PREFACE. 



Natural History has of late become a favourite 

 pursuit in this country; and although its progress 

 as a study may not have been equal to the enthusi- 

 asm which it has excited, its general effect is unques- 

 tionably beneficial. In consequence of the interest 

 which it has created, a great variety of works, from 

 the simple catechism to the elaborate treatise, have 

 appeared in rapid succession. But while compends 

 and manuals are thus multiplied, little has been 

 said with regard to the private history and profes- 

 sional pursuits of the distinguished persons who 

 have contributed most to the general stock of know- 

 ledge from which these popular essays have in a 

 great measure been derived. We have, therefore, 

 endeavoured in some degree to supply this defi- 

 ciency, by presenting a series of Lives of the more 

 Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnaeus in- 

 clusive. 



In the Introduction will be found a view of the 

 objects, to the investigation of which the talents of 

 the individuals whose annals we record were prin- 

 cipally directed. The remarks there offered are cal- 

 culated to enable such readers as may not have been 



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