A Manual of the Elements of Natural History

Ih~; e , \% * Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/b21305638 2 c ft, \ e, ING’S KCollege LONDON Tortui If Library C LlffA i NiX fit>"! J'otfA'iW fall t M(¥ ( ft M/W/Wl meOf K>tet\M\/n m(4MV 201111455 X KING’S COLLEGE LONDON : H . - 1 . e A MANUAL OF THE ELEMENTS OF NATURAL HISTORY. BY I. F. BLUMENBACH, PROFESSOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GOTTINGEN, AULIC COUNSELLOR, FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AT PARIS, &C. &C. TRANSLATED FROM THE TENTH GERMAN EDITION, By R. T. GORE, MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, IN LONDON, &C. “ It is, indeed, remarkable for its clear arrangement, and for the immense quantity of interesting and valuable information it contains, condensed into a small compass. It is, altogether, the best Elementary book on Natural History, in any language.” LAWRENCE’S LECTURES. LONDON PRINTED FOR W. SIMPKIN & R. MARSHALL, STATIONERS’-HALL COURT. 1825. ^library //a _ . -f W$ol 'ft Mud PRINTED BY C. SMITH, ANGEL COURT, STRAND. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE TRANSLATOR. The intrinsic merits of this Manual, together with the reputation of Professor Blumenbach, and the fa- will, vourable reception it has received in other countries, probably, be considered as a sufficient apology for pre- senting it to the English public. Without attempting to anticipate or evade the criticism to which he may have exposed himself, the Translator is far from supposing that he has been so fortunate as to succeed in avoiding the defects generally attendant on an undertaking like the con- present : with regard, however, to the language and struction, points for which he is more particularly answer- first, the able, he may perhaps be allowed to advert to ; peculiarities of the German language; and, second, the nature of the work, which affords no opportunity for ornament, and in which it is necessary that every thing should be subservient to the important particulars of clearness and utility. To prevent the disappointment which might he created by erroneous impressions, it should not be forgotten that this book is solely what it professes to be, a Manual, and that it is as little calculated as intended to answer the objects of a systematic work on Natural History. It is in a few, and, for the most part, unimportant instances, that the Translator has felt himself justified in making any alterations; in this respect he has almost wholly confined himself to the correction of errors arising from the imperfect acquaintance of the Author with the English language. In the Natural History of the Mineral Kingdom, Professor Blumenbacii has, for the most ADVERTISEMENT. part, mentioned the German localities only, of the various Minerals described. To those who might think that the deficiency should have been supplied, as far as regards our own country, it may be sufficient to mention, that such an undertaking, besides adding materially to the length of the work, would have rendered some changes in the arrangement necessary, and did not appear altogether lays no claim essential in a work which, as already stated, to the rank of a systematic one. Bath, August 1st. 1825. EXTRACT FROM THE AUTHOR’S PREFACE. author- It must not be imputed to the vanity of gratification in publishing a ship, if I confess that I feel Tenth edition (not reckoning three re-impressions) of this Manual, which has also been translated into various Foreign languages, and in, a word, has received the appro- bation of the public. of Natural Its object is to present an intelligible view History at large, as well as of its Philosophy; and from amongst the infinite number of individual objects, to include so many of the most interesting and most generally useful, as are suitable to the limits of a work intended more particularly, as a text-book to Academical praelec- tions. I have also endeavoured to render it serviceable for the purposes of reference, particularly in reading and with this intention have descriptions of Travels, &c. ; formed an Index, containing some thousand Names of remarkable Natural productions. With regard to the Names invented by modern systematic writers, for the distinction of Genera and their Species, I may remark, that however just and reasonable it universally is to retain appellations which have been pretty received, cases occur in which it becomes still more reasonable to exchange the name thus selected, for a more incorrect suitable one, if it should happen to convey an idea. I have, however, but rarely, and then only when it appeared unavoidable, availed myself of this liberty, so often misapplied at the present day, to the incumbrance of the study of Natural History. Thus, for instance, I have restored to the Annadilloes their original name, Tatu generally known, and long since adopted , as being whilst, a strange error, these by classical Zoologists ; by author’s preface. nearly hairless creatures had been designated by the term Dasyphus (hairy-footed) a name which the ancient ; Greeks had, in strict conformity with Nature, assigned to the Hare Genus. For similar reasons, I call the splendid Nephrite, from New Zealand, Punammu-stone, its native name, under which it was first brought to us from our Antipodes, in preference to the more modern one, Axe- in the great Collections of South-Sea stone ; because, Curiosities here and in London, I find hooks and other implements, but not axes, manufactured from this stone by the New Zealanders. So, also, I have called that really sucks Species of the Bat Genus, fampyre , which whilst Linn^us, on the the blood of sleeping animals ; contrary applied this name to the Roussette, which never sucks blood, and lives exclusively on fruits. Many other artificial names of the kind, I have, when not too unsuit- able, allowed to remain unaltered, in order to avoid an unnecessary increase of nomenclature and synonymy, which might prove burdensome to the learner. names It is on sufficient grounds that many well known varying will be found written in this work in a manner Tophus, from the common. Thus, I employ Tofus and not the word not being derived from the Greek : so, also, Manacanitc and not Menacanite. prefixed the In the Animal Kingdom I have always creatures Latin name, because many hundred foreign known appel- occur, which have not any common or well - in the IN 1 lation in our language. The case is different names are those most neral Kingdom : there the German instances, been universally known, and have, even in many incorporated into other languages. Natural History, The representations of objects of Gegenstande) which 1 (Abbildungen Natur-Historischer the latest Editions publish in Fasciculi, bear reference to for the purpose ot of this Manual, and are well calculated illustrating it. I. F. Blum enbach. Gottingen, August, 1820. TABLE OF CONTENTS. SECTION I. Of Natural Bodies in general, and of their Division into Three Kingdoms 1 SECTION II. Of Organized Bodies in general 8 SECTION III. Of Animals in general 20 SECTION IV. Of Mammalia 27 SECTION V. Of Birds 79 SECTION VI. Of Amphibia 131 SECTION VII. Of Fishes 145 SECTION VIII. Of Insects 172 SECTION IX. Of Worms 236 SECTION X. Of Plants 278 SECTION XI. Of Minerals in general 296 SECTION XII. Of Stones and Earthy Fossils • 305 EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. PLATE I. Page of their Natural size Fig. 1 6 The Intestinal Worms of the Human body 240 Fig. 1.—Ascaris vermicularis lumbricoides 241 2. The front part of the Ascaris lb ‘ 3. —Trichocephalus dispar Taenia 4., The head end of the human b - joints of the Taenia solium..-. 5_ Four of the posterior | " ib. joints of the Taenia vulgaris 6. Thirteen of the posterior Earth-worm 2 7.—The front part of the magnified g The dart of the common Snail much Plume- Polypes, Tubularia sultana, conside- 9 ‘—A stem with three ^ rably magnified one, of the na- 10._An Arm-Polype, Hydra viridis, with a young ••• ••••• & J & •••••••••••••••* ********* • t u nil si zc» «•••••••••••••*•• Brachionus anastatica, 11—A stem with twelve Blossom-Polypes, ^ considerably magnified considerably magm- 12 The Wheel animal, Furcularia rotatoria, ib. tied human semen, Chaos spermaticum, sti 13 —An Animalcule from ^ more magnified •* PLATE II. Twenty remarkable crystalline forms of Minerals. To thet Description f'nlthsitnl by ounphnA’M/irtholl . Xtahonme Hull (hurt To la crDettnptwn f’lihlulwl btj Sintphn / Mantlntll Xtaturnrrj //;// (hurt.. TO EDWARD STANLEY, ESQ., ASSISTANT SURGEON, AND DEMONSTRATOR OF ANATOMY AT ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL, THIS VOLUME, IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, AS A TOKEN OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT FOR NUMEROUS INSTANCES OF KINDNESS AND FRIENDSHIP, BY THE TRANSLATOR. ' * . SECTION I. OF NATURAL BODIES IN GENERAL, AND OF THEIR DIVISION INTO THREE KINGDOMS. § 1. All bodies which we meet with upon the surface, or in the interior of our planet, present themselves either with the form and structure which they receive from the hands of the Creator, and from the undisturbed action of the powers of Nature or else, with changes and alterations resulting from the designed actions of men and beasts, or from the effects of mere accident. On this difference is founded the familiar division of them into natural and artificial. The first form the object of Natural History, and comprise all those bodies in which man has not effected any essential alteration. On the contrary, artificial bodies are those in which changes have been designedly produced by the hand of man * Remark 1st. It is unnecessary to say, that the ideas attached to the terms essential and designed, are susceptible of such ' aried views and modifications, as to be merely relative.

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