PREFACE. 



THERE are more ways than one of studying natural his- 

 tory. There is Dr Dryasdust's way ; which consists of 

 mere accuracy of definition and differentiation ; statistics 

 as harsh and dry as the skins and bones in the museum 

 where it is studied. There is the field-observer's way ; the 

 careful and conscientious accumulation and record of facts 

 bearing on the life-history of the creatures ; statistics as 

 fresh and bright as the forest or meadow where they are 

 gathered in the dewy morning. And there is the poet's 

 way; who looks at nature through a glass peculiarly his 

 own ; the aesthetic aspect, which deals, not with statistics, 

 but with the emotions of the human mind, surprise, 

 wonder, terror, revulsion, admiration, love, desire, and so 

 forth, which are made energetic by the contemplation 

 of the creatures around him. 



In my many years' wanderings through the wide field 

 of natural history, I have always felt towards it something 



