molested. In the uninhabited ifland of Vifia Grandé, one of the Philippines, Kempfer fays, that birds may be taken with the hand. Hawks, in fome of the South-fea iflands, are equally tame. At Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands, geefe, far from being fhy, may be knocked down with a stick. The birds that inhabit certain: rocks hanging over the fea in the island of Annabon, take food. readily out of a man's hand, In Arabia Felix, foxes and apes fhow no fear of man; the inhabitants of hot countries having no notion of hunting. In the uninhabited island Bering, adjacent, to Kamskatka, the foxes are fo little fhy that they scarce go out of a man's way. Doth not this obfervation suggest a final caufe? A patridge, a plover, a pheasant, would be loft to man for food, were they naturally as much afraid of him as of a hawk or a kite. The divifion of animals into different kinds, ferves another purpofe, not lefs important than thofe mentioned; which is, to fit them for different climates. We learn from experience, that no animal nor vegetable is fitted for every climate; and from experience we alfo learn, that there is no animal nor vegetable but what is fitted. for fome climate, where it grows to perfection. Even in the torrid zone, plants of a cold country are found upon mountains: where plants of a hot country will not grow; and the height of a mountain may be determined with tolerable precifion from the plants it produces. Wheat is not an indigenous plant in Britain; no farmer is ignorant that foreign feed is requifite to preferve the plant in vigour. To prevent flax from degenerating in Scotland: and Ireland, great quantities of foreign feed are annually imported. A camel is peculiarly fitted for the burning fands of Arabia; and Lapland would be uninhabitable but for rain-deer, an animal fo entirely fitted for piercing cold, that it cannot fubfift even in a temperate climate. Arabian and Barbary horfes degenerate in Britain; and to preserve the breed in fome degree of perfection, frequent fupplies from their original climate are requifite. Spanish

horfes

horfes degenerate in Mexico, but improve in Chili; having more vigour and fwiftnefs there than even the Andalufian race whose offspring they are. Our dunghill-fowl, imported originally from a warm country in Afia, are not hardened, even after many centuries, to bear the cold of this country like birds originally native: the hen lays few or no eggs in winter, unlefs in a houfe warmed with fire. The deferts of Zaara and Biledulgerid in Africa, may be properly termed the native country of lions: there they grow to nine feet long and five feet high. Lions in the fouth of Africa' toward the Cape of Good Hope, grew but to five feet and a half long and to three and a half high. A breed of lions tranfplanted from the latter to the former, would rife to the full fize; and fink to the fmaller fize, if tranfplanted from the former to the latter.

To preserve the different fpecies of animals entire, as far as neceffary, Providence is careful to prevent a mixed breed. Few animals of different fpecies copulate together. Some may be brought to copulate, but without effect; and fome produce a mongrel, a mule for example, which feldom procreates, if at all. In some few instances, where a mixture of species is harmless, procreation goes on without limitation. All the different fpecies of the dog kind copulate together, and the mongrels produced generate others without end. But dogs are by their nature companions to men; and Providence probably has permitted a mixture, in order that every man may have a dog to his liking.

M. Buffon in his natural history borrows from Ray (a) a very artificial rule for afcertaining the different fpecies of animals: Any two animals that can procreate together, and whofe iffue can alfo procreate, are of the fame fpecies (b)." A horfe and an

66

(a) Wisdom of God in the works of creation.

(b) Octavo edit. vol. 8. p. 104. and in many other parts.

afs

afs can procreate together; but they are not, fays he, of the fame fpecies, because their iffue, a mule, cannot procreate. He applies that rule to the human race; holding all men to be of one race or fpecies, because a man and a woman, however different in fize, in shape, in complexion, can procreate together without end. And by the fame rule he holds all dogs to be of one species. With refpect to other animals, the rule fhould pass without oppofition from me; but as it also respects man, the fubject of the prefent inquiry, I propofe to examine it with attention. Providence, it is true, hath prevented confufion; for in moft inftances it hath with-held from animals of different fpecies a power of procreating together: but as our author has not attempted to prove that such restraint is univerfal without a fingle exception, his rule is evidently a petitio principii. Why may not two animals different in fpecies produce a mixed breed? Buffon must say, that by a law of nature animals of different fpecies never produce a mixed breed. But has he proved this to be a law of nature? On the contrary, he more than once mentions feveral exceptions. He admits the sheep and the goat to be of different fpecies; and yet we have his authority for affirming, that a hegoat and a ewe produce a mixed breed which generate for ever (a). The camel and the dromedary, tho' nearly related, are however no less distinct than the horfe and the afs. The dromedary is lefs than the camel, more flender, and remarkably more fwift of foot it has but one bunch on its back, the camel has two: the race is more numerous than that of the camel, and more widely fpred. One would not defire diftinguifhing marks more fatisfying; and yet these two fpecies propagate together no lefs freely than the different races of men and of dogs. Buffon indeed, with respect to the camel and dromedary, endeavours to fave his credit,

(a) Vol. 10. p. 138,

by

by a distinction without a difference.

66

one

They are," fays he, “ fpecies; but their races are different, and have been fo past all

memory (a)." Does this fay more than that the camel and the dromedary are different fpecies of the fame genus? which also holds true of the different fpecies of men and of dogs. If our author will permit me to carry back to the creation the camel and the dromedary as two diftinct races, I defire no other conceffion. He admits no fewer than ten kinds of goats, visibly distinguish- · able, which also propagate together; but fays that these are varieties only, tho' permanent and unchangeable. No difficulty is unfurmountable if words be allowed to pafs without meaning. Nor does he even preserve any consistency in his opinions: Tho' in distinguishing a horse from an afs, he affirms the mule they generate to be barren, yet afterward, entirely forgetting his rule, he admits the direct contrary (b). At that rate a horse and an ass are of the same species. Did it never once enter into the mind of this author, that the human race would be ftrangely imperfect, if they were unable to distinguish a man from a monkey, or a hare from a hedge-hog, till it were known whether they can procreate together?

But it seems unneceffary after all to urge any argument against the foregoing rule, which M. Buffon himself inadvertently abandons as to all animals, men and dogs excepted. We are indebted to him for a remark, That not a fingle animal of the torrid zone is common to the old world and to the new. But how does he verify his remark? Does he ever think of trying whether fuch animals can procreate together? "They are," fays he, "of different kinds, having no fuch refemblance as to make us pronounce them to be of the fame kind. Linnæus and Briffon,"

(a) Vol. 10. p. 1.

(b) Vol. 12. p. 223.

he

he adds, "have very improperly given the name of the camel

to the lama and the pacos of Peru. So apparent is the difference, that other writers clafs thefe animals with fheep. Wool "however is the only circumstance in which a pacos resembles a fheep nor doth the lama refemble a camel except in length of "neck." He diftinguisheth in the fame manner, the true Afiatic tiger from feveral American animals that bear the fame name. He mentions its fize, its force, its ferocity, the colour of its hair, the strips black and white that like rings furround alternately its trunk, and are continued to the end of its tail; "characters," fays he, "that clearly diftinguifh the true tiger from all animals << of prey in the new world; the largeft of which fcarce equals

one of our maftives." And he reafons in the fame manner upon the other animals of the torrid zone (a). Here then we have M. Buffon's authority against himself, that there are different races of men; for he cannot deny that certain tribes differ apparently from each other, not lefs than the lama and pacos from the camel or from the fheep, nor lefs than the true tiger from the American animals of that name. Which of his rules are we to follow? Muft we apply different rules to different animals? and to what animals are we to apply the different rules? For proving that dogs were created of different kinds, what better evidence can be expected than that the kinds continue diftinct to this day? Our author pretends to derive the maftiff, the bull-dog, the hound, the greyhound, the terrier, the water-dog, &c. all of them from the prickt-ear fhepherd's cur. Now, admitting the progeny of the original male and female cur to have fuffered every poffible alteration from climate, food, domeftication; the refult would be endless varieties, fo as that no one individual fhould resemble another. Whence then are derived the different fpecies

(a) See vol. 8. fec. Of animals common to the two continents.

of