals, and in establishing a universal cquili- 
hriuui among living beings in general. The earth, destitute of herbivorous animals, 
would soon be covered with a rank and dense vegetation. A few luxuriant species 
of herbs would wholly engross each Botanical province, and annihilate all others. 
Hence the herbivorous animals are requisite to curb tho exuberance of the Vege- 
table Kingdom; but as the herbivorous animals themselves would multiply, in their 
turn, to an inconvenient degree, even so far as to devour all plants to their very 
»*oots, the carnivorous animals are created to rcstiain the excessive multiplication 
of the herbivorous tribes, and thus become the indu’ect, yet necessary, allies of the 
Vegetahlo Kingdom. 
In respect to the kind of food which is most suited to each animal, and the relative 
facility with which dilTcrent substances are digested, tliesc arc questions which apply 
chiefly to Man. Each wild animal only uses that kind of food which is best suited to it ; 
and its aliments arc consequently very much restrained in their number. But Man 
is omnivorous, every kind of idimcnt can be rendeie<l suitable to him, and he does 
not scruple to avail himself even of those which are most prejudicial to his health. 
In all specje.s of wild animals, ami in some which have been domesticated, we per- 
<icive a mo.st remarkable caution in avoiding such kinds of food as arc deleterious to 
them. Nature commonly imparts a special instinct to each animal, in those cases 
vvhero the ordinary processes of knowledge by experience would arrive too late to 
ensure the desired effect. In looking at a pastured field,” says Dr Fleming, “we 
observe that there are some plants which are left untouched, while others are cropped 
to the ground. But as tlie tastes of animals in this respect are exceedingly various, wc 
observe that what is loft untouched by one species is greedily devoured by another. 
^Vhat is eaten by the Goat, for example, with avidity, and with impunity by the 
Horse or Sheep, as the Water Hemlock (Cicuia mrosa), is certain poison to the 
^ow. Hence it has been called Water-Cowb.Tiic, juul wo have heard a Fifeshire 
farmer, with a sigh, wliich inlimaled his experience of its effects, call it ‘dcatheu.'” 
Gautharides, if taken by the Dog in a very small quantity, produce convulsions and 
death; yet tho Hedgehog, being chiefly insectivorous, devours with impunity these 
poisonous insects. 
Humestication exercises a certain influence over those instincts which lead animals 
disciiminatc between nutritious and poisonous foud, for some species arc observed 
fo lose, when long domestiented, that in>tiu.;tive aversion to deleterious substances, 
so necessary for ihcir preservation in the wild state. Dr Fleming remarks that Cows, 
'vhich have been kept within doors during the winter, ami supported chiefly on dry 
food, when turned out to pasture in the spring, devour indiscriminately every green 
and frequently suffer for their iudiscrotion, Liunmus relates in his Lacliesis 
^iipponica, that when he visited Tornea, the inhabitants complained of a distemper 
^Hiich killed multitudes of their cattle, especially during spring, when turned out 
^oto a meadow in tlm neighbourhood. He soon traced the disorder to the Water 
emlock which grew plentifully in the place, and winch the cuttle did not knoiv how 
lo avoid. In the Orkney Hlaiids, the Fox-glove becomes fatal to the Goslins, w hen iirst 
furned out into the hills to pasture. It is probable tliat, in a wild state, this instinct 
domains unim)iaircd, and directs them invariably to avoid tlioso substances which are 
^‘i3uited to their digestive organs. 
Civilized Man appears to have lost, in a greater degree than any other animal, this 
power of discriminating between noxious and nutritious food. By means of the art 
of Cookery, which he alone knows how to employ, numerous substances, though in 
their natural state they may be nauseous to the taste or even poisonous, are rendered 
highly nutritious ; and thus tho original properties of substances become disguised or 
neutralized in endless variety. Habit soon modifies his taste ; and Man, being now 
left to the suggestions of Reason, is denied that Instinctive power of discrimination 
which the wild animals so largely enjoy. 
Many interesting facts relative to the comparative facility with which different 
substances arc digested, have been elicited from numerous experiments made on i\Ian 
and the other Mammalia. 
Milk being a fluid peculiar to the Mammalia, is, of all substances, the most nutri- 
tious to them. This proceeds from its containing the three ingredients essential to 
a perfect regimen. “ AU other matters appropriated by animals as food,” observes 
Dr Prout, “ exist for themselves, or for the use of the vegetable or animal of which 
they form a constituent part. Bat Milk is designed and prepared by Nature ex- 
pressly as food; and it is the only material^ throughout the range of organization, 
that is so prepared. In Milk, therefore, we ought to expect to find a model of what 
an alimentary substance ought to be — a kind of prototype, as it were, of nutritious 
materials in general. Now, every sort of Milk that is known is a mixture of three 
stamina] principles; that is to say, Milk always contains yksacchanne principle (sugar), 
a hulgraceous or oihj principle (butter), and a caseous^ or, strictly speaking, an 
alhnminoxt9 principle (cheese). Though in the milk of different animals these three 
principles exist in endless modified forms, and in very different proportions, yet 
none of tho tliree is at present known to be entirely wanting in the milk of any 
animal.” 
It has been remarked, that the following kinds of aliment are the most digestible 
for Man: — ^beef, mutton, veal, lamb, and chicken ; fresh eggs when half boiled, the 
milk of the Cow, JIare, Ass, Camel, and Goal; several kinds of Fish, when seasoned 
only with salt and parsley, but if used with oil or dripping, they are less diges- 
tible. Those vegetable substances easiest to digest arc spinage, celery (chiefly the 
root), young asparagus, hop-buds, the placenta of artichokes, the boiled pulp of 
fruits with stones or pippins, especially if they he sweet and aromatic ; tho farina- 
ceous seeds of the Cereal plants, wheat, rice, peas, &c. ; bread on the day after it 
is baked, but especially stale bread, and chiefly white bread; turnips; new pota- 
toes ; and gum-arabic. 
The following substances are loss digestible : — the flesh of pork, the different kinds 
of raw salad, cabbages, beet, onions, carrots, horse-radish, warm bread, figs, pastry, 
fried fish, and seasonings wit!) vinegar or oil. The stomach can attack these sub- 
stances but imperfectly ; and that digestion which it is unable to accomplish is 
finished in the intestine. 
Finally, wo may mention as the most indigestible substances, the tendinous and 
cartilaginous parts, and especially the membranes of beef, pork, veal, fowls, &c. ; 
bones, even when minutely divided; fat and oily substances; the white of egg 
hardened by heat ; mushrooms; truffles; oily seeds, such as walnuts, almonds, pista- 
chia nuts; the pippins of laisins, apples, See.; olives; cocoa; the different oils; 
raisins ; grape-skins ; the epidermis, or outer skin of different seeds and fruits ; the 
skins of peas; the bark of different trees; and many emulsive and ligneous grains. 
These last-mentioned seeds undergo so little change from the action of the stomach, 
that they germinate without difficulty on leaving the intestine. In this way many 
Blatits are disseminated from one country to another. 
There are several substances which serve to facilitate digestion, when mixed in 
small quantities with the food. The Ruminantia cannot exist without a supply of 
salt ; and Man experiences, with advantage, the moderate use of spices, w ine, 
liqueurs, cheese, sugar, and some bitter substances, particularly the products of the 
Cashew nut. 
Numerous other substances are in an eminent deg-reo prejudicial to digestion, and 
produce a tnore marked effect; such as the acids, Peruvian bark when taken after 
a repast, and the several emetics and poisons, in however small a quantity they may 
be used. Sedentary habits, excessive mental exertion, or violent emotions, also 
disturb or retard the function of digestion. Water, particulary when warm, if taken 
in large quantities after a meal, occasions the aliments to leave tho stomach before 
they are digested. 
It is by means of a well-regulated regimen, that IMan and the domesticated animals 
are brought to the state of the highest possible health. Race-IIorses, Greyhounds, 
and Fighting-Cocks, as well as Boxers, ILicers, and other Alhletie, acquire by this 
means an extraordinary increase of physical force, and are enabled to continue their 
exertions for a very lung time. This training of Men to athletic exercises produces 
surprising improvements in their external appearance. Their appetite is improved by 
this means, and digestion rendcreil more perfect. Giddiness of the head, after violent 
exertion, never occurs. The skin becomes clear, smooth, and well-coloured, and the 
veins are seen distinctly through it. The hones get harder and rougher ; they 
thence become loss liable to injury from blows and exercise, while tho shape is im- 
proved. But the most important effects of irainiiig are upon tho lungs, which ac- 
quire a free and powerful respu’ation, without which no animal can long maintain a 
vigorous action. The mental powers are aUo said to become improved ; tho atten- 
tion is more ready and tlie porcoplious more acute. These important effcels are pro- 
duced by temperance without ab.iteiniousiicss, and regular exercise in the open air. 
“ By these processes,” says Sir John Sinclair, “ the nature of the human frame is 
totally changed, and in tho space of two or threo months, the form, the character, 
and tho powers of tho body, are completely altered from gross to loan, from weakness 
to Vigorous health, and from abroathlcj.s and bloated carcass to one active and untiring. 
I'lius the very same individual, who but a few mouths before became giddy and breathless 
on tho least exertion, has his health not only improved, but is enabled to run thirty 
miles with the fleetnes-) of a Greyhouml; or, in a sboitness of time hardly to be 
credited, to walk above a hundred; or, varying the object in view, to excel in 
wrestling, or to challenge a jirofesscd boxer. '1 ho mind also becomes more courageous, 
corporeal sufferings are borne with patience ; a command of temper, and a presence 
of mind, are also acquired and preserved undisturbed amidst pain and danger.” it 
