INTRODUCTION. 9 



It dates back from my ninth year, and a very 

 large number of the incidents quoted occurred 

 during the succeeding seven years. In those days 

 the study of wild birds and animals, particularly 

 animals, combined with an intense love for angling, 

 led me to explore many lonely mountain lochs 

 and forests, and was so absorbing an attraction 

 that it is to be feared it excluded studies of a 

 more important kind. I had no books on British 

 animals ; so far as the school library was concerned, 

 no one seemed to have written any, and during 

 holidays a reference library was not within hailing 

 distance. The natural history books annually 

 presented by kindly relatives were given over 

 to such curiosities of the African veldt and the 

 Indian jungle as best lent themselves to illus- 

 tration, and contained nothing concerning the 

 creatures I knew and loved. Gamekeepers, stone- 

 breakers, and water-bailiffs were the only references 

 available; and I very soon learnt that the sole 

 way to acquire accurate knowledge was to find 

 out for one's self a state of affairs for which I 

 to-day thank my lucky star ! 



It was at my special request that the services of 

 my friend and colleague, Mr Warwick Reynolds, 

 were obtained for the illustrations, and the delightful 

 pictures he has produced more than realise my 

 highest expectations. One of the chief reasons 

 for inviting this well-known artist to undertake 

 the task was his reputation for minute accuracy 

 as regards details. The animals he draws are 

 creatures instinct with life and character, set 

 amidst their true environment ; Mr Reynolds's 

 striking effects are invariably obtained without 

 sacrifice of that fidelity to truth which is essential 

 in a work of this nature. 



