This saloon is one of the most interesting parts of the exhibition to
the general visitor, as he sees here at a glance the various classes
of the highest order of the animal creation, all grouped after their
kinds, and in that gradation of development which nature has assigned
them. Those specimens which are placed on the floor in the central
space of the room include some large varieties of the Bears, and a few
small specimens of Seals, including the young of the harp seal, with
the white fur, which clothes them on their first appearance in the
world, and the young of the Cape of Good Hope eared seal; but these
isolated specimens should not engage the attention of the visitor
before he has followed the systematic arrangement or classification
adopted with regard to the animals deposited in the wall-cases that
line the saloon. The first series or family of animals to which,
according to Cuvier, his particular attention should be attracted are