“Faunists, as you observe, are too apt to acquiesce in bare 
descriptions and a few synonyms. The reason is plain, because 
all that may be done at home in a man’s study ; but the investiga- 
tion of the life and conversation of animals is a concern of much 
more trouble and difficulty, and is not to be attained but by the 
active and inquisitive, and by those that reside much in the 
country. Men that undertake only one district, are much more 
likely to advance natural knowledge, than those that grasp at more 
than they can possibly be acquainted with. Every kingdom, every 
province should have its own monographer.’—GILBERT WHITE. 
