WILD TRAITS IN TAME ANIMALS. 



CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTION. 



In spite of the immense stimulus wliich Darwin- 

 ism has given to the study of Natural History, I 

 am afraid that hitherto it has proved rather a 

 stumbling-block than a help to a large number of 

 people who take an interest in such pursuits. 



Most of these belong to a class who take up 

 some branch of natural history as a hobby for 

 leisure hours. One hardly likes to speak of such 

 students as amateurs ; for the term generally 

 savours of contempt when used in connection 

 ■ th the arts and sciences. We owe so much to 

 observers, from Gilbert White downwards, to 

 whom the study of animated nature has been 



A 



