290 
VARIETIES IN CREATION. 
[chap. VIII. 
chicken in the course of time. The earth presents a 
wonderful example of variety in all classes of the 
human race, the animal, and vegetable kingdoms. 
People, beasts, and plants belonging to distinct 
classes, exhibit special qualities and peculiarities. 
The existence of many hundred varieties of dogs can¬ 
not interfere with the fact that they belong to one 
genus: the greyhound, pug, bloodhound, pointer, 
poodle, mastiff, and toy terrier, are all as entirely dif¬ 
ferent in their peculiar instincts as are the varieties 
of the human race. The different fruits and flowers 
continue the example *—the wild grapes of the forest 
are grapes, but although they belong to the same class, 
they are distinct from the luscious “ Muscatel; ” and 
the wild dog-rose of the hedge, although of the same 
class, is inferior to the moss-rose of the garden. 
From fruits and flowers we may turn to insect life, 
and watch the air teeming with varieties of the same 
species, the thousands of butterflies and beetles, the 
many members of each class varying in instincts and 
peculiarities. Fishes, and even shellfish, all exhibit 
the same arrangement,—that every group is divided 
into varieties all differing from each other, and each 
distinguished by some peculiar excellence or defect. 
In the great system of creation that divided races 
and subdivided them according to mysterious laws, 
