tables, or by lessening the numbers of each other when too abundant ;-vegetables from earthy substances, and earthy substances from the earth itself;-all by the assistance of the elements of fire, air, and water *, without whose aid there can be neither life nor motion.

Every thing that exists upon, or is contained within, this globe, is dependent upon it for support, and has no apparent connexion with any other world. Let us therefore look to its constituent parts, and mark their mutual dependencies; by which our ideas of the wonderful contrivance, the infinite wisdom, and unlimited power, of Him whose hand stayeth it in the heavens, as another spangle in the starry mantle of the universe, may be expanded and exalted, even to the height of this great subject.

* I am aware that air and water are no longer considered as simple elements by the ablest chymists of the present day; but, in the general view I am now taking, no miscon ceptions can arise from regarding them as such; since I merely wish, on the present occasion, to mark the agency of those fluids.

Minerals are such concreted bodies, without either life or feeling, as constitute the form and substance of this globe :-vegetables have organization and life; but, apparently, no feeling, and they clothe the earth-animals are organized, living, sensitive, intelligent, locomotive, bodies that adorn, cultivate, and consume the produce of the earth. Every possible form or com bination of matter to be found in or upon this globe may be placed in one or other of these three general divisions, or kingdoms, whilst in its original or natural state; and, to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, and to apply it without confusion, these have again been separated into the necessary classes, orders, genera, and species.

It is not, however, in a mere acquaintance with the proper names of objects, nor in their correct classification, that any one ambitious of the name and character of a Naturalist can for a moment rest satisfied. Artificial signs may serve as useful and necessary distinctions, but they can never be

the things they represent; nor can they ever propound any law, or teach any useful principle. The enlightened student of Nature will regard truth more than symbols; things, themselves, more than names; and the utility of objects, more than the peculiarities of their external forms.

From Man, whom it has pleased the ALMIGHTY GOD to endow with his own image and to bless with a portion of his own divine light, granting him also pre-eminence over the rest of His works, does an enlarged view of this science descend, by easy and regular gradations, down to the smallest particle of existing matter.

Such is the almost boundless extent which the true Naturalist wishes to grasp, and such are the objects whose design, qualities, and use, he seeks to comprehend ; that his own mind, at every step, may be enlarged, elevated, refined, and filled with the power of wisdom; and that mankind, by his labours, and by his discoveries, may be improved in their condition, and obtain new sources of happiness; proving, that as

all knowledge comes from GOD, so must that knowledge be derived through an acquaintance with his glorious works.

Without particularizing the obligations of man, civilized or barbarous, it may be asked, What does he not owe to the cultivation of this most necessary and valuable knowledge? Let him first consider those things without which he could not exist; food and raiment! Let him take a view of the materials of art, and of what they consist! Let him remember in what manner those commodities which constitute, or occasion, the commerce of nations, and its consequent advantages, were discovered, appreciated, and procured! Let him thus employ his mind, but for a few moments, and he must find that it was to an examination and knowledge of natural bodies, and their qualities, that man was originally, and now is, indebted for all the comfort, all the wealth, all the refinements, and all the outward enjoyments in his possession: and are we to suppose, for a single moment, that every region of Nature has been ex

hausted of its stores?-do we imagine that the earth has been already deprived of her wealth, or that her vast and fruitful womb has at length become barren ?-can we believe that no more vegetable productions are to be found, by whose virtues the diseases incident to the human frame may be removed or alleviated, or by the use of which our comforts may be heightened and increased?-and can we believe that no animal remains to be discovered within the compass of this green earth, whose properties shall be found of valuable consequence to our species?-Has our knowledge arrived at such an acme of perfection?-Surely not!

Since, then, mankind have already been so much benefited by the labours of the industrious and enlightened examiners of Nature, even from the savage who is employed in his native bog, or upon his lonely and inhospitable waste, in the search of plants to cure his maladies, or of roots and animals to satiate the cravings of his imperious appetite; up to civilized man, engaged theoretically, and experimentally, on