PREFACE. 
THE plan of this work is so fully explained fa tin: 
Introductory Chapter that but little preface is needed. 
Its main object is to acquaint young people with the 
structure and habits of the lower forms of life ; and 
to do this in a more systematic way than is usual in 
ordinary works on Natural History, and more simply 
than in text-books on Zoology. 
For this reason I have adopted the title " Life 
and her Children," to express the family bond unil 
all living things, as we use the term "Nature and her 
Works/* to embrace all organic and inorganic pheno- 
mena; and I have been more careful t h in 
bold outline the leading features of each 
than to dwell upon the minor different ich it 
is separated into groups. 
I have made use oi British 
wherever it was pos (id small 
