24 
NATURE STUDY 
only a few try to read the riddle and go back to the geological 
causes of which the scenery is but the answer. 
Among such a bewildering range of subjects, the choice 
must, of course, rest to a great extent with the would-be 
student’s natural aptitude, or his liking for any particular 
branch, and also to some extent upon the locality in which he 
chances to live ; the flora are everywhere, mammals large 
or small are found everywhere, insects and birds are every- 
where, but one could not study fish if one lived in the Taro 
plains, and there are many places where one’s chances of 
studying ethnology are limited. 
There is always a tendency too among neophytes to 
assume that such and such a thing has been done by some one 
else, and that everything is known and worked out ; as a friend 
said a little time since, ‘ Oh, what is the use of collecting birds ? 
Mr. X. has done all that,’ whereas the greatest man of science 
know that for eyes that see and brains that seek, the field for 
research was never so wide as it is at present, and that the 
eternal ‘ why ’ can never be fully answered. 
The writer will now venture to call attention to a few things 
to which would-be students and observers may quite usefully 
direct their attention. 
First of these is a nature calendar. Over a hundred years 
ago an old-world country parson named Gilbert White set 
himself down to compile such a thing, and he accomplished 
this in such a delightful fashion that White of Selborne’s 
name is now among the immortals. He was not a highly 
trained scientist, but had the natural gift of careful observation, 
accompanied, needless to say, by boundless patience. Many 
men possess in a greater or less degree similar gifts, and the 
observer’s eye is capable of infinite development : the results 
are worth the pains. Go for a walk with a trained observer 
and you will marvel why you were so blind. The faculty of 
observation is not however learnt in a day, and, like most good 
things in this world, can only be won by great patience and 
application. At this stage one seems to hear the neophyte 
inquire what he shall observe. Well, let us try to make a 
few suggestions. Take a limited area — your garden, or maybe 
your farm — try to identify as many of the birds, animals, 
