v LOVE OF NATURAL HISTORY 65 



advise parents to let them go on if possible, giving them the 

 best education in the subject that is available, and letting 

 them take their chance of obtaining an appointment when 

 they are fit for one. The difficulty with such cases is that to 

 pursue natural history with any chance of profit in these days 

 a considerable knowledge of other subjects, especially modern 

 languages, is absolutely indispensable. The continually -in- 

 creasing amount of scientific literature which must be taken 

 account of in every branch of natural history has much 

 changed the conditions of study required for it, as has also the 

 growing tendency to give appointments solely on the results of 

 competitive examination. In no case would I discourage the 

 taste altogether, but I more often advise some other means of 

 making a living, holding on to natural history as a recreation 

 and relaxation. To a soldier or sailor, for instance, a love of 

 natural history is the greatest possible blessing, and still more 

 to the man of independent fortune. They are often saved by 

 it from all kinds of evil which want of wholesome occupation 

 engenders. Their life becomes a continuous delight, instead 

 of being a burden to themselves and others. Especially to 

 those mainly engaged in absorbing money-making pursuits, 

 the refreshment of an occasional excursion into the realms of 

 nature need not be insisted on. It is perfectly obvious to all 

 who have ever had an opportunity of observing it. 



With an early love of natural history is almost always 

 associated a love of collecting, and probably there is no better 

 way of becoming familiar with a subject than by making a 

 collection of objects illustrating it. The value of all know- 

 ledge depends a great deal upon the amount of labour and 

 time spent in acquiring it. The easy methods of which we 

 make too much boast in the present day, handbooks, pictures, 

 lectures, well-arranged public museums, etc., have their draw- 

 backs and snares as well as their advantages. They are all 

 helps if properly used, but they will not supersede, and 

 nothing will ever supersede, the downright hard personal work 

 by which all solid, lasting knowledge must be gained. The 

 value of making a collection of any kind of specimens about 

 which you wish to know something is that you are forced to 

 spend time and thought over them, to look at them, carefully 



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