FOOD or subsistence of animals has been studied by Mr. Derham, providing him with various and interesting remarks, an extract of which I shall give here. [1]

The first concerns how such a large number of animals found in all parts of the world is sustained; the second is inspired by the quantity of food proportionate to those animals that consume it; the third is the variety of food suitable to the diversity of animals [in the world]; the fourth concerns particular practices of pasturing found in areas appropriate to specific animals; the fifth is the physical make up of animals and the organs which allow them to gather, prepare and digest food ; the sixth, and last, the marvellous disposition of each animal to find its own food , and in some cases to stockpile it. Let us first turn to the words of two ancient wise men: Pastum animantibus largè et copiosè natura eum qui cuique aptus erat, comparavit, et ille Deus est qui per totum orbem armenta dimisit, qui gregibus ubique passim vagantibus pabulum prestat . [Nature has generously and abundantly prepared the food that is suitable for each one, and God it is who has sent forth cattle throughout the world and has provided feed to the herds wandering everywhere.] [2]

Indeed, it is one of the great acts of God’s power, and proof of his wisdom as well as of his kindness, that he provides the animal kingdom with food in all parts of the terrestrial globe, on dry land and in water, in the torrid, glacial, and temperate climates. Generally speaking, there is an adequate supply of food, we might even say that there is an abundance of food in all places, without, however, there being a surfeit of it which would surely lead to spoilage, and pestilence throughout the world. What must particularly be addressed here is that, given the wide diversity of foods, the most useful are also the most common. These are found in the greatest quantities. They can be grown and multiplied easily, and they have built-in resistance against the harshness of nature and bad weather. For instance, animals that feed on grass exist in large numbers and they devour grass in large quantities, Consequently, we find the surface of the earth almost entirely carpeted and covered with grass or with other nourishing plants that occur naturally, and without our having to cultivate them. The same can be said of most cereals, and especially the one which is the most useful: how easy is it to cultivate and how abundant is the harvest that we reap? Wheat is a good example of this. Tritico nihil est fertilius: hoc ei natura tribuit quoniam eo maxime alebat hominem, ut positum medio, si sit aptum solum. [Nothing is more fertile than wheat: nature has given this fertility to it, because she nourishes man by it extensively, so that, available to all, it alone is sufficient for man’s nourishment]. But more than this, nothing is more common than wheat, a single seed multiplies 360-fold. Wheat grows everywhere where the soil allows it to grow.

The variety of food. Sed illa quanta benignitas natura quod tam multa ad vescendum tam varia tamque jucunda gignit; neque ea uno tempore voluit ut semper et nos dote delectemur et copia? [How great is the generosity that nature brings forth so many, so various, and such pleasant things for eating; and she does not intend these things once only but that we should always enjoy her gift and abundance?] Diverse animal species delight in different food s; some like grass, others grains and seeds. Some are carnivorous, others eat insects. One chooses one type of food , another chooses another type. Some require delicate and well-prepared foods , whereas there are others that are greedier, and that will eat anything they can find. If all animals ate the same kind of food and could not live without it, there would not be enough food in the world for their subsistence. Instead of which, we note that the inclination animals have for different types of food , and which, in fact, causes some to dislike foods enjoyed by others, constitutes a wisely ordered system, adequately sustaining each type of animal, and sometimes to a degree more than is strictly necessary. All parts of the earth are full of animals whose organs are adapted to ensure their survival, and whose behavior is likewise adapted in a curious and singular way to the terrain in which they live. A marvellous act of providence in this regard is that each geographic area of the world provides proper food for the survival of the creatures that live there. All regions of the earth, with its diverse climates and different types of soil, the oceans and other waters, even foul places full of rotting organic matter, all these are inhabited by living organisms. And in each setting, we find food specific to the creatures living there. There are many proofs of this. For instance, the variety of herbs, fruits, grains etc., the swarms of insects in the air etc. However, the way in which God has provided food for the aquatic animals is especially remarkable. Not only did he create a variety of aquatic plants, but water is suitable as a matrix for many animals, particularly for insects, both aquatic and those that live in both water and on dry land. These insects, through their great affinity with water (in which they delight) become easy prey for the creatures living below, for which insects provide an abundance of food . What prodigious swarms of insects can be seen in the water! Sometimes they congregate in such numbers that the water appears to change color. If the food we eat had eyes from the time it enters the mouth until it exits the body, we would soon see the structure of the digestive organs and how they are arranged with exquisite art and inconceivable address. Depending on where an animal lives its digestive tract is perfectly adapted to its environment and the food that can be found there. Alia dentibus praedantur, alia unguibus, alia rostri aduncitate carpunt, alia latitudine ruunt, alia acumine excavant, alia sugunt, alia lambunt, sorbent, mundant, vorant: non est minor varietas in pedum ministerio ut rapiant, retrahant, teneant, premant, pendeant, tellurem scabere non cessent. [Some animals are endowed with teeth, others with nails, others grasp with a curved beak; some run far, others dig with claws; some suck, others lick, others drink; some chew, others devour; the variety in the way feet are used is great: they grasp, drag, hold, push, hang – they scratch the world ceaselessly.]

Let us now consider as a single example, the diversity of teeth. If different animals enjoy different food, as previously noted, we also take note that their teeth are invariably adapted to the food they eat. The teeth of predatory beasts are made to to grasp and to rip apart their prey: those that eat only grass are shaped to allow then to gather and chew vegetation. Those without teeth, such as birds, make up for the lack of teeth with little stones that they swallow to sharpen their beaks, their crops, and which help their gizzards to digest food . The most significant example of this is that of certain types of insects, such as butterflies, etc. When in the state of nymphs and caterpillars they can only crawl; they have devouring teeth and they nourish themselves on tender plants. Once they turn into butterflies, however, they no longer have teeth, but a kind of proboscis or trunk to suck the nectar from the flowers, etc. Thus, the organs allowing them to eat change according to what food they eat, and which, in any case, they seek elsewhere as soon as their wings allow them to fly. There are also remarkable things about the teeth of fish. For some are sharp and set in such a way that they that are inwardly hooked and able to grip and hold on tightly to their prey, at the same time making passage to the stomach easier; others have wide and flat teeth made for crushing the scales of snakes or those of the fish on which they feed. Some have teeth placed in their mouth, others in their throat, the crayfish and others have teeth in their stomach: three molars can be found in the bottom of their stomach, accompanied by muscles that serve to propel them. See Teeth.

This final article is one of the most curious and most important; but, in truth, there is perhaps nothing surprising or remarkable to say about humankind, because humans use their understanding and reason to exercise a sovereign empire over all creatures. This allows them self-sufficiency, in all circumstances, with respect to food. However even here the Creator has given proof of his wisdom, by creating nothing that is not useful; he has not bestowed on them a set of organs to carry out that which can otherwise be obtained through reason, understanding, and our natural authority over the animals. Inferior creatures are deprived of reason, but God has amply compensated them for this defect by giving them instinct or natural wisdom. Quibus bestiis erat is situs, ut aliûs generis bestiis vescerentur, aut vires natura dedit, aut celeritatem; data est quibusdam etiam machinatio quaedam atque solertia. [To the beasts that are located in a specific place, where they may feed on other kinds of beasts, nature has given either strength or speed; and to some animals also a certain mechanical ability and cleverness has been given.]

Here opens a vast field in which we can admire the wisdom, the power, the infinite care, as well as the foresight of God. This must be recognized if any attention is paid to the instinctive behavior of large and small livestock, birds, insects, and reptiles; each species of animal demonstrates specific behavior dictated by their natural wisdom (or their instinct), and which relates to the diverse condition of their food and their survival. For those animals whose food is easily found and retrievable, such as those that eat grass and plants, and that consequently do not need much effort to find it, it is their delicacy in taste and smell that allows them to identify promptly and everywhere that which is beneficial to them, but also to distinguish it from that which might do them harm. Their finely-tuned organs, it must be said, never fail to provide a subject for admiration. However, for those whose food is hidden and difficult to find, one notes incredible variations in their ability [to secure it]. With what sagacity do some animals pursue their prey; or do others even ambush it? With what industry do others go in pursuit of food , be it in the depths of the waters, in swamps, in mud and even in utter filth? Others scratch at the surface earth sometimes reaching great depths. These creatures are admirably formed. Their body parts are perfectly designed to execute the function we are discussing. With incredible aptness many animals find their prey at great distances; some by their acute sense of smell that can detect prey from miles away; others, by the subtlety of their sight, perceive their victim in the air or elsewhere, but still at incredible distances. Carnivores such as wolves, foxes, etc., can spot their prey at a great distance. Dogs and crows smell carrion also at a great distance through their keen of smell. If it is true, as some superstitious people have imagined, that a crow flying over a house foreshadows death, it is without doubt due to their keen sense of smell that a crow can sense a cadaverous smell in the air, the same exhaled by sick bodies that have within them the principles of coming death. Falcons and kites spy their prey on the ground, seagulls and other birds discover it in the water, perceive their prey at a great distance and in flight they spot mice, little birds, insects on the ground, and even small fish like prawns, etc. which they capture in the water. Likewise, the Creator gave animals that must climb for their food muscular feet and legs which they obviously need to climb, but which also serve when they must run after their food . How birds and nocturnal animals are equipped with organs! The unique structure of their eyes in particular, as well as their keen sense of smell, sense of odour, allow them to locate their food in the dark.

1. William Derham (1657 – 1735) English clergyman, natural theologian and natural philosopher. The reference is to Derham’s Physico-theology; or, a Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God, from his Works of Creation (London, 1737), a set of six sermons he delivered in 1711 and 1712. Book 4, chapter 11 deals with the subject of this article.

2. The translator thanks Steven Baldner for translations from the Latin here and throughout this article.