NATHANIEL LAWRENCE AUSTEN. xi 



faculty so strongly developed in him will account 

 for his wonderful power over animals. 



He writes : " There seem to be few if any animals 

 which are not susceptible of the influence of man, 

 and cannot be rendered docile by an unvarying 

 course of kind yet firm treatment." 



Again we read : "I always endeavour by means 

 of kind treatment to make my animals and birds 

 agree with one another, and have reconciled many 

 of the most opposite classes. As I now write a 

 large wolf-dog is lying close to me, with the large 

 tom-cat ('the marmot's friend') snugly pillowed 

 amongst his thick fur, while a magpie is hopping 

 about close to them, and one of the dormice is 

 nibbling a nut within two inches of the cat's paw." 



These habifcs of sympathy with, and kindness to, 

 creatures inferior to us in the scale of creation 

 enabled him to have great success with the breeding 

 of animals. The article on the " Nesting of the 

 Eagle Owl at Croydon " will show that, in his 

 own words, " to induce birds of this genus to breed 

 in confinement it is always necessary to have the 

 cage or aviary adapted to the habits of the species 

 kept, and on no account must the birds be disturbed 

 in any way during the period of incubation." He 

 was so careful, that he would not allow the gravel 

 to be rolled or the grass cut with the mowing 

 machine, for fear of disturbing them. 



