JOURNEY TO FORT SEVERN 135 



my notes, I have evidence that a considerable number 

 of my readers read them with pleasure ; and for the 

 benefit of these readers, it is my intention to give 

 considerable attention to the ornithology of the British 

 possessions and northern parts of the United States, 

 with which I am better acquainted than with that of 

 any other part, and in doing so I intend to give myself 

 a free hand. I do not wish to be aggressive ; but the 

 more I seek information from museum and other " autho- 

 rities," who have had no what the tailors call " practical 

 experience," the more I am convinced that I can safely 

 rely on my own notes and observations. I wish to give 

 offence to none, and I will therefore say no more than 

 this : If there are errors in my remarks, they are honest 

 errors ; and I cannot conceive that any notes can be of 

 much value if the writer of them is afraid of his own 

 opinions. I like the trees in my garden to grow as 

 wildly as they please. I decline to trim them into the 

 shapes of cocks and pots to please the profession. 



