FREE FOR THE DAY. 



77 



much, if any, upon my friend's question, and no 

 definite conclusion has, perhaps, been reached; 

 so I put myself in my friend's place, and ask, 

 Will some one give me the information required ? 

 The more the question, as originally put, is conned 

 over, the more it is like unto asking, How do we 

 learn to talk ? Let there be a desire for knowl- 

 edge, and the problem will solve itself. And as 

 to natural history, the earnest observer will in- 

 vent names for objects, which will serve his pur- 

 pose until he learns those, as in time he will, by 

 which they have been recognized by others and 

 are in common use. He who does this will have 

 taken the first and most important step, and all 

 that follows will be pleasure rather than toil. 



Another phase of this subject is that of prop- 

 erly observing. Do we always " see straight " ? 

 I prefer this homely phrase in putting the ques- 

 tion, because I was so often asked, when reporting 

 the results of youthful rambles, " Did you see 

 straight ? Are you sure ? " And so the famil- 

 iar questions come to mind now : Have the 

 summer tourists seen straight ? Was everything 

 tjiey saw really as they saw it ? " Can I not be- 

 lieve my own eyes ? " is the usual reply. It is 

 the commonly accepted opinion that we can, cer- 

 tainly; but may not many an error arise from 

 such testimony ? Undoubtedly ; but, on the 

 other hand, if the sight-seer is really anxious to 



