i6o NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [13:4— April, 1917 



delightful and detailed descriptions of what he had seen of impor- 

 tance in his world that week or yesterday. 



His interests were as varied as his talents; one letter may con- 

 tain a poem, the next a study of the swallows or some other birds, 

 the next a description of some fake, like the curing of cancer by 

 toads, the next, an account of archeological treasures unearthed in 

 the neighborhood or a sympathetic study of Timothy, his pet 

 tortoise. We know only incidentally what his friends wrote to 

 him, but as long as our language stands, we shall know what he 

 wrote, for what he wrote is as fresh and vivid to-day and even more 

 interesting than it was when it was penned more than a century and 

 a half ago. What he could describe better by making drawings, he 

 recorded in this manner, making ideal illustrations for text. 



If there is anyone like Gilbert White left in this bus}^ modern 

 world, who has time and inclination to see, think and write and 

 who has leisure for contemplation, the Editor would be pro- 

 foimdly grateful to be informed of the fact; she would make a 

 pilgrimage and look at him from afar, through field glasses, so as 

 not to disturb him and then she would come home and announce 

 the glad tidings to the readers of The Nature-Study Review. 



THE PEACEABLENESS OF NATURE STUDY. 



The Editor is a peace-loving person, coming from Quaker stock, 

 and never has the study of the birds, trees and flowers seemed 

 so sweet and comforting to her as since this war carnival has been 

 drenching European soil with the blood of her bravest sons. In 

 fact, the little brethren of the fields and woods have been about 

 the only companions able to beguile the mind to forgetfulness of 

 the stupendous calamity. Because of this there has come a new 

 sense of the importance of giving to the rising generation this 

 power to find companionship in the study of life out-of-doors; for 

 it has ever been a source of strength to those possessing it. 



Gilbert White lived and saw and wrote during the American 

 Revolution and when England was at war with France and Spain 

 also. But no word of these struggles finds its way into these whole- 

 some, serene letters to his friends. We cannot doubt that he was 

 deeply stirred by the events of his time; but he had learned that 

 when he placed his hand in that of Mother Nature, he could afford 

 to forget his anxieties and yield himself to the comfort of hei com- 

 panionship. 



