Vili PREFACE. 
believe in the existence of any royal road to learning in 
Natural History, any more than in any other department 
of human knowledge. If Natural History is ever to be 
taught in schools, with any satisfaction to the teacher, or 
any profit to the learner, it must be taught as systematically 
and as unflinchingly as Mathematics and Greek have been 
taught for many generations. The Author is one of those 
who believe that the time is now approaching, if it be not 
already here, when the Natural Sciences will take their true 
place in school education, as second to no other branch of 
knowledge, either as regards their intrinsic value and in- 
terest, or regarded merely as a means of developing the 
mental powers. Acting upon this belief, the Author has, 
therefore, treated his subject in a purely scientific spirit ; 
and whilst avoiding as much as possible the use of tech- 
nicalities, he has not endeavoured to lend his subject any 
false glitter or embellishment ; firmly believing that there is 
even a certain mental training involved in the recognition 
that a strictly scientific description is not without its own 
charms and beauties. Whilst the use of technical terms 
has been as far as possible restricted, it is believed that an 
explanation of every unavoidable term will be found in the 
glossary, or is appended in the text. 
Lastly, the illustrations, with few exceptions, have been 
drawn on the wood by the Author, and he has thought it 
wise to wholly eschew the use of pictorial illustrations, as 
unnecessary in a scientific work, however elementary it 
may be. 
