Edward Hamilton Aitken

Edward Hamilton Aitken was a Scottish-born civil servant and naturalist in British India who wrote under the initials Eha. Concerning Animals and Other Matters collects essays on anatomy, behavior, birds, domestic creatures, snakes, plants, and Indian social life. The volume includes a memoir by surgeon-general W. B. Bannerman and illustrations by J. A. Shepherd. Some pieces had previously appeared in the Strand Magazine, the Pall Mall Magazine, and the Times of India, reflecting Aitken’s ability to bring close observation into popular periodical prose. His chapters move from the structure of feet, bills, tails, noses, and ears to encounters with owls, cobras, panthers, and snake charmers. Humor and speculation accompany the natural history, though modern readers should keep its colonial setting and period assumptions in view. Concerning Animals and Other Matters was issued posthumously in the form preserved by Project Gutenberg. Readers interested in early nature writing will encounter an author attentive to ordinary creatures and playful inquiry.