ii2 IN A CHESHIRE GARDEN 



conclusion that they have in substance been 

 taken from a diary, and that I have not had 

 to depend upon my memory for what they 

 contain, as I used to put down in this diary 

 at the moment any happenings connected 

 with Natural History that I noticed and 

 wished to remember. When after several 

 years I came to look through the entries, the 

 idea occurred to me that possibly some of the 

 matter might have an interest for others; I 

 may very likely, of course, be mistaken in 

 this, all the more so, perhaps, because these 

 notes do represent what to me has been a 

 source of very great interest. I have had to 

 live for many years an unexciting life, in an 

 out-of-the-way country place, with little 

 society, and with few opportunities of getting 

 away for a holiday; and yet with the garden 

 itself, and the little world it embraces, in 

 making the acquaintance of its inhabitants 

 and watching the doings of their daily life, 

 I can safely say I do not know what it is to 

 be dull. Of course, I do not pretend that 

 Natural History has supplied all the interests 

 I have had outside my work, for I am 

 thankful to say there is hardly anything in 

 the world that doesn't interest me, but it 

 certainly is the case that the torn-tits and the 

 robins and the other birds have always been 

 to me as human friends, and have continually 

 provided me with amusement and pleasure. 



