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ESSAY ON CLASSIFICATION.
There is something very taking in the idea that Man isthe standard of appreciation of all animal structures. Butall the attempts which have thus far been made to applyit to the animal kingdom as it exists must be consideredas complete failures. In his different works, Oken hassuccessively identified the systems of organs of Man withdifferent groups of animals; and different authors, whohave adopted the same principle of classification, haveidentified them in different ways again. The impractica-bility of such a scheme must be obvious to any one whohas satisfied himself practically of the existence of differ-ent plans of structure in the organization of animals. Yetthe unsoundness of the general principle of the classifica-tions of the physiophilosophers should not render us blindto all that is valuable in their special writings. Theworks of Oken, in particular, teem with original sugges-tions respecting the natural affinities of animals; and histhorough acquaintance with every investigation of hispredecessors and contemporaries shows him to have beenone of the most learned zoologists of this century.
This diagram is extracted from Fitzinger ’s Systema Reptilium; Vindo-bonse, 1843, 1 yol. 8vo.
Animalia systematum anatomicorum vegetativorum gradum evolutionisexhibentia.
A. Gradus evolutionis systematum physiologicorum vegetativorum.
I. Circulus. Gastrozoa.
Evolutio systematis nutritionis.
a. Evolutio prsevalens b. Evolutio prsevalens c. Evolutio prsevalens
systematis digestionis. systematis circulationis. systematis respirationis.
Cl. 1. Infusoria. Cl. 2. Zoophyta. Cl. 3., Acaleph.®.