29 
notation is perhaps not the best judge of the ease with which 
others may acquire it. However, I know tliat, by means of this 
niethod, tlie results of a day’s observations of many species may 
be recorded in less than five minutes — perhaps in less than half of 
that time — and that this fact cannot fail to be regarded as a great 
advantage j for all must have known the discomfort of writing a 
journal when tired and longing for one’s bed, and a tendency, if I 
may use the word, to “ scamp ” the work when a “ marvellous 
exposition of sleep ” begins to be felt. One more feature of this 
“ Kogi.stor ” need, I think, only be here dwelt upon, and that is, 
that for the bettor and more conveniently marking off the different 
weeks, the Sunday entries are always written in red ink. 
Now, as to the use of this “ Kegister.” I have just stated the 
result of my experience, over more than ten years, as to the com- 
paratively little trouble it took to keep, and accordingly, I have 
only to shew that advantages sufficient to correspond were derived 
from it j yet I can safely declare, that they were out of all propor- 
tion to the time and labour bestowed by my brother and myself. 
Ihore is no need for me to urge here the value of obtaining a habit 
of close, constant and accurate observation ; but how much this 
habit must have been fostered by our ‘ Kegister,’ may be easily 
imagined, when it is considered that every evening our conscience 
was not satisfied unless we could give a satisfactory account of 
each bird seen or heard during the day. It follows that we were 
thereby compelled never to neglect the feeblest call-note, the whirr 
of a wing, or the flirt of a tail. I do not mean to say that every 
bii-d seen or heard was determined and “ booked ” — for of course, 
in spite of every care, the contrary would happen; but I can 
honestly assert, that the cases in which the species was not identi- 
fied, were extremely few in number ; and great indeed was the 
benefit of the practice to us, as ensuring continuously our careful 
attention, as forcing us to take notice of everything that caught our 
ears or eyes, and as thereby making us become acquainted with 
innumerable peculiarities of the feathered tribes that are neglected 
by most men — even by those who are far from being inattentive 
observers. However good an outdoor ornithologist any inan may 
be, let him adopt the plan here described, and ho will become a 
better one. But the uses of our “ Eegister ” have not merely been 
personal — had such been the case I should not have troubled the 
