32 NATURE STUDY 



When you have done this, I refer you to 

 the books named in the list at the end of each 

 chapter. These lists do not pretend to he 

 complete, neither do I profess that the books 

 chosen are necessarily the best. They are 

 books which I have myself found useful, and 

 I have selected works at various prices, in 

 order that each reader may supply himself 

 according to the measure of his purse. By 

 this method, what the reader sees and notes 

 will be stored up in his memory, and he will 

 acquire, almost without effort, a familiarity 

 with the pages of the Book of Nature which 

 will lead him to the hidden mysteries of the 

 hieroglyph, if his inclination and perseverance 

 carry him so far. 



It must not be concealed that the subject, 

 in its present condition, is an immense one. 

 A complete knowledge of it is unattainable by 

 a single person. There was once a time when 

 a man might claim that he knew all natural 

 history, without being set down by his hearers 

 as a liar. One brain could then comprehend 

 everything that was known about animals, 

 plants, and minerals. 



That time has gone for ever. No one dare 



