PREFACE 



flatter myself that I can resolve it, or any other 

 similar question, but I find the effort stimulating, 

 and now and then I get a gleam of light. 



We live in a wonderful world, and the wonders of 

 the world without us are matched and more than 

 matched by the wonders of the world within us. 

 This interior world has its natural history also, and 

 to observe and record any of its facts and incidents, 

 or trace any of its natural processes, is well worthy 

 of our best moments. 



I have given the name of the initial chapter, 

 "Under the Apple-Trees," to the whole collection, 

 because most of the essays were written in my camp 

 under the trees, in the old orchard where I gathered 

 apples as a farm-boy. The wild life about me ap- 

 pealed to my love of natural history, while thoughts 

 and suggestions from beyond the horizon occupied 

 my more philosophical meditations. 



JOHN BURROUGHS. 



