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FACTS FROM THE WORLD OF NATURE, ANIMATE AND INANIMATE.
BY MRS. LOUDON,
AUTHOR OF "THE LADIES' COMPANION TO THE FLOWER GARDEN," "GLIMPSES OF NATURE," &c. &c.
"Who is it speaks these wonders, and they be? Who is it, dread Omnipotent, but thee? Thou badest the unpillared skies their arch expand; Thy breath is underneath them, and they stand; Thou badest the sea in tides to rise and fall, And earth to swell triumphant over all. Thy mercy, co-eternal with thy skill, Saw all was good, and bids it flourish still!" CLARE.
WITH AN ENGRAVING ON STEEL, AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD.
LONDON: GRANT AND GRIFFITH, SUCCESSORS TO JOHN HARRIS, CORNER OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD. M.DCCC.XLVIII.
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DEDICATION TO CHARLES WATERTON, ESQ., OF WALTON HALL.
My dear Sir,
The kindness with which you, in the time of my utmost need, overcame the reluctance you had to appearing again in print, and presented me with a second series of your charming Essays, sank so deeply into my mind, that I have ever since longed for an opportunity publicly to express my gratitude. That opportunity now presents itself, as you have just added to my other obligations the permission to dedicate to you this little work, which, unworthy as it is of the honour of bearing your name, I trust you will accept as the sole compliment I have it in my power to offer you.
I am, my dear Sir, Yours most sincerely and gratefully, J. W. Loudon.
PREFACE.
In the present volume, an attempt has been made to present to the youthful reader, in as attractive a manner as possible, the Wonders of Creation as discoverable in the Physical World, and in the forms and habits of Birds, Beasts, and Fishes. It was originally intended to add Reptiles, Molluscous and Crustaceous Animals, Insects, and Plants; but as these subjects are too extensive to be compressed into narrow limits, it has been thought better to confine the work to a few subjects, treated upon at length, than to run the risk of making the whole book dry and uninteresting by too much compression.
In writing this Book, it has been my most earnest wish to cultivate and strengthen that love of nature which seems inherent in every youthful mind before it is dulled, and sometimes effaced, by intercourse with the world. The study of nature is not only interesting, but highly important to be presented to young people, as it has a tendency to enlarge and elevate the mind, as well as to develope the thinking and reasoning faculties. No one can ever have visited a mountainous country, or even have gazed on the ocean, without feeling impressed with lofty and sublime ideas, before which all the petty jealousies and vanities of life appear poor and contemptible; and if such is the effect of nature upon a mature mind, how much more vivid must be its effects on the yielding and impressible mind of childhood! It is necessary, however, for a child to know something of natural objects, before he can feel an interest in them; and if this book contributes to awaken that interest, the object of its author will have been attained.
J. W. L. Bayswater, October 16, 1847.
CONTENTS.
BOOK I.—WONDERS OF THE EARTH.
CHAPTER I. — Mountains.
Asiatic Mountains. — The Himalayas. — Adam's Peak. — Mount Caucasus. — Mount Ararat. — Mount Lebanon. — The Mountains of Judea. African Mountains. — Table Mountain at the Cape of Good Hope. — Peter Botte's Mountain — South American Mountains. — The Andes. — The Organ Mountains of Brazil. Mountains of North America. — The Rocky Mountains. The Alleghanies. European Mountains. — The Alps. — Mont Blanc. — Hospital of the Great St. Bernard. — Roads over Mont Cenis and the Simplon. — The Pyrenees. — German Mountains. English Mountains. — Welsh Mountains. — Scotch Mountains. Irish Mountains.
CHAPTER II.—Rocks.
British Rocks. — Continental Rocks. — Australia. — Sand Hills.
CHAPTER III. — Volcanoes.
Mount Ætna. — Mount Vesuvius. — Mount Hecla. — The Oræfa Mountain in Iceland. — Cotopaxi. — Smaller Volcanoes. — The Peak of Teneriffe. — Volcanic Mountain in New Zealand. — Volcanic Islands off the Azores. — Volcanic Island off Sicily. — The Islands of Ischia and Procida. — The Phlegræan Fields. — Other Volcanic Islands.
CHAPTER IV.—Caverns.
English Caverns. — The Peak Cavern. — Pool's Hole. — Eldon Hole. — Bradwell Cavern. — Other Caverns in Derbyshire. — Dudley Caverns. — Caverns in other parts of England. Scotch Caverns. — Fingal's Cave. — Irish Caverns. — Giant's Causeway. — Caverns found on the Continent of Europe. — The Grotto of Adelsberg. — Other European Caverns. African Caverns. — American Caverns. — Limestone Caverns in New Zealand.
CHAPTER V. — Plains and Deserts.
The Pampas. — The Llanos — The Selva. — The Puna, or Despoblado of the Andes. — The Prairies. — The Sahara. The Deserts of South Africa. — The Deserts of Asia. — Deserts of Australia. — Plains of Europe.
CHAPTER VI. — Mines and Fossils.
Mines. — Gold and Silver Mines. — Quicksilver Mines. — Copper Mines. — Iron Mines. — Tin Mines. — Coal Mines. — Salt Mines. Fossils.
CHAPTER VII. — Earthquakes.
The Calabrian Earthquakes. — Earthquake of Jamaica.
CHAPTER VIII.—Islands.
Coral Reefs. — Floating Island in Derwentwater.
BOOK IV.—WONDERS OF ANIMAL LIFE.
CHAPTER I. — Mammalia.
Monkeys and Apes. — Bats. — The Mole. — The Bear. — The Badger. The Cat Tribe. — The Dog Tribe. — The Weasel Tribe. — Amphibious Animals. — The Kangaroo Family, or Marsupialian Animals. — The Squirrel Tribe, or Gnawers. — The Sloth. — Armadillo. Australian Hedge-hog. — Duck-bill, or Ornithorhynchus. — Thick-skinned Animals. — The Elephant — The Hippopotamus. — The Tapir. — The Horse Family. — Ruminating Animals. — The Camel. — The Giraffe. — The Antelope Family. — The Ox Tribe. — Cetaceous Animals, or the Whale Tribe.
CHAPTER II.—Birds.
Birds of Prey. — Diurnal Birds of Prey. — Nocturnal Birds of Prey. Perching Birds. — Climbers. — The Waders. — The Web-footed Birds.
CHAPTER III.—Fishes.
Bony Fishes with Spiny Fins. — Bony Fishes with Soft Fins. — Cartilaginous Fishes.
BOOK I. WONDERS OF THE EARTH.
The wonders of the earth comprise the remarkable mountains, rocks, and deserts, which are found on its surface; and the caverns, mines, and fossils, which are hidden in its recesses: — but before any attempt is made to describe these, it may be well to say a few words on the construction of the earth itself.
It is first necessary to observe, that all which is known by geologists respecting the construction of the earth, is confined to its outside, or crust. The earth itself is eight thousand miles in diameter: and of the centre of this mass we know nothing. The deepest mine that has ever been dug does not reach perpendicularly much more than a quarter of a mile; the sea is seldom found deeper than a mile and a half; and the loftiest mountains do not rise five miles above the level of the ocean.
The surface of the globe is, as is well known, very unequal; by far the greater part is hollowed out and filled with water; but the remainder is dry land, which, in many places, rises into rocks and mountains. The level part of the earth is generally covered with a loose fertile soil, but when an excavation is made to any depth, (as was lately shewn conspicuously in many places in the cuttings for railways,) it is found that the soil in the fields, and other cultivated places, is never more than a few feet deep, and below it lie rocks or earths of different kinds, which are generally disposed in layers or strata, easily distinguished by their colour and texture.
As it is not intended in this work to enter into any details respecting geology, a science still involved in considerable difficulty, it will be sufficient here to observe, that some kinds of rock are of a much firmer texture than others; and are less easily affected by the influence of the weather. The hardest rocks appear to have been subjected to the action of fire, by which they have been partially crystallized. Other rocks seem to have been subjected to both fire and water; and others have been evidently produced by volcanoes. Most of the large mountains are formed of granite, which is the hardest of all rocks, and which has, consequently, been least diminished by the influence of the atmosphere. Caverns are generally found in limestone rocks; and extraordinary forms are discoverable in those rocks which are either of recent volcanic origin, or formed of two kinds of stone, one much softer than the other. Everywhere we find traces of the mighty convulsions to which the earth has been subjected; but everywhere we also find proofs of the wisdom and goodness of that Almighty Being, who made both the Heavens and the Earth, and saw that all was good.
CHAPTER I. MOUNTAINS.
Of all the natural wonders of the world, mountains claim the preeminence from their magnitude and grandeur. They differ from hills principally in size; and also in the fact, that mountains are never found to stand alone, unless they are volcanoes, or clearly of volcanic origin, but always form groups, or ridges, which often extend for hundreds of miles. These mountain ridges, or chains, as they are generally called, do not present one continuous line, but are generally broken into pointed summits like the Alps, especially when their tops are always covered with snow. Sometimes the summit of a mountain is flat; and when this kind of elevated flat land is of considerable extent, as at the Cape of Good Hope, in central Asia, and in Mexico, it is called Table-Land. In other cases the summit of the mountain is curved like a saddle, or slightly rounded at the top, the latter being the form most common to hills, or mountains of moderate height. Besides these forms, which are the most common, the summits of mountains are frequently broken into various irregular shapes, according to the nature of the rocks of which the mountain is composed, and their capability of resisting the influence of the weather; or because they have been erupted by a volcano, the latter being supposed to be the origin of many of the masses of rock, which now present the most remarkable forms.
ASIATIC MOUNTAINS.
The mountains of Asia are extremely numerous, and some of them are of stupendous height. Central Asia, in fact, is a vast platform, of irregular figure, raised to a great height above the surrounding country, and bounded on every side by an immense mountain wall, formed of enormous rocks and peaks, which tower into the regions of perpetual snow. The table-land, which these mountains seem to enclose, is called Tartary, and is almost 1,200 miles in length, and 2,000 in breadth, standing generally at a level of 15,000 feet above the sea, and thus forming the largest tract of elevated ground which is to be found in the whole globe. The southern boundary of this platform consists of the great range of the Himalaya, or Snowy Mountains, one of which is the loftiest in the world; and this ridge joins that of Hindoo Coosh. On the north is found the vast range of the Altai Mountains, which, at their western extremity, join the Ural range. To the west is a range of lower mountains, ending in Mount Caucasus; and to the east are other mountains extending into China, which are at present very little known. On the other side of the mountains the land in general slopes down to the sea; and thus the climate of the different parts of Asia does not entirely depend on the position of each place with regard to the equator, as the elevated land of Tartary is much colder than the low lands of Arabia and Persia on one side, and of China and Japan on the other, which lie nearly between the same degrees of latitude.
The most remarkable of the Asiatic mountains are the Himalayas, Adam's Peak, Mount Caucasus, and Mount Lebanon with the other mountains mentioned in Holy Writ.