PREFACE 



WHEN the papers, which go to make up this book, were first con- 

 templated, it was proposed that they should deal purely with sport. 

 It was felt, however, that there was a very distinct need for some 

 popular work not merely on game birds and animals, but on the whole, 

 or as much as possible, of the North China fauna. Consequently, it was 

 decided to endeavour to meet, if only in a small measure, this need. 



The resulting papers, penned sometimes in town, sometimes even 

 on the road, but always with a sad lack of reference works, can not 

 claim to do justice to the great subject. It is hoped, however, that 

 they will serve their purpose until some more detailed and classic 

 work is produced. 



One of the chief aims I have had in mind while writing thus on 

 the birds and animals of North China, has been the rousing of public 

 interest in the subject, with a view to the ultimate protection and 

 preservation of many species, which under existing conditions are 

 doomed to extinction. Another object has been to share with those 

 who can not get away into the wilds to see for themselves and to taste 

 first hand of Nature's rich store, some of my own experiences with 

 that sweet Mistress and her many children. 



It has proved an untold pleasure to me to write these papers, for 

 my mind has been carried back to many a happy day, in field and 

 forest, amid surroundings never so appreciated as in the perspective of 

 time. It has also been a source of education for I have come across new 

 facts, and have been introduced to many species hitherto unknown 

 to me, as I have delved into the riches of by-gone writers in search 

 >f the correct names for those that I did know. 



