OHAPTEE I. 



Methods of Study of Natural History. 



HAT has been written of the poet can with equal truth 

 be applied to the naturalist, for 

 " 'T is long' disputed, whether poets claim 

 From art or nature their best right to fame; 

 But art, if not enrich'd by nature's vein. 

 And a rude genius of uncultur'd strain, 

 Are useless both; but when in friendship join'd, 

 A mutual succour in each other find." 

 And, as in the case of the poet, "naturalists are born ami not 

 made." A true naturalist has the spirit of genius born within 

 him, and no amount of discouragement, or of misfortune, or of 

 opposition will deter him in the fulfillment of his destiny. To 

 such a one the methods of research in the fields he loves so well 

 will be sought out and come to him, as it were, by second nature. 

 Were I asked what I considered to be the best qualifications 

 for a naturalist to be possessed of, I should, without hesitation, 

 answer, that, above all else, he must be a good observer; then, of 

 equal importance is it that he should be endowed with a keen 

 power of reasoning, in order to logically utilize what he ob- 

 serves. To these qualities of correct observation, and just ap- 

 preciation of what he sees, must be added an unfailing store of 

 patience, and a capability for work of any desired amount. True 

 naturalists are true men in every sense of the word, and of them 

 if may be said that no class possesses a higher regard for all the 

 characteristics of the nobler side of human nature, as those of 

 truth, candor, and unselfishness. The majority of our best nat- 

 uralists, and especially those who come to be our best descrip- 

 tive biologists, are born with the gift of drawing and painting, 

 an art which in them rapidly develops. This is particularly true 

 of those who lay any claim to being proficient in special depart- 

 ments, as those of ornithology, ichthyology, herpetology, and 

 like sciences. 



Of course, this in no w T ay applies to those philosophic minds, 

 who may be the expounders, the generalizes, or the authors of 



