By the Rev. T. A. Marshall. 53 



temple could never have risen from the ground. There are latent 

 possibilities about him which at any time may take a surprising 

 development : the most philosophic naturalist must have begun by 

 collecting, and must continue to some extent to collect throughout 

 his career : as the child is father of the man, so is the amateur the 

 father of the observer. I think, then, it is a sadly conceited mistake 

 to undervalue the functions of the amateur : on the contrary he 

 deserves every respect, and should be encouraged to the top of his bent. 



On a somewhat higher round of the scientific ladder stand those 

 who employ themselves in bringing together the species found m 

 some particular country or district, with a distinct object, viz., that 

 of ascertaining the limits of its productions. They frequently read 

 such books as are necessary to name their species, and when this is 

 done correctly, they contribute to a knowledge of the laws of 

 distribution. Many of them would, if they had the opportunity, 

 enlarge the circle of their observations ; but circumstances confine 

 them to a single country. Our Continental friends laugh at us for 

 establishing a sixth quarter of the Globe, as if Great Britain and 

 Ireland were physically distinct from the rest of Northern Europe. 

 However, local observations are not without value in their bearing 

 upon general laws; but beyond this they contribute little, and their 

 usefulness is considerably restricted. 



Far above these— so far, indeed, that sometimes they are quite 

 lost in the clouds— are the classifiers and systematists. Many of 

 them, also, limit their speculations to the Fauna of one locality, in 

 which case their partial systems cannot fail to be exploded as soon 

 as they are compared with schemes that aim at universality . There 

 is a great deal too much of classification; the best arrangements are 

 but artificial, and can lay no claim to finality. The materials are 

 not yet brought together upon which a permanent and compre- 

 hensive system of organisms can be founded. Some kind of order 

 is necessary for practical purposes, and such attempts at order exist 

 in superabundance. So long as they serve their purpose, which can 

 be but temporary, it is idle to permute and combine as a mere 

 exercise of ingenuity. Nevertheless many eminent writers are to 

 be found in this class, and their labours have supplied a necessary 



