If a child were asked why he plucked flowers instead of listening to the voices of the birds, he could not tell, and if his companion were ordered to throw away his pebbles and gather the drifting moss, he would only stare in wonder.

And so it is in the great world of nature when, instead of children at play, we find men giving all their energies of mind and soul to some special calling.

To one it seems best to count the flowers of the field, to another to number the stars of heaven, a third studies the hidden forces of nature, and a fourth can find satisfaction only in the presence of that life which so closely resembles his own.

And if the botanist were asked why he did not choose astronomy as his calling, he could not tell, and if the physicist were compelled to turn zoologist it would seem to him as if the study had lost its charm.

And the progress of science corresponds to these individual tastes and exertions. One age is distinguished for one thing, and another for another, and it would be as difficult to find a reason for this as to know why still another period will be marked by widely different characteristics.

Thus we find that in the beginning of the eighteenth century, scientists were engrossed by the study of the secret forces of nature—light, heat, electricity, and chemistry—and the laws of plant life: studies which in another hundred years were destined to bear a golden harvest for science.

By the latter part of the eighteenth century the point of view had shifted a little, and other subjects began to occupy scientists; the question of the antiquity of the earth, its formation, and the connection between the past and the present began to be studied by one class of minds though another class was still working at the problems of the hidden forces of natures, and among the new subjects of study we find paleontology—the study of the remains of the plants and animals which lived in remote ages; these remains are called fossils, and their study has thrown much light on the subject of the earth's formation, and the development of life.

Chief among the students of nature who gave themselves to this study we find George Léopold Chretien Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier, who was born in the village of Montbéliard, in France, August 23, 1769.

Montbéliard is beautifully situated on the River Allar, with a background of wooded hills, and in the midst of sunny slopes with choice vineyards.

On the rocky heights above the village stand the two ancient castles which were the pride of Montbéliard in the feudal days, and everywhere throughout the valley bloom the roses and wild flowers that give the place one of its brightest charms.

It is not strange that amid such congenial surroundings the little Cuvier early showed a great love for nature, and the influence of his mother, who was his first teacher, aided him in forming those habits of keen observation and diligent study which served him so well in after-life.

He was a delicate child, and much of his mother's time was given to the care of his health; but still the little lad had learned to read by the time he was four years old, and in his walks and excursions around Montbéliard he saw much that added to the small store of knowledge, which he gained daily at the little school he attended. When school-hours were over, and the out-door exercise of the day had ended, then came the little drawing-lessons from his mother, which trained his eye and strengthened his memory, and led him to notice accurately all things around him.

The shape of the clouds that hung over the low hills, the grouping of the shrubs in the home garden, the outlines of the old chateaux on the heights above, and the interlacing branches of the leafless trees in winter, all played their part in the training of the bright young eyes that looked so eagerly out on the world and found everything in it interesting.

Every new object was at once made a subject for drawing; and even this did not satisfy the child, who often cut out little pasteboard models of anything that pleased him, and delighted in reproducing whatever seemed difficult or mysterious to his companions.

This faculty was shown at a very early age, for when only six years old he astonished his friends by his explanation of the tricks of a juggler who was passing through the village, and whose various marvels of sleight of hand were easily understood by Cuvier, who produced them in pasteboard, and explained their mysteries away in the most satisfactory manner.

At ten years of age Cuvier entered the Gymnasium, or high school, of Montbéliard, where he soon became known as a diligent pupil in history and mathematics, never tiring of the latter and able, by means of his well-trained memory, to make even the driest facts of history easy learning.

Here his love for drawing still continued, and he delighted in making tiny maps of the places about which they were studying, and giving them to his companions, while the new subjects that were constantly being brought into his lessons all served to excite his imagination and develop still further his power of illustration.

At this time, too, his fondness for reading increased to such an extent that his mother had frequently to take his books away from him and force him to seek recreation. And although this always seemed hard at first, year, a half-hour after he had been sent out, no on would have recognized the pale little student in the merry lad whose laugh and shout rang loudest and longest. For whatever came to the boy he put his whole soul into; whether it was learning long lists of the names of dead kings and statesmen, or training a company of boys in military tactics, or rambling through the woods and fields in company with his mother, it was sure to engage his deepest attention at the time, and he would become so absorbed that it seemed impossible to imagine that he could every be interested in anything else.

It was while a pupil at the Gymnasium that Cuvier first showed his great love for the study of nature. Wandering one day in the school-library, he came across a copy of the works of the Swedish physician Gesner, and from that moment a new world was open to the studious boy.

Nothing hereafter seemed of any importance as compared with the delights of natural history, and long hours were spent in poring over the fascinating pages; and as about the same time the works of the celebrated naturalist Buffon fell into his hands, the first impression was deepened, and he became still more eager after the knowledge that had grown so interesting.

He read and reread the glowing descriptions, copying them out from the printed page, and coloring them with paint, or pieces of silk; and so diligent was he in studying , both from books and nature, that by the time he was twelve years old he was as familiar with birds and quadrupeds as any first-class naturalist.

Cuvier's fine scholarship at the Gymnasium could not tail to bring him into notice, and at fourteen he was appointed a student in the University of Stuttgart by Duke Charles of Würtemberg, who had taken such a fancy to him that he offered to pay his expenses.

This offer was gratefully accepted, and soon after the young student set out for his new home; the journey was made in a carriage and occupied three days, which were rendered intolerable to Cuvier by his traveling companions, who spoke German incessantly, of which he understood not a word, and this circumstance, added to the homesickness which beset him, made such an impression upon him that he used to say in after-years that he could never think of the time without a shudder.

But life assumed a pleasanter aspect when he was once settled in the university for his new teachers at once recognized his unusual talents and placed him in the classes that would best develop them.

And Cuvier's progress did not disappoint their faith. Before he had been at the university a year he took the prize for German, and his advancement in his other studies proved equally satisfactory.

Natural history still kept its old charm for him, and he found that his new home furnished rare advantages for the study of his favorite subject. In the libraries he found editions of the works of Linnæus and other naturalists, which he read over and over again, comparing their descriptions with the world of nature around him, and frequently illustration the printed page with his pencil.

But delightful as he found his favorite authors, there was a pleasure even greater in rambling over the surrounding country and its resources, and, as usual, he turned these excursions to the most practical uses. Every leaf and flower held for him a deep meaning, and so ardent was he in making collections that his herbarium soon became famous through the university, his specimens of plants including many that had hitherto not been known to exist near Stuttgart. His drawings of insects and birds exceeded in number and excellence any that had ever been made before by the students, and he kept constantly in his room numbers of living insects, feeding them and watching their habits with the most patient interest, never tiring of the wonderful study, and learning daily new facts about their curious life that proved of great advantage to him later on.

And thus his student life at Stuttgart passed pleasantly and profitably for three years. Honors and prizes were showered upon him, and the foundations laid for the earnest and fruitful life-work that he was soon to undertake.

At the end of the third year it became necessary for Cuvier to earn his own living, and he accepted the position of tutor to the son of a gentleman living at Caen in Normandy. This step seemed a very unwise one to his university friends, who prophesied gloomily that the drudgery of teaching would soon crush out any higher aspirations, for Stuttgart was proud of her young prodigy and desirous of seeing him in some position that would enable him to continue his studies.