INTRODUCTORY NOTE xi 



plant or an animal. Thus, he says : " The moment you 

 establish a friendship with a plant, care for it and min- 

 ister to its needs, you feel that it is dependent on you, 

 and you have a different attitude toward it altogether; 

 you do not want any one to harm it, and it hurts you 

 even to break off a twig unnecessarily. How much 

 more will this be the case if you establish a relationship 

 with a live bird, or any animal ? As soon as you grow 

 fond of a particular dog or horse, you can never kick 

 any dog or abuse any horse ; and I think that the 

 human side of this whole study is perhaps its most 

 important part. The study of birds develops every 

 kind of aesthetic sensibility ; it is a pleasure and a bene- 

 fit to see the beauty of their coloring, the grace and 

 ease of their motions, and to hear the sweetness of their 

 song ; and when this is awakened in you, the more 

 vital elements of love, sympathy, and helpfulness will 

 naturally follow." 



THE PUBLISHERS. 



