Tales of a Naturalist [antikvár]

Foreword There are different ways of loving nature. One might love nature because it is generally accepted to love it and to say, "Look how beautiful," while actually feeling nothing: neither the beauty of the woods nor the charm of a bird's song. This kind of love does not count. One may love nature with the sincere love of an artist, inquisitively, attempting to unravel her mysteries. And finally, one may love nature with the demanding love of a master who sees its beauty, strives to know it, and at the same time learns to manage it, transform and multiply its riches. Such is how the author of this book. Professor Pyotr Manteufel (1883-1960), loved nature. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with him in the woods as a young girl. I remember at the time it seemed to me that he "had not the ordinary five human senses, but many more. When the enormous, broad-shouldered man strolled through the woods, his eyes, keen as a wise bird's, saw somehow better than those of his young pupils. He heard every crackle and rustle, he absorbed his surroundings into himself. He moved in long, noiseless strides, whistling to the birds, and they would answer him. But the most interesting came later—he would explain every detail and every phenomenon to us, would draw conclusions and arrive at broad generalisations. Contemplation—observation—experimentation. Such was the slogan of this scholar. And this path of research extends through all the stories collected under the title Tales of a Naturalist. These are not mere "sportsman's sketches". These are the tales of a great scholar who does not simply write entertaining stories about animals, but actually brings the reader to certain conclusions. This book contains but a portion of his tales, for they are many indeed.