ANIMALS, BIRDS, AND FISHES

BY

DAVID STARR JORDAN, LL.D.


This volume is made up from the writings of naturalists who have told
us of the behavior of animals as they have seen it at first hand and
of the beginnings and the growth of life so far as they know about it.
In selecting these from the wealth of available material the editor
has been guided by this rule: The subject matter must be interesting
to young people; it must be told in a clear and attractive style; and
most important of all, it must deal with actualities. We have seen in
the last few years a marked revival of nature studies. This has led to
a wider range of interest in natural phenomena and in the growth and
ways of animals and plants. If this movement is not to be merely a
passing fad, the element of truthfulness must be constantly insisted
upon. If a clever imagination, or worse, sentimental symbolism, be
substituted for the truth of nature, the value of such studies is
altogether lost.

The essence of character-building lies in action. The chief value of
nature study in character-building is that, like life itself, it
deals with realities. One must in life make his own observations,
frame his own inductions, and apply them in action as he goes along.