INTRODUCTION vii 



mind of our age and continues the revelation which Jefferies began in " The 

 Story of My Heart." 



It is with the hope of making clear the riches of the English country and, 

 no less, of the men who are writing about it, that I have arranged these chapters 

 of THE BOOK OF THE OPEN AIR. The names of Messrs. W. H. Hudson, W. 

 Warde Fowler, G. A. B. Dewar, " Scolopax," Alfred W. Rees, J. C. Tregarthen, 

 Edward Clodd, A. H. Patterson to mention but a few standing as they do 

 for truth and energy in a variety of forms, will make it evident that I have not 

 passed over many of the best men, and I hope that the absence of other re- 

 spectable names is not due to any fault of mine. It is not a text book ; it is 

 not in any way exhaustive ; but it does aim at giving a vivid and precise im- 

 pression of wild life in England, and thereby if possible creating a fresh impulse 

 towards the affectionate and careful observation of which it is one monument. 



EDWARD THOMAS. 



