THE ORNITHOLot-iCAl, uuijj.c. 27 



the chair of a professor;* but absurdities like this 

 are unworthy of refutation. We must inform such 

 sanguine beginners, that not only many walks must 

 be taken, but many years consumed, before he will 

 earn the reputation of being ' a very good naturalist;' 

 and that, when this title has been acquired, he will 

 then, if he has good sense and real talent, be con- 

 scious himself that the praise is undeserved. We 

 might be tempted merely to smile at such folly, and 

 only to pity the contracted minds of those who gave 

 it currency, were it not for the mischievous effect that 

 such notions may have upon the young student, 

 from their tendency to repress all mental exertions? 

 and all aspirations after any higher knowledge than 

 the composition of a dabchick's* (Grebe's) nest, or 

 the color of a Sparrow's egg. Inflated ideas of our 

 own pursuits, and unmeasured abuse of others, are 

 the natural results of ignorance and conceit. 



" The business of the systematic or closet natural- 

 ist commences where that of the practical observer 

 ceases. If he is not a mere catalogue-maker, or a 

 devotee to systematic names — a race of worthies 

 which in these days is almost extinct — he treasures 

 all the facts communicated by his brethren of the 

 field, and applies them as occasion serves, to their 

 ultimate use. While the one collects, the other 

 combines. By means of his library, he ascertains 

 which of the facts are really new, and which have 



* See Professor Rennie's introduction to his edition of Monta- 

 gu's Ornithological Dictionary. — Wood. 



