George Graves
Encyclopedia
George Graves was the author of a comprehensive instruction guidebook for beginners in natural history
at a time when there was a growing interest in collecting animal, plant and geological specimens.
, it expressed the belief that natural history was about the exploration of nature's bounty for the benefits it could bring to humans:
The book included sample pages showing the layout which Graves used in his own field notebook, with columns for recording important facts about these points as each item was observed. This encouraged collectors to keep a field notebook recording the information needed for accurate labelling and a formal description of the object. Excerpts from these field notebooks were often included in published descriptions.
bought a copy of A Naturalist's Companion by Graves in anticipation of seaside walks with his older brother Erasmus Alvey Darwin
once he went up to Edinburgh
in October of that year to begin his undergraduate studies at the University of Edinburgh
. The brothers went for regular Sunday walks on the shores of the Firth of Forth
and Darwin kept a diary recording their finds, which included a sea mouse
and a cuttlefish
. In his second year Charles became active in student societies for naturalists, and joined with others interested in collecting on the shores of the firth.
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
at a time when there was a growing interest in collecting animal, plant and geological specimens.
The naturalist's pocket-book
His The naturalist's pocket-book, or Tourist's companion : being a brief introduction to the different branches of natural history : with approved methods for collecting and preserving the various productions of nature was published in London, printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown in 1818. Written in the tradition of Francis BaconBaconian method
The Baconian method is the investigative method developed by Sir Francis Bacon. The method was put forward in Bacon's book Novum Organum , or 'New Method', and was supposed to replace the methods put forward in Aristotle's Organon...
, it expressed the belief that natural history was about the exploration of nature's bounty for the benefits it could bring to humans:
The book included sample pages showing the layout which Graves used in his own field notebook, with columns for recording important facts about these points as each item was observed. This encouraged collectors to keep a field notebook recording the information needed for accurate labelling and a formal description of the object. Excerpts from these field notebooks were often included in published descriptions.
Influence on Darwin
In August 1825 the young Charles DarwinCharles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
bought a copy of A Naturalist's Companion by Graves in anticipation of seaside walks with his older brother Erasmus Alvey Darwin
Erasmus Alvey Darwin
Erasmus Alvey Darwin , nicknamed Eras or Ras, was the older brother of Charles Darwin, born five years earlier, and also brought up at the family home, The Mount House, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
once he went up to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in October of that year to begin his undergraduate studies at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. The brothers went for regular Sunday walks on the shores of the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
and Darwin kept a diary recording their finds, which included a sea mouse
Sea mouse
The sea mouse, Aphrodita aculeata is a marine polychaete worm found in the North Atlantic, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean. The sea mouse normally lies buried head-first in the sand. It can live in muddy sea floors down to around 1000m.Its body is covered in a dense mat of...
and a cuttlefish
Cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda . Despite their name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs....
. In his second year Charles became active in student societies for naturalists, and joined with others interested in collecting on the shores of the firth.