2 ANIMAL ECOLOGY 



and spent the next fifty years doing the work of description 

 and classification which was to lay the foundations for the 

 scientific ecology of the twentieth century. The rest of the 

 zoologists retired into laboratories, and there occupied their 

 time with detailed work upon the morphology and physiology 

 of animals. It was an age of studying whole problems on 

 many animals, rather than the whole biology of any one 

 animal. The morphologist does not require the identification 

 of his specimens below orders or families or perhaps (in extreme 

 cases) genera. The physiologist takes the nearest convenient 

 animal, generally a parasite or a pet of man, and works out his 

 problems on them. The point is that most morphology and 

 physiology could be done without knowing the exact name of 

 the animal which was being studied, while ecological work 

 could not. Hence the temporary dying down of scientific 

 work on animal ecology. 



2. Meanwhile a vast number of local natural history societies 

 burst into bloom all over Britain, and these bent their energies 

 towards collecting and storing up in museums the local animals 

 and plants. This work was of immense value, as it provided 

 the material for classifying animals properly. But as time 

 went on, and the groundwork of systematics was covered and 

 consolidated, the collecting instinct went through the various 

 stages which turn a practical and useful activity into a mania. 

 At the present day, local natural history societies, however 

 much pleasure they may give to their members, usually perform 

 no scientific function, and in many cases the records which are 

 made are of less value than the paper upon which they are 

 written. Miall commented on this fact as long ago as 1897 

 when he said : " Natural history ... is encumbered by 

 multitudes of facts which are recorded only because they are 

 easy to record." ''^^ Such is the history of these societies. 

 Like the bamboo, they burst into flower, produced enormous 

 masses of seed, and then died with the effort. But however 

 this may be, it is necessary for zoologists to reaHse that the 

 work of the last fifty years has made field work on animals a 

 practical possibility. It was of little use making observations 

 * The small numbers refer to the bibliography at the end of this book. 



