124 Lincolnshire Notes & Queries. 



NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 



WHAT TO NOTE AND HOW TO 

 MAKE NOTES.* 



By GREGORY O. BENONI. 



NO man knows how much the world has lost by some of 

 her greatest sons not having the gift or knack for it is 

 very often only the latter of jotting down their experi- 

 ences and observations in black and white. When we consider 

 the time we all waste in trifling, a few moments occupied 

 daily in writing would never be missed. But what should we 

 have in return ? The experiences of the man of action, the 

 stories of the talker, the bon-mots of the convivial and versatile 

 companion at our last field meeting, who was the soul and life 

 of the whole affair, and the notes of the observant naturalist, 

 whose opportunity of seeing what is best worth recording is 

 infinitely greater than any the late Richard Jefferies ever had, 

 if his power of clothing his memories in living language may 

 never be comparable with that "nature poet's" wonderful gift. 

 Scores of keen-minded men see things almost daily which 

 are worthy of permanent record the field-mouse in the hedge 

 stealing hip and haw, when in a prolonged frost the snow 

 wraps the ground with that thick white mantle so destructive 

 to animal and bird life or the young oak thrusting up from 

 the little creature's abandoned home and store after a mild 

 winter as the observer stalks his rabbits down the wood side. 

 But few, how few, realise the truly valuable facts amongst the 

 crowd of things they see, or take the trouble, if they know 

 how, to make a note of them. We mean to make notes that 

 will be of value in refreshing the memory at any time, or for 

 future publication. 



What to note is the difficulty of all young naturalists. Mere 

 bare lists in any department of natural history, without any 

 annotations, are of comparatively little value j at most they 

 only appeal to workers at geographical distribution. The fact 

 of such species being found in a given spot is recorded, but the 

 nexus which gives the sparkling touch of life to the thing 



* Reprinted by special permission from The Naturalist, July, 1897. 



