BIED LIFE IN A WESTEEN VALLEY 



I FIND that as my quiet years occupied by an 

 unremitting study of wild life in one of the 

 most secluded districts of Britain have passed, 

 and ever and anon I have gained new ideas of 

 Nature's purposes, my methods of observation 

 have gradually changed. In studying certain 

 creatures as types, I had been apt to form a too 

 hasty opinion regarding the habits of various 

 members of the family to which they belonged. 

 Now, however, in each separate study of a 

 mammal, a bird, a fish, or an insect, I am led to 

 pursue that study to the farthest limit possible to 

 me, even though I had already observed with 

 care some creature nearly allied to the one 

 engaging my attention. 



But there are many creatures whose habits of 

 life are so peculiarly fascinating the fox among 

 mammals, the owl among birds, the salmon 

 among fish, and the moss humble-bee among 

 insects may be instanced that a preference for 

 these is well-nigh inevitable. Without the fox, 

 the life of the coverts and the upland fields 

 would seem incomplete ; without the owl, the 



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