ABSTRACT
Conclusion of John Burroughs, Whitman: A Study (1896), pp. 263–8. John Burroughs (1837–1921), American naturalist, is one of the earliest, most impressive and weighty disciples of Whitman. He was bom in New York State and in his early years engaged in a variety of pursuits: teaching, journalism, farming and fruit-raising. He was for nine years a clerk in the Treasury Department in Washington, and in 1867 he wrote an influential little book entitled Notes on Walt Whitman as poet and person. In 1871, he began with Wake-Robin a series of books on birds and flowers and came to be regarded as to some extent a successor of Thoreau as an essayist on the plants and animals in the human environment. He lived a long life and was a prolific author. His books include, in addition to his essays on out-of-door life, a volume of poems and two books of travel sketches dealing with England and France.
