4 THE NATURALIST'S GUIDE. 



certain species. But when the collector returns home wet 

 and hungry, fatigued and disheartened, — as he now and 

 then will, — let him not be discouraged. Try again ! the 

 next day, and even the next, if need be, until the desired 

 specimen is obtained. After all, the earnest naturalist will 

 be amply rewarded for the exercise of patience and perse- 

 verance by securing a rare specimen. 



The true naturalist never thinks of cold and disappoint- 

 ment, of days of fatigue and hours of patient watching, 

 when at last he holds in his hand the long-searched-for 

 bird. Ample reward is this for all his former trials ; he is 

 now ready to go into bog and through brier. And thus the 

 enthusiastic naturalist travels on, not discouraged by toil 

 and trouble, laughed to scorn by the so-called "practical" 

 men, who are unable to appreciate his high motive. This, 

 however, he forgets when in field or study he meets with 

 the cordial greeting of his brother naturalist, as they with 

 mutual interest relate their discoveries and adventures. 



To the travelling collector a few special hints are neces- 

 sary. While visiting a remote region, but little known, 

 one should not neglect to shoot numbers of every bird met 

 with, even if they are common species at home, as they 

 will not only furnish data on the distribution of the species, 

 but they may present interesting characters peculiar to 

 that locality. If a certain species appears common, do not 

 delay collecting specimens, for peculiar circumstances may 

 have brought them together in unusual numbers ; at some 

 future time they may be rare. 



A well-trained dog is of great value while collecting 

 birds, especially the Quails, Marsh Wrens, Sea-side and 

 Sharp-tailed Finches, — in fact, all birds that are difficult to 

 start in open meadows and grassy places. While search- 

 ing thickets, great watchfulness should be observed, espe- 

 cially in the autumn, when many birds have no conspicuous 

 note, otherwise many of the more wary of the Warblers 



