194 THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY. [vm. 



widely-extended view which may give a notion of the 

 general lie of the country. Append, if you can, a note 

 or two, saying whether a plain is rich or barren; 

 whether the rock is sandstone, limestone, granitic, 

 metamorphic, or volcanic lava ; and if there be more 

 rocks than one, which of them lies on the other; 

 and send them to be exhibited at a meeting of the 

 Geological Society. I doubt not that the learned 

 gentlemen there will find in your photographs a valu- 

 able hint or two, for which they will be much obliged. 

 I learnt, for instance, what seemed to me most valuable 

 geological lessons from mere glances at drawings I 

 believe from photographs of the Abyssinian ranges 

 about Magdala. 



Or again, let a man, if he knows nothing of botany, 

 not trouble himself with collecting and drying speci- 

 mens ; let him simply photograph every strange and 

 new tree or plant he sees, to give a general notion of 

 its species, its look ; let him append, where he can, a 

 photograph of its leafage, flower, fruit ; and send them 

 to Dr. Hooker, or any distinguished botanist : and he 

 will find that, though he may know nothing of botany, 

 he will have pretty certainly increased the knowledge 

 of those who do know. 



The sportsman, again I mean the sportsman of 

 that type which seems peculiar to these islands, who 

 loves toil and danger for their own sakes ; he surely is 

 a naturalist, ipso facto, though he knows it not. He 

 has those very habits of keen observation on which all 

 sound knowledge of nature is based ; and he, if he will 

 as he may do without interfering with his sport 

 can study the habits of the animals among whom he 

 spends wholesome and exciting days. You have only 



