PREFACE. ix 



less, this new form of sport also possesses the addi- 

 tional advantage of yielding permanent trophies of 

 the skill and endurance of its votaries, whilst leaving 

 the originals to enjoy their wild free lives, and sit 

 for the next naturalist photographer who comes 

 along to delight in studying them. 



This book, which is entirely popular, does not 

 pretend in any measure whatsoever to assume 

 the nature of a guide to collecting and preserv. 

 ing any of the beasts, birds, or insects described 

 in its pages, but is simply designed to help the 

 finding, studying, and photographing of wild 

 things at home going about the everyday business 

 of their lives. It contains a succinct account of our 

 new devices, which are of such value that we have, 

 within the last two or three months, succeeded in 

 photographing the shyest of our feathered friends 

 within a few inches of the camera, and made 

 observations of the most interesting character. 



A feature of the book is, that it has been 

 written almost entirely in the fields. Some parts 

 of it have been penned beneath the frowning crags 

 of Shetland, others under the milk-white bloom of 

 a Surrey hedgerow. It has engaged my attention 



