A History of the Earth and Animated Nature, Volume 21810 - Natural history |
Common terms and phrases
Africa alliga America animal appear Asia attack beautiful belly bitumen Black Sea body bottom breed brown camel carry Caspian Sea climates coasts colour common concave angles continued covered creature crocodile devour distance domestic ears earth earthquake elephant Europe eyes feet fish flesh fond fore leg four frequently globe goat greatest GREENLAND DOG ground hair head hind legs Hippopotamus horns horse hunting hyæna inches inhabitants islands kind lake land Laplanders leagues length less Lion lips live manner Manticora Montagnac motion mountains mouth nature neck Newfoundland dog nose observed ocean plains Plate prey produce quadrupeds quantity racoon rats resembling rhinoceros rivers rocks sand seize seldom Senegal sheep shells short side skin sometimes species stag strata subterraneous surface tail tains teeth thick trees variety volcanoes wild wild Cat winds young
Popular passages
Page 11 - ... entirely ceased ; where the precipices, composed entirely of rocks, rise perpendicularly above him ; while he views beneath him all the combat of the elements ; clouds at his feet ; and thunders darting upwards from their bosoms below.* A thousand meteors, which are never seen on the plain, present themselves. Circular rainbows...
Page 14 - ... increases. The sun, by far the greatest body in our system, is, of consequence, possessed of much the greatest share of this attracting power ; and all the planets, of which our earth is one, are, of course, entirely subject to its superior influence. Were this power, therefore, left uncontrolled by any other, the sun must quickly have attracted all the bodies of our celestial system to itself; but it is equally counteracted by another power of equal efficacy ; namely, a progressive force which...
Page 121 - ... pursuit. In this manner the charge is sustained, and the chase continues till the boar is quite tired, and refuses to go any farther. The dogs then attempt to close in upon him from behind ; those which are young, fierce, and unaccustomed to the chase, are generally the foremost, and often lose their lives by their ardour ; those which are older and better trained are content to wait until the hunters come up, who strike at him with their spears, and after several blows...
Page 77 - Mule ; in which case they both unavoidably perish. But their address in this rapid descent is truly wonderful ; for in their swiftest motion, when they seem to have lost all government of themselves, they follow...
Page 79 - Ass goes eleven months with young, and seldom produces more than one at a time. The services of this useful creature are too often repaid by hard fare and cruel usage ; and being generally the property of the poor, it partakes of their wants and their distresses : whereas, by due cultivation and care in its education, the Ass might be usefully and profitably employed in a variety of domestic purposes, and in many cases supply the place of the Horse, to which only it is second, though generally degraded...
Page 11 - Nothing can be finer, or more exact, than Mr. Pope's description of a traveller straining up the Alps. Every mountain he comes to he thinks will be the last; he finds, however, an unexpected hill rise before him ; and that being scaled, he finds the highest summit almost at as great a distance as before. Upon quitting the plain, he might have left a green and fertile soil, and a climate warm and pleasing.
Page 115 - The animal recognises the clothes, seizes them in his teeth, shakes them with violence, and tramples on them in a rage. When his anger is appeased, he leaves them, and then the owner of the garments may make his appearance, and, without fear, may load and guide him as he pleases.
Page 14 - Modern philosophy has taught us to believe, that when the great Author of nature began the work of creation, he chose to operate by second causes ; and that, suspending the constant exertion of his power, he endued matter with a quality by which the universal economy of nature might be continued, without his immediate assistance. This quality is called attraction...
Page 195 - ... defend himself with obstinacy, and fight in silence to the last gasp. He bites dangerously, and with such determined fury, that, in order to make him relinquish his hold, ponderous wooden and even iron bars are necessary to be forced between his jaws. The flesh of the Fox is not so bad as the flesh of the wolf. Dogs, and even men, eat it in autumn, especially if the animal has fed on grapes; and, in winter, good furs are made of his skin. He sleeps so sound, that, however closely approached,...
Page 48 - With these they skate upon the icy snow with such velocity, that they very easily overtake the swiftest animals. They make use also of a pole, pointed with iron at one end, and rounded at the other. This pole serves to push them along, to direct their course, to...