Vlil INTRODUCTION. 



that knowledge Is more valuable than money ; and 

 therefore, how to get rich, is a predominant ques- 

 tion with the majority of us. But the history of 

 the struggles and successes of some of the men 

 who have led most useful and beautiful lives, 

 generally shows that industry, perseverance and 

 contentment have served them better than pecu- 

 niary wealth, and that this has often been a source 

 of trouble to them. There is no better incitement 

 to a youth who has tried to do his best at school, 

 and who is thinking about leading a useful, 

 successful life, than to read the history of the lives 

 of the men whose names are household words in 

 the branches of knowledge he has learned. 



At the present time, much care is taken to 

 instruct young people about the nature and uses 

 of plants, the characteristics of animals and the 

 ancient history of the earth. Museums are readily 

 visited, and little home collections of plants, in- 

 sects, birds, and fossils are frequently easily made. 

 Natural history, in all its branches, is easily 

 studied ; and as one becomes learned in it, the 

 names of many men, constantly, come before the 

 student as the masters of their respective subjects. 

 Who has not heard of Linnaeus, Cuvier, and 



