^^ 



PREFACE. 



h 

 Kb 





Theee are more ways than one of studying natural his- 

 tory. There is Dr Dryasdust's way ; which consists of 

 mere accuracy of definition and differentiation ; statistics 

 as harsh and dry as the skins and bones in the museum 

 where it is studied. There is the field-observer's way ; the 

 careful and conscientious accumulation and record of facts 

 bearing on the life-history of the creatures ; statistics as 

 fresh and bright as the forest or meadow where they are 

 gathered in the dewy morning. And there is the poet's 

 way; who looks at nature through a glass peculiarly his 

 own ; the aesthetic aspect, which deals, not with statistics, 

 but with the emotions of the human mind, — surprise, 

 wonder, terror, revulsion, admiration, love, desire, and so 

 forth, — which are made energetic by the contemplation 

 of the creatures around him. 



In my many years' wanderings through the wide field 

 of natural history, I have always felt towards it something 



