156 Notice of British Naturalists. 



occasional visits. Thus his days-passed tranquil and serene, with 

 scarcely any other vicissitude than those of the seasons, till they 

 closed at a mature age, on the 26th June, 1793." His work, 

 consisting of letters addressed to Mr. Pennant, and which, in the 

 original edition, is a thick quarto volume, illustrated with plates, 

 is a singular instance how much may be effected in a very small 

 sphere by a joint habit of observation, and of noting down every 

 thing as it occurs. We lose' constantly many interesting par- 

 ticulars, from neglecting to make a memorandum of them at the 

 time ; they may at the moment appear to be of very slight im- 

 portance, but each year will add to their value, and each separate 

 circumstance connects the foregoing with some general principles. 

 He who tries this plan is soon surprised to discover what a large 

 mass of curious information he brings together. It is the founda- 

 tion of the success of .fictitious writings, that human nature, de- 

 picted exactly as it is, — the manners and sayings either of indi- 

 viduals or great classes of men, faithfully recorded — always prove 

 highly interesting and popular. This, if the description be but 

 graphic and faithful, is equally true as regards the habits and in- 

 stincts of the inferior creatures ; and what White did, all persons 

 of any literary taste are equally capable of accomplishing. As a 

 clergyman, confined to his parish, which he seldom appears to 

 have left, and dihgently engaged in his duties, the only time in 

 which he could indulge this taste, was during the "hours of re- 

 laxation and exercise ; and having once attained the habit of 

 daily making notes, the time required for doing so was very little 

 and such as every one has at his disposal. It is to such observa- 

 tions, rather than from the labors of professed naturalists, that 

 for the present at least, we must look for the progress of natural 

 history in this country. We must depend upon individual effort 

 for combined results ; and it is an encouragment that one need not 

 be an accomplished naturalist, or one by profession, in ocder to 

 make useful observations. Pennant, in a short essay attached 

 to his zoology, has particularly pressed the attention of clergy- 

 men to this study. There certainly is no reason why they should 

 neglect,, and there are many cogent reasons why they should 

 cultivate it. Country clergymen often enjoy many facilities for 

 its successful prosecution ; while classical knowledge and literary 

 habits render them peculiarly fit for making discoveries and 



