The beginner will often find it difficult, and sometimes quite impossible, to identify some of the flowers seen or gathered during a country ramble; and he will hardly be surprised to experience many disappointments in his attempts to do this when he realises the large number of species among our flowering plants, and the very close resemblance that allied species frequently bear to one another. But there are right and wrong methods of setting to work for the purpose of determining the identity of a plant, and the object of this chapter is to put the beginner on the right track. He must...

The word Lepidoptera, which you see at the head of this page, is the name of the order of insects to which this volume is to be devoted. It is formed from two Greek words, one (lepis) signifying a scale, and the other (pteron) denoting a wing; and was applied by the great naturalist Linnaeus to the scaly-winged insects popularly known as Butterflies and Moths."

What are the attractions which so often entice us to the sea shore, which give such charm to a ramble along the cliffs or the beach, and which will so frequently constrain the most active wanderer to rest and admire the scene before him? The chief of these attractions is undoubtedly the incessant motion of the water and the constant change of scene presented to his view. As we ramble along a beaten track at the edge of the cliff, new and varied features of the coast are constantly opening up before us. Each little headland passed reveals a sheltered picturesque cove or a gentle bay with its...