78 AMATEUR ORNITHOLOGY. 



piled by Mr. H. G. O. Blake, to whom I once wrote and 

 asked if such a book would not be forthcoming, feeling 

 that " Walden " was not sufficient to contain all the informa- 

 tion on that season which Thoreau was capable of giving. 

 Mr. Blake's answer convinced me that I gave an iota of 

 suggestion to the final appearance of this book. I have 

 studied Thoreau religiously — I mean in the sense of having 

 read his journals almost daily for a number of years. 

 Thoreau was a transcendentalist, I was a theolog ; but it 

 made no trouble with me. No ! the kingdom of birds is 

 one of the kingdoms of God, teaching by all sources and 

 from all sources marvellous parables illustrating His grand 

 and beautiful creation. Thoreau's writings of Spring, Sum- 

 mer, Autumn, and Winter, are indispensable to a true lover 

 of bird nature, although he treats of kindred topics, as of 

 fishes and plants. Thoreau had microscopic eyes which 

 few men possess. He looked far into the infinitesmal 

 depths of nature. He used the microscope rather than the 

 telescope. For this reason he was called a pessimist and 

 not an optimist. He was terrene and not celestial. Some 

 natures will find benefit here — such natures as are always 

 up in the clouds, never down upon the surface of this 

 world, where we live humdrum lives. The pots and kettles 

 of insect life are as necessary within the realm of economic 

 nature as the highest nest of an Eagle upon the distant 

 crag. 



There are some other delightful books which were my 

 study, such as W'aterton's " Travels in South America; " White 

 of Selborne, whose centennial birthday was recently cele- 

 brated by some devout admirers ; " Notes of a Naturalist in 

 Her Majesty's Ship Challenger ;" Buckland's " Curiosities of 

 Natural History ; " and Wood's "Birds of the Bible." Of our 

 own American writers, besides Thoreau, my library con- 

 tains books of Dr. C. C. Abbott, who has explored many 

 haunts in the valley of the Delaware River; and John 

 Burroughs', writings, not unjustly compared to some of 



