1. That all natural groups, whether kingdoms or any subdivision of them, return into themselves; a distribution which he expresses by circles.
2. That each of these circles is formed precisely of five groups, each of which is resolvable into five other smaller groups, and so on till you reach the extreme term of such division.
3. That proximate circles or larger groups are connected by the intervention of lesser groups, which he denominates osculant.
4. That there are relations of analogy between the corresponding points of contiguous circles.
This system he has represented by tables of circles inscribed with the five primary divisions of each group. His first table exhibits a general view of organized matter as distributed in the animal and vegetable kingdoms—Thus:
Our learned author here divides the animal kingdom into what may be denominated five sub-kingdoms or provinces, in three of which (with the exception of the Crustacea and Arachnida belonging to his Annulosa) no circulation of blood is visible, but which obtains in the rest. These he names—
1. Acrita, consisting of the Infusory Animals, the Polypi, the Corallines, the Tæniæ, and the least organized of the Intestinal Worms.
2. Radiata, including the Jelly-fish, Star-fish, Echini, and some others.