PREPATORY NOTE 
OnE of the great obstacles to a popular study of Natural History 
in a comparatively new country is the absence of books specially 
devoted to the forms of life one encounters. The naturalist in 
the older countries of Europe and in the United States, whether 
he be on land or by the sea, whether interested in birds, reptiles, 
fishes, shells or insects, has ready at hand popular works, 
beautifully illustrated, describing all the forms he is likely to 
collect. From these he readily attains the satisfaction of identify- 
ing his specimen, and then learns something of their habits and 
structure, and thereby becomes stimulated to further endeavour. 
In newer countries such knowledge, even if available, is in such 
a form as to be of assistance only to the specialist, not to the ordi- 
nary observer with but a general interest in the forms of life 
around him. 
The reason for this is not far to seek. In the newer country 
nature students are few, pioneering work has to be done by them 
in the technical description of the many new forms encountered, 
or the trained investigator is obliged by force of circumstances 
or from a sense of duty to devote his abilities to the many pressing 
questions of practical and economic importance. The more 
human, cultural side of natural history comes with the maturity 
of a country, and flourishes only where some of its followers reach 
the stage of leisured reading. 
The difference is strongly enforced when one endeavours to 
introduce the study of nature into schools. In the older countries 
a crowd of writers at once begin to adapt the facts of nature to 
the intelligence of the young and to provide the teacher with 
material arranged in suitable form. A school literature of 
natural history becomes available. In the newer countries the 
teacher is at once faced with the difficulty of an absence of the 
raw material of facts, and unless capable of supplying this from 
his own iraining and experience, can make no progress. Before 
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