Page:The Story of the House of Cassell (book).djvu/232

 than a botanist in the scientific sense, and had accumulated large stores of plant folk-lore. He supplied beautiful drawings for the colour plates of his "Familiar Wild Flowers" and similar books. Professor Boulger was enlisted for a book on trees, and in later times the works of Professor Groom and Mrs. G. Clarke Nuttall in the same category were illustrated by the wonderful colour photographs of Mr. H. Essenhigh Corke.

But it is more than time to refer to the famous series of works by Richard and Cherry Kearton, who have achieved widespread fame by their nature studies of birds and beasts. Their books on bird-life are full of intimate observations of the habits of the feathered world, while the photographs are of the highest quality. Bird-life, as a study, was the "first love" of Richard Kearton, and he has never forgotten the fascination of winged life. In a communication he has been good enough to make he has recorded the beginning of his connexion with the House. "Through the kindness of Mr. Sidney Galpin," he says, "I obtained a berth on the staff of Cassell, Petter and Galpin in October, 1882. I came straight from a farm on the Yorkshire moors, and the manager of my department, J. H. Puttock, induced me to start writing on natural history subjects. My brother Cherry joined the staff of Cassell & Co. in the autumn of 1887. In April, 1892, I conceived the idea that natural history books required illustrating with greater care and fidelity. My brother purchased a cheap camera and commenced his photographic career on the 10th of that month, and our work, they say, has left its mark throughout the world."

Shortly before his death F. J. Cross, the successor of Puttock, recalled that Richard Kearton's first entrance into the field of literature was at the time Swaysland was preparing his book on Wild Birds and he has put the circumstances on record. The book was in charge of Lewis Wright, and one day he came on a voyage of discovery to the publicity region. He had