5^8 [Proc. B.N.F.C., 



working out life histories of plants or animals — work which 

 cannot be done in the open air. This is work which lies 

 within the reach of each one. All that it requires is first, 

 choice of a suitable subject, then, patience and good powers of 

 observation and recording. 



Many people who take up some branch of science seem to 

 think that the one object of their study is to collect and 

 especially to collect something which no one else has got — 

 whereas the true object of our favourite pursuits is not to 

 amass rare specimens but knowledge — to understand something 

 of the varied and prolific life with which the world teems, its 

 origin and modes of development and meaning. 



I mean by the study of life histories taking one species and 

 directing upon it all the powers of investigation which have 

 been improved in these times to such a wonderful extent, and 

 having turned the search-light on the plant or insect as the 

 case may be and examined and re-examined it under every 

 aspect of light and shade, day and night, summer and winter 

 youth and old age, to record its habits with care and accuracy, 

 all that has been learned about it. Its birth, youth, maturity, 

 decay, morphology, anatomy. How it is made, lives and works ; 

 what its place in the world. 



Work of this kind requires not to be* done for rare species, 

 but for the commonest and most familiar. In this interesting 

 work of compiling life histories and recording habits, which no 

 doubt require time which some cannot afford but which I am 

 certain will repay the observer well, the camera may be made 

 to play a most useful part — witness Kearton's beautiful works, 

 Wild Nature with a Camera and others. 



Photography might be used I think to illustrate the seeds of 

 plants. Mr. Clement Reid, in his work on the Origin of the 

 British Flora, complains and justly that there are not collec- 

 tions of seeds in our museums available for comparison. I 

 imagine a set of photographs of seeds would be valuable. A 

 similar set of the nuts or seed vessels of the sedges would be of 

 the greatest use. 



