Zoology is the term employed to designate the natu ral history of animals. There is in this science, likewise, an artificial and a natural method of arrangement, and a knowledge of the form and structure of the various or gans prepared for the higher disquisitions of physiology. But the zoologist is called upon to examine appearances which do not present themselves to the botanist. Ani mals have not only life, but sensation; and the actions to which this last faculty gives rise are exceedingly varied and complicated. To a want of acquaintance with these, we may trace a great deal of that unprofitable specula tion indulged in by the moral philosopher, about the dif ference between the reason of man and the instinct of brutes. In order to solve this curious question, it is ne. cessary to be acquainted with life, and its various pheno mena, or, in other words, with the natural history of the actions of animals. AIany philosophers have overlooked this step of the process, and have accordingly drawn conclusions remote from truth.
Iri attending to the physical and geographical distribu tion of animals—the zoologist becomes acquainted with those species which might be rendered useful to man, by being reduced from a wild to a domesticated state, and with those which might, with advantage, be translated from foreign countries into our own.
It is generally acknowledged that, in the study of natu ral history, more information can be gained by the eye, than can be communicated to the ear. Hence, where ever the science has been cultivated, collections of natu ral objects have been formed, to aid the memory, and supply the defects of descriptive language. Such col lections are usually termed MUSEUMS.
The productions of the mineral kingdom are collected with the greatest care. There is little difficulty in pre paring them, and they are not liable to decay. A mine ralogical museum ought to contain specimens of simple minerals—of rocks—and of petrifactions, disposed in such a manlier as to elucidate their systematical arrange ment, and prepare for the application of the doctrines of geology.
A collection of plants may be preserved either in a living or dead state. When in the former, it is termed a BOTANIC GARDEN. A well regulated garden of this kind is eminently' calculated to excite a zeal for the study of nature. When we view the productions of distant countries, and of different climates, flourishing in health ful luxuriance around us, WC feel conscious oldie digni ty of our nature, and willingly allow the pleasant sensa tions which have been excited to be elevated by the re flection, that all those objects have been brought together for scientific, and therefore useful purposes.
When plants are preserved in a di ied state, the collec tion is termed a IIEnuAarum. A museum of this kind is indispensably necessary. Plants have particular sea sons in which they vegetate and unfold their organs, and consequently can only be examined at those intervals, fre quently short and distant. But when plants are well pre
served in an herbarium, they are accessible at all times, and greatly aid the student in his knowledge of species.
Collections illustrative of the natural history of the animal kinf.-,dom are likewise exhibited to us, either in a liiing or dead state. A collection of live animals, for want of a more appropriate term, is called a Menagerie, and enables the student not only to observe their forms, but their motions and instincts. Such an establishment is necessaiily very, expensive, and is seldom attempted but in national establishments, or by individuals for the sake of gain. It in general labours under a defect of cleanliness, which no care on the part of the keepers can entirely remove.
AIany animals, such as quadrupeds, birds, and insects, can be easily preserved in a dried state, so as to exhibit the forms and colours of the living subject. Such a col lection is admirably calculated to awaken an interest in the study, and facilitate the attempts of the naturalist to construct a systematical arrangement.
The science of natural history must have occupied the attention of our race in all ages, and in every period of civilization, as we depend on the objects which surround us for food, shelter, and amusement. The savage is compelled to study the manners of those animals he pur sues in the chase, the haunts which they frequent, the seasons of the year in which they are most abundant, or best suited to his purpose. The same necessity prompts us to study likewise the habits of those plants which fur nish the most palatable food and efficacious medicine ; the most suitable wood for making an arrow or spear ; and the most deadly juice in which to dip them. Alan, even in the early stages of civilization, is also urged to examine the rocks in search of flints with which to point his dart, or stones to form his hatchet.
But the importance of natural history is more sensibly felt as rnan advances from the savage to the pastoral or commercial state. When he begins to rear animals, that he may drink their milk, clothe himself with their skin, and feed on their flesh, he must study their history, for the purpose of providing them with suitable food and shelter, and guarding them from the attacks of their foes. In like manner, when he sows grain for his sub sistence, and plants the sugar cane—the cotton tree, or the potatoe, he must attend to the peculiar soil each plant requires, the seasons of sowing and reaping, the weeds hich obstruct their growth, and the blasts which wither them. When he descends into the bowels of the earth in search of treasure, he is induced to study the nature and the relations of those rocks which are most produc tive in the objects of his pursuit, and to ascertain those ores which yield the purest metals.