viii MY LIFE AS A NATURALIST 



in this direction is surely to create the interest which comes 

 from knowledge. Nature is fascinating at every season to those 

 who have the power to understand the life which surrounds 

 them. But in the intercourse with Nature, as in human inter- 

 course, a sympathetic interpreter is required. 



Is it not true of the vast majority of those who live in the 

 country that they have eyes and see not, ears also and hear 

 not ? As a rule, it is only the kind of idler for whom Stevenson 

 wrote an apology, or perhaps the sportsman who hunts for 

 pleasure, that can distinguish the songs of birds, or note the 

 little dramas of plant and insect life that are enacted daily before 

 their eyes. 



To my mind the study of bird life is an inexhaustible fund of 

 wonder and delight. The mystery of their migration, the 

 interest of their nesting habits, and, above all, the beauty of 

 their individual songs, renew their fascination with every year. 

 Much of the pleasure which I derive from watching them, and 

 listening to them, I owe to Mr Westell, who first taught me 

 to distinguish their notes, and pointed out to me many of their 

 habits which I had not noticed for myself. 



If a Naturalist of this order could be found in every village, 

 I think the tow r ns would be robbed of many of their recruits, 

 and the countryside would be clothed with new and hitherto 

 undreamed of attractions. 



It is for this reason that I am glad to welcome the publication 

 of this book, and to express my own obligations to its author. 



LYTTON 

 KNEBWORTH, January 1918 



