76 A MANUAL 



CHAPTER V. 



WHAT WILL IT DO WHEN I HAVE GOT IT ? 



Natuealists, it lias been said, may be divided into 

 two classes : the first comprising " collectors," or 

 those who gather and preserve specimens, whether 

 living or dead, for the purposes of comparison and 

 classification ; the second including the larger com- 

 pany of " observers," or those who combine a great 

 love for Nature in all her forms with considerable 

 opportunity for remarking her operations at all times 

 and seasons, who are ever in the woods and fields, 

 on the mountain side or by the sea-shore, and thus 

 acquire gradually a thorough knowledge of the 

 shapes and habits of plants and animals. But 

 it is also said, and very justly, that a union of 

 the methods of proceeding is necessary to ensure 

 accuracy and certainty in any system of arrange- 

 ment — that is, to constitute a perfect naturalist. 



The importance of collecting for the sake of com- 

 l)arison is obvious. In a single species the varieties 



