nor with the things which are remote from us, but in the field of
Nature which is immediately about us. The student, even if he dwell in
the unfavourable conditions of a great city, is surrounded by the
world which has yielded immeasurable riches in the way of learning,
which he can appropriate by a little study. He can readily come to
know something of the movements of the air; the buildings will give
him access to a great many different kinds of stone; the smallest
park, a little garden, or even a few potted plants and captive
animals, may tell him much concerning the forms and actions of living
beings. By studying in this way he can come to know something of the
differences between things and their relations to each other. He will
thus have a standard by which he can measure and make familiar the
body of learning concerning Nature which he may find in books. From
printed pages alone, however well they be written, he can never hope
to catch the spirit that animates the real inquirer, the true lover of
Nature.

On many accounts the most attractive way of beginning to form the
habit of the naturalist is by the study of living animals and plants.
To all of us life adds interest, and growth has a charm. Therefore it
is well for the student to start on the way of inquiry by watching the
actions of birds and insects or by rearing plants. It is fortunate if
he can do both these agreeable things. When the habit of taking an
account of that most important part of the world which is immediately
about him has been developed in the student, he may profitably proceed
to acquire the knowledge of the invisible universe which has been
gathered by the host of inquirers of his race. However far he
journeys, he should return to the home world that lies immediately and
familiarly about him, for there alone can he acquire and preserve that
personal acquaintance with things which is at once the inspiration and