72 FRANCIS ORPEN MORRIS 



wants and wishes/' and generally to help the orni- 

 thological student by a more methodical arrange- 

 ment of the descriptions. The object in view was 

 more than realised, and many there were, who in 

 later life distinguished themselves in the scientific 

 world, who confessed that this and other works 

 by Mr. Morris were the means of first giving them 

 an interest and stimulus to pursue those branches 

 of study for which they had a latent bent and apti- 

 tude. There were many well-known and valuable 

 works on ornithology published prior to 1850. The 

 matchless genius of Bewick, who, as an engraver, 

 has never to this day been excelled, if even ap- 

 proached ; the many excellences of Yarrell, the 

 accuracy of Macgillivray, had already made these 

 men's writings deservedly famous. He was, of 

 course, very familiar with their works, and frequently 

 quoted them. Of all writers known to him, however, 

 there was none that he valued more highly than 

 Macgillivray ; he always spoke of him as one who 

 could be depended on. In alluding to him he 

 would frequently call him "the accurate Macgil- 

 livray," or in quoting a short passage from his 

 writings he would add, perhaps, an observation such 

 as this : " I have only hereon to remark that Mr. 

 Macgillivray is very seldom wrong, and this is not 

 one of the few instances in which he is ; " or again, 

 after some brief description of Macgillivray's, such 

 as that of the motions of the Long-Tailed Tit, he 

 would add, " This is from the life." 



The figures of the birds as they appeared month 



