PHOTOGRAPHY OF MAMMALS AND BIRDS. 31 



between these two modes of progression and the one 

 advocated by that master of wood-craft, Richard 

 Jefferies, for the naturalist-observer. In both the 

 practical absence of sound in both the practical absence 

 of arms. Readers of Jefferies will remember his advice to 

 those who wish to see the life of the fields, that they 

 should place their feet deliberately, and that they 

 should keep their arms still the first to avoid any 

 sudden jarring of the ground, the second to avoid the 

 uncanny impression produced by the actions of the 

 human arm on an animal mind. Compare this 

 approach with that of the bicyclist. In the case 

 of the latter the arms are practically motionless, the 

 jarring of the ground, if there be any, must be of the 

 nature of a steady crescendo not a series of jerky 

 vibrations, such as the animal mind has learnt to 

 associate with man. Similarly with a drifting canoe- 

 no jerky vibration, no movement of the arms. The 

 lesson cannot be too firmly impressed on anyone who 

 wishes to read nature with his eyes close to the 

 page. 



Undoubtedly the most frequently sighted of the 

 British mammalia is the common rabbit, but he is 

 rarely seen under photographic conditions. Interesting 

 studies can be made of a monochrome tame rabbit in a 

 field, and for a natural history such illustrations would 

 be an improvement on a wood block, for the external 

 differences between the wild and some tame varieties are 

 imperceptible. The ideal rabbit photograph, however, 

 would show, not the individual, but the colon)-, and the 



