PREFACE 



feet above sea level. But they are lazy, easy- 

 going little brooks that appear always to be seeking 

 the longest route to their final destination, as if loath 

 to exchange the fresh-water meadows and woodlands 

 for the salt marshes, and fearful of losing their 

 identity in the sea. The Squamscott River to the 

 north, and the Merrimack to the south, are merely 

 drawn on a larger scale, hardly differing, except in size, 

 from the little brooks that feed them. 



I have watched the daily life of the wild creatures 

 of this locality at all times of year impartially, cer- 

 tainly having spent as much time in the woods in 

 midwinter as at any other season. In describing the 

 habits of the different species, I have endeavoured to 

 give the sum total of what I have seen at different 

 times, instead of trying to depict the life of any single 

 individual of each species. 



In grouping my little beasts, I have followed " no 

 law of God or man " beyond associating them as 

 nearly as possible as they are most commonly found 

 associated in their native state. I have begun with 



