Our Reptiles and Batrachians

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. It may cause surprise to some who are not amongst my most intimate friends, that my name should be attached to a volume on any other branch of Natural History than one which is in some way associated with the Vegetable Kingdom. To these it may be necessary to explain that I have only returned on this occasion to an old love, long deserted for the fascinating charms of moulds and mildews. In more youthful days I bird's-nested, caught butterflies and worried reptiles, with all the pertinacity of youth, and amongst all these pursuits acquired a taste for the study of our native birds, reptiles, and insects, which led to my first lessons in the classificatory sciences.