The natural
productions of our globe may be considered either in their original or
in their changed condition. They are divided into two general classes
which are determined, —either by certain characters that do not require
explanation or investigation,—or, by the external appearances which
are presented by them in their altered condition, and by investigating
the causes which produced the changes of form or state.
In the former case, the science is called Natural History; in the latter, Natural Philosophy.
Natural
History, considered in reference to the original properties of natural
productions, must, therefore, be divided into organic and inorganic:
to the former belong Zoology and Botany; to the latter, Mineralogy.
Botany
and Zoology comprise bodies possessed of vitality, or beings which,
increasing by the absorption of nutritive substances, mature after a
certain period; their parts are dependent upon each other, and they
cannot be separated without destroying the integrity of the individual,
which, after a certain period, loses its vitality and ceases to exist;
