INTRODUCTION. 



Of all the birds of human feather the Naturalist 

 is the rarest, and it is not easy to get a glimpse 

 of him, for he likes to hide himself away amongst 

 the trees and bushes. The most also that one 

 ever hears of him is the little chirpy-chuckle of 

 satisfaction that he utters, as he catches that big 

 fat early worm which others miss by sleeping. 

 But this wild-bird of science, when one is lucky 

 enough to get a good specimen of him, is a much 

 more interesting and a much more lively fellow 

 than the tame-bird of the same species, with 

 which every one is familiar from seeing him 

 caged up in his laboratory. 



It is common knowledge also that the wild 

 creature pines away and ultimately dies under 

 the artificial conditions of captivity, for what sort 

 of a bird is it that is content to repeat the tricks 

 it has been taught by someone else? How can 

 one expect any really vigorous spirit to be kept 

 alive, when it is fed on the dry refined seed of 

 science, which, no matter how good it may be, 

 has never enough of that roughage and of those 

 elusive vitamins which are so essential for mental 

 growth ? 



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