I have taken upon myself a great task, at the age of sixty-two, through love for you and the rising generation. The Scripture teaches,—_Where much is given, much will be required_; that is the case with me. Nature’s gift was liberal, and this gift I had ample means to cultivate. I left Boston, my native place, and kind parents, at the age of fifteen, for Montreal, there to acquire and master languages which my native home could not bestow. Here I devoted three years to French and Latin, as they were absolutely necessary for my advancement in Philosophy and Botany. I remained here some years, and frequently visited the Iroquois tribe, learning much of them in the healing art. I began to keep a regular manuscript of all I could possibly learn from every tribe and nation, not allowing myself to be biased by prejudice. My beloved friends, daily do I read books that are styled Herbal, on the Virtues of Roots, Herbs, &c., and have not only discovered in them an almost innumerable quantity of errors and defects, but also a multiplicity of directions for their uses which my own knowledge and practice proves ineffectual in the cure of the complaints to which these treatisers have directed their applications. I likewise give you a description of the human body, or, in a word, the Living Animal, easy and comprehensive, that it may be understood by every one who reads it. I have written it in a plain, easy and familiar style, adapted to all capacities. It is the sincere wish of my heart, that it may prove a blessing to all. MADAME YOUNG, M. D. [Illustration: Plate 1. Development of the fœtus] DEVELOPMENT OF THE FŒTUS. WHEN conception first takes place, an ovum is detached, which is carried through the fallopian tubes or oviduct, to the uterus, and has been observed in that organ by Sir E. Home, eight days after impregnation. About the fourth week, it resembles a tadpole, the appendage or tail being probably the spinal marrow; a small point is perceived below the head which pulsates and indicates the region of the heart; below this the abdomen appears. Thus, the brain, spinal marrow and heart are first called into action, the other parts being brought forward as required by nature. About the sixth week, two small, black spots proclaim the development of the eyes; the mouth appearing about the same time; the upper and lower limbs soon become discernable. The intestinal tube is perpendicular, running along the spine. At two months, all parts of the child are present; the eyes and eyebrows are visible; the limbs are developed; the fingers are closed on each other, though flimsy; the head now forms comparatively the third part of the body, in size. Its weight is about half an ounce, and length about three inches.