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of studying Nature. I almost gave up collecting altogether, 

 because to collect meant to destroy, to bring prematurely to 

 an end the joyous life of the creature collected. 



And besides, I had found that to observe the wild free life 

 in Nature, to draw conclusions from observation and to 

 prove or attempt to prove those conclusions, was a far 

 higher and much more fascinating pleasure than that of 

 collecting. 



Yet collecting has its pleasures, for it satisfies one of man's 

 natural instincts, the inborn love of hunting. It is also the 

 surest, most rapid, and perhaps the only way to acquire an 

 accurate knowledge of the distinctions of the various species 

 of any special class under study, and of the names by which 

 they are known to other men. Of course if we only wish to 

 observe creatures for our own benefit, we need not trouble 

 in the least about the names that men have given to them. 

 Observation will usually teach us soon enough the difference 

 between one creature and another. But if, as we very soon 

 do, we desire to read what others have observed or more 

 especially if we wish to record our own observations for the 

 benefit of others, we must with the greatest accuracy 

 determine the name of the creature whose habits we are 

 studying. 



Collecting is therefore by no means to be depreciated, for 

 it is a splendid introduction to study and usually a most 

 healthful pursuit, besides being the source of innumerable 

 pleasures. However, the pleasures of collecting are not to 

 be compared with the pleasures derived from the study of 

 the life-histories of the living creatures. By life-history I 

 mean much more than the life-cycle. The more we study 

 the living things and the closer we get to the real truth of 

 their lives and to the laws which govern these wild beings 

 and form their habits, the greater becomes the fascination of 

 study and the more intense the desire to penetrate yet farther 

 into the heart of Nature and, not to wrest from her,, as some 

 say, but ask her to reveal to us more of her wonderful laws, 

 to light up for us more of those secrets which are still 

 hidden from our understanding. 



Now, if we go into the wilds, whether it be the bare, wind- 

 swept uplands, or the forest with its tangled growth of 

 brambles and undershrubs below and its tall trees rising up 

 into the airy regions above, or whether it be the stretch of 

 sand between high- and low-water mark on the sea coast, with 

 innumerable rocks and pools or hung with seaweed ; if we 

 go to these wilds and study the creatures that have their 



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