An Early Passage on Taxonomy

NATURE, by descending gradually from great to small, from strong to weak, coun|terbalances every part of her works. Attentive solely to the preservation of each species, she creates a profusion of individuals, and supports by numbers the small and the feeble, whom she hath left unprovided with arms or with courage. She has not only put those inferior animals in a condition to perpetuate and to resist by their own numbers, but she seems, at the same time, to have afforded a supply to each by m...

 The Mouse's Petition

(Found in the trap where he had been confined all night by Dr. Priestley, for the sake of making experiments with different kinds of air.) OH! hear a pensive prisoner's prayer, For liberty that sighs; And never let thine heart be shut Against the prisoner's cries! For here forlorn and sad I sit, Within the wiry grate; And tremble at th' approaching morn, Which brings impending fate. If e'er thy breast with freedom glowed, And spurned a tyrant's chain, Let not thy strong oppressive force A ...

 Comparing European and American Mammals and Livestock

    Europe. America.   lb. lb.     Mammoth Buffalo. Bison   *1800 White bear. Ours blanc     Caribou. Renne     Bear. Ours 153.7 *410 Elk. Elan. Orignal, palmated     Red deer. Cerf 288.8 *273 Fallow deer. Daim 167.8   Wolf. Loup 69.8   Roe. Chevreuil 56.7   Glutton. Glouton. Carcajou     Wild cat. Chat sauvage   30 Lynx. Loup cervier 25.   Beaver. Castor 18.5 *45 Badger. Blaireau 13.6   Red Fox. Renard 13.5   Grey Fox. Isatis     Otter. Loutre 8.9 12 Monax. Marmotte ...