64 



Gogga Brown 



He was very conscious all his life of his lack 

 of that essential training in anatomy which would 

 have enabled him to make a direct contribution 

 to palaeontology. His letters abound in references 

 to the fact that, as regards fossils, he was just 

 groping his way in the dark. He is much more 

 sure of himself when he discusses living reptiles 

 about whose habits he knew as much as any 

 expert. This was a field in which he could work 

 to his heart's content without requiring any 

 guidance, free from the trammeling domination 

 of authorities. Here was a subject on which he 

 could make those numberless observations that 

 Naturalists delight in ; it was just the job for 

 one of his calibre. So he set down his notes, 

 day in day out, for almost fifty years. There must 

 surely be some crystals of knowledge in them, 

 even if in weak solution. 



It is important to get a correct idea of what 

 Brown had in mind when he planned and began 

 these lengthy researches concerning the habits of 

 our big lizard, Varanus albogularis, or as he 

 preferred to call it, " The Cape Monitor/' It 

 certainly was not just the whim of an eccentric 

 mind anxious to find some hobby to while away 

 its idle moments. Brown had a contempt for 

 hobbies, and never in his long life had a minute 

 to spare for anything but work. No, it was 



