PREFACE 



may they also do what lies within their power to prevent its dis- 

 figurement, and to ensure that the splendid and individual flora and 

 fauna of the land shall be preserved. In order to set a good example, 

 I refrained, all the time I was in Brazil, as I refrained while I was 

 in Ceylon, from ever firing a shot. And I can here assure the reader 

 that the best way of understanding a whole country — as it is the 

 best way of understanding an individual creature — is to love it. 



KONRAD GUENTHER 



II 



