INTRODUCTORY. 13 



influence of ethics. It requires no particular education- 

 it is sometimes apparently inherent, as may be noticed 

 in the case of poaching families. Generally, it may 

 be taken as meaning the power of noticing small 

 differences in what seems homogeneous to the majority. 



A simple example is to be found in the man who 

 has an eye for a bird's nest. It is not a mere 

 matter of sharp sight, but of a sight which can 

 distinguish a bird's nest from the hedge in which 

 it is built. What seems requisite is an eye which 

 is exceedingly sensitive to small distinctions of 

 colour, and the possession of such an eye would, 

 and possibly does, give one naturalist an advan- 

 tage over others. Again, when the wind is ruffling 

 the heather, one pair of eyes may detect a move- 

 ment which is not due to the wind. The owner ot 

 those eyes is the likeliest to secure the originator of the 

 movement. It is easy enough to see a lizard basking 

 on a stone ; it is not so easy to instantly mark down 

 the spot which a lizard has just left, and the direction 

 in which it is proceeding; yet this must be included in 

 a naturalist's power of observation. The first indication 

 of a snake's proximity is usually an inch or so of 

 disappearing tail. When that has disappeared an 

 almost imperceptible movement of the undergrowth 

 is the only clue to his whereabouts. 



There is only one satisfactory method of studying 

 the movements of animals bent on concealment in 

 such a way that these movements shall be equally 

 recognisable in the field. It is to confine them in a 



