Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-03-03
sOUTH AMERICA.
Its Land AuimaIs-fIfth Lecture by Pro
fess0r Agassiz.

- Its Land AnimaIs-FInh Leeturc by Pro
fessOr Agassiz
Prof Louis Agassiz delivered the NTH lectur
OF his course before the society for the advance
!. ment OF science ana art, at the Cooper institute
: last night His theme was the Land Ami
: mails Of south America" He said
4 Ladies' and Gentlemen. This is not the plac'
K for euioRy, and yet cannot begin this lectuI
u 4 Without saying n lew words OF that man =
. last huners OF the day-Prof. Alexander Dalla
Bache, the superintendent Of the coast survey
He was one Of tbose men whom al loved who
D kuew him, but while ne was dearto his friends
. he WAS q man Of whom his country might wei
o | be proud. de has organized IN tness Dni.e, .
81 STATES or erected upon an elementary orgsiiiza
7 tion which mad been laid out before hlul "a worH
| which has made scle1ce, as represented anc
science Is cultivated. The cusst survey Of the
United States is the most perfect epasJ survey
lhat mas been carried oii afly M = Nllel = ~ t,ast
had the talent OF bringing 20 his work The most
E advanced results OF science and 10 apply thsin
70 practical purposes, and Hgaln 70 Alaho hla
/ work contribute 10 the progress of science IN
manner which has advanced geology Ia
America far beyond which IL Is anyw here else
ifApplauEel And then he had another merit
Bache has rendered science Respectable
IN he councils OF the nation, ana heFe-
after science cannot be shut ous from
the service Of the country and from toe great
] undertakings wh ch have national character.
IllA mnEn ltlb bN0uQ re bAAOhgA ~ S@y
here, while discOursing upon scientinc suoJeeis
IN honor anu memory OF one who was 50 deas
70 me. lApplausel. Ihe sunJecS oi Ihls Ltci11 Ltctu11
! is the terrestrial animals OF south A1nsricl
From what / stated in my last leSJurei yOt.
have already perceived that between the iresh
! water snd terrestrial animals there can baiaiy
| bs ; distinct line OF demarkatl0n. In the
aquatic and terrestrial aninaals. .whet1er marine
o~ f1viatiIe. pass into one another so llr as
tl.ir .ffUcfurei iis concerned There Is hardly
I large group OF the animal k1ngdon
which has not marine, fresh water ana terTes-
trial representatives and the ainntttes between
these inhabitants OF different parts OF our
| globe are sometimes very close. But there are
! rearfons among them which de erye especial
I attention, and hist may the better brlng our
/ those relations permit ne 70 show you IN Weat
relative position the classes OF ttiiu 10
Ole anO her, tnat may dennOnstrat= no tiese
I ideas Of gradual transition from one type 10
I another have enters the MUD Of man and
been supported Wlih arEuu uenlS apPatentlg
/ ar suswerable. The tyne OF yertebra etn braces
at least four c.asses and II c asses are 70 be dis
[ tinEuishei one from the other by the various
I nusies according to which a gwen plan
] OF structure is carried out, we may per-
( baps divfde the vertebras into a sin
| Lager number Of classes; but those which
! arc now universally recognized viii Euince
I for my purpose. The fishes are the lowest,
{ aud next come reptiles, above them BIRDS ana
! the highest mammaiia. at the head OF which
I stands man. Now IL Il not our own cJnc9it
/ alone whleh Justihes the position which man
/ claims in the plan OF creauOn. IN every eNL-
| dence which can be addnced from an eSalllina'
! tiou OF IA ms structure, Of mans anatomy OF
] the power OF N, faculues, OF the constitution
of his brain, OF the position OF his body, he de-
/ serves that position hen We study his rela
ti1n % the other living beings and wuen we eX-
I ami ne their order OF Succession in course OF
time rom the earliest geOlOg cal periods 10 the
I present day, i is uhnlsl-kahie that from the
l beginning the coming OF man Is an
nouHced in tie animal kingdom. and that
bis appearance was the close Of
plan which was Initiated when the
iirsf fishes were called into existence. So close
is ths relation between those successive types
which have inhabited the surface Of the globe
nom the earliest period 70 The present day A
few words CONCERNING the differences or the
structure will satisfy You, hope, that such a
position l. the true position Wbae.3 we shou d
assign to the u fferent classes and the true posi-
ton which man has right 10 claim ia the
plan OF creation. In TIE rst place, the class Of
fishes embraces only aquatic Hntmals-auinIals
in which the different reEions OF the body are
hardly marked out The head, the neck,
the boiy, and the tail, flow as 1t were
one into another in an unbroken contn-
I nous line There IS LOt that articulation
Of the whole figure which distll guishps regions
one fom anotheFr and give thsL harmonious
prepOudeTance 10 some parts over the other
paris. For instance, IN man, the head IS above
all other parts, and IN sucn Commanding po-
sitiUn that is plain 70 any one who compares
man with the ether beings living on this globe,
That to him uelokg rs tho Hrst pace. The out
line OF his head, the position Of his head, the
prominence OF the forehead, hs size Of the
brsiu, the relations Of The limbs 70 tie trunk,
the vertical attitude which requires only one !
pair of iipbs for lOComOtiOn, while the Others
become subserV lent tools for all the uses of the
most IN the animal creation; ~hiR in the other |
classes the limbs are entirely in the s-fs4Ce OF
Iccnmotion, and no longer at the service % the /
brain, and cannot perform the hlgaer /
purEoses OF existence. when We come
10 the class Of fishes, these very
limbs are reduced 70 ms, that are Sd articu |
lated that the different divisions are all uni 1
torIn and can hardly be moved one separately /
flom the other In fact the attitude Of the fish
in the element in which 1t lives shows its low /
pos.tiOn- The fish moves horizontally, and the /
head is level with an The other parts OF the
body. Drew toe fish as an iliustrationl on
see in tnat position what Is characteristics ofthe
lowest type OF verteorates. There Is no part /
which has such apreponderance over tue otheIS /
as to commard the whole organization, as Is 4
the case IA the other vertebrates- How slight a /
chauzn We need 10 make here n order to giyeto |
this animal al snuFe!y dluerent expression /
you will readily see Ia tho Erst place, the /
eaudal appendGge may D8 made Of tliS LiEsn I
T.hanqfng it7 so as 20 be a simple 8lOng3tion /
characteristic form Of the tail all reptiles and 4
all animals thai have a c2udal append0ge- In |
fappers, when are only folds Of the skin des- /
tined to give a greater s1Tface 70 AID their mo- i
u5n, and We may give dlHersnI outline 70 me /
neck. and asSien 20 Tie mead q proForderSnc- /
over the rest o. the body; and II, IN addition l
10 t.-st. raise il slightly yOs see 81 nElee that
it's who e relation Is chtl@ssc, ana tit-n we nave
he hrst aspiration in the r'mal kingdom 10 \
hiEher development Then We may subs ftute 4
for those inns the HWhS 1utO whlcn trey are /
Transformed: and tnus we gradually pass i
through the different transformations by which /
we a-t5 rtrodu "a isto another SASS having !
Instead a vertebrate provided with fms I
vertebrate I1ggided with legs-a reptile.
nd u = alis5 Fllch are the sole rss
the progress OF zrsWt "a, ana ltags are u uaIeioed
then we ar9 In n series one step higher We
have reached The class OF reptiles, But N
the reptiles we Lave sttl, cold blood
aud a simple circulation, rs we n,-
iced among the fishes. Oas step furaher will
be gained II the Circulation be complicated,
and the means OF respiration be more stem
sive because IN consequence of the greater
intensity Of b ea hing lhs blood grows walmer
tween the head and the body may be betert
marked From the lowest Glass of the verte-
Hsa ].
their natural element, when ls water lhe
respiratory organs OF hleh are gtllS- v ascend
20 The class OF reptiles in which The respiratory
o-gnns are a'rlss-saCS receiving HGWedl
sIely atmosphere air, aud forming the lowest
kind Of lungs The fms which where hrst on
the side 0f the body Lear the head.
and about midway back bstWeen the tail a1d
the head became feet with dtSlrct hngefs. ano
the body may in measure be raised above 'he
gr uud ~ NAV leave the ater, or may con-
tiuue u move in the water, these organs sew |
ing as fms sill even though they have the form
Of ingsrs, the fingers being Wegbed, and so on.
Another, a step beyond that, We rise to the
class Of birds. Here the c-rcuiatlon Of the
arisirg from the heart gses Immediately to the
DO fv and ramihes in al its parts, while au- |
Is brought la contact with atmospheric air,
so that there Is an extensive rejuvepa-
tion OF the blood in that contact which
stlmu ates il for It's luu"nonSt apU IN
consequence OF That as.iglts Of lhe ciIcul7 /
tion and Of the intensity OF The breathing the
TEN nperature OF the body is raised above that Of
The surrou ud.ng medium, ana malntsined in |
an fDdppeudent relation from that OF the sur I
roupai5c medium The lover rauifnals-reptiIes /
and dshes-are called cold-bloOded animals. /
Not Shat the temperature is n cessarlly much
colder than that of the warm -bl0oded animals,
rounding medium. The turtle. iH mIu-sum- /
mer, when exposed to the sun, viii have its own
Jemperatnre raised 70 -, ana even more and
when the mpefature SINKS, rs own tsnpera-
ture-that OF its hlood-wil fall TO 40, 70 3 even
and i Il sinks below, then II dies. But this
animal Is nJt, by as organization, eapaD e OF
Inaintaing SIS temperature at q fixed standard, |
while this is the character OF the warm !
bloodsd animals. You see here 0 higher grade /
Of OrgauiZaliOC-a higher standard OF the same !
function and that becomes characteristic ofthe
birds. But birds have many features in com
eggs the youug are developed without close
connection with the parent, and IN many other
res pects The r r-semblance in the structure OF |
birds and reptiles is 50 close that az some stages
Of their growth it is hardly possible to distin- |
guish one from tbs other; while, rs they grow,
he differences A. le pfoQgnt OUT more ioFc4p1
But what constitutes The most prominent eX-
tefnal difference between The reptiles and birds
is the difference between the fOur eLiremities
The an terror pair in all birds is developed into
wiugs-inat b, an organization for aerial loco
motion and Ihe posterl IT limbs devel 7psd into
pair OF legs for terrestrial lCcomOtiOu; while in
the reptiles there is never this disparity between
the saterior and posterior limos. And then
the BODY Is uniformly covered with feathers.
Recently An animal has s5eu lpEnd ia The Ju-
rsssie beds OF Solenho EN-, the organization Of
which Is half repiilian, or half b1rd-reptilta1
IN a. much as in the skeleton there are sinking
regernhlances to the solid name Of reptiles
uurni> takably blTd-like IN the nature OF the i
coverings which were feathers. OF such inter
mediate types many are Enown IN tne lover \
yertebrates. Here are nurlO2I OF fossils found i
in the middle geological ages, the characteIist-
les OF which are intermediate, as II were, be- /
tween reptiles and fishes. OF those l snail say
a few words in my next lecture when speak /
o. the relation o, man to the whole animal /
kingdom. Now the highvst Of all tue classes is i
that Of the mammalia. We generally call /
them QuadrupedA, because most 81 them /
have four legs-twO pairs or uHbs hav- /
ing a uniform type OF char&c;eriSiics 1
Rnt among them there are some l
which hsvo FMS as organs Of locOmotiCE- /
There are q few which nave only one par /
there a.e others WHICH haye ope pail Of legs /
aud one pair OF arlns, such as men, There are |
others which have four arm, such as the mon |
Fey-gO that the Denomination OF "quadru- |
paas " is IA her incorrect an modern natural |
ISIS generally call that class by the name Of /
mammalia-all representatives OF that class !
having this remark bic structural feature, that
they are wa m AloOfed, thgf they have double I
eircu lation and they bring forth living young, |
which are nursed by mix in their infancy, !
snd hence the name Of the Glass. And |
that class Is, nom a structural point o.
view, upquestionably the highest and
In that class man stands above the others
And nO0, II we look al the relations Ia which !
these ella ses stand 70 the surrounding elem nts,
10 is rena rkabls that all the representatives Of
the lowest class, without exception, are aquatic.
Therg IS no fiqh which hT nature ial-aDltE ger