SINCE the publication of my larger book, "The Horse Fair," many letters have been received from teachers and their scholars telling of the pleasure derived from the reading of it, and incidentally suggesting that much of its contents is directly in line with the courses of literary instruction pursued in our elementary schools. This suggestion has led me to col-lect certain of the stories into a smaller volume especially adapted for use as a school reading-book.

The eighteen stories in this ...

THE modest dimensions of this book are perhaps sufficient indication that it is not intended as an aid to the collector. There are about five hundred and fifty known species of spiders in the United Kingdom alone, and at least an equal number of pages would be needed to describe them.

There are certain days of the year when the immense wealth of spider industry going on all around us is revealed in a way calculated to strike even the least observant. We all know—and derive no peculiarly ple...

Aangespoord door hun schoolmeesters richtten Nederlandse scholieren een eeuw geleden hun primitieve camera’s op vogels in de vrije natuur. Vanuit hun zelfgemaakte schuilhutjes en kijktorens zagen ze meeuwen met een ei rollen, eenden met hun kop malen en aalscholvers luid gorgelen. Ze raakten er niet over uitgepraat en vroegen zich af wat al die drukdoenerij toch te betekenen had.

Geen van hen vermoedde dat uit hun geduldige blik en slimme vragen een nieuwe studie zou ontstaan, de ethologie...