relative intelligence, is, to a great extent, a question of race-it belongs to the blood; and as we can only hope to reclaim the bull-dog by breeding away from the type, so it is with the man-he will be a human bull-dog to the end of his days; but his children may be an improvement on the parent, and in the course of a few generations the vicious element may be overcome by something nobler.

.

A Lavater among animals would find it an easy matter to arrange all the higher orders according to their several degrees of moral excellence, according to their cerebral conformations, according to à priori considerations, and make but few mistakes. In the elephant, horse, and dog we have the noblest qualities and the noblest types of cerebral development. Faithfulness, courage, affection, and a spirit of unselfish honour are evinced in a remarkable degree by the best examples of these three subjects, and here we find the brain piled up above the sinuses, and the merely animal faculties subordinated to the intellectual, so that there is the capacity for sympathy with man, and the ability also for companionship. Mere intellect would not suffice to render these creatures so adapted for companionship as they really prove themselves to be, any more than cold wit without a spark of generosity will beget for any man much of the love of his fellows. It happens, too, that, as among men, the most intelligent races and the most intelligent individuals exhibit a higher average of virtue, so among animals the quick-witted, easily taught, receptive examples are, for the most part, more confidently trusted with our property and lives. The race-horse, a delicate creature, with a skin like a kid glove, and an organization so refined that he is almost separated thereby from other breeds of horses, frequently exhibits an ungovernable temper, except to the boy who strews his litter, and to him he is as a pet lamb, and may be coaxed with a whisper and flattered by a touch of the hand. But see him defying the strongest jockey at the starting-post to restrain his ardour, and trembling with nervous delight at the plaudits of the crowd, and who can deny that there are strong moral impulses mingled with a quick intelligence in that most enthusiastic of all animal natures?

It is not at all surprising that the animals on which man has most ardently bestowed his energies for their improvement should exhibit high moral qualities and a capacity for higher things than have been accomplished yet. Morality is avowedly an acquisition, though the capacity for it is an essential part of the nature. The rapacious tribes are evidently in a low moral condition, and will ever remain so, as the necessity of their organization and of the limited extent to which it is possible for man to influence them. But, amongst those that have been

most improved, there are differences of degree that sufficiently prove the fact that brutes have not only a physical and an intellectual, but a moral nature; for with some rewards and punishments are mighty engines for good and evil, and with others there is comparative callousness to both. Those who have travelled in old times by the diligence arriving at the Messageries Royale, in Paris, will remember that the white horses employed were of a very pugnacious breed, for no sooner were they liberated from their harness than they fought furiously, without a cause and without method, as Hibernian revellers are said to fight at Donnybrook fair. So those who have enjoyed an acquaintanceship with St. Bernard dogs will have observed that the immense generosity of their natures is such that they may be tormented by demoralized curs till their passions are roused by positive suffering ere they will put forth their strength in their own defence, and adopt the last resource of a forgiving spirit, that of punishing an adversary already completely in its power.

But what, after all, are the qualities that render animals useful to man as companions, protectors, servants, and friends, but those which are strictly in the category of moral excellencies, and capable of still more perfect development as races improve and the effects of education become hereditary? But it is also of importance to recognize the relationship of man and brute in this respect, first for the sake of truth, and second for utility. If we love truth, we shall see in the dog a faint foreshadowing of the highest object of the moral nature of man, for who can doubt that, in some sense, the dog worships his master? On the score of utility it is, at least, worth observing that moral qualities are transmitted by descent, and these should be thought of in selecting animals for the purposes of breeding, no less than qualities purely physical. If it be objected to the conclusions here so generally, and perhaps vaguely, and certainly hastily drawn, that it tends to degrade man to the level of the brute, the reply is, No: it cannot degrade man to be just in his estimates of the capacities of the creatures he makes subservient to his uses, for the first necessity of a moral existence is an admission of a difference between right and wrong, even though, in our mistaken judgment, what we pronounce right may, in the end, prove to be wrong. It may not be hurtful either to science or morality to humble those who deny to brutes any better guiding principle than a blind instinct, and it cannot exalt the brutes, for they are not yet so far advanced in intelligence as to read what is written concerning them. But if it be said that this doctrine is opposed to the truths of religion, I again say, No: because religion, even though it be paganism, has respect for truth as one of its

fundamental principles. As one who has hope in Christ I experience no shock when I discover traces of moral life in the brute, and rather feel a desire to praise God for having so multiplied his mercies as to give to these humbler sharers with me of physical existence a capacity for more happiness than is comprised in merely eating and drinking. I praise Him for making their breasts the abodes of sensations that lift them somewhat above the level of dead matter; and if it be his will that certain races, as horses and dogs for instance, shall improve morally, as well as physically and intellectually, I still see that man is to be the agent of their advancement, and that every step of their progress will be accompanied with benefits to the human race. Religion appeals most strongly and directly to the moral nature; but we may suppose at least that we possess a monopoly of religion, for we ourselves avow it to be revealed, and, if revealed, then the moral nature, whether in its crude elementary condition as in the brute, or its more finished, yet still imperfect (and how imperfect!) condition as in man, cannot educe the doctrine by any spiritual generation within itself. There may be the germ of some sort of adoration in the mind of the dog looking full in his master's face with a gaze of absorption, but it is of the same kind as the gaze of a savage at a fetish, and after all the dog worships the but it is man's privilege to worship his Maker, and to hope for everlasting union with the Divine Essence. There then is a distinction and a difference; but, while we take such comfort to ourselves, let us not trifle with the serious truths of nature, or take refuge in a purposeless pride when we have parted company with reason. A fair recognition of the relationships that exist between ourselves and the brutes may perhaps tend to the cultivation of a spirit of mercy in all our dealings with them, and help forward the day when man shall be at peace with himself and all around him.

man;

ENTOMOSTRACA FROM GIHON.

BY THE REV. CHARLES H. MIDDLETON, B.A.

I INTENDED to have sent you a paper on certain Entomostraca from the pool of Gihon, but I find that the little creatures have been so thoroughly described by Dr. Baird that I can say nothing that has not been said before, and said much better. See Natural History Review, 3rd series, vols. iv. and viii. Still this short notice may prove interesting.

A quantity of dried mud from the upper pool of Gihon was sent to England by a friend of mine, Edward Atkinson, Esq., then attached as surgeon to the British Consulate at Jerusalem. It was addressed to Mr. Henry Denny, of Leeds; this was in the year 1858. The following year Mr. Denny sent a part of it to Dr. Baird, putting what remained into an aquarium, which he placed where it should receive as much sunlight as possible. Dr. Baird did the same with the mud sent to him, putting it into water on June 3rd. By June 10th many living creatures had appeared from the ova contained in the mud, and the articles I refer to in the Natural History Review contain full descriptions. A fresh parcel of mud from the same pool has since been received at the Philosophical Hall, Leeds, and the whole has for two years lain dry. This year, 1863, it has been placed in water, and has given birth to living creatures which, on reference to Dr. Baird's descriptions, I find to be identical with the species he has named, and with them grows a beautiful Chara. Thanks to the kindness of Mr. Denny, I have had full opportunities for examining the little beauties. Their season is now over; the mud will again be dried, and again next year be watered, when it is hoped the same interesting result will follow. Foremost among the living creatures produced is

Branchipus eximiis. I have examined one male, two females. They bear a close resemblance to the British species, Cheirocephalus diaphanus, described in Dr. Baird's work on Entomostraca in the Royal Society's publications. B. eximiis does not attain the size of Cheirocephalus, being barely ths of an inch in length. The elegant movements of the little creature, the constant waving motion of the branchia, and the bright dark eyes, in contrast to the transparent body and bright red of the intestinal canal, make this one of the most beautiful species of the class.

Estheria Gihoni. ths of an inch in longest diameter. The brilliant red body, active movements, and transparent shell made this well worth seeing.

Daphnia Atkinsoni, Cypris Celtica, Cypris Orientalis, and

Diaptomus similis are all described by Baird. They bear close resemblance to British species. The shells of all were thickly planted, especially about the anterior portion, with Vorticella, who seemed to take advantage of the currents created by the movements of their hosts.

COMETS.

AN ACCOUNT OF ALL THE COMETS WHOSE ORBITS HAVE NOT BEEN CALCULATED.

BY G. F. CHAMBERS.

(Continued from page 255, vol. iii.)

279. In April a comet near & Hydræ; in May another (the same ?) comet near Leonis. In August it was situated within the circle of perpetual apparition.-(Ma-tuoan-lin.)

281 [i.] A comet appeared in September near x Hydræ.(Ma-tuoan-lin.)

281 [ii.] A comet appeared in December near a Leonis.(Ma-tuoan-lin.) This might be the same as the preceding. 283. On April 22 a comet was seen in the S.W.-(Matuoan-lin.)

287. A comet appeared near μ Sagittarii for ten days. Its tail was 100° long.-(Ma-tuoan-lin.) No month given.

290. In May a strange star was observed within the circle of perpetual apparition.-(Ma-tuoan-lin.) Whether a comet or only a temporary star is uncertain.

301 [i] In January a comet emerged to the W. of B Capricorni, with a tail pointing to the W.-(Ma-tuoan-lin.)

301 [ii.] In May a comet was seen near either a Capricorni or 110 Herculis.-(Ma-tuoan-lin.)

302. In May-June a comet was visible in the morning.(Ma-tuoan-lin.)

303. In April a comet was seen in the eastern heavens indicating (i.e., pointing towards?) and x Ursa Majoris.— (Ma-tuoan-lin.)

305 [i.] In September a comet was seen in the Pleiades.(Ma-tuoan-lin.) Under the same date De Mailla places a comet near the Pole.-(Hist. Gen. iv. 248.) This is probably the comet of Ma-tuoan-lin, if we suppose him to speak of the constellation of the Pleiades in mistake for the sidereal division of the same name. (Hind.)

305 [ii.] On November 22 a comet was seen in the square of Ursa Major.-(Ma-tuoan-lin.) Hind thinks this is the same as the preceding, but Pingré the contrary.