Provision of Nature for the nourishment of animals. which the world is replenished should every where find subsistence. It is not, indeed, so astonishing that the countries which lie within the temperate zones should supply so many different species of animals with nourishment: but that in places which we should suppose destitute of all provision, such an incredible number of creatures of so many different kinds should find support, can be ascribed only to the care of a wise and bountiful Providence. Consider, in the first place, my dear reader, that God has proportioned the supply of provisions to the numbers and the wants of the animals which are to consume them. There is every where a superabundance of food, but it is not in such profusion as to spoil and become putrid, and thus prove inconvenient and injurious to the world. The most remarkable circumstance attending this is, that ther informs us that," although the seeds of wheat are rendered by the exhausting power of the fungi so lean and shrivelled, that scarcely any flour fit for the manufacture of bread can be obtained by grinding them, these very seeds will, except in the very worst cases, answer the purposes of seed-corn as well as the fairest and plumpest sample that can be obtained." Notwithstanding the arguments used by M. Sturm to prove the descent of the matter called honey-dew from the atmosphere, it appears to be nothing more than a saccharine fluid discharged by the aphides, or plant-lice, upon the leaves of vegetables. The ant and the bee are very as siduous in their attendance for the purpose of collecting this honey. The former is a constant visitor, but the bee only when flowers are scarce. The ants will suck in the delicious nectar while the aphides are in the act of dis charging it, but the bees only collect it from the leaves on which this honey-dew has fallen. T. Provision of Nature for the nourishment of animals. among so many species of alimentary substances, the most useful and the most necessary are in general the most common, and propagated with the greatest ease. As the number of animals which subsist on grass and herbage is so prodigious, we every where find the earth covered with grass, and other useful and wholesome herbs and plants, which grow spontaneously, and are not liable to injury from the vicissitudes of the weather. Is it not also worthy of remark, that corn, the principal food of man, may be cultivated with so little trouble, and yields such an astonishing increase? Is it not a wise arrangement of our bountiful Creator that he has given the animals such a variety of - tastes? Some feed upon grass and herbs, others upon corn and grain, and others upon flesh. These devour insects, and those live upon worms; some are content with little, and others can scarcely be satisfied. If all the species of animals were to subsist on one kind of food, there would not be suffi cient for them, and the earth would very soon be come a desart. The difference of appetite and taste in animals is a certain proof that it is not by accident they prefer any particular kind of food, but that their choice is determined by a particular instinct implanted in their nature. Thus all the productions of the earth and sea are properly distributed; and not only every creature that breathes is provided with an abundance of wholesome nourishment, but those things which would otherwise become putrid and prejudicial to the world, are turned to an advantageous use. The most salutary plants would perish; fishes, birds, and other ani mals would putrefy, and exhale pestilential efflu. Provision of Nature for the nourishment of animals. via, had not the all-wise Author of Nature decreed' that those substances should furnish an agreeable aliment to a variety of creatures. Food spontaneously presents itself to most animals; but nevertheless they have occasion for great discernment, caution, and prudence; for different kinds of aliments have been provided for different creatures. What is food for one, is pernicious, and even fatal to others. Botanists have found by actual experiments, that out of a certain number of plants, the ox eats two hundred and seventy-six, and rejects two hundred and eighteen; the goat feeds upon four hundred and forty-nine, and leaves one hundred and twenty-six; the sheep eats three hundred and eighty-seven, and refuses one hundred and forty-one; the horse consumes two hun dred and sixty-two, but will not touch two hundred and twelve; and that the hog devours seventy-two, and leaves one hundred and seventy-one.* animals are obliged to go a considerable distance in quest of food, and to take great trouble to obtain it, by burrowing in the ground, picking it up in a thousand places in which it is scattered, or even seeking it in another element. Many are obliged to chuse the dead of night to satisfy their hunger with safety. Others are first necessitated to prepare their food, to separate the grain from the husks, to crack hard stones of fruits, to swallow Some The experiments here alluded to were made in Sweden by the celebrated Linnæus. Their results, as given by the author, differ considerably from the account of them introduced by M. de Saint Pierre, in his Studies of Nature; but I have not at hand the means of ascertaining on whose side the error lies. T VOL. III, No. 16. Of the varieties of the human stature. small pebbles to assist digestion, to throw away the heads of insects, to break the bones of the animals they have caught, to turn fishes round in such a manner as to swallow them with the head foremost. Some would perish unless they were to carry into their retreats a supply for a future time of need ; others cannot catch their prey without great craft and address, without pits, nets, and snares; while others pursue it on the earth, through the air, or in the waters. The more various is the food of animals, so much the more we must admire the wisdom and goodness of God in the preservation of his creatures. Let us often meditate, my brethren, on the supreme beneficence and wisdom of our Creator. How many occasions shall we then find to praise the ineffable tenderness of our heavenly Father! JULY 31. OF THE VARIETIES OF THE HUMAN STATURE. THE stature of man in different regions of the globe varies considerably: the ordinary height of the human body is between five and six feet. Some of the nations contiguous to the Frozen Ocean, and the inhabitants of the mountainous tracts of northern regions are less than five feet in height. The shortest race of men that has yet been discovered resides on the highest mountains in the interior of Madagascar. They are said to be scarcely four feet high. Many of these diminutive tribes are descended from nations of the usual stature; and their decrease in size must be principally ascribed to the nature of the countries which they inhabit. As the Of the varieties of the human stature. cold which prevails there during the greatest part of the year stints the growth of animals and vegetables, why may it not affect man in a similar manner? There exist, on the other hand, whole nations that are of gigantic stature. The most celebrated of these are the Patagonians, who dwell near the Streights of Magellan. They are said to be from seven to ten feet high.* That it is not impossible there may exist a people considerably exceeding the ordinary stature of Europeans, is proved, not only by the authentic records of antiquity, but by the numerous instances that occur of persons who attain the height of six feet and a half, and are yet perfectly well made, healthy, and capable of every exertion that demands strength and agility. In these varieties of human stature also is thy Wisdom manifested, O adorable Creator! All that thou hast produced in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms is wisely proportioned. Every thing bears thy impress, the dwarf and the giant, the blade of grass and the oak, the mite and the elephant. HYMN OF PRAISE. GLORY be to God most high! Ye heavens, praise the Lord! Who would not take delight in * Such is the account given by Captain Wallis and other English navigators who about forty years ago visited Patagonia. More recent writers differ considerably from their statements relative to the stature of the Patagonians. It was measured with great exactness by some Spanish officers in 1785 and 1786, who found it to be at the most seven feet one inch and a quarter, and the ordinary height from six and a half to seven feet. T. |