Books on Natural History. 135 



of making a collection of shells or of marine animals 

 in general, yet when they turned up in the dredge he 

 was reluctant to throw them away, and by degrees 

 they accumulated, and his desire to know more about 

 them increased. At last he had to get a cabinet to 

 hold them, as without arrangement it was clear that 

 they would be useless for comparison or any other 

 reasonable purpose. Also, in order to be his own 

 instructor in these matters as far as he could, he pro- 

 vided himself with G. B. Sowerby's " Illustrated Index 

 of British Shells," Forbes's " British Star-fishes," and 

 Bell's " British Stalk-eyed Crustacea," works which 

 may indeed have been left far in the background by the 

 vast and rapid strides that natural history has made 

 in recent years, but which at that time were almost 

 indispensable to the student of the several branches 

 of which they treated. Forbes's book in particular, 

 by the admirable clearness of the style and the vein 

 of humour sparkling through it, both was and still 

 is well adapted to fascinate a beginner, and cultivate 

 his taste for research. 



The numerous visits which Mr. Robertson made 

 to the shores of Cumbrae, and the experience he had 

 been gradually accumulating in some of the branches 

 of geology and botany, enabled him not unfrequently 

 to exhibit specimens and to make remarks at the 

 meetings of the Natural History Society. He was 

 gratified to find that his occasional observations did 

 not appear unwelcome to the other members. By 

 the sympathy and approbation shown his inclination 

 towards these pursuits was still more quickened and 

 invigorated. 



