There is a long, but very
interesting
account in the
?
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Childrens - The Creation
324
THE CREATION.
so sleep on in safety. If this be the case, how singular, and yet
how merciful the provision! *
The Babyronssa is chiefly found in Borneo, and the neighbouring
parts of Asia. It is a quiet animal, except when attacked, and then
it uses its tusks with great force.
This is the last species of this genus; and we now descend lower
in the scale of creation, and come to the creeping things that creep
upon the earth; and finally, the Insects, some of which emphatically,
as the Ephemera, are the creatures of a summer's night, having their
birth, maturity, and death, between the setting and rising of the sun.
Linnaeus has classed the former of these under the order Am-
phibia, or animals that have life in both elements: for though this
is not strictly the case with all, yet it is with the greater part.
This order of animals is distinguished from those in the class
Mammalia by several particulars :--
1. They have cold blood, though red.
2. They are oviparous.
3. Their lungs chiefly consist of a pair of bladders, parted into
small subdivisions, among which are beautifully distributed their
few pulmonary blood-vessels.
Some of the Amphibia are furnished with formidable teeth ; some
? Some naturalists, however, from the curvature of the tusks, have denied this,
as impossible.
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? LETTER XI.
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are without. Some are fierce and predaceous; others quite inoffen-
sive. The bodies of all are cold to the touch: and this, with the
squalid appearance of many, has produced in man a repugnance to
the whole family, from the crocodile to the little lizard, and yet
many, very many, of this order are perfectly harmless. And the
serpent tribe, though it has some species venomous, yet they form
not more than one-sixth of the whole family; and when we consider
how small a portion of the globe they occupy, and for what a length
of time, in cold countries, they are torpid, we have only to be
thankful we know so little of them.
The Amphibia are sub-divided by Linnaeus into Reptiles and
Serpents. The reptiles have legs, and flat naked ears, without
auricles: the serpents are destitute of feet, but move by the assist-
ance of scales, and their general powers of contortion. Neither
have fins or external ears.
REPTILIA.
Comprising Tortoises, Lizards, and Frogs.
The Tortoise Tribe. This is a very singular family, with
coverings of amazing strength. One of the larger species has been
known to bear five men on his back, at the same time, without feeling
it. Their body is protected by a singular bony covering, with a
horny, scaly, or cartilaginous integument. The covering consists of
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THE CREATION.
two large plates, one above and the other below, joined at the edges.
From these shells, the animal is not able to disengage itself; and
they defend them sufficiently from almost every enemy but man.
Those species that live on the land feed on succulent vegetables ;
and those that inhabit the ocean on sea-weed. There are about
thirty-eight species of this tribe--four that live on the sea, eighteen
on the fresh water, and the remainder on the land.
The Common Tortoise. This little animal, which rarely reaches
more than nine inches in length, is found by the Mediterranean Sea,
and North Africa. Its legs are very short, feet broad, and covered
with scales, as is the tail also. In autumn it disappears for the
winter, and is torpid until the spring. The longevity of this animal
is surprising ; some having lived upwards of one hundred years. Mr.
Bingley strongly reprobates the experiments of Redi upon a living one;
but I will not enlarge here upon vivisection again; though no language
can condemn it as it deserves. It is most shocking and dreadful.
The Snake Tortoise. This animal inhabits the stagnant waters of
North America; and sometimes weighs twenty pounds, though some
are much less. The shell is variegated. The neck, though it appears
short, can be stretched out to one-third the length of the whole body.
It lives on fish and water fowl, which it takes by surprise.
The Frog Tribe. This tribe is well known in this country.
None of this family drink water by the mouth, but absorb moisture
through the body.
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There are fifty species or more of this race, divided into three
great sections:--1. Frogs which have smooth bodies, long legs, and
discharge their eggs in a mass; 2. Tree Frogs; 3. Toads.
The Common Frog. This little animal is too well known to require
any minute description. It is a harmless, inoffensive creature.
The Edible Frog. This animal is found in Italy, France, and
Germany. In Austria, they are considered a great delicacy. In
shape it is like our common frog, but larger.
The Ball Frog. This giant of the tribe measures sometimes twenty-
eight inches. They abound in Virginia in America. They prey on
young fowl, when they can catch them. The bull frog is eatable.
The Tree Frog. This surprising little creature is a native of
France, America, and Germany. It resides, in the summer, in the
upper branches of trees; but in the autumn descends to the muddy
banks of rivers, and becomes torpid until the spring.
The Toad. There is a great dread of this little animal, as if \t
were poisonous ; and if met, it is often killed: and yet it is as harm-
less as the frog. The circumstance of toads being found in stones,
imbedded there, would be scarcely credible, if it were not substan-
tiated on indubitable authority. To account for it seems impossible,
though many very interesting reasons have been given.
The Pipa. This frog is found in Surinam. It is much larger
than ours. In the bringing up of its young, it is something like
the opossum. On the back of the female are certain cavities, like
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THE CREATION.
the cells of a bee-hive. When the female lays her eggs, the male
gathers them together, about seventy-five in number, and places them
carefully in these hiding places, which then close over them: in
about three months they are hatched, and come out, in miniature,
just like the parent.
The Lizard Tribe. Although the larger species of this family,
as the Crocodile and Alligator, are predatory, yet by far the greater
part are inoffensive, though their look, and cold feel, makes them
much dreaded. In this genus are found the largest, as well as the
smallest, of the great quadruped family. With the frogs, they are
called oviparous quadrupeds.
The Crocodile. This voracious animal is more dreaded by man
than any other of the quadruped family, and yet man even attacks it,
and as in Java, catches it with hook and line; and also with a net.
This animal abounds both in the old and new world, but especially in
the rivers of Africa; and strange to say, though it grows to the size
of twenty-five feet, yet it brings forth its young in eggs not much
larger than those of a swan.
In shape, the crocodile is very much like the lizard. The armour,
or coat of mail, with which the upper part of the body is covered, is
most perfect, and a musket shot flies off it, quite harmless. * The
? I remember Capt. C. telling me of an awful meeting he had with a croco-
dile in the East Indies. He was going on shore in a boat: just as they
got near the land, they observed one of these monsters; on which one of
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under covering is more pliable. The mouth is larger than that
of any other animal, and is armed with frightful sharp teeth.
This terrific animal lives a good deal in the water, and floats on its
surface like a dead tree, or else secretes himself in the reeds by the
river's side; and when the tiger, or bull, or even the lion itself, comes
to drink, he springs on them, and dragging them under water, drowns
them. He seldom pursues man or beast on shore, as they can gene-
rally escape his tremendous mouth, by running, and changing their
course. The prolific character of this animal is at first sight frightful,
laying, as it does, seventy or eighty eggs: but then it has many ene-
mies. The keen eyes of the vulture and ichneumon discover the
nest, and destroy a whole brood in a few minutes; and then, again,
at the moment the sun has hatched them, they take to the water, and
a variety of fish make them their prey. Thus, by a gracious provi-
sion, this monster family is kept within bounds. When the Javanese
fish for this animal, it is not a chain or a cable that they fix to their
hook, but a long large piece of loosely-twisted cotton. The voracious
creature always swallows the bait; and finding himself a prisoner, seeks
to bite the line, but he cannot, it being entangled in his teeth; and the
the officers incautiously fired at it;--the ball, however, bounded off in an
instant; but the animal, enraged at the attack, made towards the boat; and
just as it reached the shore, he lifted his huge tail out of the water, and
smashed it to pieces; and if my memory serves me, two of the men were
killed, though the rest escaped.
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THE CREATION.
natives, with spears, knowing his vulnerable parts, soon dispatch him.
When taken by nets, he breaks the first or second; but by this time
he is weakened, and is easily made captive. Thus man here also has
dominion; and this monster of the rivers becomes his prey.
The Alligator. This is the crocodile of the New World. The
natives call it " Lagarto;" and some Englishmen put the article to it,
and it became " a lagarto;" and thus the origin of the word Alligator.
They are less than the crocodile of the Old World. Their teeth are
as white as ivory; and their flesh is very nutritious: so much so, that
in some districts, it is the natives' chief subsistence. Sometimes,
armed with a double knife, the Indians will attack the Alligator in
his own place of resort.
The Common Guana. This is a most useful animal in the way of
food. The natives of the Bahama Islands feed entirely on it, and
catch it with wonderful adroitness. --This animal, like the whole of
the family, is very fond of music. This the Indian knows; and when
he sees his prey, he commences whistling. This charms the Guana,
who lets him approach, and tickle him with a switch, with which the
animal is so much delighted, that not until it is too late, he finds that,
amid the sweetest sounds there is death. How forcible is that word
in Prov. ix. 15, 17.
This animal is found in the East and West Indies. In length it is
about four or five feet. The tail is long and round: the back serrated:
the colour green. It has a large pouch under its chin, which is
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capable of great distension. Their eggs, which are about the size of
pigeons', are considered better than those of a hen.
The Salamander. This singular animal, for a long time, was sup-
posed to be proof against fire, and even to have the power to extin-
guish it . The ancients called it " the daughter of fire, with a body
of ice. " Thus, offices for insurance against fire, and fire-engines too,
have taken this little lizard as an emblem. But naturalists have
satisfactorily ascertained, that fire would act upon it as upon other
animal substances; and also, that it is harmless and innoxious. It is
found in Germany, Italy, and France. Its general length is about
half a foot; but it is sometimes much larger. It is easily distinguished
by its short cylindrical tail, and its deep black colour, variegated with
bright orange spots. It brings forth its young alive, the eggs being
hatched within the parent animal.
The Chameleon. This peculiarly singular little creature is a native
of India, Africa, and some of the warmer parts of Spain and Portugal.
Its usual length is ten inches, and its tail the same length.
This animal is perfectly innoxious, and feeds almost entirely upon
insects, which its tongue is wonderfully formed to take, being long
and furnished with a glutinous tip. This it darts out in an instant,
and the prey adheres to it. It lives generally in trees, for which its
feet are wonderfully fitted, having five toes, united three and two; but
the chief singularity of the chameleon is its power to change its
colour at will.
There is a long, but very interesting account in the
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THE CREATION.
book I have before referred to -- Bingley's Animal Biography,
vol. iii. p. 63. The cause of the change of colour seems to depend
on its blood, (which is of a violet blue,) and the coats of the vessels,
which are yellow. *
Thus, when the animal is well fed and healthy, the colour of the
blood prevails; and when weak and sickly, the colour of the skin.
Another peculiarity in the chameleon is, that it can look with one of
its eyes forward, and with the other backward. You remember the
tale of the chameleon and the two travellers who were going to fight
about this little animal, one asserting that it was one colour, and the
other a different one. The moral of the tale is excellent--never to
form an opinion without examining both sides; and then to offer it
with modesty and humility.
The Nimble Lizard. This animal is one of the British species. It
is about six inches long, and the tail near twice that length. This is
a most gentle and inoffensive little creature. It is fond of the sun,
and delights in it in spring-time. It is torpid during the winter.
The Watery Lizard. This little creature, like the one just described,
is also perfectly harmless. It frequents the water continually; and
its tail, flattened, acts as an oar and rudder at the same time. It
changes its skin several times in the year.
? There is much variety of opinion on this subject.
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SERPENTIA.
The Serpents. --The rapidity of the motion of this singular order
of beings is amazing; for their deficiency of legs is amply compen-
sated by the muscular power they possess. There are upwards of
240 species, and only forty that have been discovered as poisonous.
All the species change their skins periodically; and in cold and tem-
perate climates they are torpid during the winter. The flesh of
several of these snakes is innoxious, and so is eaten by the natives of
many countries. They bring forth their young by eggs: and some
of them, like the salamander, hatch their young before birth.
The Rattle-Snake Tribe. There are not many species of this
family; but all are furnished with poisonous fangs. The bite, however,
is not in general fatal, unless the animal is exasperated. They give
notice, except in hot weather, of their approach, by the rattle on their
tails, which rattle is composed of hollow membraneous articulations,
that annually increase till they reach to forty.
The Banded Rattle-Snake. This serpent is found in North and
South America; and is usually about five or six feet in length. Its
colour is yellowish brown, with transverse black lines. Both the
jaws are furnished with small sharp teeth, and the upper one has four
large incurvated and pointed fangs; at the base of each is a round
orifice, opening into a hollow, that appears again near the end of the
teeth, in the form of a channel. These teeth may be raised or com-
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THE CREATION.
pressed at pleasure. This dreaded animal, however, happily for man,
is slow in pursuit; and then, again, its rattle and foetid smell give
notice of its near approach; and, moreover, if not attacked by man, it
will seldom attack him.
Some naturalists of America have denied the power of the rattle-
snake to fascinate with its eye; but the proofs of it are incontro-
vertible. Among other facts, you remember our kind friend Mr. W. ,
who related the following account to us of an incident which occurred
to himself not many years since. He was in America; and had gone
out with the view of getting one of these animals as a curiosity. He
soon came upon one that was fast asleep. He stood over its head, and
was just in the act of plunging his sword-stick into it, when in a
moment it opened its fiery eyes on him. No language, he said, could
fully describe their power. He was transfixed to the spot: his body
was covered with a profuse perspiration; and he felt he would have
given worlds to have been on the falls of Niagara--to have fallen back
from those eyes--when, in a moment, by God's mercy, the animal
hearing a rustling near it, glided through the grass, and he saw it no
more. At that time our friend was ignorant of the Lord; but since
then he has learnt who it was that protected him in the hour of
danger.
Rattle-snakes are viviparous. When their young apprehend danger,
they run, like the little chickens, to their best protector; and the
method that nature has provided for their safety is most singular; for
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the mother opens her mouth and swallows them alive, and returns
them again when the danger is over. Of this fact M. de Beauvois
says he was an eye-witness.
The Indians eat the rattle-snake as we do eels.
The Boa Tribe. This race is destitute of venomous fangs: they
never attack but by necessity, and then openly; but the result is
almost always fatal. Three species are found in Asia; the rest on the
new continent.
The Great Boa. This enormous snake is sometimes from forty to
fifty feet long; and its thickness then is that of a moderate sized man.
If shorter, the circumference is less. The colour of the body is a
yellowish grey, variegated with reddish brown, distributed along the
back. It is a native of Africa, India, and the Indian Islands. It
generally lives in most retired places.
The strength of this creature is almost beyond belief. When it
sees its prey, it springs upon it; and by its wonderful power, it
squeezes to a mummy even the body of the buffalo, breaking every
bone in its skin. The following fact is related by a gentleman who
lived some time in America; and illustrates the dread the Indians
have of the Boa. One day he sent a soldier with an Indian to get
game. The Indian, being tired, sat down on what he thought the
trunk of a tree. It was a boa; and the monster beginning to move,
the poor fellow perceived his perilous situation, and dropped down
through fear. The soldier, with great presence of mind, levelled his
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THE CREATION.
piece, and in a few moments the snake waa dead: but alas! on going
to the poor Indian, he found that, overpowered with terror, he had
fallen a victim to his fright. This animal was thirty-six feet long.
The skin was stuffed, and sent to the cabinet of the Prince of
Orange. (Bingley, vol. iii. p. 87. )
But although the boa is so terrific an enemy, yet he never attacks
but when impelled by hunger; and then he so gorges himself, as to
be incapable of moving, and a boy might kill him, if he had courage
to make the attempt
.
The bite of this serpent is not venomous. The natives eat it; and
use its oil for various purposes. One serpent has been known to yield
five gallons.
The Snake Tribe. One-fifth of this tribe, of which there are two
hundred species, is said to be poisonous. These are in general dis-
tinguished from the innoxious ones by their large, flat, and somewhat
heart-shaped heads.
The Common Viper. This poisonous little snake seldom exceeds two
feet in length, and is found all over the old continent. It is not un-
common even in some parts of our own island. It is chiefly dis-
tinguished from the common snake by its darker belly, and by the
head being much thicker than the body. If this snake is trodden
upon, even by accident, it will be sure to bite; and the bite is
poisonous, Its teeth, &c. , by which the poison is conveyed, are
similar to those of the rattle-snake. The most esteemed remedy for
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the viper's bite is salad-oil, rubbed continually over the wounded
part. The viper is the only poisonous snake known in this country.
About two thousand years ago, our fathers were wont to dip their
arrows and spears in the poison of the viper, as the barbarous natives
of New Zealand do at this day.
The Common Snake. These animals are perfectly harmless to man;
and are torpid during winter. They come forth from their hiding-
places when the sun begins to be fervent, and then cast their skins.
Like all this family, they are said to be affected by music.
The common snake feeds on frogs and insects of various kinds,
and is particularly fond of milk. It is said that it will entwine
itself round the cow's legs, and milk them until they bleed.
The Hooded Snake. This is one of the most poisonous of all the
reptile family. It is between three and four feet long, and one inch
thick. The head is small; its hood, which is a loose skin that it can
distend to a great size, reaches about four inches down the body:
when it is going to spring, it puts up this hood and shows its fangs,
and then darts on its prey with great force.
The hooded snake, when despoiled of its fangs, is exhibited in India,
and will move its body as if with pleasure at the sound of the
flageolet.
The Black Snake. This serpent is a native of North America.
It grows to a great length, but has no poisonous qualities. This
animal will glide over the face of the earth as fast as a horse can
Q
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THE CREATION.
gallop; and will also climb trees with great agility in quest of
the tree frog. Its power of fascination is like that of the rattle-
snake. In America it is esteemed much for its cleverness in catching
rats; and also in attacking and destroying the rattle-snake, which it
does by twisting himself round its body. The Americans cherish
the black snake as a friend. It has been seen taking milk out of the
same dish with children.
This closes the account of the Amphibia; and, I think, my dear
children, we have not found them, except the crocodile, rattle-snake,
boa, and hooded-snake, so terrible a family as we thought; but in
many cases have seen them supply man with food. And I may add
what an old sailor told me even yesterday,--that the lizard, if it
sees a man sleeping, and knows of any snake, or beast of prey at
hand, never leaves the man until he has awoke him, by creeping over
his feet or hands. And then the sailor added,--the man knows the
sign, and they both make off together. On this account, he said,
" it is too bad to kill a lizard. " If this be correct, how merciful--
how gracious this provision!
INSECTA*
As on the fifth day, after having contemplated the gigantic whale
--the largest of living things--we were called through all the stages
* See Appendix.
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? LETTER XI.
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of the numerous inhabitants of the deep to the countless Animalculae,
some of which we were obliged even to get a microscope to look at;
so now, on the sixth day, having gazed upon the lion and elephant,
and all the wild beasts of the forest, and cattle of the field, we have
come down to the innumerable tribe of insects, some of exquisite
beauty, as the butterfly of South America; some of exceeding value,
as the bee, the silk-worm, and the Spanish fly; some the creatures
of a day, as the ephemera; but all arranged after the most beautiful
order; their wings, eyes, and general structure, all calculated to fill
us with the utmost admiration. Indeed, in all creation, nothing is
more full of interest than the insect tribe.
" Each moss,
Each shell, each crawling insect holds a rank
Important in the plan of Him who fram'd
This scale of beings; holds a rank, which, lost,
Would break the chain, and leave a gap,
That Nature's self would rue! "
Linnams has beautifully arranged the whole insect tribe into seven
distinct families, giving them their distinctive names from the place
and character of their wings. These names are all formed from the
Greek word for wing (pteron), with the descriptive word added to
it. The following very clear and concise extract will, I am sure,
interest you, as it has me.
The seven orders are as follow:--
1. Coleopterous Insects, (derived from the Greek words holm, a
Q2
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THE CREATION.
so sleep on in safety. If this be the case, how singular, and yet
how merciful the provision! *
The Babyronssa is chiefly found in Borneo, and the neighbouring
parts of Asia. It is a quiet animal, except when attacked, and then
it uses its tusks with great force.
This is the last species of this genus; and we now descend lower
in the scale of creation, and come to the creeping things that creep
upon the earth; and finally, the Insects, some of which emphatically,
as the Ephemera, are the creatures of a summer's night, having their
birth, maturity, and death, between the setting and rising of the sun.
Linnaeus has classed the former of these under the order Am-
phibia, or animals that have life in both elements: for though this
is not strictly the case with all, yet it is with the greater part.
This order of animals is distinguished from those in the class
Mammalia by several particulars :--
1. They have cold blood, though red.
2. They are oviparous.
3. Their lungs chiefly consist of a pair of bladders, parted into
small subdivisions, among which are beautifully distributed their
few pulmonary blood-vessels.
Some of the Amphibia are furnished with formidable teeth ; some
? Some naturalists, however, from the curvature of the tusks, have denied this,
as impossible.
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? LETTER XI.
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are without. Some are fierce and predaceous; others quite inoffen-
sive. The bodies of all are cold to the touch: and this, with the
squalid appearance of many, has produced in man a repugnance to
the whole family, from the crocodile to the little lizard, and yet
many, very many, of this order are perfectly harmless. And the
serpent tribe, though it has some species venomous, yet they form
not more than one-sixth of the whole family; and when we consider
how small a portion of the globe they occupy, and for what a length
of time, in cold countries, they are torpid, we have only to be
thankful we know so little of them.
The Amphibia are sub-divided by Linnaeus into Reptiles and
Serpents. The reptiles have legs, and flat naked ears, without
auricles: the serpents are destitute of feet, but move by the assist-
ance of scales, and their general powers of contortion. Neither
have fins or external ears.
REPTILIA.
Comprising Tortoises, Lizards, and Frogs.
The Tortoise Tribe. This is a very singular family, with
coverings of amazing strength. One of the larger species has been
known to bear five men on his back, at the same time, without feeling
it. Their body is protected by a singular bony covering, with a
horny, scaly, or cartilaginous integument. The covering consists of
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THE CREATION.
two large plates, one above and the other below, joined at the edges.
From these shells, the animal is not able to disengage itself; and
they defend them sufficiently from almost every enemy but man.
Those species that live on the land feed on succulent vegetables ;
and those that inhabit the ocean on sea-weed. There are about
thirty-eight species of this tribe--four that live on the sea, eighteen
on the fresh water, and the remainder on the land.
The Common Tortoise. This little animal, which rarely reaches
more than nine inches in length, is found by the Mediterranean Sea,
and North Africa. Its legs are very short, feet broad, and covered
with scales, as is the tail also. In autumn it disappears for the
winter, and is torpid until the spring. The longevity of this animal
is surprising ; some having lived upwards of one hundred years. Mr.
Bingley strongly reprobates the experiments of Redi upon a living one;
but I will not enlarge here upon vivisection again; though no language
can condemn it as it deserves. It is most shocking and dreadful.
The Snake Tortoise. This animal inhabits the stagnant waters of
North America; and sometimes weighs twenty pounds, though some
are much less. The shell is variegated. The neck, though it appears
short, can be stretched out to one-third the length of the whole body.
It lives on fish and water fowl, which it takes by surprise.
The Frog Tribe. This tribe is well known in this country.
None of this family drink water by the mouth, but absorb moisture
through the body.
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There are fifty species or more of this race, divided into three
great sections:--1. Frogs which have smooth bodies, long legs, and
discharge their eggs in a mass; 2. Tree Frogs; 3. Toads.
The Common Frog. This little animal is too well known to require
any minute description. It is a harmless, inoffensive creature.
The Edible Frog. This animal is found in Italy, France, and
Germany. In Austria, they are considered a great delicacy. In
shape it is like our common frog, but larger.
The Ball Frog. This giant of the tribe measures sometimes twenty-
eight inches. They abound in Virginia in America. They prey on
young fowl, when they can catch them. The bull frog is eatable.
The Tree Frog. This surprising little creature is a native of
France, America, and Germany. It resides, in the summer, in the
upper branches of trees; but in the autumn descends to the muddy
banks of rivers, and becomes torpid until the spring.
The Toad. There is a great dread of this little animal, as if \t
were poisonous ; and if met, it is often killed: and yet it is as harm-
less as the frog. The circumstance of toads being found in stones,
imbedded there, would be scarcely credible, if it were not substan-
tiated on indubitable authority. To account for it seems impossible,
though many very interesting reasons have been given.
The Pipa. This frog is found in Surinam. It is much larger
than ours. In the bringing up of its young, it is something like
the opossum. On the back of the female are certain cavities, like
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THE CREATION.
the cells of a bee-hive. When the female lays her eggs, the male
gathers them together, about seventy-five in number, and places them
carefully in these hiding places, which then close over them: in
about three months they are hatched, and come out, in miniature,
just like the parent.
The Lizard Tribe. Although the larger species of this family,
as the Crocodile and Alligator, are predatory, yet by far the greater
part are inoffensive, though their look, and cold feel, makes them
much dreaded. In this genus are found the largest, as well as the
smallest, of the great quadruped family. With the frogs, they are
called oviparous quadrupeds.
The Crocodile. This voracious animal is more dreaded by man
than any other of the quadruped family, and yet man even attacks it,
and as in Java, catches it with hook and line; and also with a net.
This animal abounds both in the old and new world, but especially in
the rivers of Africa; and strange to say, though it grows to the size
of twenty-five feet, yet it brings forth its young in eggs not much
larger than those of a swan.
In shape, the crocodile is very much like the lizard. The armour,
or coat of mail, with which the upper part of the body is covered, is
most perfect, and a musket shot flies off it, quite harmless. * The
? I remember Capt. C. telling me of an awful meeting he had with a croco-
dile in the East Indies. He was going on shore in a boat: just as they
got near the land, they observed one of these monsters; on which one of
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under covering is more pliable. The mouth is larger than that
of any other animal, and is armed with frightful sharp teeth.
This terrific animal lives a good deal in the water, and floats on its
surface like a dead tree, or else secretes himself in the reeds by the
river's side; and when the tiger, or bull, or even the lion itself, comes
to drink, he springs on them, and dragging them under water, drowns
them. He seldom pursues man or beast on shore, as they can gene-
rally escape his tremendous mouth, by running, and changing their
course. The prolific character of this animal is at first sight frightful,
laying, as it does, seventy or eighty eggs: but then it has many ene-
mies. The keen eyes of the vulture and ichneumon discover the
nest, and destroy a whole brood in a few minutes; and then, again,
at the moment the sun has hatched them, they take to the water, and
a variety of fish make them their prey. Thus, by a gracious provi-
sion, this monster family is kept within bounds. When the Javanese
fish for this animal, it is not a chain or a cable that they fix to their
hook, but a long large piece of loosely-twisted cotton. The voracious
creature always swallows the bait; and finding himself a prisoner, seeks
to bite the line, but he cannot, it being entangled in his teeth; and the
the officers incautiously fired at it;--the ball, however, bounded off in an
instant; but the animal, enraged at the attack, made towards the boat; and
just as it reached the shore, he lifted his huge tail out of the water, and
smashed it to pieces; and if my memory serves me, two of the men were
killed, though the rest escaped.
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THE CREATION.
natives, with spears, knowing his vulnerable parts, soon dispatch him.
When taken by nets, he breaks the first or second; but by this time
he is weakened, and is easily made captive. Thus man here also has
dominion; and this monster of the rivers becomes his prey.
The Alligator. This is the crocodile of the New World. The
natives call it " Lagarto;" and some Englishmen put the article to it,
and it became " a lagarto;" and thus the origin of the word Alligator.
They are less than the crocodile of the Old World. Their teeth are
as white as ivory; and their flesh is very nutritious: so much so, that
in some districts, it is the natives' chief subsistence. Sometimes,
armed with a double knife, the Indians will attack the Alligator in
his own place of resort.
The Common Guana. This is a most useful animal in the way of
food. The natives of the Bahama Islands feed entirely on it, and
catch it with wonderful adroitness. --This animal, like the whole of
the family, is very fond of music. This the Indian knows; and when
he sees his prey, he commences whistling. This charms the Guana,
who lets him approach, and tickle him with a switch, with which the
animal is so much delighted, that not until it is too late, he finds that,
amid the sweetest sounds there is death. How forcible is that word
in Prov. ix. 15, 17.
This animal is found in the East and West Indies. In length it is
about four or five feet. The tail is long and round: the back serrated:
the colour green. It has a large pouch under its chin, which is
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capable of great distension. Their eggs, which are about the size of
pigeons', are considered better than those of a hen.
The Salamander. This singular animal, for a long time, was sup-
posed to be proof against fire, and even to have the power to extin-
guish it . The ancients called it " the daughter of fire, with a body
of ice. " Thus, offices for insurance against fire, and fire-engines too,
have taken this little lizard as an emblem. But naturalists have
satisfactorily ascertained, that fire would act upon it as upon other
animal substances; and also, that it is harmless and innoxious. It is
found in Germany, Italy, and France. Its general length is about
half a foot; but it is sometimes much larger. It is easily distinguished
by its short cylindrical tail, and its deep black colour, variegated with
bright orange spots. It brings forth its young alive, the eggs being
hatched within the parent animal.
The Chameleon. This peculiarly singular little creature is a native
of India, Africa, and some of the warmer parts of Spain and Portugal.
Its usual length is ten inches, and its tail the same length.
This animal is perfectly innoxious, and feeds almost entirely upon
insects, which its tongue is wonderfully formed to take, being long
and furnished with a glutinous tip. This it darts out in an instant,
and the prey adheres to it. It lives generally in trees, for which its
feet are wonderfully fitted, having five toes, united three and two; but
the chief singularity of the chameleon is its power to change its
colour at will.
There is a long, but very interesting account in the
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THE CREATION.
book I have before referred to -- Bingley's Animal Biography,
vol. iii. p. 63. The cause of the change of colour seems to depend
on its blood, (which is of a violet blue,) and the coats of the vessels,
which are yellow. *
Thus, when the animal is well fed and healthy, the colour of the
blood prevails; and when weak and sickly, the colour of the skin.
Another peculiarity in the chameleon is, that it can look with one of
its eyes forward, and with the other backward. You remember the
tale of the chameleon and the two travellers who were going to fight
about this little animal, one asserting that it was one colour, and the
other a different one. The moral of the tale is excellent--never to
form an opinion without examining both sides; and then to offer it
with modesty and humility.
The Nimble Lizard. This animal is one of the British species. It
is about six inches long, and the tail near twice that length. This is
a most gentle and inoffensive little creature. It is fond of the sun,
and delights in it in spring-time. It is torpid during the winter.
The Watery Lizard. This little creature, like the one just described,
is also perfectly harmless. It frequents the water continually; and
its tail, flattened, acts as an oar and rudder at the same time. It
changes its skin several times in the year.
? There is much variety of opinion on this subject.
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SERPENTIA.
The Serpents. --The rapidity of the motion of this singular order
of beings is amazing; for their deficiency of legs is amply compen-
sated by the muscular power they possess. There are upwards of
240 species, and only forty that have been discovered as poisonous.
All the species change their skins periodically; and in cold and tem-
perate climates they are torpid during the winter. The flesh of
several of these snakes is innoxious, and so is eaten by the natives of
many countries. They bring forth their young by eggs: and some
of them, like the salamander, hatch their young before birth.
The Rattle-Snake Tribe. There are not many species of this
family; but all are furnished with poisonous fangs. The bite, however,
is not in general fatal, unless the animal is exasperated. They give
notice, except in hot weather, of their approach, by the rattle on their
tails, which rattle is composed of hollow membraneous articulations,
that annually increase till they reach to forty.
The Banded Rattle-Snake. This serpent is found in North and
South America; and is usually about five or six feet in length. Its
colour is yellowish brown, with transverse black lines. Both the
jaws are furnished with small sharp teeth, and the upper one has four
large incurvated and pointed fangs; at the base of each is a round
orifice, opening into a hollow, that appears again near the end of the
teeth, in the form of a channel. These teeth may be raised or com-
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THE CREATION.
pressed at pleasure. This dreaded animal, however, happily for man,
is slow in pursuit; and then, again, its rattle and foetid smell give
notice of its near approach; and, moreover, if not attacked by man, it
will seldom attack him.
Some naturalists of America have denied the power of the rattle-
snake to fascinate with its eye; but the proofs of it are incontro-
vertible. Among other facts, you remember our kind friend Mr. W. ,
who related the following account to us of an incident which occurred
to himself not many years since. He was in America; and had gone
out with the view of getting one of these animals as a curiosity. He
soon came upon one that was fast asleep. He stood over its head, and
was just in the act of plunging his sword-stick into it, when in a
moment it opened its fiery eyes on him. No language, he said, could
fully describe their power. He was transfixed to the spot: his body
was covered with a profuse perspiration; and he felt he would have
given worlds to have been on the falls of Niagara--to have fallen back
from those eyes--when, in a moment, by God's mercy, the animal
hearing a rustling near it, glided through the grass, and he saw it no
more. At that time our friend was ignorant of the Lord; but since
then he has learnt who it was that protected him in the hour of
danger.
Rattle-snakes are viviparous. When their young apprehend danger,
they run, like the little chickens, to their best protector; and the
method that nature has provided for their safety is most singular; for
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the mother opens her mouth and swallows them alive, and returns
them again when the danger is over. Of this fact M. de Beauvois
says he was an eye-witness.
The Indians eat the rattle-snake as we do eels.
The Boa Tribe. This race is destitute of venomous fangs: they
never attack but by necessity, and then openly; but the result is
almost always fatal. Three species are found in Asia; the rest on the
new continent.
The Great Boa. This enormous snake is sometimes from forty to
fifty feet long; and its thickness then is that of a moderate sized man.
If shorter, the circumference is less. The colour of the body is a
yellowish grey, variegated with reddish brown, distributed along the
back. It is a native of Africa, India, and the Indian Islands. It
generally lives in most retired places.
The strength of this creature is almost beyond belief. When it
sees its prey, it springs upon it; and by its wonderful power, it
squeezes to a mummy even the body of the buffalo, breaking every
bone in its skin. The following fact is related by a gentleman who
lived some time in America; and illustrates the dread the Indians
have of the Boa. One day he sent a soldier with an Indian to get
game. The Indian, being tired, sat down on what he thought the
trunk of a tree. It was a boa; and the monster beginning to move,
the poor fellow perceived his perilous situation, and dropped down
through fear. The soldier, with great presence of mind, levelled his
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THE CREATION.
piece, and in a few moments the snake waa dead: but alas! on going
to the poor Indian, he found that, overpowered with terror, he had
fallen a victim to his fright. This animal was thirty-six feet long.
The skin was stuffed, and sent to the cabinet of the Prince of
Orange. (Bingley, vol. iii. p. 87. )
But although the boa is so terrific an enemy, yet he never attacks
but when impelled by hunger; and then he so gorges himself, as to
be incapable of moving, and a boy might kill him, if he had courage
to make the attempt
.
The bite of this serpent is not venomous. The natives eat it; and
use its oil for various purposes. One serpent has been known to yield
five gallons.
The Snake Tribe. One-fifth of this tribe, of which there are two
hundred species, is said to be poisonous. These are in general dis-
tinguished from the innoxious ones by their large, flat, and somewhat
heart-shaped heads.
The Common Viper. This poisonous little snake seldom exceeds two
feet in length, and is found all over the old continent. It is not un-
common even in some parts of our own island. It is chiefly dis-
tinguished from the common snake by its darker belly, and by the
head being much thicker than the body. If this snake is trodden
upon, even by accident, it will be sure to bite; and the bite is
poisonous, Its teeth, &c. , by which the poison is conveyed, are
similar to those of the rattle-snake. The most esteemed remedy for
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the viper's bite is salad-oil, rubbed continually over the wounded
part. The viper is the only poisonous snake known in this country.
About two thousand years ago, our fathers were wont to dip their
arrows and spears in the poison of the viper, as the barbarous natives
of New Zealand do at this day.
The Common Snake. These animals are perfectly harmless to man;
and are torpid during winter. They come forth from their hiding-
places when the sun begins to be fervent, and then cast their skins.
Like all this family, they are said to be affected by music.
The common snake feeds on frogs and insects of various kinds,
and is particularly fond of milk. It is said that it will entwine
itself round the cow's legs, and milk them until they bleed.
The Hooded Snake. This is one of the most poisonous of all the
reptile family. It is between three and four feet long, and one inch
thick. The head is small; its hood, which is a loose skin that it can
distend to a great size, reaches about four inches down the body:
when it is going to spring, it puts up this hood and shows its fangs,
and then darts on its prey with great force.
The hooded snake, when despoiled of its fangs, is exhibited in India,
and will move its body as if with pleasure at the sound of the
flageolet.
The Black Snake. This serpent is a native of North America.
It grows to a great length, but has no poisonous qualities. This
animal will glide over the face of the earth as fast as a horse can
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THE CREATION.
gallop; and will also climb trees with great agility in quest of
the tree frog. Its power of fascination is like that of the rattle-
snake. In America it is esteemed much for its cleverness in catching
rats; and also in attacking and destroying the rattle-snake, which it
does by twisting himself round its body. The Americans cherish
the black snake as a friend. It has been seen taking milk out of the
same dish with children.
This closes the account of the Amphibia; and, I think, my dear
children, we have not found them, except the crocodile, rattle-snake,
boa, and hooded-snake, so terrible a family as we thought; but in
many cases have seen them supply man with food. And I may add
what an old sailor told me even yesterday,--that the lizard, if it
sees a man sleeping, and knows of any snake, or beast of prey at
hand, never leaves the man until he has awoke him, by creeping over
his feet or hands. And then the sailor added,--the man knows the
sign, and they both make off together. On this account, he said,
" it is too bad to kill a lizard. " If this be correct, how merciful--
how gracious this provision!
INSECTA*
As on the fifth day, after having contemplated the gigantic whale
--the largest of living things--we were called through all the stages
* See Appendix.
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of the numerous inhabitants of the deep to the countless Animalculae,
some of which we were obliged even to get a microscope to look at;
so now, on the sixth day, having gazed upon the lion and elephant,
and all the wild beasts of the forest, and cattle of the field, we have
come down to the innumerable tribe of insects, some of exquisite
beauty, as the butterfly of South America; some of exceeding value,
as the bee, the silk-worm, and the Spanish fly; some the creatures
of a day, as the ephemera; but all arranged after the most beautiful
order; their wings, eyes, and general structure, all calculated to fill
us with the utmost admiration. Indeed, in all creation, nothing is
more full of interest than the insect tribe.
" Each moss,
Each shell, each crawling insect holds a rank
Important in the plan of Him who fram'd
This scale of beings; holds a rank, which, lost,
Would break the chain, and leave a gap,
That Nature's self would rue! "
Linnams has beautifully arranged the whole insect tribe into seven
distinct families, giving them their distinctive names from the place
and character of their wings. These names are all formed from the
Greek word for wing (pteron), with the descriptive word added to
it. The following very clear and concise extract will, I am sure,
interest you, as it has me.
The seven orders are as follow:--
1. Coleopterous Insects, (derived from the Greek words holm, a
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