PREFACE. 



SHOULD the following pages serve in any wa^ to 

 stimulate in our young men a love for the various 

 interesting natural objects which surround us, my pleasant 

 labours will not have been undertaken in vain. 



I am greatly indebted to Professor D. D. Cunning- 

 ham, C.I.E., F.R.S., and to Professor F. J. Rowe, M.A., of 

 the Presidency College, Calcutta, for their valuable 

 corrections and suggestions in the preparation of the 

 book ; in fact, the idea of writing these essays was first 

 suggested by Professor Rowe. 



