Excerpt from The Poets and Nature: Reptiles, Fishes, and Insects

In order to anticipate the discovery by others that I have omitted some of the Poet's Insects, I avail myself of the Author's privilege of a Preface to say that my list does not contain, except incidentally, any of the beetles (although such notable insects as the "book-worm" and the "death-watch" are of the tribe), any of the "gnats" or wasps, both so cordially detested by the Poets, or any of their favourite worms. Among the fishes, again, owing to a mishap to manuscript, there is a hiatus, which would be of no importance but for the consequent omission of Thomson's lines on Angling - already largely drawn upon, however, in my "Poet's Beasts."

Acting on the advice of my Friends (the Critics of my two previous volumes), I have added an Index to this, the third, and hope that their prediction of the increased usefulness of my work from such an addition may be fulfilled.

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