want of practical instructions for obtaining and 

 preserving the various productions of Nature has long 

 prevailed^ and in endeavouring to supplj/ this desidera- 

 tum^ the Author has been anxious to combine amusing 

 and instructive information^ with the results of practical 

 experience, without encr easing the bulk of this volume 

 beyond that of a Pocket Bnok, and at the same time form 

 a compendious introduction to each branch of Natural 

 Jlistory. 



In performing this task, he has prefixed a general 

 outline of the characters of each Class and Order, with 

 the essential or generic characters of the different fami' 

 lies ; generally/ accompanied with a brief sketch of the 

 habits, ceconomy, places of resort, food, and probable 

 modes of procuring the various species ; for the generic 

 characters he is principally indebted to Authors who have 

 written on the respective branches of the Science, having 

 in most cases only rendered the original in more familiar 

 language, avoiding as much as possible all technical 

 phrases ; and where these are unavoidable, he trusts the 

 accompanying Plates will render them intelligible ; as 

 well as more completely fix on the memory of the Stif" 

 dent the peculiar forms of the genera delineated. 



