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SKLBOHNK CHURCH. FROM THE NORTH,

THE

NATURAL HISTORY

OF

SELBORNE;

OBSERVATIONS ON VARIOUS PARTS OF NATURE;
AND THE NATURALIST'S CALENDAR.

BY THE LATE

REV. GILBERT WHITE, A.M.

FELLOW OF ORIEL COLLEGE, OXFORD.

WITH NOTES,
BY CAPTAIN THOMAS BROWN, F.L.S. M.K.S. &c.

PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL PHYSICAL SOCIETY.

EDINBURGH:

PUBLISHED, FOR THE PROPRIETORS,

BY JAMES CHAMBERS, EDINBURGH; W. ORR, LONDON;

AND W. CURRY, JUN. & CO. DUBLIN.

MDCCCXXXIII.

EDINBURGH:
Printod l>y ANDRKW HIIUKTRKOE, Thistle Lan<».

6HW6'

PREFACE.

GILBERT WHITE was the eldest son of John White,
of Selborne, Esq. and of Anna, the daughter of the
Ilev. Thomas Holt, rector of Streatham in Surrey. He
was born at Selborne, on July 18, 1720, and received
his school education at Basingstoke, under the Rev.
Thomas Warton, vicar of that place, and father of
those two distinguished literary characters, Dr Joseph
Warton, master of Winchester school, and Mr Thomas
Warton, poetry professor at Oxford. He was admitted
at Oriel College, Oxford, in December, 1739, and took
his degree of Bachelor of Arts in June, 1743. In March,
1744, he was elected Fellow of his College. He became
Master of Arts in October, 1746, and was admitted one
of the senior Proctors of the University in April, 1752.
Being of an unambitious temper, and strongly attached to
the charms of rural scenery, he early fixed his residence
in his native village, where he spent the greater part of

6*359249

IV PREFACE.

his life in literary occupations, and especially in the
study of Nature. This he followed with patient assiduity,
and a mind ever open to the lessons of piety and bene-
volence, which such a study is so well calculated to afford.
Though several occasions offered of settling upon a
college living, he could never persuade himself to quit
the beloved spot, which was indeed a peculiarly happy
situation for an observer. Thus his days passed tranquil
and serene, with scarcely any other vicissitudes than
those of the seasons, till they closed at a mature age, on
June 26, 1793.

The above short sketch was prefixed to the edition
of Mr White's work published after his death, by his
friend Dr Aiken of Warrington. It is abundantly
meagre, but except the many pleasing allusions to
himself throughout his letters, it contains all that the
public have ever known of our author's personal history.
An enthusiastic admirer of his, who lately visited the
village of Selborne, thus sums up his account : — " Of
Gilbert White himself, I could collect few personal
reminiscences ; and all that an old dame, who had
nursed several of the family, could tell me of the philo-
sophical old bachelor was, that < he was a still, quiet
body,' and that « there wasn't a bit of harm in him, I'll
assure ye, sir : there was'nt indeed.' "

PREFACE, V

Mr White is principally known to the world by his
Natural History of Selborne, which, although purport-
ing to be but the description of the natural objects
of a single parish, is, nevertheless, a book of general
interest, embracing, in its details, varied and extensive
inquiries into the phenomena of Nature. It originated
in a series of letters, written to Thomas Pennant, Esq.
and the Honourable Daines Barrington, — gentlemen of
high literary and scientific acquirements in their day, —
the former, the well-known author of the British Zoology,
History of Quadrupeds, Tour in Scotland, and many
other esteemed works.

The Natural History of Selborne was first published
in quarto, in 1789, along with what Mr White considered
as essential in parochial history, namely, its Antiquities.
This last, however, although of sufficient local interest,
can offer few attractions to the general reader.

The originality and instructive details of his chief
work soon commanded general attention, and attracted
even continental notice ; and, we believe, it was trans-
lated into more than one foreign language. We know
that a translation of it was printed in Germany, so early
as 1792, and published at Berlin in that year.

This work is written in an unconnected form, without
any attempt at scientific arrangement, with which, how-
ever, Mr White shews himself well acquainted ; and the
minute exactness of his facts — the good taste displayed

vi PREFACE.

in their selectibn — and the elegance and liveliness with
which they are described, — render this one of the most
amusing books of the kind ever published, and it has
gained for the author a high and just reputation.

Mr White's long series of observations were skilfully
and attentively repeated, and have tended greatly to
enlarge and correct our knowledge of those departments
of natural history of which he has treated. He may
be esteemed a worthy successor to Ray and Derham ;
while his remarks, being almost exclusively original,
are, in some measure, even better entitled to our
attention than the writings of these celebrated
naturalists.

It has been thought proper to insert in the present
edition the author's Poems, partly on account of their
intrinsic merit, which is not inconsiderable, but prin-
cipally because they are upon local subjects, and
therefore naturally connected with the present work.
They are also valuable and appropriate, as illustrating
the author's strong attachment to the study of Nature.

EDINBURGH, January 25 j 1883.

POEMS.

THE INVITATION TO SELBORNE.

SEE, Selborne spreads her boldest beauties round
The varied valley, and the mountain ground,
Wildly majestic ! What is* all the pride
Of flats, with loads of ornament supplied ? —
Unpleasing, tastleless, impotent expense,
Compared with Nature's rude magnificence.

Arise, my stranger, to these wild scenes haste ;
The unfmish'd farm awaits your forming taste :
Plan the pavilion, airy, light, and true ;
Through the high arch call in the length'ning view ;
Expand the forest sloping up the hill ;
Swell to a lake the scant, penurious rill ;
Extend the vista ; raise the castle mound
In antique taste, with turrets ivy-crown'd ;
O'er the gay lawn the flow'ry shrub dispread,
Or with the blending garden mix the mead ;
Bid China's pale, fantastic fence delight ;
Or with the mimic statue trap the sight.

Oft on some evening, sunny, soft, and still,
The Muse shall lead thee to the beech-grown hill,
To spend in tea the cool, refreshing hour,
Where nods in air the pensile, nest-like bower :*
Or where the hermit hangs the straw-clad cell,f
Emerging gently from the leafy dell,
By Fancy plann'd ; as once th' inventive maid
Met the hoar sage amid the secret shade :

* A kind of arbour on the side of a hill.

f A grotesque building, contrived by a young gentleman, who
used on occasion to appear in the character of a hermit.

VU1 POEMS.

Romantic spot ! from whence in prospect lies
Whatever of landscape charms our feasting eyes, —
The pointed spire, the hall, the pasture plain,
The russet fallow, or the golden grain,
The breezy lake that sheds a gleaming light,
Till all the fading picture fail the sight.

Each to his task ; all different ways retire :
Cull the dry stick ; call forth the seeds of fire ;
Deep fix the kettle's props, a forky row,
Or give with fanning hat the breeze to blow.

Whence is this taste, the furnish'd hall forgot,
To feast in gardens, or th' unhandy grot ?
Or novelty with some new charms surprises,
Or from our very shifts some joy arises.
Hark, while below the village bells ring round,
Echo, sweet nymph, returns the soften'd sound ;
But if gusts rise, the rushing forests roar,
Like the tide tumbling on the pebbly shore.

Adown the vale, in lone, sequester'd nook,
Where skirting woods imbrown the dimpling brook,
The ruin'd convent lies : here wont to dwell
The lazy canon midst his cloister'd cell,*
While Papal darkness brooded o'er the land,
Ere Reformation made her glorious stand :
Still oft at eve belated shepherd swains
See the cowl'd spectre skim the folded plains.

To the high Temple f would my stranger go
The mountain-brow commands the woods below :
In Jewry first this order found a name,
When madding Croisades set the world in flame ;
When western climes, urged on by pope arid priest,
Pour'd forth their millions o'er the deluged East :
Luxurious knights, ill-suited to defy
To mortal fight Turcestan chivalry.

Nor be the parsonage by the Muse forgot —
The partial bard admires his native spot ;
Smit with its beauties, loved, as yet a child,
Unconscious why, its capes, grotesque and wild.

* The ruins of a Priory, founded by Peter de Rupibus,
Bishop of Winchester.

f The remains of a Preceptory of the Knights Templars ; at
least it was a farm dependent upon some preceptory of that order.
I find it was a preceptoiy, called the Preceptory of Suddi ngton ;
now called Southington.

POEMS.

High on a mound th' exalted gardens stand,

Beneath, deep valleys, scoop'd by Nature's hand.

A Cobham here, exulting in his art,

Might blend the general's with the gardener's part ;

Might fortify with all the martial trade

Of rampart, bastion, fosse, and palisade ;

Might plant the mortar with wide threat'ning bore,

Or bid the mimic cannon seem to roar.

Now climb the steep, drop now your eye below
Where round the blooming village orchards grow ;
There, like a picture, lies rny lowly seat,
A rural, shelter'd, unobserved retreat.

Me far above the rest Selbornian scenes,
The pendent forests, and the mountain greens,
Strike with delight ; there spreads the distant view,
That gradual fades till sunk in misty blue :
Here Nature hangs her slopy woods to sight,
Rills purl between and dart a quivering light.

SELBORNE HANGER.

A WINTER PIECE TO THE MISS B ***** S.

THE bard, who sang so late in blithest strain
Selbornian prospects, and the rural reign,
Now suits his plaintive pipe to sadden* d tone,
While the blank swains the changeful year bemoan.

How fallen the glories of these fading scenes !
The dusky beach resigns his vernal greens ;
The yellow maple mourns in sickly hue,
And russet woodlands crowd the dark'ning view.

Dim, clust'ring fogs involve the country round,
The valley and the blended mountain ground
Sink in confusion ; but with tempest-wing
Should Boreas from his northern barrier spring,
The rushing woods with deaf 'ning clamour roar,
Like the sea tumbling on the pebbly shore.
When spouting rains descend in torrent tides,
See the torn zigzag weep its channel'd sides :
Winter exerts its rage ; heavy and slow,
From the keen east rolls on the treasured snow ;
Sunk with its weight the bending boughs are seen,
And one bright deluge whelms the works of men.

POEMS.

Amidst this savage landscape, bleak and bare,
Hangs the chill hermitage in middle air ;
Its haunts forsaken, and its feasts forgot,
A leaf-strown, lonely, desolated cot !

Is this the scene that late with rapture rang,
Where Delphy danced, and gentle Anna sang?
With fairy step where Harriet tripp'd so late,
And, on her stump reclined, the musing Kitty sate ?

Return, dear nymphs ; prevent the purple spring,
Ere the soft nightingale essays to sing ;
Ere the first swallow sweeps the fresh'ning plain,
Ere love-sick turtles breathe their amorous pain ;
Let festive glee th' enlivened village raise,
Pan's blameless reign, and patriarchal days ;
With pastoral dance the smitten swain surprise,
And bring all Arcady before our eyes.

Return, blithe maidens ; with you bring along
Free, native humour ; all the charms of song ;
The feeling heart, and unaffected ease ;
Each nameless grace, and ev'ry power to please.
November ], 1763.

ON THE RAINBOW.

Look upon the Rainbow, and praise him that made it : very beautiful is
it in the brightness thereof. — Eccles. xliii. 11.

ON morning or on evening cloud impress'd,
Bent in vast curve, the watery meteor shines
Delightfully, to th' level'd sun opposed :
Lovely refraction ! wrhile the vivid brede
In listed colours glows, th' unconscious swain,
With vacant eye, gazes on the divine
Phenomenon, gleaming o'er the illumined fields,
Or runs to catch the treasures which it sheds.
Not so the sage : inspired with pious awe,
He hails the federal arch ; * and, looking up,
Adores that God, whose fingers form'd this bow
Magnificent, compassing heaven about
With a resplendent verge : " Thou mad'st the cloud
x Maker omnipotent, and thou the bow ;
And by that covenant graciously hast sworn

* Genesis, ix. 12—17.

POEMS.

Never to drown the world again : * henceforth,

Till time shall be no more, in ceaseless round,

Season shall follow season : day to night,

Summer to winter, harvest to seed-time,

Heat shall to cold in regular array

Succeed." — Heav'n-taught, so sang the Hebrew bard.f

A HARVEST SCENE.

WAKED by the gentle gleamings of the morn,
Soon clad, the reaper, provident of want,
Hies cheerful-hearted to the ripen' d field ;
Nor hastes alone : attendant by his side
His faithful wife, sole partner of his cares,
Bears on her breast the sleeping babe ; behind,
With steps unequal, trips her infant train :
Thrice happy pair, in love and labour join'd !

All day they ply their task ; with mutual chat,
Beguiling each the sultry, tedious hours.
Around them falls in rows the sever'd corn,
Or the shocks rise in regular array.

But when high noon invites to short repast,
Beneath the shade of sheltering thorn they sit,
Divide the simple meal, and drain the cask :
The swinging cradle lulls the whimpering babe
Meantime ; while growling round, if at the tread
Of hasty passenger alarm'd, as of their store
Protective, stalks the cur with bristling back,
To guard the scanty scrip and russet frock.

ON THE DARK, STILL, DRY, WARM WEATHER,

Occasionally happening in the Winter Months.

TH' imprison 'd winds slumber within their caves,
Fast bound : the fickle vane, emblem of change,
Wavers no more, long settling to a point.

All Nature nodding seems composed : thick steams,
From land, from flood up-drawn, dimming the day,
"Like a dark ceiling stand ;" slow through the air

Gen. viii. 22. f Moses.

POEMS.

Gossamer floats, or stretch'd from blade to blade,
The wavy network whitens all the field.

Push'd by the weightier atmosphere, up springs
The ponderous mercury, from scale to scale
Mounting, amidst the Torricellian tube. *

While high in air, and poised upon his wings,
Unseen, the soft, enamour'd wood-lark runs
Through all his maze of melody ; the brake,
Loud with the blackbird's bolder note, resounds.

Sooth' d by the genial warmth, the cawing rook
Anticipates the spring, selects her mate,
Haunts her tall nest-trees, and with sedulous care
Repairs her wicker eyrie, tempest-torn.

The ploughman inly smiles to see upturn
His mellow glebe, best pledge of future crop :
With glee the gardener eyes his smoking beds :
E'en pining sickness feels a short relief.

The happy schoolboy brings transported forth
His long-forgotten scourge, and giddy gig :
O'er the white paths he whirls the rolling hoop,
Or triumphs in the dusty fields of taw.

Not so the museful sage : abroad he walks
Contemplative, if haply he may find
What cause controls the tempest's rage, or whence,
Amidst the savage season, Winter smiles.

For days, for weeks, prevails the placid calm.
At length some drops prelude a change : the sun,
With ray refracted, bursts the parting gloom,
When all the chequer'd sky is one bright glare.

Mutters the wind at eve ; th' horizon round
With angry aspect scowls : down rush the showers,
And float the deluged paths, and miry fields.

* The barometer.

THE

NATURAL HISTORY

OF

SELBORNE.

LETTER I.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

A HE parish of Selborne lies in the extreme eastern corner of
the county of Hampshire, bordering on the county of Sussex,
and not far from the county of Surrey ; is about fifty miles
south-west of London, in latitude 51, and near midway
between the towns of Alton and Petersfield. Being very
large and extensive, it abuts on twelve parishes, two of which
are in Sussex, viz. Trotton and Rogate. If you begin from
the south, and proceed westward, the adjacent parishes are
Emshot, Newton, Valence, Faringdon, Harteley, Mauduit,
Great Ward-le-ham, Kingsley, Hedleigh, Bramshot, Trotton,
Rogate, Lysse, and Greatham. The soils of this district are
almost as various and diversified as the views and aspects.
The high part to the south-west consists of a vast hill of
chalk, rising three hundred feet above the village ; and is
divided into a sheep down, the high wood, and a long hanging
wood called the Hanger. The covert of this eminence is
altogether beech, the most lovely of all forest trees, whether
we consider its smooth rind, or bark, its glossy foliage, or
graceful pendulous boughs.* The down, or sheep-walk, is a

* While the beech is admitted to be one of the most beautiful trees
of the forest, it must yield in grandeur, dignity? and picturesque beauty,
to the oak, which, in these respects, stands pre-eminent in the British
sylva : like the lion amongst animals, it is the unquestionable king of the
forest. Beauty of a sublime kind, united with strength, is characteristic
of the oak — ED.

2 VILLAGE OF SELBORNE.

pleasing park-like spot, of about one mile by half that space,
jutting out on the verge of the hill country, where it begins to
break down into the plains, and commanding a very engaging
view, being an assemblage of hill, dale, woodlands, heath, and
water. The prospect is bounded to the south-east and east
by the vast range of mountains called the Sussex Downs, by
Guild-down near Guildford, and by the Downs round Dork-
ing, and Ryegate in Surrey, to the north-east, which altogether,
with the country beyond Alton and Farnham, form a noble and
extensive outline.

At the foot of this hill, one stage, or step, from the uplands,
lies the village, which consists of one single straggling street,
three quarters of a mile in length, in a sheltered vale, and
running parallel with the Hanger. The houses are divided
from the hill by a vein of stiff clay, (good wheat land,) yet
stand on a rock of white stone, little in appearance removed
from chalk ; but seems so far from being calcareous, that it
endures extreme heat. Yet that the freestone still preserves
somewhat that is analogous to chalk, is plain from the beeches,
which descend as low as those rocks extend, and no farther,
and thrive as well on them, where the ground is steep, as on
the chalks.

The cart-way of the village divides, in a remarkable manner,
two very incongruous soils. To the south-west is a rank
clay, that requires the labour of years to render it mellow;
while the gardens to the north-east, and small enclosures
behind, consist of a warm, forward, crumbling mould, called
black malm, which seems highly saturated with vegetable and
animal manure ; and these may perhaps have been the original
site of the town ; while the woods and coverts might extend
down to the opposite bank.

At each end of the village, which runs from south-east to
north-west, arises a small rivulet ; that at the north-west end
frequently fails ; but the other is a fine perennial spring, little
influenced by drought or wet seasons, called Wellhead.* This
breaks out of some high grounds adjoining to Nore Hill, a
noble chalk promontory, remarkable for sending forth two
streams into two different seas. The one to the south becomes

* This spring produced, September 14, 1781, after a severe hot
summer, and a preceding dry spring and winter, nin-3 gallons of water in
a minute, which is five hundred and forty in an hour, and twelve thousand
nine hundred and sixty, or two hundred and sixteen hogsheads, in
twenty-tour hours, or one natural day. At this time many of the wells
failed, and all the ponds in the vales were dry.

STREAMS SOILS. 8

a branch of the Arun, running to Arundel, and so falling into
the British Channel ; the other to the north. The Selborne
stream makes one branch of the Wey ; and, meeting the
Black-down stream at Hedleigh, and the Alton and Farnham
stream at Tilfordbridge, swells into a considerable river,
navigable at Godalming ; from whence it passes to Guildford,
and so into the Thames at Weybridge ; and thus at the Nore
into the German Ocean,

Our wells, at an average, rim to about sixty-three feet, and
when sunk to that depth, seldom fail ; but produce a fine
limpid water, soft to the taste, and much commended by those
who drink the pure element, but which does not lather well
with soap.*

To the north-west, north and east of the village, is a range
of fair enclosures, consisting of what is called a white malm, a.
sort of rotten or rubble stone, which, when turned up to the
frost and rain, moulders to pieces, and becomes manure to
itself, f

Still on to the north-east, and a step lower, is a kind of
white land, neither chalk nor clay, neither fit for pasture nor
for the plough, yet kindly for hops, which root deep into the
freestone, and have their poles and wood for charcoal growing
just at hand. This white soil produces the brightest hops.

As the parish still inclines down towards Wolmer Forest, at
the juncture of the clays and sand, the soil becomes a wet
sandy loam, remarkable for timber, and infamous for roads.
The oaks of Temple and Blackmoor stand high in the estima-
tion of purveyors, and have furnished much naval timber ;
while the trees on the freestone grow large, but are what
workmen call shakey, and so brittle as often to fall to pieces
in sawing. J Beyond the sandy loam the soil becomes an
hungry lean sand, till it mingles with the forest ; and will
produce little without the assistance of lime and turnips.

* This hardness of the water is occasioned by the great proportion of
earthy salts which it holds in solution, the most common of which is
sulphate of lime. These salts have the property of decomposing common
soap. Their acids unite with the alkali of the soap, while the earthy
basis forms with the oil of the soap a substance not soluble in water,
which envelopes the soap and gives it a greasy feel. These waters may
in general be cured by dropping into them an alkaline carbonate. — ED.

•j* This soil produces good wheat and clover.

| The larch does not thrive on land with a substratum of sandstone.
When the roots get deep, and approach the sandstone, the tree makes no
progress, and grows crooked. This is probably from the porous nature
of the sandstone absorbing the moisture. — ED.

BROAD LEAVED ELM.

LETTER II.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

IN the court of Norton farm-house, a manor farm to the
north-west of the village, on the white malms, stood, within
these twenty years, a broad-leaved elm, or wych hazel, ulmus
folio latissimo scabro of Ray, which, though it had lost a
considerable leading bough in the great storm in the year 1 703,
equal to a moderate tree, yet, when felled, contained eight
loads of timber ; and being too bulky for a carriage, \vas sawn
off at seven feet above the but, where it measured near eight
feet in the diameter. * This elm I mention, to shew to what
a bulk planted elms may attain ; as this tree must certainly
have been such from its situation, f In the centre of the
village, and near the church, is a square piece of ground,
surrounded by houses, and vulgarly called the Plestor. J In
the midst of this spot stood, in old times, a vast oak, with a
sshort squat body, and huge horizontal arms, extending almost
to the extremity of the area. This venerable tree, surrounded
with stone steps, and seats above them, was the delight of old
and young, and a place of much resort in summer evenings ;
where the former sat in grave debate, while the latter frolicked
and danced before them. Long might it have stood, had not

* In Evelyn's Sylva, vol. ii. p. 189, we are informed of a witch elm
that grew in the park of Sir Walter Baggot, Staffordshire, which was
seventeen feet diameter at the base, and extended, when felled, one
hundred and twenty feet. Its timber was estimated at the amazing
quantity of ninety-seven tons — ED.

-f- It is a well established fact, that planted trees do not in general attain
the size of natural wood. — ED.

| The Plestor was left by Sir Adam Gordon, a gentleman of Scottish
extraction, who was leader of the Mountfort faction during the reign of
Henry III, and is thus described by Mr White in the Antiquities of
Selborne, — " As Sir Adam began to advance in years, he found his
mind influenced by the prevailing opinion of the reasonableness and
efficacy of prayers for the dead ; and, therefore, in conjunction with his
wife Constantia, in the year 1271, granted to the prior and convent of
Selborne all his right and claim to a certain place, placea, called La
Pleystow, in the village aforesaid, t in liberam, puram, et perpetuam
elemosinam.' This pleystow — locus ludorum, or play-place — is in a
level area near the church, of about forty-four yards by thirty-six, and
is known now by the name of the Plestor. It continues still, as it was
in old times, to be the scene of recreation for the youths and children of
the neighbourhood ; and impresses an idea on the mind, that this village,
even in Saxon times, could not be the most abject of places, when the
inhabitants thought proper to assign so spacious a spot for the sports and
amusements of its young people." — ED.

COVVTHORPE OAK, AT WET1IEKBY.
Quercus Robur, JLinntcns.

THE PLESTQR - LARGE OAKS. 5

the amazing tempest in 1703 overturned it at once, to the
infinite regret of the inhabitants, and the vicar, who bestowed
several pounds in setting it in its place again ; but all his care
could not avail ; the tree sprouted for a time, then withered
and died. * This oak I mention, to shew to what a bulk
planted oaks also may arrive ; and planted this tree must
certainly have been, as appears from what is known concerning
the antiquities of the village.-)-

On the Blackmoor estate there is a small wood, called Losel's,
of a few acres, that was lately furnished with a set of oaks of a
peculiar growth and great value : they were tall and taper like
firs, but, standing near together, had very small heads — only

* It is very probable that this great oak was planted, in the year 1271,
by the prior mentioned in the preceding note ; so that it must have been
four hundred and thirty-two years old when blown down. — ED.

f The Shire Oak, so named from its peculiar local situation, standing
on a spot where the counties of Derby, Nottingham, and York join,
is one of the largest in the kingdom. The area which it covers is
seven hundred and seven square yards. In February, 1828, an ash
tree was felled in Blackburn Hollows, near Shires Green, Yorkshire,
containing seven hundred and fifty feet of solid timber : it was ten feet
six inches across the stool. An oak was also felled in Shining Cliff, near
Cricli, Derbyshire, containing nine hundred and sixty-five feet, and was
thirteen feet four indies across the stool. One of the most gigantic and
venerable trees of this species is the celebrated Cowthorpe Oak, which
stands on the extremity of the village of that name, near Wether by, county
of York. The late Dr Hunter, while describing an oak of extraordinary
size, which decorates Sheffield Park, notices this majestic production of
nature, in his edition of Evelyn's Syha, in the following terms : —
" Neither this, nor any of the oaks mentioned by Mr Evelyn, bears any
proportion to one now growing at Cowthorpe. The dimensions are
almost incredible. Within three feet of the ground it measures sixteen
yards, and close to the ground twenty-six yards. Its heigbt, in its present
ruinous state, (1776,) is almost eighty-five feet, and its principal limb
extends sixteen yards from the bole. Throughout the whole tree the
foliage is extremely thin ; so that the anatomy of the ancient branches
may be distinctly seen in the height of summer. When compared to this,
all other trees are but children of the forest." — Book iii. p. 500.

The description here given answers as nearly as possible to the present
condition of the tree, as may be seen by comparing it with the accom-
panying cut. The common oak is the quercus robur of botanists.

The girth of our largest forest trees sinks into comparative insignifi-
cance, when contrasted with that of some which are to be met with in
the equinoctial regions of America. Mr Exter, in 1827, measured

cypress tree in the churchyard of Santa Maria de Tesla, two leagues and
a half west of Oaxaca, whose trunk was one hundred and twenty-seven
English feet in circumference, and one hundred and twenty feet in height,

f west of Oaxaca, whose trunk was one hundred and twenty-seven
ish feet in circumference, and one hundred and twenty feet in height,
It appeared in the prime of its growth, and had not a single dead branch.

O THE RAVEN TREE.

a little brush, without any large limbs. About twenty years
ago the bridge at the Toy, near Hampton Court, being much
decayed, some trees were wanted for the repairs that were fifty
feet long without bough, and would measure twelve inches
diameter at the little end. Twenty such trees did a purveyor
find in this little wood, with this advantage, that many of them
answered the description at sixty feet. These trees were sold
for twenty pounds a-piece.*

In the centre of this grove there stood an oak, which, though
shapely and tall on the whole, bulged out into a large excres-
cence about the middle of the stem. On this a pair of ravens
had fixed their residence for such a series of years, that the
oak was distinguished by the title of the Raven Tree. Many
were the attempts of the neighbouring youths to get at this
eyry: the difficulty whetted their inclinations, and each was
ambitious of surmounting the arduous task. But when they
arrived at the swelling, it jutted out so in their way, and was
so far beyond their grasp, that the most daring lads were
awed, and acknowledged the undertaking to be too hazardous.
So the ravens built on, nest upon nest, in perfect security, till
the fatal day arrived in which the wood was to be levelled.
It was in the month of February, when those birds usually sit.
The saw was applied to the but, the wedges were inserted into
the opening, the woods echoed to the heavy blows of the beetle,
or mallet, the tree nodded to its fall ; but still the dam sat on.
At last, when it gave way, the bird was flung from her nest ;
and, though her parental affection deserved a better fate, was
whipped down by the twigs, which brought her dead to the
ground.f

* In the hall of Dudly Castle there is an oak table, seventy-five feet
long, and three feet broad, which grew in the park of that estate. — ED.

f During the time of incubation, the natural timidity of birds is greatly
lessened ; and, in many instances, the females will allow themselves to be
taken rather than desert their nests. The following instance, recorded by
William Henry Hill, Esq. of Newland, Gloucestershire, in 18*28, finely
illustrates this : — He says, " Some time since, a pair of blue titmice (parus
cceruleus) built their nest in the upper part of an old pump, fixing on
the piti on which the handle worked. It happened that, during the time
of building, and laying the eggs, the pump had not been in use; when
again set going, the female was sitting, and it was naturally expected the
motion of the pump-handle would drive her away. The young brood
were hatched safely, however, without any other misfortune than the
loss of part of the tail of the sitting bird, which was rubbed off by the
friction of the pump-handle ; nor did they appear disturbed by the
visitors who were frequently looking at her." — Magazine of Natural
History, i. p. 64.

FOSSIL SHELLS. 7

LETTER III.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

THE fossil shells of this district, and sorts of stone, such as
have fallen within my observation, must not be passed over in
silence. And first, I must mention, as a great curiosity, a
specimen that was ploughed up in the chalky fields, near the
side of the Down, and given to me for the singularity of its
appearance, which, to an incurious eye, seems like a petrified
fish, of about four inches long1, the cardo passing for a head
and mouth. It is in reality a bivalve of the Linnaean genus of
my til-us and the species of cristagalli; called by Lister, rastellum ;
by Rumphius, ostreum plicatum minus; by D' Argenville, amis
porci, crista galli; and by those who make collections, cock's
comb.* Though I applied to several such in London, I never
could meet with an entire specimen ; nor could I ever find in
books any engraving from a perfect one. In the superb museum
at Leicester House, permission was given me to examine for
this article ; and, though I was disappointed as to the fossil,
I was highly gratified with the sight of several of the shells
themselves, in high preservation. This bivalve is only known
to inhabit the Indian Ocean, where it fixes itself to a zoophyte,
known by the name gorgonia.

Cornua ammonis are very common about this village. As
we were cutting an inclining path up the Hanger, the labourers
found them frequently on that steep, just under the soil, in the
chalk, and of a considerable size. In the lane above Well-
head, in the way to Emshot, they abound in the bank in a
darkish sort of marl ; and are usually very small and soft ; but
in Clay's Pond, a little farther on, at the end of the pit, where
the soil is dug out for manure, I have occasionally observed
them of large dimensions, perhaps fourteen or sixteen inches

'* Ostrea carinata, or keeled oyster, of Lamark. It is met with in the
department of Sarthe, and other places of France. The author is mis-
taken in supposing that this species is found in a recent state. It has been
satisfactorily proved, that there are no living species of those fossil shells
discovered in the old limestone formations, although there are some
existing individuals nearly allied to them.

Petrifactions occur in three states ; sometimes they are a little altered,
sometimes they are converted into stone, and at other times the impres-
sions only of them, or the moulds in which they have been enclosed,
remain. — ED.

8 IOSSIL SHELLS.

in diameter. But as these did not consist of firm stone, but
were formed of a kind of terra lapidosa, or hardened clay, as
soon as they were exposed to the rains and frost, they mouldered
away. These seemed as if they were a very recent production.
In the chalk-pit, at the north-west end of the Hanger, large
nautili are sometimes observed.*

In the very thickest strata of our freestone, and at consider-
able depths, well-diggers often find large scallops, or pectines,
having both shells deeply striated, and ridged and furrowed
alternately. They are highly impregnated with, if not \vholly
composed of, the stone of the quarry, f

LETTER IV.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

As, in last letter, the freestone of this place has been only
mentioned incidentally, I shall here become more particular.

This stone is in great request for hearth-stones, and the beds
of ovens ; and in lining of lime-kilns it turns to good account ;
for the workmen use sandy loam instead of mortar, the sand

* Modern naturalists have constituted twenty genera of those fossil
shells, known by the general appellation of cornu ammonis. The con-
clusions which geologists have come to regarding them, are these: — 1st,
That they are first found in the formation called the lias, and appear in
most of the succeeding strata, but seem to have become extinct in the
ocean which deposited the hard chalk. The division here alluded to, is
what has been named the ammonacea by Larnark, which are shells with
a sinous septa, lobed and cut at the margin, meeting together upon the
inner wall of the shell, and articulated by jagged sutures. 2d, The
orthocerata appear in the early strata, and are continued upwards to the
soft chalk stratum, after which they are not seen. These shells are
straight, or nearly so, and not spiral. 3d, The ova) ammonites are not
known in the early strata, but in the hard chalk only, and are not seen
afterwards, as if they had been created at a comparatively late period, and
had been soon suffered to become extinct. The shells alluded to by our
author, which mouldered away, had been the impressions only of these
cornua ammonis. — ED.

-}- In Corncockle Moor, Dumfries-shire, there is a sandstone quarry, on
the slabs of which are distinctly imprinted the tracks of the foot marks of
animals. These were discovered in the year 1812. They differ in size
from that of a hare's paw to the hoof of a pony. On a slab, which forms
part of the wall of a summer-house, in Dr Duncan's garden, at the Manse
of Bothwell, there are twenty- four impressions, twelve of the right, and
as many of the left foot. Professor Buckland considers that the animals
must have been crocodiles or tortoises. — ED.

FREESTONE.

of which fluxes,* and runs, by the intense heat, and so cases
over the whole face of the kiln with a strong vitrified coat like
glass, that it is well preserved from injuries of weather, and
endures thirty or forty years. When chiselled smooth, it
makes elegant fronts for houses, equal in colour and grain to
the Bath stone, and superior in one respect, that, when sea-
soned, it does not scale. Decent chimneypieces are worked
from it, of much closer and finer grain than Portland ; and rooms
are floored with it ; but it proves rather too soft for this purpose.
It is a freestone, cutting in all directions ; yet has something
of a grain parallel with the horizon, and therefore should not
be surbedded, but laid in the same position that it grows in
the quarry. -j~ On the ground abroad this firestone will not
succeed for pavements, because, probably some degree of salt-
ness prevailing within it, the rain tears the slabs to pieces. J
Though this stone is too hard to be acted on by vinegar, yet
both the white part, and even the blue rag, ferment strongly
in mineral acids. Though the white stone \vill not bear wet,
yet in every quarry, at intervals, there are thin strata of blue
rag, which resist rain and frost, and are excellent for pitching
of stables, paths, and courts, and for building of dry walls
against banks, a valuable species of fencing, much in use in
this village, and for mending of roads. This rag is rugged
and stubborn, and will not hew to a smooth face, but is very
durable ; yet, as these strata are shallow, and lie deep, large
quantities cannot be procured but at considerable expense.
Among the blue rags turn up some blocks, tinged with a stain
of yellow, or rust colour, which seem to be nearly as lasting as
the blue ; and every now and then balls of a friable substance,
like rust of iron, called rust balls.

In Wolmer Forest I see but one sort of stone, called by the
workmen sand, or forest stone. This is generally of the colour
of rusty iron, and might probably be worked as iron ore ; is

* May not the fact here noticed shew the possibility of what are called
vitrified forts being produced by fires lighted for signals, or some other
purpose, as an instance is here given of heat causing sand to flux. — ED.
There may probably be also in the chalk itself that is burnt for lime a
proportion of sand; for few chalks are so pure as to have none.

f To surbed stone is to set it edgewise, contrary to the posture it had
in the quarry, says Dr Plot, Oxfordshire, p. 77. But surbedding does
not succeed in our dry walls; neither do we use it so in ovens, though
he says it is best for Teynton stone.

\ " Firestone is full of salts, and has no sulphur ; must be close-grained,
and have no interstices. Nothing supports fire like salts ; saltstone perishes
exposed to wet and frost." — Plot's Staff, p. 152.

10 MANOR OF SELBORNE.

very hard and heavy, and of a firm, compact texture, and com-
posed of a small roundish crystalline grit, cemented together
by a brown, terrene, ferruginous matter ; will not cut without
difficulty, nor easily strike fire with steel. Being often found
in broad flat pieces, it makes good pavement for paths about
houses, never becoming slippery in frost or rain ; is excellent
for dry walls, and is sometimes used in buildings. In many
parts of that waste it lies scattered on the surface of the ground ;
but is dug on Weaver's Down, a vast hill on the eastern verge
of that forest, where the pits are shallow, and the stratum thin.
This stone is imperishable.

From a notion of rendering their work the more elegant, and
giving it a finish, masons chip this stone into small fragments
about the size of the head of a large nail ; and then stick the
pieces into the wet mortar along the joints of their freestone
walls. This embellishment carries an odd appearance, and has
occasioned strangers sometimes to ask us pleasantly, " Whether
we fastened our walls together with tenpenny nails?"

LETTER V.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

AMONG the singularities of this place, the two rocky hollow
lanes, the one to Alton, and the other to the forest, deserve
our attention. These roads, running through the malm lands,
are, by the traffic of ages, and the fretting of water, worn down
through the first stratum of our freestone, and partly through
the second ; so that they look more like watercourses than
roads, and are bedded with naked rag for furlongs together.
In many places they are reduced sixteen or eighteen feet
beneath the level of the fields ; and after floods, and in frosts,
exhibit very grotesque and wild appearances, from the tangled
roots that are twisted among the strata, and from the torrents
rushing down their broken sides ; and especially when those
cascades are frozen into icicles, hanging in all the fanciful
shapes of frostwork. These rugged gloomy scenes affright
the ladies when they peep down into them from the paths
above, and make timid horsemen shudder while they ride
along them ; but delight the naturalist with their various
botany, and particularly with their curious filices, with which
they abound.

The manor of Selborne, wrere it strictly looked after, with all
its kindly aspects, and all its sloping coverts, would swarm

RAIN POPULATION. 11

with game ; even now, hares, partridges, and pheasants abound ;
and in old days woodcocks were as plentiful. There are few
quails, because they more affect open fields than enclosures.
After harvest, some few land-rails are seen.

The parish of Selborne, by taking in so much of the forest,
is a vast district. Those who tread the bounds are employed
part of three days in the business, and are of opinion that the
outline, in all its curves and indentings, does not comprise
less than thirty miles.

The village stands in a sheltered spot, secured by the Hanger
from the strong westerly winds. The air is soft, but rather
moist, from the effluvia of so many trees ; yet perfectly healthy
and free from agues.

The quantity of rain that falls on it is very considerable, as
may be supposed in so woody and mountainous a district. As
my experience in measuring the water is but of short date, I
am not qualified to give the mean quantity.* I only know
that,

Inch. Hund.

From May 1, 1779, to the end of the year, there fell . . 28 37 !

From January 1 1780, to January 1/1781 ... 27 32

From January 1 1781, to January 1, 1782 . . . 30 71

From January 1 1782, to January 1, J 783 . . . 50 26 !

From January 1 1783, to January 1, 1784 . . . 33 71

From January 1 1784, to January 1, 1785 . 33 80

From January 1 1785, to January 1, 1786 . . . 31 55

From January 1 1786, to January 1, 1787 . . . 39 57

The village of Selborne, and large hamlet of Oakhanger,
with the single farms, and many scattered houses along the
verge of the forest, contain upwards of six hundred and seventy
inhabitants.

We abound with poor, many of whom are sober and
industrious, and live comfortably, in good stone or brick
cottages, which are glazed, and have chambers above stairs :
mud buildings we have none. Besides the employment from
husbandry, the men work in hop gardens, of which we have
many, and fell and bark timber. In the spring and summer

* A very intelligent gentleman assures me, (and he speaks from
upwards of forty years' experience,) that the mean rain of any place
cannot be ascertained till a person has measured it for a very long period.
" If I had only measured the rain," says he, " for the four first years,
from 1740 to 1743, I should have said the mean rain at Lyndon was
J6/-2 inches for the year ; if from 1740 to 1750, 18^ inches. "The mean
rain before 1763, was 20 M ; from 1763 and since, 25% ; from 1770 to
1780, 26. If only 1773, 1774, and 1775, had been measured, Lyndon
mean rain would have been called 32 inches, increasing from 16.6 to 32. "

12 FOREST OF WOLMER.

the women weed the corn, and enjoy a second harvest in
September by hop-picking. Formerly, in the dead months,
they availed themselves greatly by spinning wool, for making
of barragons, a genteel corded stuff, much in vogue at that
time for summer wear, and chiefly manufactured at Alton,
a neighbouring town, by some of the people called Quakers.
The inhabitants enjoy a good share of health and longevity,
and the parish swarms with children.

LETTER VI.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SHOULD I omit to describe with some exactness the Forest
of Wolmer, of which three-fifths perhaps lie in this parish, my
account of Selborne would be very imperfect, as it is a district
abounding with many curious productions, both animal and
vegetable ; and has often afforded me much entertainment
both as a sportsman and as a naturalist.

The royalForest of Wolmer is a tract of land of about seven
miles in length, by two and a half in breadth, running nearly
from north to south, and is abutted on, to begin to the south,
and so to proceed eastward, by the parishes of Greatham,
Lysse, Rogate, and Trotton, in the county of Sussex ; by
Bramshot, Hedleigh, and Kingsley. This royalty consists
entirely of sand, covered with heath and fern ; but is somewhat
diversified with hills and dales, without having one standing
tree in the whole extent. In the bottoms, where the waters
stagnate, are many bogs, which formerly abounded with
subterraneous trees ; though Dr Plot says positively,* that
" there never were any fallen trees hidden in the mosses of
the southern counties." But he was mistaken ; for I myself
have seen cottages on the verge of this wild district, whose
timbers consisted of a black hard wood, looking like oak,
which the owners assured me they procured from the bogs
by probing the soil with spits, or some such instruments, but
the peat is so much cut out, and the moors have been so well
examined, that none has been found of late.f Besides the

* See his History of Staffordshire.

f Old people have assured me, that on a winter's morning they have
discovered these trees, in the bogs, by the hoar frost, which lay longer
over the space where they were concealed, than on the surrounding
morass. Nor does this seem to be a fanciful notion, but consistent with
true philosophy. Dr Hales saith, " That the warmth of the earth, at

GAME IN WOLMER FOREST. 13

oak, I have also been shewn pieces of fossil wood, of a paler
colour, and softer nature, which the inhabitants called fir ; but,
upon a nice examination, and trial by fire, I could discover
nothing resinous in them ; and therefore rather suppose that
they were parts of a willow, or alder, or some such aquatic
tree.*

This lonely domain is a very agreeable haunt for many sorts
of wild fowls, which not only frequent it in the winter, but
breed there in the summer ; such as lapwings, snipes, wild-
ducks, and, as I have discovered within these few years,
teals. Partridges in vast plenty are bred in good seasons on
the verge of this Forest, into which they love to make excur-
sions ; and in particular, in the dry summer of 1740 and 1741,
and some years after, they swarmed to such a degree, that
parties of unreasonable sportsmen killed twenty and sometimes
thirty, brace in a day.

But there was a nobler species of game in this forest, now
extinct, which I have heard old people say abounded much
before shooting flying became so common, and that was the
heath-cock, or black game. When I was a little boy, I recollect
one coming now and then to my father's table. The last pack
remembered was killed about thirty-five years ago ; and within
these ten years, one solitary gray-hen was sprung by some
beagles in beating for a hare. The sportsman cried out, " A
hen pheasant ! " but a gentleman present, who had often seen
black game in the north of England, assured me that it was a
gray-hen.f

some depth under ground, has an influence in promoting a thaw, as well
as the change of the weather from a freezing to a thawing state, is mani-
fest from this observation; viz. November 29, 1731, a little snow having
fallen in the night, it was, by eleven the next morning, mostly melted
away on the surface of the earth, except in several places in Bushy Park,
where there were drains dug and covered with earth, on which the snow
continued to lie, whether those drains were full of water or dry ; as also
where elm-pipes lay under ground : a plain proof this, that those drains
intercepted the warmth of the earth from ascending from greater depths
below them ; for the snow lay where the drain had more than four feet
depth of earth over it. It continued also to lie on thatch, tiles, and the
tops of walls." See Hales's Hceinastatics, p. 360. Quere, Might not
such observations be reduced to domestic use, by promoting the discovery
of old obliterated drains and wells about houses ; and in Roman stations
and camps, lead to the finding of pavements, baths, and graves, and other
hidden relics of curious antiquity ?

* Fossils of this kind, including oaks and pines, are common in most
marshes and bogs of Europe Eu.

f It is very doubtful whether the black grouse ever was plentiful in
the less mountainous counties of England. At present they uro very

14 RED DEER.

Nor does the loss of our black game prove the only gap in
the Fauna Selborniensis ; for another beautiful link in the chain
of beings is wanting, — I mean the red deer, which toward the
beginning of this century amounted to about five hundred
head, and made a stately appearance. There is an old keeper,
now alive, named Adams, whose great-grandfather (mentioned
in a perambulation taken in 1635), grandfather, father, and
self, enjoyed the head keepership of Wolmer Forest in succes-
sion far more than an hundred years. This person assures
me, that his father has often told him that Queen Anne, as
she was journeying on the Portsmouth road, did not think the
Forest of Wolmer beneath her royal regard ; for she came out
of the great road at Lippock, which is just by, and, reposing
herself on a bank smoothed for that purpose, lying about half
a mile to the east of Wolmer Pond, and still called Queen's
Bank, saw, with great complacency and satisfaction, the whole
herd of red deer brought by the keepers along the vale before
her, consisting then of about five hundred head. A sight this,
worthy the attention of the greatest sovereign ! But he farther
adds, that, by means of the Waltham Blacks, or, to use his own
expression, as soon as they began blacking, they were reduced
to about fifty head, and so continued decreasing, till the time
of the late Duke of Cumberland. It is now more than thirty
years ago, that his Highness sent down an huntsman, and six
yeomen prickers, in scarlet jackets laced with gold, attended
by the stag-hounds ; ordering them to take every deer in this
forest alive, and to convey them in carts to Windsor. In the
course of the summer, they caught every stag, some of which
shewed extraordinary diversion ; but in the following winter,
when the hinds were also carried off, such fine chases were

scarce in the southern counties ; a few are to be met with in the New
Forest, Hampshire, Dartmore, and Sedgemore, in Devonshire, and in
some of the heathy hills of Somersetshire, which lie contiguous to Devon-
shire ; and in Staffordshire and North Wales. They abound in the south
and north of Scotland. The Earl of Fife has procured a breed of that

oubt of his succeeding, as they were

nrouce no preserves n ngan w gre ucess.
obtains ground, it drives the common species out of the preserves, and
threatens in time, like the Norway rat, to exterminate the aboriginal

DEER STEALING. 15

exhibited, as served the country people for matter of talk and
wonder for years afterwards. 1 saw myself one of the yeomen
prickers single out a stag from the herd, and must confess that
it was the most curious feat of activity I ever beheld, superior
to any thing in Mr Astley's riding-school. The exertions
made by the horse and deer much exceeded all my expecta-
tions, though the former greatly excelled the latter in speed.
When the devoted deer was separated from his companions,
they gave him, by their watches, law, as they called it, for
twenty minutes ; when, sounding their horns, the stop-dogs
were permitted to pursue, and a most gallant scene ensued.

LETTER VII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

THOUGH large herds of deer do much harm to the neigh-
bourhood, yet the injury to the morals of the people is of more
moment than the loss of their crops. The temptation is
irresistible ; for most men are sportsmen by constitution, and
there is such an inherent spirit for hunting in human nature,
as scarce any inhibitions can restrain. Hence, towards the
beginning of this century, all this country was wild about deer-
stealing. Unless he was a hunter, as they affected to call
themselves, no young person was allowed to be possessed of
manhood or gallantry. The Waltham Blacks at length com-
mitted such enormities, that government was forced to interfere
with that severe and sanguinary act called the Black Act,*
which now comprehends more felonies than any law that ever
was framed before. And, therefore, a late bishop of Win-
chester, when urged to re-stock Waltham Chase, refused, from
a motive worthy of a prelate, replying, that " It had done
mischief enough already."-)-

Our old race of deer-stealers are hardly extinct yet. It was
but a little while ago that, over their ale, they used to recount
the exploits of their youth ; such as watching the pregnant hind
to her lair, and, when the calf was dropped, paring its feet,
with a penknife, to the quick, to prevent its escape, till it was
large and fat enough to be killed ; the shooting at one of their
neighbours with a bullet, in a turnip field by moonshine,
mistaking him for a deer ; and the losing a dog in the following

* Statute 9 Geo. I, c. 22.

•f This Chase remains unstocked to this day : the bishop was Dr
Hoadley.

16 ROYAL FORESTS.

extraordinary manner : — Some fellows, suspecting that a calf
new fallen was deposited in a certain spot of thick fern, went
with a lurcher to surprise it ; when the parent hind rushed out
of the brake, and, taking a vast spring, with all her feet close
together, pitched upon the neck of the dog, and broke it short
in two .*

Another temptation to idleness and sporting, was a number
of rabbits, which possessed all the hillocks and dry places ;
but these being inconvenient to the huntsmen, on account of
their burrows, when they came to take away the deer, they
permitted the country people to destroy them all.

Such forests and wastes, when their allurements to irre-
gularities are removed, are of considerable service to neigh-
bourhoods that verge upon them, by furnishing them with peat
and turf for their firing; with fuel for the burning their lime;
and with ashes for their grasses ; and by maintaining their
geese and their stock of young cattle at little or no expense.

The manor farm of the parish of Greatham has an admitted
claim, I see, (by an old record taken from the Tower of
London,) of turning all live stock on the forest, at proper
seasons, bidentibus exceptls.^ The reason, I presume, why
sheep If are excluded is, because, being such close grazers,
they would pick out all the finest grasses, and hinder the deer
from thriving.

Though (by statute 4th and 5th William and Mary, c. 23)
" to burn on any waste, between Candlemas and Midsummer,
any grig, ling, heath, and furze, goss or fern, is punishable
with whipping, and confinement in the house of correction ; "
yet, in this forest, about March or April, according to the
dryness of the season, such vast heath-fires are lighted up,
that they often get to a masterless head, and, catching the
hedges, have sometimes been communicated to the under-
woods, woods, and coppices, where great damage has ensued.

* The hind will expose herself to the fury of the hounds, and suffer
all the terrors of the chase, in order to draw off the dogs from the hiding-
place of the calf. She is exceedingly bold in the protection of her
offspring, defends herself with great courage, and frequently obliges
the dog and wolf to give way upon these occasions. William Duke of
Cumberland caused a stag and tiger to be enclosed in the same area, to
see the result ; and the stag made so bold a defence, that the tiger was
obliged to give up the contest. — ED.

f For this privilege, the owner of that estate used to pay to the king
annually seven bushels of oats.

J In the Holt, where a full stock of fallow deer has been kept up till
lately, no sheep are admitted to this day.

4

BURNING HEATH. 17

The plea for these burnings is, that, when the old coat of heath,
&c. is consumed, young will sprout up, and afford much tender
browse for cattle ; but, where there is large old furze, the fire,
following the roots, consumes the very ground ; so that, for
hundreds of acres, nothing is to be seen but smother and
desolation, the whole circuit round looking like the cinders of
a volcano ; and the soil being quite exhausted, no traces of
vegetation are to be found for years. These conflagrations,
as they take place usually with a north-east or east wind,
much annoy this village with their smoke, and often alarm the
country ; and once, in particular, I remember that a gentleman,
who lives beyond Andover, coming to my house, when he got
on the downs between that town and Winchester, at twenty-
five miles distance, was surprised much with smoke, and a hot
smell of fire, and concluded that Alresford was in flames ; but,
when he came to that town, he then had apprehensions for the
next village, and so on to the end of his journey.

On two of the most conspicuous eminences of this forest,
stand two arbours, or bowers, made of the boughs of oaks ;
the one called Waldon Lodge, the other Brimstone Lodge :
these the keepers renew annually, on the feast of St Barnabas,
taking the old materials for a perquisite. The farm called
Blackmoor, in this parish, is obliged to find the posts and
brushwood for the former ; while the farms at Greatham, in
rotation, furnish for the latter; and are all enjoined to cut and
deliver the materials at the spot. This custom I mention,
because I look upon it to be of very remote antiquity.

LETTER VIII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

ON the verge of the forest, as it is now circumscribed, are
three considerable lakes, — two in Oakhanger, of which I have
nothing particular to say; and one called Bin's, or Bean's
Pond, which is worthy the attention of a naturalist or a sports-
man : for, being crowded at the upper end with willows, and
with the car ex cespitosa* it affords such a safe and pleasant
shelter to wild ducks, teals, snipes, &c. that they breed there.
In the winter, this covert is also frequented by foxes, and

* I mean that sort which, rising into tall hassocks, is called by the
foresters torrets ; a corruption, I suppose, of turrets.

NOTE. — In the beginning of the summer 1787, the royal forests of
Wolmer and Holt were measured by persons sent down by government.

B

18 PONDS IN WOLMER FOREST.

sometimes by pheasants ; and the bogs produce many curious
plants. *

By a perambulation of Wolmer Forest and the Holt, made
in 1635, and in the eleventh year of Charles the First, (which
now lies before me,) it appears that the limits of the former
are much circumscribed. For, to say nothing of the farther
side, with which I am not so well acquainted, the bounds on
this side, in old times, came into Binswood, and extended to
the ditch of Ward-le-ham Park, in which stands the curious
mount called King John's Hill and Lodge Hill, and to the
verge of Hartley Mauduit, called Mauduit-hatch ; compre-
hending also Shortheath, Oakhanger, and Oakwoods, — a large
district, now private property, though once belonging to the
royal domain.

It is remarkable, that the term purlieu is never once men-
tioned in this long roll of parchment. It contains, besides the
perambulation, a rough estimate of the value of the timbers,
which were considerable, growing at that time in the district
of the Holt ; and enumerates the officers, superior and inferior,
of those joint forests, for the time being, and their ostensible
fees and perquisites. In those days, as at present, there were
hardly any trees in Wolmer Forest.

Within the present limits of the forest are three considerable
lakes, — Hogmer, Cranmer, and Wolmer; all of which are
stocked with carp, tench, eels, and perch : but the fish do not
thrive wTell, because the water is hungry, and the bottoms are
a naked sand.

A circumstance respecting these ponds, though by no means
peculiar to them, I cannot pass over in silence ; and that is,
that instinct by which, in summer, all the kine, whether oxen,
cows, calves, or heifers, retire constantly to the water during
the hotter hours ; where, being more exempt from flies, and
inhaling the coolness of that element, some belly deep, and
some only to mid-leg, they ruminate and solace themselves
from about ten in the morning till four in the afternoon, and
then return to their feeding. During this great proportion of
the day, they drop much dung, in which insects nestle ; and so
supply food for the fish, which would be poorly subsisted but
for this contingency. Thus Nature, who is a great econo-
mist, converts the recreation of one animal to the support of
another! Thomson, who was a nice observer of natural

* For which consult Letter LXXXIV. to Mr Barrington.

WOLMER POND. 19

occurrences, did not let this pleasing circumstance escape him.
He says, in his Summer, —

A various group the herds and flocks compose :

on the grassy bank

Some, ruminating, lie ; while others stand
Half in the flood, and, often bending, sip
The circling surface.

Wolmer Pond — so called, I suppose, for eminence sake —
is a vast lake for this part of the world, containing, in its whole
circumference, two thousand six hundred and forty-six yards,
or very near a mile and a half. The length of the north-west
and opposite side is about seven hundred and four yards, and
the breadth of the south-west end, about four hundred and
fifty-six yards. This measurement, which I caused to be made
with good exactness, gives an area of about sixty-six acres,
exclusive of a large irregular arm at the north-east corner,
which we did not take into the reckoning.

On the face of this expanse of waters, and perfectly secure
from fowlers, lie all day long, in the winter season, vast flocks
of ducks, teals, and widgeons, of various denominations ; where
they preen, and solace, and rest themselves, till towards sunset,
when they issue forth in little parties (for, in their natural
state, they are all birds of the night) to feed in the brooks and
meadows ; returning again with the dawn of the morning.
Had this lake an arm or two more, and were it planted round
with thick covert, (for now it is perfectly naked,) it might
make a valuable decoy.

Yet neither its extent, nor the clearness of its water, nor
the resort of various and curious fowls, nor its picturesque
groups of cattle, can render this meer so remarkable, as the
great quantity of coins that were found in its bed about forty
years ago.*

LETTER IX.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

BY way of supplement, I shall trouble you once more on
this subject, to inform you that Wolmer, with her sister forest,

These coins were all copper, as were also some medallions which

" ~ome; some
ise were of

were found at the same time, all of the lower Empire of Rome ; some
dozens of which fell to the share of Mr White. Part of thes

Marcus Aurelius, and his empress, Faustina. — ED.

20 WOLMER FOREST.

Ayles Holt, alias Alice Holt,* as it is called in old records,
is held by grant from the crown for a term of years.

The grantees that the author remembers are, Brigadier-
General Emanuel Scroope Howe, and his lady, Ruperta, who
was a natural daughter of Prince Rupert, by Margaret Hughs ;
a Mr Mordaunt, of the Peterborough family, who married a
dowager Lady Pembroke ; Henry Bilson Legge, and lady ;
and now Lord Stawel, their son.

The lady of General Howe lived to an advanced age, long
surviving her husband ; and, at her death, left behind her many
curious pieces of mechanism of her father's constructing, who
was a distinguished mechanic and artist,f as well as warrior ;
and, among the rest, a very complicated clock, lately in
possession of Mr Elmer, the celebrated game painter, at
Farnham, in the county of Surrey.

Though these two forests are only parted by a narrow range
of enclosures, yet no two soils can be more different ; for the
Holt consists of a strong loam, of a miry nature, carrying a
good turf, and abounding with oaks, that grow to be large
timber, while Wolmer is nothing but a hungry, sandy, barren
waste.

The former, being all in the parish of Binsted, is about two
miles in extent from north to south, and near as much from
east to west, and contains within it many woodlands and lawns,
and the Great Lodge where the grantees reside, and a smaller
lodge called Goose Green ; and is abutted on by the parishes
of Kingsley, Frinsham, Farnham, and Bentley, all of which
have right of common.

One thing is remarkable, that, though the Holt has been of
old \vell stocked with fallow-deer, unrestrained by any pales
or fences more than a common hedge, yet they are never seen
within the limits of Wolmer ; nor were the red deer of

* " In Rot. Inquisit. de statu forest, in Scaccar. 36 Ed. Ill, it is
called Aisholt." In the same, " Tit. Woolmer and Aisholt Hantisc.
Dominus Rex habet imam capellam in haia sua de Kingesle." " Haia,
sepes, sepimentum, parcus : a Gall, haie and haye." — SPELMAN'S
Glossary.

f This prince was the inventor of mezzotinto. \

J The invention of mezzotinto engraving is generally ascribed to Prince Rupert ; but, in
Elme's Life of Sir Christopher Wren, it is given to that eminent architect. The journals of
the Royal Society, for October 1, 1662, record that Dr Wren presented some cuts, done by
himself, in a new way ; whereby he could almost as soon do a subject on a plate of brass or
copper, as another could draw it with a crayon on paper. On this subject, the editor of
Parentalia speaks with decision, that " he was the first inventor of the art of engraving in
mezzotinto ; which was afterwards prosecuted and improved by his Royal Highness Prince
Rupert, in a manner somewhat different, upon the suggestion, as it is said, of the learned
John Evelyn, Esq. — ED.

HOLT FOREST. 21

Wolmer ever known to haunt the thickets or glades of the
Holt*

At present the deer of the Holt are much thinned and
reduced by the night-hunters, who perpetually harass them in
spite of the efforts of numerous keepers, and the severe
penalties that have been put in force against them as often as
they have been detected, and rendered liable to the lash of the
law. Neither fines nor imprisonments can deter them ; so
impossible is it to extinguish the spirit of sporting, which
seems to be inherent in human nature.

General Howe turned out some German wild boars and
sows in his forests, to the great terror of the neighbourhood ,
and, at one time, a wild bull or buffalo : but the country rose
upon them, and destroyed them.

A very large fall of timber, consisting of about one thousand
oaks, has been cut this spring (viz. 1 784) in the Holt Forest ;
one-fifth of which, it is said, belongs to the grantee, Lord
Stawel. He lays claim also to the lop and top ; but the poor
of the parishes of Bins ted and Frinsham, Bentley and Kings-
ley, assert that it belongs to them ; and, assembling in a
riotous manner, have actually taken it all away. One man,
who keeps a team, has carried home, for his share, forty stacks
of wood. Forty-five of these people his lordship has served
with actions. These trees, which were very sound, and in
high perfection, were winter-cut, viz. in February and March,
before the bark would run.f In old times, the Holt was
estimated to be eighteen miles, computed measure, from
water carriage, viz. from the town of Chertsey, on the Thames ;
but now it is not half that distance, since the Wey is made
navigable up to the town of Godalming, in the county of Surrey.

* There is a curious fact, not generally known, which is, that at one
period the horns of stags grew into a much greater number of ramifications
than at the present day. Some have supposed this to have arisen from the
greater abundance of food, and from the animal having more repose,
before population became so dense. In some individuals these multiplied
to an extraordinary extent. There is one in the museum of Hesse Cassel
with twenty-eight antlers. Baron Cuvier mentions one with sixty-six,
or thirty-three on each horn. — ED.

f The superiority of wood cut in winter arises from its being divested
of sap at that season of the year. Timber felled in summer is liable to
crack, and is very subject to the dry-rot ; both of which are caused by
the sap not having properly escaped in the process of drying. The sap
rises only in the spring, and descends at the fall of the year. — ED.

2'2 MIGRATIONS.

LETTER X.

TO THOMAS PENNA1N7T, ESQ.

August 4, 1767.

IT has been my misfortune never to have had any neigh-
bours whose studies have led them towards the pursuit of
natural knowledge ; so that, for want of a companion to
quicken my industry and sharpen my attention, I have made
but slender progress in a kind of information to which I have
been attached from my childhood.

As to swallows (hirundmes rusticce) being found in a torpid
state during the winter in the Isle of Wight, or any part of
this country, I never heard any such account worth attending
to. But a clergyman, of an inquisitive turn, assures me that,
when he was a great boy, some workmen, in pulling down
the battlements of a church tower early in the spring, found
two or three swifts (hirundines apodes) among the rubbish,
which were, at first appearance, dead ; but, on being carried
towards the fire, revived. He told me that, out of his great
care to preserve them, he put them in a paper bag, and hung
them by the kitchen fire, where they were suffocated.

Another intelligent person has informed me that, while he
was a schoolboy at Brighthelmstone, in Sussex, a great fragment
of the chalk cliff fell down one stormy winter on the beach,
and that many people found swallows among the rubbish ;
but, on my questioning him whether he saw any of those birds
himself, to my no small disappointment he answered me in the
negative, but that others assured him they did.*

Young broods of swallows began to appear this year on
July the llth, and young martens (Jiirundines urbicd) were

* That a few solitary instances of swallows remaining in this country,
in a state of torpidity, have occurred, there can be little doubt ; but that
they generally hybernate is out of the question. Charles Lucian Bona-
parte, in a letter to the Secretary of the Linnten Society, dated from on
board the Delaware, near Gibraltar, March 20, 1828, says, — " A few
days ago, being five hundred miles from the coasts of Portugal, four
hundred from those of Africa, we were agreeably surprised by the
appearance of a few swallows, (Jiirundo urbica and rustica. ) This,
however extraordinary, might have been explained by an easterly gale,
which might have cut off the swallows migrating from the main to
Madeira, only two hundred miles distant from us ; but what was my
surprise in observing several small xvarblers popping about the deck and
rigging. These poor little strangers were soon caught and brought to
me. " These warblers were the sylvia trochilus, or hay bird, &c. — ED.

MARTENS. 23

then fledged in their nests. Both species will breed again
once; for I see by my fauna of last year, that young broods
came forth so late as September the 1 8th. Are not these late
hatchings more in favour of hiding than migration ? Nay,
some young martens remained in their nests last year so late
as September the 29th ; and yet they totally disappeared with
us by the 5th of October.

How strange it is, that the swift, which seems to live exactly
the same life with the swallow and house-marten, should leave
us before the middle of August invariably ! while the latter
stay often till the middle of October ; and once I saw numbers
of house-martens on the 7th of November. * The martens and
red-wing fieldfares were flying in sight together, — an uncom-
mon assemblage of summer and winter birds !

A little yellow bird (it is either a species of the alauda
trivialis, f or rather, perhaps, of the motacilla trochilus J) still
continues to make a sibilous shivering noise in the tops of tall
woods. The stoparola of Ray (for which we have as yet no
name in these parts) is called, in your Zoology, the fly-
catcher. There is one circumstance characteristic of this
bird, which seems to have escaped observation ; and that is,
it takes its stand on the top of some stake or post, from
whence it springs forth on its prey, catching a fly in the air,
and hardly ever touching the ground, but returning still to the
same stand for many times together.

* The latest time which the swift has been known to remain in this
country was till September 15, in the year 1817. Two or three were seen
sporting about with the large assemblies of swallows and martens, by the
sea side, near Penzance, to the eastward. These birds, there can be little
doubt, were on their passage from this country to a more southern
climate. The swallow (H. rustica) was seen, by the Rev. W. T. Bree,
in the year 1806, so late as November 20 ; and Mr Sweet mentions
having seen one pass over his garden, near London, November 23, 1828.
The day was line, and flies plentiful ; but, he asks, how did it subsist
during the severe frosty days that were past ? The earliest period noticed
by that keen observer of nature is on the 3d April, 1803; while he records
having seen the sand-marten (H. reparia) on the 31st March, in the years
1818 and 1822, the former at Penzance, and adds, " I have been informed
by an intelligent friend, that a house-swallow once took up its residence
late in the autumn within St Mary's Church at Warwick, and was
regularly observed there by the congregation until Christmas eve, after,
which it disappeared, and was seen no more." These birds arrive in the
following order : — The sand-marten, the house-swallow, house-marten,
swift. — ED.

•}• The grasshopper lark. — ED.

§ The yellow willow-wren. — ED.

'24 WATER-RATS.

I perceive there are more than one species of the mctadlla
trochilus ; Mr Derham supposes, in Ray's Philosophical
Letters, that he has discovered three. In these, there is
again an instance of some very common birds that have as
yet no English name.*

Mr Stillingfleet makes a question whether the black-cap
(motacilla atricapilla) be a bird of passage or not. I think
there is no doubt of it ; for, in April, in the first fine weather,
they come trooping in all at once into these parts, but are
never seen in the winter.f They are delicate songsters.

Numbers of snipes breed every summer in some moory
ground on the verge of this parish. It is very amusing to see
the cock bird on wing at that time, and to hear his piping and
humming notes.

I have had no opportunity yet of procuring any of those
mice which I mentioned to you in town. The person that
brought me the last says they are plenty in harvest, at which
time I will take care to get more ; and will endeavour to put
the matter out of doubt whether it be a nondescript species or
not.

I suspect much there may be two species of water-rats.
Ray says, and Linnaeus after him, that the water-rat is web-
footed behind. Now, I have discovered a rat on the banks of
our little stream that is not web-footed, and yet is an excellent
swimmer and diver : it answers exactly to the mus amphibius
of Linnaeus, (see Syst. Nat.) which, he says, " natat infossis et
urinatur" I should be glad to procure one " plantis palmatis"
Linnaeus seems to be in a puzzle about his mus amphibius, and
to doubt whether it differs from his mus terrestris ; which, if it
be, as he allows, the " mus agrestis capite grandi brachyuros"
of Ray, is widely different from the water-rat, both in size,
make, and manner of life.

As to ihefalco, which I mentioned in town, I shall take the
liberty to send it down to you into Wales ; presuming on your
candour, that you will excuse me if it should appear as familiar
to you as it is strange to me. Though mutilated, " qualem
dices . . . antehac fuisse, tales cum sint reliquiae!"

It haunted a marshy piece of ground in quest of wild ducks
and snipes ; but, when it was shot, had just knocked down a
rook, which it was tearing in pieces. I cannot make it

* The three species are, the one mentioned in the text, the common
willow- wren, and the least willow-wren, or chiff-chaff. — ED.

f The black-cap is unquestionably migratory; it appears about the
middle of April and retires in September. — ED.

THE HOOPOE.

HOOPOES. 25

answer to any of our English hawks ; neither could I find
any like it at the curious exhibition of stuffed birds in Spring
Gardens. I found it nailed up at the end of a barn, which is
the countryman's museum.

The parish I live in is a very abrupt uneven country, full of
hills and woods, and therefore full of birds.

LETTER XL

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, September 9, 1767.

IT will not be without impatience that I shall wait for your
thoughts with regard to the falco. As to its weight, breadth,
&c. I wish I had set them down at the time ; but, to the
best of my remembrance, it weighed two pounds and eight
ounces, and measured, from wing to wing, thirty-eight inches.
Its cere and feet were yellow, and the circle of its eyelids a
bright yellow. As it had been killed some days, and the eyes
were sunk, I could make no good observation on the colour
of the pupils and the irides.

The most unusual birds I ever observed in these parts were
a pair of hoopoes, (upupa^) which came, several years ago,
in the summer, and frequented an ornamented piece of ground,
which joins to my garden, for some weeks. They used to
march about in a stately manner, feeding in the walks, many
times in the day, and seemed disposed to breed in my outlet ;
but were frighted and persecuted by idle boys, who never let
them be at rest.*

* In Latham's General Synopsis, there is an account of a young hoopoe
having been shot in May. These birds have been seen in many parts of
Great Britain, from Devonshire to the north of Scotland. Some years ago,
one was shot near Banff; and it has been killed in Devonshire and South
Wales. Mr Selby says, " the specimen in my possession, and from which
the figure in my illustrations is taken, was caught, after some severe
weather, and overcome by fatigue, upon the sea coast of Northumberland,
near Bamburgh Castle." The Rev. Percival Hunter says, they were
frequently seen, during the brumal months, in various parts of Kent, in
1829. The upupa eops can only be reckoned an occasional visitant, its
chief residence, during the summer months, being the south of Europe,
from whence it migrates to Africa. Colonel Williamson, late of the 92d
regiment, informed us, that it is to be met with, in vast numbers, near
Ceuta, in Africa, opposite to Gibraltar, during the whole year. The nest
is formed of bents, and lined with soft materials ; it is built in the hollow
of a tree, and is said to be extremely fetid. The eggs are four in number,
bluish white, spotted with pale brown. — ED.

26 GROSSBEAKS — CROSSBILLS.

Three grossbeaks (loxia coccothraustes) appeared, some
years ago, in my fields, in the winter ; one of which I shot.
Since that, now and then one is occasionally seen in the same
dead season.*

A crossbill (loxia curvirostra) was killed last year in this
neighbourhood, f

Our streams, which are small, and rise only at the end of
the village, yield nothing but the bull's-head, or miller' s-thumb,
(gobius fluviatilis capitatus^) the trout, (trutta fluvia tills?) the
eel, (anguilla,) the lampern, (lampcstra parva et Jlumatilis^)
and the stickleback, (pisciculus aculeatus.^)

* This is the hawfinch of British naturalists ; the fringilla cocco-
thraustes of Temminck ; and is only an occasional autumnal visitant,
continuing with us till the month of April. It seldom visits the northern
counties. There is, however, one instance recorded by Mr T. F. Loudon,
in the first volume of the Magazine of Natural History, p. 374. He
says, — " On the 14th May, 1828, the nest of a hawfinch was taken in
an orchard belonging to Mr Waring, at Chelsfield, Kent. The old female
was shot on the nest, which was of a slovenly, loose form, and shallow,
not being so deep as those of the greenfinch or linnet, and was placed
against the large bough of an apple tree, about ten feet from the ground.
It was composed externally of dead twigs and a few roots, mixed with
coarse white moss, or lichen, and lined with horse hair and a little fine,
dried grass. The eggs were five in number, about the size of a skylark's,
but shorter and rounder, and spotted with bluish ash and olive brown,
some of the spots inclining to dusky, or blackish brown. The markings
were variously distributed on the different eggs." It is a native of Italy,
Germany, Sweden, and South of France ED.

•f* The crossbill is only an occasional visitant in Britain, and generally
appear in large flocks. Mr Selby mentions that, in June, 1821, a vast
number visited Britain, and spread themselves through the country in
all places where fir trees were abundant, the cones of which being their
principal food. These consisted chiefly of females. A pretty large flock
made its appearance in the neighbourhood of Ambleside, Westmoreland,
in November, 1828. Their favourite haunt was a plantation of young
larches. The crossbill is a native of Northern Europe ED.

| There are five species of sticklebacks inhabiting the British streams,
three of which were discovered by Mr Yarrel. In the Magazine of
Natural History, we have a curious account of the pugnacious propen-
sities of these little animals. " Having, at various times," says a corre-
spondent, " kept these little fish during the spring, and part of the summer
months, and paid close attention to their habits, I am enabled, from my
own experience, to vouch for the facts I am about to relate. I have
generally kept them in a deal tub, about three feet two inches wide, and
about two feet deep. When they are put in, for some time, probably a
day or two, they swim about in a shoal, apparently exploring their new
habitation. Suddenly one will take possession of the tub, or, as it will
sometimes happen, the bottom, and will instantly commence an attack
upon his companions ; and, if any of them venture to oppose his sway, a
regular and most furious battle ensues. They swim round and round,

STICKLEBACKS — OWLS. 27

We are twenty miles from the sea, and almost as many from
a great river ; and, therefore, see but little of sea birds. As
to wild fowls, we have a few teams of ducks, bred in the moors
where the snipes breed; and multitudes of widgeons and teals,
in hard weather, frequent our lakes in the forest.

Having some acquaintance with a tame brown owl, I find
that it casts up the fur of mice, and the feathers of birds, in
pellets, after the manner of hawks ; when full, like a dog, it
hides what it cannot eat.

The young of the barn owl are not easily raised, as they
want a constant supply of fresh mice ; whereas the young of
the brown owl will eat indiscriminately all that is brought
snails, rats, kittens, puppies, magpies, and any kind of carrion
or offal.

The house-martens have eggs still, and squab young. The
last swift I observed was about the 21st of August ; it was a
straggler.

Redstarts, flycatchers, white-throats, and reguli non cristati,
still appear ; but I have seen no black-caps lately.

I forgot to mention, that I once saw, in Christ Church
College quadrangle, in Oxford, on a very sunny, warm morning,
a house-marten flying about, and settling on the parapet, so
late as the 20th of November.

At present, I know7 only two species of bats, the common
vespertilio murinus and the vespertilio auribus.*

eacli with the greatest rapidity ; biting, (their mouths being well furnished
with teeth,) and endeavouring to pierce each other with their lateral
spines, which, on these occasions, are projected. I have witnessed a battle
of this sort, which lasted several minutes before either would give way ;
and, when one does submit, imagination can hardly conceive the vindictive
fury of the conqueror, who, in the most persevering and unrelenting way,
chases his rival from one part of the tub to another, until fairly exhausted
with fatigue. From this period an interesting change takes place in the
conqueror, who, from being a speckled and greenish looking fish, assumes
the most beautiful colours ; the belly and lower jaws becoming a deep
crimson, and the back sometimes a cream colour, but generally a fine
green ; and the whole appearance full of animation and spirit. I have
occasionally known three or four parts of the tub taken possession of by
these little tyrants, who guard their territories with the strictest vigilance,
and the slightest invasion brings on invariably a battle. A strange altera-
tion immediately takes place in the defeated party : his gallant bearing
forsakes him ; his gay colours fade away ; he becomes again speckled and
ugly; and he hides his disgrace among his peaceable companions." It is
the male fish only which are so pugnacious. — ED.

* Seven species of bats have now been ascertained; namely, the
horse-shoe bat, (rhinolophus ferrum-equinum of Geoffroy,) discovered
by Colonel Montagu, in caverns, at Torquay, Devonshire ; the lesser

28 BATS.

I was much entertained last summer with a tame bat, which
would take flies out of a person's hand. If you gave it any
thing to eat, it brought its wings round before the mouth,
hovering and hiding its head in the manner of birds of prey
when they feed. The adroitness it shewed in shearing off the
wings of the flies, which were always rejected, was worthy of
observation, and pleased me much. Insects seemed to be most
acceptable, though it did not refuse raw flesh when offered ;
so that the notion, that bats go down chimneys and gnaw men's
bacon, seems no improbable story. While I amused myself
with this wonderful quadruped, I saw it several times confute
the vulgar opinion, that bats, when down on a flat surface,
cannot get on the wing again, by rising with great ease from
the floor. It ran, I observed, with more despatch than I was
aware of ; but in a most ridiculous and grotesque manner.

Bats drink on the wing, like swallows, by sipping the surface,
as they play over pools and streams. They love to frequent
waters, not only for the sake of drinking, but on account of
insects, which are found over them in the greatest plenty. As
I was going some years ago, pretty late, in a boat from Rich-
mond to Sunbury, on a warm summer's evening, I think I saw
myriads of bats between the two places ; the air swarmed with
them all along the Thames, so that hundreds were in sight at
a time.

LETTER XII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

November 4, 1767.

IT gave me no small satisfaction to hear that the falco*
turned out an uncommon one. I must confess I should have
been better pleased to have heard that I had sent you a bird
that you had never seen before ; but that, I find, would be a
difficult task.

horse-shoe bat, (r. hipposideros^) discovered by the same gentleman in
Wiltshire and Devonshire ; the common bat, the emarginated bat,
(vespertilio emarginatus,) discovered by Dr Fleming in Fife; the great
bat, (v. noctuldj} of our author; the eared bat, (plecotus auritus,') of
Pennant ; and the barbed bat, (p. barbastellus, ) found in Devonshire by
Colonel Montagu, and at Dartford, in Kent, by Mr Peel. — ED.

Mr John Greig, author of the Heavens Displayed, &c. saw a bat
flying about in February, in England, during a very hard frost and deep
snow. — ED.

* This hawk proved to be ihefalco peregrinus — a variety.

THE BOHEMIAN WAXWING.
flombyeiwra Gamtla, Temminck.

MICE GERMAN SILK-TAIL. 29

I have procured some of the mice mentioned in my former
letters, — a young one, and a female with young, both of which
I have preserved in brandy. From the colour, shape, size, and
manner of nesting, I make no doubt but that the species is
nondescript. They are much smaller, and more slender, than
the mus domesticus medius of Ray, and have more of the squirrel
or dormouse colour. Their belly is white ; a straight line
along their sides divides the shades of their back and belly.
They never enter into houses ; are carried into ricks and barns
with the sheaves ; abound in harvest ; and build their nests
amidst the straws of the corn above the ground, and sometimes
in thistles. They breed as many as eight at a litter, in a little
round nest composed of the blades of grass or wheat.

One of these nests I procured this autumn, most artificially
platted, and composed of the blades of wheat ; perfectly round,
and about the size of a cricket-ball ; with the aperture so
ingeniously closed, that there was no discovering to what part
it belonged. It was so compact and well filled, that it would
roll across the table without being discomposed, though it
contained eight little mice that were naked and blind. As
this nest was perfectly full, how could the dam come at her
litter respectively, so as to administer a teat to each ? Perhaps
she opens different places for that purpose, adjusting them
again when the business is over ; but she could not possibly
be contained herself in the ball with her young, which, more-
over, would be daily increasing in bulk. This wonderful
procreant cradle, an elegant instance of the efforts of instinct,
was found in a wheat field suspended in the head of a thistle.

A gentleman, curious in birds, wrote me word that his
servant had shot one last January, in that severe weather,
which he believed would puzzle me. I called to see it this
summer, not knowing what to expect ; but, the moment I took
it in hand, I pronounced it the male garrulus bohemicus, or
German silk-tail, from the five peculiar crimson tags, or points,
which it carries at the ends of five of the short remiges. It
cannot, 1 suppose, with any propriety, be called an English
bird ; and yet I see, by Ray's Philosophical Letters, that great
flocks of them, feeding on haws, appeared in this kingdom in
the winter of 1685.*

* This beautiful bird (the ampelis garrula of Temminck) is a frequent
visitor of Britain, and always appears in flocks. The Rev. Perceval
Hunter mentions a flock of them having been seen in Kent in 1828.
Bewick remarks that great numbers were taken in Northumberland in
the years 1789 and 1790. In 1810, large flocks were dispersed through

SO CANARY BIRDS.

The mention of haws puts me in mind that there is a total
failure of that wild fruit, so conducive to the support of many
of the winged nation. For the same severe weather, late in
the spring, which cut off all the produce of the more tender
and curious trees, destroyed also that of the more hardy and
common.

Some birds, haunting with the missel-thrushes, and feeding
on the berries of the yew-tree, which answered to the descrip-
tion of the merula torquata, or ringousel, were lately seen in
this neighbourhood. I employed some people to procure me
a specimen, but without success.

Query — Might not Canary birds be naturalized to this
climate, provided their eggs were put, in the spring, into the
nests of some of their congeners, as gold-finches, green-finches,
&c. ? Before winter, perhaps, they might be hardened, and able
to shift for themselves.*

About ten years ago, I used to spend some weeks yearly at
Sunbury, which is one of those pleasant villages lying on the
Thames, near Hampton Court. In the autumn I could not
help being much amused with those myriads of the swallow
kind which assemble in those parts. But what struck me most
was, that, from the time they began to congregate, forsaking
the chimneys and houses, they roosted every night in the
osierbeds of the aits of that river. Now this resorting towards
that element, at that season of the year, seems to give some
countenance to the northern opinion (strange as it is) of their
retiring under wrater. A Swedish naturalist is so much
persuaded of that fact, that he talks, in his Calendar of Flora,
as familiarly of the swallow's going under water in the
beginning of September, as he would of his poultry going to
roost a little before sunset.f

various districts of Britain. Mr Selby mentions some having been
observed in 1822 ; and one was shot at Edinburgh, in December 1830 ;
another was shot at Coventry ; and, during the years 1829, 1830, and
1831, there have been recorded no fewer than twenty specimens, killed
in the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk. — En.

* Various experiments have been tried to naturalize Canary birds in
Britain, but they have all proved abortive. — ED.

"|* Our author seems strongly inclined to the doctrine of the submersion
of the swallow tribe during winter ; but the temperature of places situated
at great depths below the surface of the land and water, is sufficient
objection to the circumstance of birds remaining in a torpid state, during
the winter, in solitary caverns, or at the bottom of deep lakes, as many
authors have affirmed.

It is an established fact, that all places situated eighty feet below the
surface of the earth are constantly of the same temperature. In these

MIGRATION. 31

An observing gentleman in London writes me word, that he
saw a house-marten, on the 23d of last October, flying in and
out of its nest in the Borough ; and I myself, on the 29th of last
October, (as I was travelling through Oxford,) saw four or five
swallows hovering round and settling on the roof of the County
Hospital.

Now, is it likely that these poor little birds (which, perhaps,
had not been hatched but a few weeks) should, at that late
season of the year, and from so midland a county, attempt a
voyage to Goree or Senegal, almost as far as the equator?*

I acquiesce entirely in your opinion, that, though most of
the swallow kind may migrate, yet some do stay behind and
hide with us during the winter.

As to the short-winged soft-billed birds, which come trooping
in such numbers in the spring, I am at a loss even what to
suspect about them. I watched them narrowly this year, and
saw them abound till about Michaelmas, when they appeared
no longer. Subsist they cannot openly among us, and yet
elude the eyes of the inquisitive ; and as to their hiding, no
man pretends to have found any of them in a torpid state in
the winter. But with regard to their migration, what difficulties
attend that supposition ! that such feeble bad fliers (who the
summer long never flit but from hedge to hedge) should be
able to traverse vast seas and continents, in order to enjoy
milder seasons amidst the regions of Africa!

LETTER XIII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, January 22, 1768.

As, in one of your former letters, you expressed the more
satisfaction from my correspondence on account of my living
in the most southerly county ; so now I may return the com-
pliment, and expect to have my curiosity gratified by your
living much more to the north.

For many years past I have observed that, towards Christmas,
vast flocks of chaffinches have appeared in the fields — many
more, I used to think, than could be hatched in any one

situations, therefore, the sun can have no influence ; and what else would
call forth the dormant organs of these birds into action? It is but
reasonable to conclude that cold, which kept them benumbed by its
sleepy torpor, would evidently perpetuate their slumbers. — ED.
* See Adanson's Voyage to Senegal.

3Z CHAFFINCHES.

neighbourhood. But, when I came to observe them much
more narrowly, I was amazed to find that they seemed to me
to be almost all hens. I communicated my suspicions to
some intelligent neighbours, who, after taking pains about the
matter, declared that they also thought them all mostly females ;
at least fifty to one. This extraordinary occurrence brought
to my mind the remark of Linngeus, that, " before winter, all
their hen chaffinches migrate through Holland into Italy."
Now, I want to know, from some curious person in the north,
whether there are any large flocks of these finches with them
in the winter, and of which sex they mostly consist ? For, from
such intelligence, one might be able to judge whether our
female flocks migrate from the other end of the island, or
whether they come over to us from the Continent.*

We have, in the winter, vast flocks of the common linnets,
more, I think, than can be bred in any one district. These, I
observe, when the spring advances, assemble on some tree in
the sunshine, and join all in a gentle sort of chirping, as if
they were about to break up their winter quarters, and betake
themselves to their proper summer homes. It is well known,
at least, that the swallows and the fieldfares do congregate
with a gentle twittering before they make their respective
departures.f

You may depend on it, that the bunting, emberiza miliaria,
does not leave this country in the winter. In January, 1767,
I saw several dozens of them, in the midst of a severe frost,
among the bushes on the downs near Andover ; in our wood-
land enclosed districts it is a rare bird, if

* Mr Selby says, that (t in Northumberland and Scotland, this
separating takes place about the month of November; and from that
period till the return of spring, few females are to be seen, and these few
in distinct societies." To this, however, there are exceptions, as we
have met them of both sexes during the depths of winter. We can say
confidently, that during several years' residence in the county of Fife,
the females in our shrubbery and garden were as plentiful as the males ;
and that the sexes were not separated into distinct societies. — ED.

•f- Linnets in a state of captivity do not acquire the fine colours with
which they are adorned during the summer months while at freedom ;
the fine red tinge of the nuptial season never appearing.

" At once brilliant and soft," says Bechstein, " the song of the linnet
consists of many irregular notes, tastefully put together, in a clear and
sonorous tone, which continues the whole year, except in the moulting
season." — ED.

| The common buntings congregate during winter, but do not migrate.
We, however, receive accessions of them at the fall, from more

1

SHORT WINGED BIRDS. 33

Wagtails, both white and yellow, are with us all the winter.
Quails crowd to our southern coast, and are often killed in
numbers by people that go on purpose.*

Mr Stillingfleet, in his Tracts, says, that, " if the wheatear
(csnantlie) does not quit England, it certainly shifts places ;
for, about harvest, they are not to be found where there was
before great plenty of them." This well accounts for the vast
quantities that are caught about that time on the south downs
near Lewes, where they are esteemed a delicacy. There have
been shepherds, I have been credibly informed, that have made
many pounds in a season by catching them in traps. And
though such multitudes are taken, I never saw (and I am well
acquainted with those parts) above two or three at a time ;
for they are never gregarious. -p They may perhaps migrate in
general ; and, for that purpose, draw towards the coast of
Sussex in autumn ; but that they do not all withdraw I am sure,
because I see a few stragglers in many counties, at all times
of the year, especially about warrens and stone quarries.

I have no acquaintance at present among the gentlemen of
the navy, but have written to a friend, who was a sea chaplain
in the late war, desiring him to look into his minutes, with
respect to birds that settled on their rigging during their
voyage up or down the Channel. What Hasselquist says on

northerly climates, which probably leave us again in the spring. In
winter they become familiar, and often visit farm-yards in large flocks.
Mr Knapp says, " I witnessed this morning a rick of barley entirely
stripped of its thatching, which the buntings had effected, by seizing the
end of the straw, and deliberately drawing it out, to search for any grain
that might yet remain. The sparrow and other birds will burrow in the
stack, and pilfer the corn ; and the deliberate operations of unroofing
the edifice appears to be peculiar to the bunting."

There is considerable difficulty in conceiving how short-winged birds,
which must be bad flyers, should be able to cross extensive tracts of
water. St Pierre says, " Towards the end of September, the quails
avail themselves of a northerly wind to take their departure from Europe,
and flapping one wing, while they present the other to the gale, half sail,
half oar, they graze the billows of the Mediterranean with their feathered
rumps, and bring themselves to the sands of Africa, that they may serve
as food to the famished inhabitants of Zara." — ED.

* The spring wag-tail is migratory ; it visits us in May, and departs
in September. It is said to be found in Siberia and Russia in summer.
It continues in France the whole year.

f Our author is wrong in stating that this species is never gregarious ;
for we care informed by Montagu, that on the 24th of March, 1804, a vast
flock of these birds, consisting entirely of males, made their appearance
on the south Devon coast, near Kingsbridge, and continued in flocks
during the day, busied in search of food. — ED.

c

34 HARVEST MOUSE.

that subject is remarkable : there were little short-winged
birds frequently coming on board the ship all the way from
our Channel quite up to the Levant, especially before squally
weather.

What you suggest with regard to Spain is highly probable.
The winters of Andalusia are so mild, that, in all likelihood,
the soft-billed birds that leave us at that season may find
insects sufficient to support them there.

Some young man, possessed of fortune, health, and leisure,
should make an autumnal voyage into that kingdom, and
should spend a year there, investigating the natural history
of that vast country. Mr Willughby passed through that
kingdom on such an errand; but he seems to have skirted
along in a superficial manner, and an ill humour, being much
disgusted at the rude, dissolute manners of the people.

I have no friend left now at Sunbury to apply to about the
swallows roosting on the aits of the Thames ; nor can I hear
any more about those birds which I suspected were merulce
torquatce.

As to the small mice,* I have farther to remark, that though
they hang their nests for breeding up amidst the straws of the
standing corn, above the ground, yet I find that, in the winter,
they burrow deep in the earth, and make warm beds of grass ;
but their grand rendezvous seems to be in corn ricks, into
which they are carried at harvest. A neighbour housed an
oat rick lately, under the thatch of which were assembled near
a hundred, most of which were taken ; and some I saw. I
measured them, and found that, from nose to tail, they were
just two inches and a quarter, and their tails just two inches
long. Two of them, in a scale, weighed down just one copper
halfpenny, which is about the third of an ounce avoirdupois ;
so that I suppose they are the smallest quadrupeds in this
island. A full grown mus medius domesticus weighs, I find,
one ounce lumping weight, which is more than six times as
much as the mouse above, and measures, from nose to rump,
four inches and a quarter, and the same in its tail. We have
had a very severe frost and deep snow this month. My
thermometer was one day fourteen degrees and a half below
the freezing point, within doors. The tender evergreens
were injured pretty much. It was very providential that the
air was still, and the ground well covered with snow, else

* This is the harvest mouse, or mus messorius, of Shaw's Zoology,
and first discovered by White. — ED.

SPIRACULA IN DEER. 35

vegetation in general must have suffered prodigiously. There
is reason to believe that some days were more severe than
any since the year 1739-40.

LETTER XIV.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, March 12, 1768.

DEAR SIR, — If some curious gentleman would procure the
head of a fallow deer, and have it dissected, he would find it
furnished with two spiracula, or breathing places, besides the
nostrils ; probably analogous to the puncta lachrymalia in the
human head.* When deer are thirsty, they plunge their noses,
like some horses, very deep under water, while in the act of
drinking, and continue them in that situation for a considerable
time ; but, to obviate any inconveniency, they can open two
vents, one at the inner corner of each eye, having a communi-
cation with the nose. Here seems to be an extraordinary
provision of nature worthy our attention, and which has not,
that I know of, been noticed by any naturalist : for it looks
as if these creatures would not be suffocated, though both their
mouths and nostrils were stopped. This curious formation of
the head may be of singular service to beasts of chase, by
affording them free respiration ; and no doubt these additional
nostrils are thrown open when they are hard run. f Mr Ray
observed, that at Malta the owners slit up the nostrils of such
asses as were hard worked ; for they, being naturally strait or
small, did not admit air sufficient to serve them when they
travelled or laboured in that hot climate. And we know that
grooms and gentlemen of the turf, think large nostrils neces-
sary, and a perfection, in hunters and running horses.

Oppian, the Greek poet, by the following line, seems to have
had some notion that stags have four spiracula : —

* This is termed the lachrymal sinus, is common to the whole of the
genus cervus, and exists in many of the antelopes En.

f In answer to this account, Mr Pennant sent me the following curious
and pertinent reply : — "I was much surprised to find in the antelope
something analogous to what you mention as so remarkable in deer. This
animal also has a long slit beneath each eye, which can be opened and
shut at pleasure. On holding an orange to one, the creature made as
much use of those orifices as of his nostrils, applying them to the fruit,
and seeming to smell it through them."

36 WHITE ROOKS AND BLACKBIRDS.

i £/Vf£, tfitfvg .

Quadrifidae nares, quadruplices ad respirationem canales.

OP. Cyn. Lib. ii. 1. 181.

Writers, copying from one another, make Aristotle say, that
goats breathe at their ears, whereas he asserts just the contrary :
— AXx/jbaicvv yao OVK aXqdri Xs^i, (pa/Atvog avaffvuv rag aiyag
xara ra wra. — " Alcmseon does not advance what is true,
when he avers that goats breathe through their ears." —
History of Animals, Book i. chap. xi.

LETTER XV.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, March 30, 1768.

DEAR SIR, — Some intelligent country people have a notion
that we have, in these parts, a species of the genus mustelmwn^
besides the weasel, stoat, ferret, and polecat ; a little reddish
beast, not much bigger than a field mouse, but much longer,
which they call a cane. This piece of intelligence can be little
depended on ; but farther inquiry may be made.*

A gentleman in this neighbourhood had two milk-white
rooks in one nest. A booby of a carter, finding them before
they were able to fly, threw them down, and destroyed them,
to the regret of the owner, who would have been glad to have
preserved such a curiosity in his rookery. I saw the birds
myself nailed against the end of a barn, and was surprised to
find that their bills, legs, feet, and claws, were milk-white.

A shepherd saw, as he thought, some white larks on a down
above my house this winter : were not these the cmbcriza nivalw,
the snow-flake of the British Zoology ? No doubt they were.f

* The cane has been satisfactorily proved to be the common weasel.
It is called in Suffolk the mouse-hunt. — ED.

f We can see no reason why the bird referred to may not have been a
white lark, as well as a snow-bunting. We have seen white birds of
many British species. There was a white lark shot in the neighbourhood
of Kingston Rectory, near Canterbury, in October, 1828. In the Natural
History Magazine there is a notice of a blackbird's nest found at St
Anstell, Cornwall, containing two birds, one of them perfectly white.
In the summer of 1831, a blackbird's nest was found at Newbottle, near
Edinburgh, containing four young ; two of which were of the ordinary
colour, and two perfectly white. The former turned out females, ani
the latter were both male birds. On the grounds of Drumsheugh, the
property of our friend Sir Patrick Walker, there was, some years ago,
a beautifully mottled blackbird, which became so tame that it fed along

EFFECT OF FOOD ON THE COLOUR OF BIRDS. 37

A few years ago, I saw a cock bullfinch in a cage, which
had been caught in the fields after it was come to its full
colours. In about a year, it began to look dingy, and, black-
ening every succeeding year, it became coal-black at the end
of four. Its chief food was hempseed. Such influence has
food on the colour of animals! The pied and mottled colours
of domesticated animals are supposed to be owing to high,
various, and unusual food.*

I had remarked, for years, that the root of the cuckoo-pint
(arum) was frequently scratched out of the dry banks of hedges,
and in severe snowy weather. After observing, with some
exactness, myself, and getting others to do the same, we found
it was the thrush kind that searched it out. The root of the
arum is remarkably warm and pungent.

Our flocks of female chaffinches have not yet forsaken us.
The blackbirds and thrushes are very much thinned down by
that fierce weather in January.

In the middle of February, I discovered, in my tall hedges,
a little bird that raised my curiosity : it was of that yellow-
green colour that belongs to the salicaria kind, and, I think,
was soft-billed. It was no parus, and was too long and too
big for the golden-crowned wren, appearing most like the
largest willow-wren. It hung sometimes with its back down-
wards, but never continuing one moment in the same place.
I shot at it, but it was so desultory that I missed my aim.f

with the domestic fowls. It continued at Drumsheugh for some years,
and was shot by a gentleman from a back window in Melville Street,
who had not heard of it, and supposed it a bird of some very uncommon
species. It is now in the museum of Sir Patrick. Another mottled
blackbird was some years ago kept in a cage by Mr Veitch, the distin-
guished optician, at Inehbonny, near Jedburgh. We have seen white
crows very often ; a white robin, with red eyes ; a white sparrow, and
a white jack -daw. These accidental varieties, we believe, have existed
in almost every species of birds. Sir William Jardine mentions a pair
of magpies of a cream colour, which were hatched at a farm-steading in
Eskdale, Dumfriesshire. In the Natural History Magazine it is stated,
that a greenfinch was shot in the neighbourhood of Ross, Herefordshire,
the prevailing colour of which was a rich yellow, mottled with green,
yellow, and dirty white. — ED.

* Food, climate, and domestication, have a great influence in changing
the colour of animals. Hence the varied plumage of almost all our
domestic birds. la a wild state, the dark colour of most birds is a great
safeguard to them against their enemies. Naturalists suppose that this
is the reason why birds, which have a very varied plumage, seldom
assume their gay attire till the second or third year, when they have
acquired cunning and strength to avoid their enemies. — ED.

f In all probability the bearded titmouse. — ED.

38 STONE CURLEW.

I wonder that the stone curlew, charadnus oedicnemus,
should be mentioned by the writers as a rare bird : it abounds
in all the champaign parts of Hampshire and Sussex, and
breeds, I think, all the summer, having young ones, I know,
very late in the autumn. Already they begin clamouring in
the evening. They cannot, I think, with any propriety, be
called, as they are by Mr Ray, " circa aquas versantes ;" for
with us (by day at least) they haunt only the most dry, open,
upland fields and sheep-walks, far removed from water : what
they may do in the night 1 cannot say. Worms are their usual
food, but they also eat toads and frogs.

I can shew you some good specimens of my new mice.
Linnaeus, perhaps, would call the species mus minimus.

LETTER XVI.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, April 18, 1768.

DEAR SIR, — The history of the stone curlew, charadrius
oedicnemus, is as follows : — It lays its eggs, usually two, never
more than three, on the bare ground, without any nest, in the
field, so that the countryman, in stirring his fallows, often
destroys them. The young run immediately from the egg
like partridges, &c. and are withdrawn to some flinty field by
the dam, where they skulk among the stones, which are their
best security ; for their feathers are so exactly of the colour
of our grey spotted flints, that the most exact observer, unless
he catches the eye of the young bird, may be eluded. The
eggs are short arid round, of a dirty white, spotted with dark
bloody blotches. Though I might not be able, just when I
pleased, to procure you a bird, yet I could shew you them
almost any day ; and any evening you may hear them round
the village ; for they make a clamour which may be heard a
mile. Oedicnemus is a most apt and expressive name for them,
since their legs seem swollen like those of a gouty man.
After harvest, I have shot them before the pointers in turnip
fields.

I make no doubt but there are three species of the willow-
wrens ;* two I know perfectly, but have not been able yet to

* These are the wood-wren, s, sibilatrix, the hay bird, s. trochilus,
and the chiff-chaff, s. hippolais, the latter of which generally appears
in this country in the end of April. Mr Sweet says, the chiff-chaff soon
becomes familiar in confinement ; so much so, that one he captured took a
fly out of his hand in three or four days, and " learnt to drink milk out

GRASSHOPPER LARK. 39

procure the third. No two birds can differ more in their
notes, and that constantly, than those two that I am acquainted
with ; for the one has a joyous, easy, laughing note, the other
a harsh loud chirp. The former is every way larger, and
three quarters of an inch longer, and weighs two drachms and
a half, while the latter weighs but two ; so that the songster
is one-fifth heavier than the chirper. The chirper (being the
first summer bird of passage that is heard, the wryneck some-
times excepted) begins his two notes in the middle of March,
and continues them through the spring and summer, till the
end of August, as appears by my journals. The legs of the
larger of these two are flesh-coloured ; of the less, black.

The grasshopper lark began his sibilous note in my fields
last Saturday.* Nothing can be more amusing than the
whisper of this little bird, which seems to be close by, though
at an hundred yards' distance ; and, when close at your ear,
is scarcely any louder than when a great way off. Had I not
been a little acquainted with insects, and known that the
grasshopper kind is not yet hatched, I should have hardly
believed but that it had been a locusta whispering- in the
bushes. The country people laugh when you tell them that
it is the note of a bird. It is a most artful creature, skulking
in the thickest part of a bush, and will sing at a yard distance,
provided it be concealed. I was obliged to get a person to
go on the other side of the hedge where it haunted ; and then
it would run, creeping like a mouse before us for an hundred
yards together, through the bottom of the thorns ; yet it
would not come into fair sight ; but in a morning early, and
when undisturbed, it sings on the top of a twig, gaping, and
shivering with its wings. Mr Ray himself had no knowledge
of this bird, but received his account from Mr Johnston, who
apparently confounds it with the reguli non cristati, from which
it is very distinct. See Ray's Philosophical Letters, p. 108.

The fly-catcher (stoparold) has not yet appeared : it usually
breeds in my vine. The redstart begins to sing : its note is

of a tea-spoon, of which it was so fond, that it would fly after it all round
the room, and perch on the hand that held it, without shewing the least
symptoms of fear ; it would fly up to the ceiling, and bring down a fly in
its mouth every time. At last it got so tame, that it would sit on my
knee at the tire, and sleep."— ED.

* The grasshopper warbler, sylvia locustella of Latham. It is quite
distinct in habits and character from the lark genus ; it is destitute of
the long claw behind ; it resides in thickets, and is incapable of running
on the ground like a lark ; its progressive movement consists of hopping.
It frequents low and damp situations. — ED.

40 SUMMER BIRDS OP PASSAGE.

short and imperfect, but is continued till about the middle of
June.* The willow-wrens (the smaller sort) are horrid pests
in a garden, destroying the pease, cherries, currants, &c. and
are so tame that a gun will not scare them.

A. List of the Summer Birds of Passage discovered in this neighbour-
hood, ranged somewhat in the order in which they appear.

LINN JEI NOMINA.

Smallest willow-wren, . . Motacilla trochilus.

Wry-neck, . . . Yunx torquilla.

House-swallow, . . Hirundo rustica.

Marten, . . . Hirundo urbica.

Sand-marten, . . • Hirundo riparia.

Cuckoo, . . . Cuculus canorus,

Nightingale, . . . Motacilla luscinia.

Black-cap, . . . Motacilla atricapilla.

White-throat, . . . Motacilla sylvia.

Middle willow-wren, . . Motacilla trochilus.

Swift, .... Hirundo apus.
Stone-curlew ? . . Charadrius oedicnemus 9

Turtle-dove? . . . Turtur aldrovandi ? f

Grasshopper lark, . * Alauda trivialis.

Landrail, . . . Rallus crex.

Largest willow-wren, . Motacilla trochilus.

Redstart, . • . Motacilla phoznicurus.

Goat-sucker, or fern-owl, . Caprimulyus europ&us*

Fly-catcher, . . . Muscicapa grisola.

My countrymen talk much of a bird that makes a clatter
with its bill against a dead bough, or some old pales, calling
it a jar-bird. I procured one to be shot in the very fact ; it
proved to be the sitta europcea (the nuthatch.) Mr Ray says,

* Bechstein says the soug of the redstart, sylvia phcenicurus, is
lively and agreeable. " One which had built its nest under my house,"
says he, " imitated very exactly the note of a chaffinch I had in a cage in
the window j and my neighbour had another in his garden, which
repeated all the notes of the fauvette."

It arrives in this country early in April, and quits us again in the end
of September ; an instance is, however, recorded, in LOUDON'S Magazine,
of a female having been seen on the cliff called Dumpton Stairs, in the
Isle of Thanet, on Christmas day, 1830. — ED.

•f* Our author, in placing a note of interrogation after this species,
seems to doubt its being one of our migratory birds. The turtle dove,
Columba turtur, of Linnaeus, is common enough in the southern counties
of England ; arriving in the end of April or beginning of May, and
departing in September. It has lately been met with as far north as
Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Bewick mentions a flock of them which visited

NUTHATCH. 41

that the less spotted woodpecker does the same. This noise
may be heard a furlong or more. *

Now is the only time to ascertain the short-winged summer
birds ; for, when the leaf is out, there is no making any remarks
on such a restless tribe ; and, when once the young begin to
appear, it is all confusion ; there is no distinction of genus,
species, or sex.

In breeding time, snipes play over the moors, piping and
humming ; they always hum as they are descending. Is not
their hum ventriloquous, like that of the turkey ? Some suspect
that it is made by their wings. -j~

This morning, I saw the golden-crowned wren, whose crown

Prestwick Car, near Newcastle, in 1794; and Selby has one, which was
shot at North Sunderland, in 1818.

Under the craw of the turtle dove, are placed glands, which secrete a
lacteal fluid, probably common to all the genus. — ED.

* A nuthatch, which had been accidentally winged by a sportsman,
was kept in a small cage of plain oak wood and wire. During a night
and a day in which he was in captivity, his tapping labour was incessant ;
and after occupying his prison for that short time, he left the wood-work
pierced and worn like worm-eaten timber. He manifested extreme
impatience at his situation ; he was unremitting in his endeavours to
effect his escape, and in these efforts exhibited much intelligence and
cunning. He was fierce, fearlessly bold, and eat voraciously of food
which was placed before him. At the close of the third day, he sank
under the combined effects of vexation, assiduous labour, and voracious
appetite. This nuthatch was peculiarly laborious under his confinement,
and pecked in a manner different from all other birds ; " grasping hard
with his immense feet, he turned upon them as upon a pivot, and struck
with the whole weight of his body." §

Mr Bree informs us, that having caught a nuthatch in the common
brick trap used by boys, he was struck with the singular appearance of
its bill. It was so obliquely obtuse at the point, that it had the appearance
of being cut off, which he had no doubt was produced by its efforts to
escape. No persecution will force this bold little bird from its nest
during incubation. It defends it with determined courage ; strikes the
intruder with its bill and wings, making all the while a loud hissing noise,
and will allow itself to be taken in the hand rather than yield. — ED.

The sound proceeds from the throat, and not the \ '
says,
that it makes in winter. The male will keep "on the wing for an hour

f The sound proceeds from the throat, and not the wings. Montagu
ays, " in the breeding season the snipe changes its note entirely from
that it makes in winter. The male will keep on the wing for an hour
together, mounting like a lark, uttering a shrill piping noise; it then
descends with great velocity, making a bleating sound, not unlike an old
goat, which is repeated alternately round the spot possessed by the female,
especially while she is sitting on her nest." — ED.

§ Mag. of Nat. Hist. i. p. 328 ; ii. 2-13

42 TITMOUSE.

glitters like burnished gold. It often hangs, like a titmouse,
with its back downwards. *

LETTER XVII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, June 18, 1768.

DEAR SIR, — On Wednesday last, arrived your agreeable
letter of June the 10th. It gives me great satisfaction to find
that you pursue these studies still with such vigour, and are in
such forwardness with regard to reptiles and fishes.

The reptiles, few as they are, I am not acquainted with, so
well as I could wish, with regard to their natural history.
There is a degree of dubiousness and obscurity attending the
propagation of this class of animals something analogous to
that of the cryptogamia in the sexual system of plants ; and
the case is the same with regard to some of the fishes, — as the
eel, &c.f

* This elegant little species is the smallest of British birds ; its weight
seldom exceeds eighty grains. This minute bird braves the severest
winter of our climates. Two remarkable instances of its being migra-
tory are recorded by Selby- He says, on the 24th and 25th October,
1822, " after a very heavy gale and thick fog from the north-west,
thousands of these birds were seen to arrive upon the sea shore and sand-
banks of the Northumbrian coast."

" A more extraordinary circumstance in the economy of this bird took
place during the same winter, viz. the total disappearance of the whole
tribe, natives as well as strangers, throughout Scotland and the north of
England. This happened towards the conclusion of the month of
January, 1823, and a few days previous to the long continued snow-storm,
so severely felt through the northern counties of England, and along the
eastern parts of Scotland. The range and point of this migration are
unascertained, but it must probably have been a distant one, from the
fact, that not a single pair returned to breed or pair the succeeding summer,
in the situations they had been known always to frequent ; nor was one
of the species to be seen till the following October." * — ED.

f Many absurd opinions have prevailed regarding the propagation of
eels, such as their originating from the hairs of the mane and tail of
horses thrown into rivers, with various other theories equally unfounded.
These have arisen from the circumstance that the roe of the eel does
not present the same appearance as that of other fishes. On this intricate
subject Mr Couch makes the following observations : — " The generation
of eels has been involved in extraordinary obscurity, notwithstanding the
attention which eminent naturalists have paid to the subject. I have no
doubt that the pearly substance which lies along the course of the spine

* Wernerian Memoirs, v. p. 397.

EELS - TOADS - VIPERS. 43

The method in which toads procreate and bring forth, seems
to be very much in the dark. Some authors say that they are
viviparous ; and yet Ray classes them among his oviparous
animals, and is silent with regard to the manner of their bringing
forth. Perhaps they may be eda {tsv woroxo/, ggw ds fyoroxoi,
as is known to be the case with the viper.*

The copulation of frogs (or at least the appearance of it —
for Swammerdam proves that the male has no penis intrans)
is notorious to every body ; because we see them sticking upon
each other's backs, for a month together, in the spring ; and

of this fish (the situation of the roe in most fishes) is the roe. Contrary
to what is found in most species of fish, this roe contains a large quantity
of fine oil, so free from fishy flavour, as to be commonly employed (at least
that found in the conger) in crust and other culinary uses in Cornwall.
In the fish, its use seems to be to protect the delicate sexual organs from
cold. The whole constitution of the eel is remarkably susceptible of
cold; it feels every change of temperature. There are no eels in the
Danube, nor in any of its tributary streams. The rivers of Siberia,
though large and numerous, are destitute of them."

It appears pretty evident that eels are not viviparous, although this
opinion has long prevailed amongst naturalists.

That snakes are oviparous there can be little doubt. A correspondent
in the Magazine of Natural History, iv. p. 268, having killed an
adder in Essex, opened it, and " discovered a string of eggs, fourteen

never seen the light, were vey, an, oug, even evnce an nc-
nation to bite. I took some of them out of the eggs, and they soon died ;
but those which were laid on a piece of paper, with their envelope
unbroken, were alive and active many hours afterwards. As may be

was muc nerese n wacng s moons. connue o ea, w
little abatement of force, for an hour, when its palpitations, though
strong, became less rapid; and ceased in half an hour more." — ED.

* Toads procreate exactly in the same manner as frogs, and are also
oviparous. The eggs are imbued by the spermatic fluid of the male, at
the time of their extrusion. The eggs of frogs are deposited in water, in
irregular congeries, while those of the toad are extruded in catinated
strings. Schneider, a zealous observer of nature, affirms, that toads eat
the skin which they cast periodically. This fact has been confirmed by
Mr Bell, in a paper in the Zoological Journal.

The manner in which a frog takes his prey is very curious. When
he first notices a worm or fly, he makes a point at it, like a pointer dog
setting game. After a pause of some seconds, the frog makes a dart at
the worm, endeavouring to seize it with his mouth ; in which attempt
he frequently fails more than once, and generally waits for a short interval
before he renews the attack. — ED.

44 SHOWERS OF FROGS.

yet I never saw, or read of toads being observed in the same
situation. It is strange that the matter with regard to the
venom of toads has not been yet settled. That they are not
noxious to some animals is plain ; for ducks, buzzards, owls,
stone-curlews, and snakes, eat them, to my knowledge, with
impunity. And I well remember the time, but was not eye-
witness to the fact, (though numbers of persons were,) when
a quack, at this village, ate a toad to make the country people
stare : afterwards he drank oil.

I have been informed also, from undoubted authority,
that some ladies (ladies, you will say, of peculiar taste) took
a fancy to a toad, which they nourished, summer after summer,
for many years, till he grew to a monstrous size, with the
maggots which turn to flesh flies. The reptile used to come
forth, every evening, from a hole under the garden steps ; and
was taken up, after supper, on the table to be fed. But at last
a tame raven, kenning him as he put forth his head, gave him
such a severe stroke with his horny beak, as put out one eye.
After this accident, the creature languished for some time,
and died.

I need not remind a gentleman of your extensive reading,
of the excellent account there is from Mr Derham, in Ray's
Wisdom of God in the Creation, p. 365, concerning the migration
of frogs from their breeding ponds. In this account, he at
once subverts that foolish opinion, of their dropping from the
clouds in rain ; shewing, that it is from the grateful coolness
and moisture of those showers that they are tempted to set
out on their travels, which they defer till those fall.* Frogs

* The following paragraph is extracted from a late number of the
Belfast Chronicle: — " As two gentlemen were sitting conversing on a
causey pillar, near Bushmills, they were very much surprised by an
unusually heavy shower of frogs, half formed, falling in all directions ;
some of which are preserved in spirits of wine, and are now exhibited
to the curious by the two resident apothecaries in Bushmills."

Mr London says, — " When at Rouen, in September, 1828, I was
assured by an English family, resident there, that, during a very heavy
thunder shower, accompanied by violent wind, and almost midnight
darkness, an innumerable multitude of young frogs fell on and around the
house. The roof, the window-sills, and the gravel walks, were covered
with them ; they were very small, but perfectly formed ; all dead ; and
the next day being excessively hot, they were dried up to so many points,
or pills, about the size of the heads of pins. The most obvious way of
accounting for this phenomenon, is by supposing the water and frogs of
some adjacent ponds to have been taken up by wind in a sort of whirl, or
tornado." — Mag. of Nat. Hist. ii. p. 103.

We have records of this kind, in all ages ; and I have selected the above

WATER NEWT. 45

are as yet in their tadpole state ; but, in a few weeks, our lanes,
paths, fields, will swarm, for a few days, with myriads of those
emigrants, no larger than my little finger nail. Swammerdam
gives a most accurate account of the method and situation in
which the male impregnates the spawn of the female. How
wonderful is the economy of Providence with regard to the
limbs of so vile a reptile ! While it is an aquatic, it has a fish-
like tail, and no legs ; as soon as the legs sprout, the tail drops
off as useless, and the animal betakes itself to the land!

Merret, I trust, is widely mistaken when he advances that
the rana arborea is an English reptile ; it abounds in Germany
and Switzerland.*

It is to be remembered that the salamandra aquatica of Ray,
(the water newt, or eft,) will frequently bite at the angler's
bait, and is often caught on his hook. I used to take it for
granted, that the salamandra aquatica was hatched, lived, and
died, in the water. But John Ellis, Esq. F. R. S. (the Coralline
Ellis) asserts, in a letter to the Royal Society, dated June the
5th, 1 766, in his account of the mud inguana, an amphibious
bipes from South Carolina, that the water eft, or newt, is only
the larva of the land eft, as tadpoles are of frogs. Lest I
should be suspected to misunderstand his meaning, I shall give
it in his own words. Speaking of the opercula, or coverings
to the gills of the mud inguana, he proceeds to say, that " the
form of these pennated coverings approaches very near to
what I have some time ago observed in the larva, or aquatic
state, of our English lacerta, known by the name of eft, or
newt, which serve them for coverings to their gills, and for
fins to swim with while in this state ; and which they lose, as
well as the fins of their tails, when they change their state, and

two recent instances, to prove that our author is wrong. A sliower of
young herrings fell in Kinross-shire, about ten years ago, many of which
were picked up, in the fields around Loch Leven, by persons with whom
I am acquainted. The reason why frogs go abroad during showers, is
thus accounted for by Dr Townson, founded on certain experiments
which he instituted regarding them. He says, " That frogs take in
their supply of liquid through the skin alone, all the aqueous fluids
which they imbibe being absorbed by the skin, and all they reject being
transpired through it. One frog, in an hour and a half, absorbed nearly
its own weight of water." — ED.

* It has never been verified that the tree-frog is a native of Britain.
But Mr Don discovered the edible frog, rana esculenta, in the neighbour-
hood of lakes in Forfarshire. This species is principally distinguished
from the common one, by its larger size, and having three longitudinal
yellow lines on its back. — ED.

46 VIPERS.

become land animals, as I have observed, by keeping them
alive for some time, myself." *

Linnaeus, in his Systema Natures, hints at what Mr Ellis
advances more than once.

Providence has been so indulgent to us as to allow of but
one venomous reptile of the serpent kind in these kingdoms,
and that is the viper. As you propose the good of mankind
to be an object of your publications, you will not omit to
mention common salad oil as a sovereign remedy against the
bite of the viper. As to the blind worm, (anguis fragilis, so
called because it snaps in sunder with a small blow,) I have
found, on examination, that it is perfectly innocuous. A
neighbouring yeoman (to whom I am indebted for some good
hints) killed and opened a female viper about the 27th of
May : he found her filled with a chain of eleven eggs, about
the size of those of a blackbird ; but none of them were
advanced so far towards a state of maturity as to contain any
rudiments of young. Though they are oviparous, yet they
are viviparous also, hatching their young within their bellies,
and then bringing them forth. Whereas snakes lay chains of
eggs every summer in my melon beds, in spite of all that my
people can do to prevent them ; which eggs do not hatch till
the spring following, as I have often experienced. Several
intelligent folks assure me, that they have seen the viper
open her mouth and admit her helpless young down her
throat on sudden surprises, just as the female opossum does
her brood into the pouch under her belly, upon the like
emergencies ; and yet the London viper catchers insist on it,
to Mr Barrington, that no such thing ever happens. The
serpent kind eat, I believe, but once in a year ; or, rather, but
only just at one season of the year.f Country people talk
much of a water snake, but, I am pretty sure, without any
reason ; for the common snake (coluber natruc) delights much

* In an excellent paper on this subject, in the seventeenth number of
the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, the metamorphoses of these
animals are well described ; from which it would appear, that the
aquatic salamander is three years of being capable of reproducing ; that
its first change from the egg is to the tadpole state, and that it undergoes
several changes in progressing to maturity. — ED.

f All the snake tribe eat only periodically, but it is a mistake to suppose
they feed but once a year, or at a particular time of the year. After
having gorged their prey, they are overcome by a sleepy torpor, and remain
for days, and sometimes even weeks, in this state, when they again become
lively, and crawl abroad in quest of prey. Most of the tribe, like nearly
the whole amphibia, cast their skins periodically. — ED.

REPTILES. 47

to sport in the water, perhaps with a view to procure frogs,
and other food. *

I cannot well guess how you are to make out your twelve
species of reptiles, unless it be by the various species, or rather
varieties, of our lacerti, of which Ray enumerates five. •)• I have
not had opportunity of ascertaining these, but remember well
to have seen, formerly, several beautiful green lacerti on the
sunny sandbanks near Farnham, in Surrey ; and Ray admits
there are such in Ireland.

LETTER XVIII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, July 27, 1768.

DEAR SIR, — I received your obliging and communicative
letter of June the 28th, while I was on a visit at a gentleman's
house, where I had neither books to turn to, nor leisure to sit
down, to return you an answer to many queries, which I
wanted to resolve in the best manner that I am able.

A person, by my order, has searched our brooks, but could
find no such fish as the gasterosteus pungititu ; he found the
gasterosteus aculeatus in plenty. J This morning, in a basket, I
packed a little earthen pot full of wet moss, and in it some
sticklebacks, male and female, the females big with spawn ;
some lamperns ; some bull-heads ; but I could procure no
minnows. This basket will be in Fleet Street by eight this
evening ; so I hope Mazel will have them fresh and fair

* The whole of tlie snake tribe take the water : we have numerous
records of this fact. They swim with much ease, and in America fre-
quently cross the great rivers. The natives say they catch fish. Mr Murray
mentions a curious instance of an adder having seized the artificial fly of
an individual fishing in one of the lakes of Scotland, on the verge of the
estuary of a river. It was finally drowned by dragging it into the current
against the stream.

On the 2d August, 1828, a fisherman caught a specimen of the ringed-
snake, (coluber natrix of Linnseus,) while fishing in Haslar Lake, one
of the branches of Portsmouth Harbour ; and, on the following morning,
a seaman caught another at the same place, both of which were brought to
Mr Slight, surgeon, Portsmouth. — ED.

f There have been just twelve species of reptiles discovered in Britain
up to the present time. — ED.

| The gasterosteus pungiti us, or ten-spined stickleback, is very common
in our rivers and in estuaries ; few British species have been ascertained.
Besides the above two, there are the g. trachurus, g. semiarmatus, and
g. leiurus. See note at page 26. — ED.

48 LOACHES — CANCER.

to-morrow morning. I gave some directions, in a letter, to
what particulars the engraver should be attentive.

Finding, while I was on a visit, that I was within a reason-
able distance of Ambresbury, I sent a servant over to that
town, and procured several living specimens of loaches,
which he brought, safe and brisk, in a glass decanter. They
were taken in the gulleys that were cut for watering the
meadows. From these fishes (which measured from two to
four inches in length) I took the following description : —
The loach, in its general aspect, has a pellucid appearance ;
its back is mottled with irregular collections of small black
dots, not reaching much below the linea lateral^ as are the
back and tail fins ; a black line runs from each eye down to
the nose; its belly is of a silvery white ; the upper jaw
projects beyond the lower, and is surrounded with six feelers,
three on each side; its pectoral fins are large, its ventral
much smaller ; the fin behind its anus small ; its dorsal fin
large, containing eight spines ; its tail, where it joins to the
tail fin, remarkably broad, without any taperness, so as to be
characteristic of this genus ; the tail fin is broad, and square
at the end. From the breadth and muscular strength of the
tail, it appears to be an active nimble fish. *

In my visit I was not very far from Hungerford, and did
not forget to make some inquiries concerning the wonderful
method of curing cancers by means of toads. Several intelli-
gent persons, both gentry and clergy, do, I find, give a great
deal of credit to what was asserted in the papers ; and I
nryself dined with a clergyman who seemed to be persuaded
that what is related is matter of fact; but, when I came to
attend to his account, I thought I discerned circumstances
which did not a little invalidate the woman's story of the
manner in which she came by her skill. She says of herself,
that, " labouring under a virulent cancer, she went to some
church where there was a vast crowd ; on going into a pew,
she was accosted by a strange clergyman, who, after expressing
compassion for her situation, told her, that if she would make
such an application of living toads as is mentioned, she would
be well." Now, is it likely that this unknown gentleman
should express so much tenderness for this single sufferer,
and not feel any for the many thousands that daily languish
under this terrible disorder ? Would he not have made use of

* The species above described is the colitis larbatula, or bearded
loach : there is another species found in most of the streams of Britain,
c. tcenia. — ED.

2

WATER-EFT WILLOW-LARK. 49

this invaluable nostrum for his own emolument ; or, at least,
by some means of publication or other, have found a method
of making it public for the good of mankind ? In short, this
woman, as it appears to me, having set up for a cancer
doctress, finds it expedient to amuse the country with this
dark and mysterious relation.

The water-eft has not, that I can discern, the least appear-
ance of any gills ; for want of which it is continually rising to
the surface of the water to take in fresh air. I opened a big-
bellied one, indeed, and found it full of spawn. Not that
this circumstance at all invalidates the assertion that they are
larva? ; for the larva of insects are full of eggs, which they
exclude the instant they enter their last state. The water-eft
is continually climbing over the brim of the vessel, within
which we keep it in water, and wandering away ; and people
every summer see numbers crawling out of the pools where
they are hatched, upon the dry banks. There are varieties of
them, differing in colour ; and some have fins up their tail and
back, and some have not. *

LETTER XIX.

TO THOMAS PENNAN7T, ESQ.

SELBORNE, August 17, 1768.

DEAR SIR, — I have now, past dispute, made out three
distinct species of the willow-wrens, motacilla trochili, which
constantly and invariably use distinct notes. But, at the same
time, I am obliged to confess that I know nothing of your
willow-lark.-)- In my letter of April the 18th, I had told you
peremptorily that I knew your willow-lark, but had not seen
it then; but, when I came to procure it, it proved, in all
respects, a very motacilla trochilus ; only that it is a size larger
than the two other, and the yellow green of the whole upper
part of the body is more vivid, and the belly of a clearer
white. I have specimens of the three sorts now lying before
me, and can discern that there are three gradations of sizes, and
that the least has black legs, and the other two flesh-coloured
ones. The yellowest bird is considerably the largest, and has
its quill feathers and secondary feathers tipped with white,

* The eft is liable to a change in the size of its fins during the season
of love ; at which time the membranes of the tail and back increase con-
siderably.— EB.

f Brit. ZooL edit. 1776, octavo, p. 381.
P

50 SANDPIPER — BUTCHER-BIRD.

which the others have not. This last haunts only the tops of
trees in high beechen woods, and makes a sibilous grasshopper-
like noise now and then, at short intervals, shivering a little
with its wings when it sings ; and is, I make no doubt now,
the regulus non cristatus of Ray ; which he says, " cantat voce
striduld locustce" Yet this great ornithologist never suspected
that there were three species. *

LETTER XX.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, Octobers, 1768.

IT is, I find, in zoology as it is in botany : all nature is so
full, that that district produces the greatest variety which is
the most examined. Several birds, which are said to belong
to the north only, are, it seems, often in the south. I have
discovered this summer three species of birds with us, which
writers mention as only to be seen in the northern counties.
The first that was brought me, on the 14th of May, was the
sandpiper, tringa hypoleucus : it was a cock bird, and haunted
the banks of some ponds near the village ; and, as it had a
companion, doubtless intended to have bred near that water.
Besides, the owner has told me since> that, on recollection, he
has seen some of the same birds round his ponds in former
summers, f

The next bird that I procured, on the 21st of May, was a
male red backed butcher-bird, lanius collurio. My neighbour,
who shot it, says that it might easily have escaped his notice,
had not the outcries and chattering of the white-throats and
other small birds drawn his attention to the bush where it was :
its craw was filled with the legs and wings of beetles. J

* See our note at page 24.

f This bird is the totanus hypoleucus of Temminck. It visits Britain
in the spring, and chiefly frequents oar lakes and rivers ; on the borders
of which it makes a nest composed of moss and dried leaves. Great
numbers breed in Scotland. This bird is found in most parts of Europe,
even as far north as Siberia. It migrates in October to the shores of
Asia and Africa. — ED.

| This is rather a local species, although not uncommon in Gloucester-
shire and Somersetshire. It visits us in May, and departs in September.
The species is very voracious, preying on small birds, and transfixing
them to a thorn to feed on. Montagu mentions having found young
ones, " which lived in amity for about two months, when violent battles
ensued, and two out of the four were killed. The other two were chained

RINGOUSEL. 51

The next rare birds (which were procured for me last week)
were some ringousels, turdi torquati.

This week twelvemonths a gentleman from London, being
with us, was amusing himself with a gun, and found, he told
us, on an old yew hedge, where there were berries, some birds
like blackbirds, with rings of white round their necks ; a
neighbouring farmer also at the same time observed the same ;
but, as no specimens were procured, little notice was taken. I
mentioned this circumstance to you in my letter of November
the 4th, 1767 ; you, however, paia but small regard to what
1 said, as I had not seen these birds myself : but last week
the aforesaid farmer, seeing a large flock, twenty or thirty of
these birds, shot two cocks and two hens ; and says, on
recollection, that he remembers to have observed these birds
again last spring, about Ladyday, as it were, on their return
to the north. Now, perhaps these ousels are not the ousels
of the north of England, but belong to the more northern parts
of Europe ; and may retire before the excessive rigour of the
frosts in those parts ; and return to breed in spring, when the
cold abates. If this be the case, here is discovered a new
bird of winter passage, concerning whose migrations the
writers are silent ; but if these birds should prove the ousels
of the north of England, then here is a migration disclosed
within our own kingdom never before remarked. It does not
yet appear whether they retire beyond the bounds of our
island to the south ; but it is most probable that they usually
do, or else one cannot suppose that they would have continued
so long unnoticed in the southern counties.* The ousel is
larger than a blackbird, and feeds on haws ; but last autumn
(when there were no haws) it fed on yew-berries ; in the
spring it feeds on ivy-berries, which ripen only at that season,
in March and April.

in the manner goldfinches frequently are ; they were extremely docile ;
would come to the call for the sake of a fly, of which they were extremely
fond ; when raw meat was given them, would endeavour to fasten it to
some part of their cage in order to tear it ; would eat mice and small
birds cut in pieces, leathers, fur, and bones, disgorging the refuse like
the hawk tribe. One was killed by swallowing too large a quantity of
mouse fur, which it could not eject. — ED.

* The ring-blackbird, as Selby informs us, is a bird of passage. It
arrives in this country in the spring, and immediately resorts to its
breeding quarters in the mountainous districts of England and Scotland,
preferring the most barren retreats. It migrates in the end of October
to France and Germany, but is said to be found in Africa and Asia under
different degrees of latitude. — ED.

52 LIZARD^ — STONE-CURLEW.

I must not omit to tell you (as you have been so lately on
the study of reptiles) that" my people, every now and then, of
late, draw up, with a bucket of water from my well, which is
sixty-three feet deep, a large black warty lizard, with a fin
tail, -and yellow belly. How they first came down at that
depth, and how they were ever to have got out thence without
help, is more than I am able to say.*

My thanks are due to you for your trouble and care in the
examination of a buck's head. As far as your discoveries
reach at present, they seem much to corroborate my suspicions ;

and I hope Mr may find reason to give his decision in

my favour ; and then, I think, we may advance this extraor-
dinary provision of nature as a new instance of the wisdom
of God in the creation.

As yet I have not quite done with my history of the
oedicnemusi or stone-curlew ; for I shall desire a gentleman in
Sussex, near whose house these birds congregate in vast
flocks in the autumn, to observe nicely when they leave him,
(if they do leave him,) and when they return again in the
spring : I was with this gentleman lately, and saw several
single birds.f

LETTER XXI.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, November 28, 1768.

DEAR SIR, — With regard to the oedicnemus, or stone-
curlew, I intend to write very soon to my friendnear Chichester,
in whose neighbourhood these birds seem most to abound ;
and shall urge him to take particular notice when they begin
to congregate, and afterward to watch them most narrowly,
whether they do not withdraw themselves during the dead of

* We found a very large specimen of this animal in an old wooden
conduit at Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, which had been stopped at both
ends for upwards of twenty years. So that the animal must have been,
at least, that age, as it was not possible that it could obtain access from
the time the conduit was stopped. — ED.

•j- This is the oedicnemus crepitans of Tcmminck, the stone-curlew of
British authors. It is a migratory species, appearing in the latter end of
April, or beginning of May, and leaving Britain early in October. It
makes no nest, but lays two eggs on the bare ground ; these are of a light
brown colour, blotched and streaked with dusky. This bird confines
its range to the southern counties, never having been noticed except in
Norfolk, Hampshire, Sussex, and Dorsetshire. — ED.

JACKDAWS. 53

the winter. When I have obtained information with respect
to this circumstance, I shall have finished my history of the
stone-curlew, which I hope will prove to your satisfaction, as
it will be, I trust, very near the truth. This gentleman, as
he occupies a large farm of his own, and is abroad early and
late, will be a very proper spy upon the motions of these birds ;
and besides, as I have prevailed on him to buy the Naturalises
Journal, (with which he is much delighted,) 1 shall expect that
he will be very exact in his dates. It is very extraordinary,
as you observe, that a bird so common with us should never
straggle to you.

And here will be the properest place to mention, while I
think of it, an anecdote which the above mentioned gentleman
told me when I was last at his house ; which was, that in a
warren joining to his outlet, many daws, corvi monedul<£> build
every year in the rabbit burrows under ground. The way he
and his brothers used to take their nests, while they were boys,
was by listening at the mouths of the holes, and if they heard
the young ones cry, they twisted the nest out with a forked
stick. Some water fowls (viz. the puffins) breed, I know, in
this manner ; but I should never have suspected the daws of
building in holes on the flat ground.*

Another very unlikely spot is made use of by daws as a
place to breed in, and that is Stonehenge. These birds
deposit their nests in the interstices between the upright and
the impost stones of that amazing work of antiquity ; which
circumstance alone speaks the prodigious height of the upright
stones, that they should be tall enough to secure those nests
from the annoyance of shepherd boys, who are always idling
round that place.

One of my neighbours last Saturday, (November the 26th,)

* This is a curious illustration of an auimal departing from its ordinary
habits. There is in the trans-Mississippian states of America, a bird

by several individuals. When alarmed, they invariably fly to their
subterranean abodes for refuge. These birds take up their residence in
burrows dug by the marmot in the locality above referred to ; but in
other situations, they dig excavations for themselves. Unlike the tribe
in general, they are seen only during the day, flying rapidly along, in
search of food or pleasure. There is no direct evidence that these owls
and the marmot live habitually in one burrow, although they are well
known to fly to the same excavation, under the impulse of fear ; even
rattlesnakes and lizards have been found in the same retreat. — ED.

54 RINGOUSEL.

saw a marten in a sheltered bottom ; the sun shone warm, and
the bird was hawking briskly after flies. I am now perfectly
satisfied that they do not all leave this island in the winter.

You judge very right, I think, in speaking with reserve and
caution concerning the cures done by toads ; for, let people
advance what they will on such subjects, yet there is such a
propensity in mankind towards deceiving and being deceived,
that one cannot safely relate any thing from common report,
especially in print, without expressing some degree of doubt
and suspicion.

Your approbation with regard to my new discovery of the
migration of the ringousel, gives me satisfaction ; and I find
you concur with me in suspecting that they are foreign birds
which visit us. You will be sure, I hope, not to omit to make
inquiry whether your ringousels leave your rocks in the
autumn. What puzzles rne most, is the very short stay they
make with us ; for in about three weeks they are all gone. I
shall be very curious to remark whether they will call on us
at their return in the spring, as they did last year.*

I want to be better informed with regard to ichthyology.
If fortune had settled me near the sea-side, or near some great
river, my natural propensity would soon have urged me to
have made myself acquainted with their productions ; but as
I have lived mostly in inland parts, and in an upland district.
my knowledge of fishes extends little farther than to those
common sorts which our brooks and lakes produce.

LETTER XXII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, January 2, 1769.

DEAR SIR, — As to the peculiarity of jack-daws building
with us under the ground, in rabbit burrows, you have, in
part, hit upon the reason ; for, in reality, there are hardly
any towers or steeples in all this country. And perhaps,
Norfolk excepted, Hampshire and Sussex are as meanly
furnished with churches as almost any counties in the kingdom.
We have many livings of two or three hundred pounds a-year,
whose houses of worship make little better appearance than

* The ring blackbirds invariably remain a week or two in the cultivated
districts of the country previous to their migration, and commit great
havock amongst fruits ; seemingly to make up for their more meagre
repasts during incubation. — ED.

TOADS. 55

dovecots. When I first saw Northamptonshire, Cambridge-
shire, and Huntingdonshire, and the Fens of Lincolnshire, I
was amazed at the number of spires which presented themselves
in every point of view. As an admirer of prospects, I have
reason to lament this want in my own country, for such objects
are very necessary ingredients in an elegant landscape.

What you mention with respect to reclaimed toads raises
my curiosity.* An ancient author, though no naturalist, has

* There have been many instances of toads being tamed. Mr Arscott
mentions one which lived upwards of thirty-five years. Not the leas?t
wonderful part of the history of the toad, is the circumstance of its being
frequently found alive in the heart of solid rocks, and internal cavities
of trees. In 1777, Herissant undertook some experiments to ascertain
the truth of what has been related on this point. He shut up three toads
in sealed boxes in plaster, and they were deposited in the Academy of
Sciences. At the end of eighteen months, the boxes were opened, and
one of these toads was dead, but the other two were still living. Nobody
could doubt the authenticity of this fact; yet the experiments were
severely criticised, as well as the observations which they seemed to
confirm. It was contended that the air must have come to these animals
through some imperceptible hole, which escaped the notice of the
observer. Some probability was given to this supposition by the
researches of Dr Edwards, published in 1817. He has observed, that
toads shut up totally in plaster, and absolutely deprived of air, lived for
a greater number of days, and much longer than those which were
forced to remain under water. This certainly is one of the most extra-
ordinary phenomena which the history of the physiology of reptiles can
furnish, and seems to be an exception to the rule that air is indispensable
to animal life. It appears, however, that in the above instance, some air
did penetrate the plaster, as Dr Edwards afterwards proved by the fact,
that as soon as the plaster which enclosed them was placed un'der water,
the toads perished. The opponents of Herissant were therefore justified to
a certain extent in their scepticism. Still the facts of animals existing
so long a time under such circumstances, even with a little air, is most
surprising, and calculated to produce very strange reflections. If these
reptiles lived in this manner longer than they would have done in the
open dry air, the reason must be, that they had lost less by transpiration ;
and if they died much later than they would have done in water, it
was because the air certainly had some access to them.

Professor Buckland has recently made some experiments, in order to
throw light on this obscure subject. Two blocks of stone were taken,
one of porous oolite limestone, and one of a compact silicious sand-
stone; twelve cells, five inches wide, and six inches deep, were cut
in the sandstone, and twelve others, five inches wide, and twelve
inches d«ep, in the limestone. In November, 1825, one live toad was
placed in each of the twenty-four cells, its weight being previously
ascertained with care., A glass plate was placed over each cell as a
cover, with a circular slate above to protect it ; and the two blocks of
stone, with the immured toads, were buried in Dr Buckland's garden
under three feet of earth. They were uncovered after the lapse of a year,

56 TOADS.

well remarked, that " Every kind of beasts, and of birds, and
of serpents, and things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been
tamed of mankind." (St James, chap. iii. 7.)

in December, 1826. All the toads in the small cells of compact sand-
stone were dead, and their bodies so much decayed as to prove that they
had been dead for some months. The greater number of the toads in the
larger cells of porous limestone were alive; but they were all a good deal
emaciated, except two, which had increased in weight, the one from
one thousand one hundred and eighty-five grains to one thousand two
hundred and sixty-five, the other from nine hundred and eighty-eight
to one thousand one hundred and sixteen. With regard to these two,
Dr Buckland thinks they had both been nourished by insects, which
had got into the one cell through a crack found in the glass cover, and
into the other probably by some small aperture in the luting, which was
not carefully examined. No insects were found in either cell, but an
assemblage of insects was found on the outside of another glass, and
a number within one of the cells whose cover was cracked, and where the
animal was dead. Of the emaciated toads, one had diminished in weight
from nine hundred and twenty-four grains to six hundred and ninety-
eight, and one from nine hundred and thirty-six to six hundred and fifty-
two. " The results of the experiments," says Dr Buckland, " amount
to this : — All the toads, both large and small, enclosed in the sandstone,
and the small toads enclosed in the limestone also, were dead at the end
of thirteen months. Before the expiration of the second year, all the
large 'ones also were dead. These were examined several times, during
the second year, through the glass covers of the cells, but without
removing them to admit air. They appeared always awake, with their
eyes open, and never in a state of torpor, their meagreness increasing at
each interval, until at length they were found dead. Those which had
gained an increase of weight at the end of the first year, and were then
carefully closed up again, were emaciated and dead before the expiration
of the second year." Four toads, enclosed in cavities cut in the trunk of
an apple tree, and closed up by plugs so tightly as to exclude insects, and
" apparently air," were found dead at the end of a year.

The phenomena, then, of live toads enclosed in rocks, he explains in
this way. The young toad, as soon as it leaves its tadpole state, and
emerges from the water, seeks shelter in holes and crevices of rocks and
trees. One may thus enter a small opening in a rock, and when there
rind food, by catching the insects which seek shelter in the same retreat ;
and its increase of size may prevent it from getting out again by the same
opening. It is probable that there are some small apertures in all the
stones m which toads are found, though they escape the notice of the
workmen, who have no motive to induce them to make a narrow exami-
nation. In other cases, there may have been an opening, which had
been closed up, after the animal was immured, by stalactitic incrustation.
Deprived of food and air, it might fall into that state of torpor, or sus-
pended animation, to which certain animals are subject in winter ; but
how long it might continue in this state is uncertain.

The Rev. George Young, in his Geological Survey of the Yorkshire
Coast, second edition, 1828, mentions several recent instances of living
toads having been found within solid blocks of sandstone. " We are the

HERONRY GOAT-SUCKER. 57

It is a satisfaction to me to find that a green lizard has
actually been procured for you in Devonshire, because it
corroborates rny discovery, which I made many years ago, of
the same sort, on a sunny sand-bank near Farnham, in Surrey.
I am well acquainted with the south hams of Devonshire, and
can suppose that district, from its southerly situation, to be a
proper habitation for such animals in their best colours.

Since the ringousels of your vast mountains do certainly
not forsake them against winter, our suspicions that those
which visit this neighbourhood about Michaelmas are not
English birds, but driven from the more northern parts of
Europe by the frosts, are still more reasonable ; and it will be
worthy your pains to endeavour to trace from whence they
come, and to inquire why they make so short a stay.

In your account of your error with regard to the two species
of herons, you incidentally gave me great entertainment in
your description of the heronry at Cressi-hall, which is a
curiosity I never could manage to see. Fourscore nests of
such a bird on one tree is a rarity which I would ride half as
many miles to have a sight of. Pray be sure to tell me in
your next whose seat Cressi-hall is, and near what town it
lies.* I have often thought that those vast extents of fens
have never been sufficiently explored. If half-a-dozen gentle-
men, furnished with a good strength of water spaniels, were
to beat them over for a week, they would certainly find more
species.

There is no bird, I believe, whose manners I have studied
more than that of the caprimulgus, the goat-sucker, as it is a
wonderful and curious creature ; but 1 have always found, that
though sometimes it may chatter as it flies, as I know it does,
yet in general it utters its jarring note sitting on a bough ; and
1 have for many a half hour watched it as it sat with its under
mandible quivering, and particularly this summer. It perches
usually on a bare twig, with its head lower than its tail, in
an attitude well expressed by your draughtsman in the folio
British Zoology. This bird is most punctual in beginning its

more particular in recording these facts," he observes, " because some
modern philosophers have attempted to explode such accounts as wholly
fabulous." Mr Jesse informs us, that he knew a gentleman who put a
toad into a smaH flower-pot, and secured it, so that no insect could pene-
trate it, and then buried it so deep in his garden that it was secured
against the influence of frost. At the end of twenty years, he took it up,
and found the toad increased in bulk, and healthy. — ED.
* Cressi-hall is near Spalding, in Lincolnshire.

58 GOAT-SUCKER — BATS.

song exactly at the close of day ; so exactly, that I have known
it strike up more than once or twice just at the report of the
Portsmouth evening gun, which we can hear when the weather
is still. It appears to me past all doubt, that its notes are
formed by organic impulse, by the powers of the parts of its
windpipe formed for sound, just as cats pur. You will credit
me, I hope, when I assure you, that, as my neighbours were
assembled in an hermitage on the side of a steep hill where
we drink tea, one of these churn-owls came and settled on the
cross of that little straw edifice, and began to chatter, and
continued his note for many minutes ; and we were all struck
with wonder to find that the organs of that little animal, when
put in motion, gave a sensible vibration to the whole building !
This bird also sometimes makes a small squeak, repeated four
or five times ; and I have observed that to happen when the
cock has been pursuing the hen in a toying manner through
the boughs of a tree.

It would not be at all strange if your bat, which you have
procured, should prove a new one, since five species have been
found in a neighbouring kingdom. The great sort that I
mentioned is certainly a nondescript : I saw but one this
summer, and that I had no opportunity of taking.

Your account of the Indian grass was entertaining. I am
no angler myself ; but inquiring of those that are, what they
supposed that part of their tackle to be made of, they replied,
" of the intestines of a silk-worm."

Though I must not pretend to great skill in entomology,
yet I cannot say that I am ignorant of that kind of knowledge :
I may now and then, perhaps, be able to furnish you with a
little information.

The vast rain ceased with us much about the same time as
with you, and since, we have had delicate weather. Mr Barker,
who has measured the rain for more than thirty years, says, in
a late letter, that more rain has fallen this year than in any he
ever attended to ; though, from July, 1763, to January, 1764,
more fell than in any seven months of this year.*

* At Joyeuse, in the department of the Ardeche, during October, 1827,
thirty-six inches of rain in depth fell within eleven days ; and, on the
9th of that month, twenty-nine inches and a half fell within the space of
two hours. During this excessive fall of rain, the barometer remained
nearly stationary, at two or three lines below the mean altitude, notwith-
standing the continuance of the most violent thunder and lightning during
the whole time. — ED.

GOAT-SUCKER. 59

LETTER XXIII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, February 28, 1769.

DEAR SIR, — Tt is not improbable that the Guernsey lizard
and our green lizards may be specifically the same ; all that I
know is, that when, some years ago, many Guernsey lizards
were turned loose in Pembroke college garden, in the univer-
sity of Oxford, they lived a great while, and seemed to enjoy
themselves very well ; but never bred. Whether this circum-
stance will prove any thing either way, I shall not pretend to
say.

I return you thanks for your account of Cressi-hall ; but
recollect, not without regret, that in June, 1746, 1 was visiting
for a week together at Spalding, without ever being told that
such a curiosity was just at hand. Pray send me word in your
next what sort of tree it is that contains such a quantity of
herons' nests ; and whether the heronry consists of a whole
i>%rove, or wood, or only of a few trees.

It gave me satisfaction to find we accorded so well about
the capnmidgus ; all I contended for was, to prove that it often
chatters sitting as well as flying, and therefore the noise was
voluntary, and from organic impulse, and not from the resistance
of the air against the hollow of its mouth and throat.*

* This is a common species in the United States of America, and is
ealled by the natives whip-poor -will, from the similarity of his cry to
these words. The following interesting account of their cry is given by
Wilson : — " Every morning and evening his shrill and rapid repetitions
are heard from the adjoining woods ; and, when two or more are calling-
out at the same time, as is often the case in the pairing season, and at no
great distance from each other, the noise, mingling with the echoes from
the mountains, is really surprising. Strangers, in parts of the country
where these birds are numerous, find it almost impossible for some time
to sleep; while, to those long acquainted with them, the sound often
serves as a lullaby to assist their repose.

" These notes seem pretty plainly to articulate the words which have
been generally applied to them, whip-poor-will, the first and last syllables
being uttered with great emphasis, and the whole in about a second to
each repetition ; but when two or more males meet, their whip-poor-will
altercations become much more rapid and incessant, as if each, were
straining to overpower or silence the other. When near, you often hear
an introductory cluck between the notes. At these times, as well as at
almost all others, they fly low, not more than a few feet from the surface,
skimming about the house and before the door, alighting on the wood

60 MIGRATION.

If ever I saw any thing like actual migration, it was last
Michaelmas-day. I was travelling, and out early in the morn-
ing ; at first there was a vast fog, but, by the time that I was
got seven or eight miles from home towards the coast, the sun
broke out into a delicate warm day. We were then on a large
heath, or common, and I could discern, as the mist began to
break away, great numbers of swallows, hirundines rusticce,
clustering on the stunted shrubs and bushes, as if they had
roosted there all night. As soon as the air became clear and
pleasant, they all were on the wing at once ; and, by a placid
and easy flight, proceeded on southward, towards the sea :
after this I did not see any more flocks, only now and then a
straggler.

I cannot agree with those persons that assert, that the
swallow kind disappear some and some, gradually, as they
come ; for the bulk of them seem to withdraw at once ; only
some stragglers stay behind a long while, and do never, there
is the greatest reason to believe, leave this island. Swallows
seem to lay themselves up, and to come forth in a warm day,
as bats do continually of a warm evening, after they have
disappeared for weeks. For a very respectable gentleman
assured me, that, as he was walking with some friends, under
Merton-wall, on a remarkably hot noon, either in the last week
in December, or the first week in January, he espied three or
four swallows huddled together on the moulding of one of the
windows of that college. I have frequently remarked that
swallows are seen later at Oxford than elsewhere : is it owing
to the vast, massy buildings of that place, to the many waters
round it, or to what else ?

When I used to rise in a morning last autumn, and see the
swallows and martens clustering on the chimneys and thatch
of the neighbouring cottages, I could not help being touched
with a secret delight, mixed with some degree of mortification :
with delight, to observe with how much ardour and punctuality
those poor little birds obeyed the strong impulse towards
migration, or hiding, imprinted on their minds by their great
Creator ; and with some degree of mortification, when I
reflected that, after all our pains and inquiries, we are yet not
quite certain to what regions they do migrate ; and are still
farther embarrassed to find that some actually do not migrate
at all.

pile, or settling on the roof. Towards midnight, they generally become
silent, unless in clear moonlight, when they are heard, with little inter-
mission, till morning." — En.

SALICARIA. 61

These reflections made so strong an impression on my
imagination, that they became productive of a composition,
that may perhaps amuse you for a quarter of an hour when
next I have the honour of writing to you.

LETTER XXIV.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, May 29, 1769.

DEAR SIR, — The scarabceus fullo I know very well, having
seen it in collections ; but have never -been able to discover
one wild in its natural state. Mr Banks told me he thought
it might be found on the sea-coast.

On the 1 3th of April, I went to the sheep-down, where the
ringousels have been observed to make their appearance at
spring and fall, in their way, perhaps, to the north or south ;
and was much pleased to see three birds about the usual spot.
We shot a cock and a hen ; they were plump and in high
condition. The hen had but very small rudiments of eggs
within her, which proves they are late breeders ; whereas those
species of the thrush kind that remain with us the whole year
have fledged young before that time. In their crops was
nothing very distinguishable, but somewhat that seemed like
blades of vegetables nearly digested. In autumn they feed on
haws and yew-berries, and in the spring on ivy-berries. I
dressed one of these birds, and found it juicy and well-flavoured.
It is remarkable that they make but a few days' stay in their
spring visit, but rest near a fortnight at Michaelmas. These
birds, from the observations of three springs and two autumns,
are most punctual in their return ; and exhibit a new migration
unnoticed by the writers, who supposed they never were to be
seen in any of the southern counties.

One of my neighbours lately brought me a new salicaria,
which, at first, I suspected might have proved your willow-
lark,* but on a nicer examination, it answered much better to
the description of that species which you shot at Revesby, in
Lincolnshire. My bird I describe thus : — It is a size less
than the grasshopper-lark ; the head, back, and coverts of the
wings, of a dusky brown, without the dark spots of the grass-
hopper-lark ; over each eye is a milk-white stroke ; the chin
and throat are white, and the under parts of a yellowish white ;

* For this salicaria, see Letter XXVI.

62 ANIMALS OF AMERICA.

the rump is tawny, and the feathers of the tail sharp pointed ;
the bill is dusky and sharp, and the legs are dusky, the hinder
claw long and crooked."* The person that shot it says, that
it sung so like a reed-sparrow, that he took it for one ; and that
it sings all night : but this account merits farther inquiry. For
my part, I suspect it is a second sort of locustella, hinted at by
Dr Derhain in Ray's Letters : see p. 74. He also procured
me a grasshopper-lark.

The question that you put with regard to those genera of
animals that are peculiar to America, namely, How they came
there, and whence ? is too puzzling for me to answer ; and
yet so obvious as often to have struck me with wonder. If one
looks into the writers on that subject, little satisfaction is to be
found. Ingenious men will readily advance plausible arguments
to support whatever theory they shall choose to maintain ; but
then the misfortune is, every one's hypothesis is each as good
as another's, since they are all founded on conjecture. The
late writers of this sort, in whom may be seen all the argu-
ments of those that have gone before, as I remember, stock
America from the western coast of Africa, and the south of
Europe ; and then break down the isthmus that bridged over
the Atlantic. But this is making use of a violent piece of
machinery : it is a difficulty worthy of the interposition of a
god ! " Incredulus odi"

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQUIRE.

THE NATURALIST'S SUMMER EVENING
WALK.

equidem credo, quia sit divinitus ill is

Ingenium. VIRG. Georg.

WHEN day, declining, sheds a milder gleam,

What time the May-flyf haunts the pool or stream ;

The sedge bird, sylvia phragmitis, of Bechstein. Mr Sweet sa

v iiu uuca n\ju unvv^ \ji ^Tighten it. —ED.

-j- The angler's May-fly, the ephemera vulgata. Linn, comes forth from
its aurelia state, and emerges out of the water, about six in the evening,
and dies abaut eleven at night, determining the date of its fly state in

SUMMER EVENING WALK. 63

When the still owl skims round the grassy mead,
What time the timorous hare limps forth to feed ;
Then be the time to steal adown the vale,
And listen to the vagrant cuckoo's * tale ;
To hear the clamorous curlew f call his mate,
Or the soft quail his tender pain relate ;
To see the swallow sweep the darkening plain,
Belated, to support her infant train ;
To mark the swift, in rapid giddy ring,
Dash round the steeple, unsubdued of wing :
Amusive birds ! say where your hid retreat,
When the frost rages and the tempests beat ?
Whence your return, by such nice instinct led,
When Spring, soft season, lifts her bloomy head?
Such baffled searches mock man's prying pride,
The God of Nature is your secret guide !

While deep'ning shades obscure the face of day,
To yonder bench, leaf-shelter'd, let us stray,
Till blended objects fail the swimming sight,
And all the fading landscape sinks in night ;
To hear the drowsy dorr come brushing by
WTith buzzing wing, or the shrill cricket J cry;
To see the feeding bat glance through the wood ;
To catch the distant falling of the flood ;
While o'er the cliff th' awaken'd churn-owl hung,
Through the still gloom protracts his chattering song ;
While, high in air, and poised upon his wings,
Unseen, the soft enamour'd woodlark$ sings :
These, Nature's works, the curious mind employ,
Inspire a soothing, melancholy joy :
As fancy warms, a pleasing kind of pain
Steals o'er the cheek, and thrills the creeping vein !

Each rural sight, each sound, each smell, combine ;
The tinkling sheep-bell, or the breath of kine ;

about five or six hours. They usually begin to appear about the 4th of
June, and continue in succession for near a fortnight. See Swammerdam,
Derhara, Scopoli, &c.

* Vagrant cuckoo ; so called, because, being tied down by no incubation,
or attendance about the nutrition of its young, it. wanders without control.

f Charadrius oedicnemus.

| Gryllus campestris.

§ In hot summer nights, woodlarks soar to a prodigious height, and
hang singing in the air.

64 SUiMMER BIRDS OF PASSAGE.

The new-mown hay that scents the swelling breeze,
Or cottage chimney smoking through the trees.

The chilling night-dews fall : away, retire ;
For see, the glow-worm lights her amorous fire ! *
Thus, ere night's veil had half obscured the sky,
Th' impatient damsel hung her lamp on high ;
True to the signal, by love's meteor led,
Leander hasten'd to his Hero's bed.f

LETTER XXV.
TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, June 80, 1769.

DEAR SIR, — When I was in town last month, I partly
engaged that I would some time do myself the honour to
write to you on the subject of natural history ; and I am the
more ready to fulfill my promise, because I see you are a
gentleman of great candour, and one that will make allow-
ances, especially where the writer professes to be an out-door
naturalist, — one that takes his observations from the subject
itself, and not from the writings of others.

The following is a List of the Summer JBirds of Passage which I
have discovered in this neighbourhood, arranged somewhat in the
order in which they appear : —

KAII NOMIKA. USUALLY APPEARS ABOUT

1. Wryneck, Yunx, sim tortilla. { ™£ ™^«* "'

2. Smallest willow- § Regiilus non crista- f March 23: chirps till

wren, \ tus. \ September.

3. Swallow, Hirundo domestica. April 13.

4. Marten, Hirundo rustica. Ditto.

5. Sand-marten, Hirunda riparia. Ditto.

6. Black-cap, Atricapilla. Ditto : a sweet wild note.

7. Nightingale, Luscinia. Beginning of April.

8. Cuckoo, Citculus. Middle of April.

9. Middle willow- f JRegulus non crista- ( Ditto : a sweet plaintive

wren, \ tus. \ note.

,0. White-throat, Fibula affinis.

11. Kedstart, RuticiUa. {Dis"ng.

* The light of the female glow-worm (as she often crawls up the stalk
of a grass to make herself more conspicuous) is a signal to the male, which
is a slender, dusky scardbceus.

f See the story of Hero and Leander.
3

SUMMER BIRDS OF PASSAGE. 65

si 7. fEnd of March. : loud

12. Stone-curlew, Oedicnemus. | nocturnal whistle.

13. Turtle-dove, Turtur.

f A1 j . . ("Middle of April: a small

14. Grasshopper- (Alauda minima J sibi]ous / ^ h

lark, \ locust* voce. | end of July.

15. Swift, Hirundo apus. About April 27.

16. Less reed-spar- f Passer arundinaceus

minor.

rA sweet polyglot, but
J hurrying : it has the
(^ notes of many birds.
17. Landrail, Ortygometra. f A loud, harsh note, crex,

crex.

f Cantat voce stridula

18. Largest willow- ( Regulus non crista- ] locusta : end of April,
\ tus. j on the tops of high

beeches.

f
j
j
V.

19. Goat-sucker, or ^ r^;m,,i™,D J ^r0 w night"

singular noise.

p

20. Fly-catcher, Stoparola.

This assemblage of curious and amusing birds belongs to ten
several genera of the Linnsean system ; and are all of the ordo
of passer es, save \heyunx and cuculus, Mrhich are piece, and the
charadrius (oedicnemus) arid rallus, (ortygometra,) which are
grallce.

These birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the follow-
ing Linnaean genera : —

1, Yunxj 13, Columba.

2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18, Motacilla. 17, Rallus.

3, 4, 5, 15, Hirundo. 19, Caprimulgus.
8, Cuculus. 14, Alauda.

12, Charadrius. 20, Muscicapa.

Most soft-billed birds live on insects, and not on grain and
seeds, and therefore at the end of summer they retire ; but
the following soft-billed birds, though insect eaters, stay with
us the year round : —

EAII NOMINA.

f These frequent houses ;

Red-breast, JRubecula. J and haunt out-build-

Wren, Passer troglodytes. J ings in the winter : eat

(^ spiders.

Hedge-sparrow, Curruca. { Hau^ ^ks' for crurabs'

\ and other sweepings.

66

WINTER BIRDS OF PASSAGE.

White-wagtail,

Yellow-wagtail,

Gray-wagtail,

Wheatear,

Whin-chat,
Stone-chatter,

Golden-crowned
wren,

Motacilla alba.
Motacilla flava.
Motacilla cinerea.

Oenanthe.

Oenanthe secunda.
Oenanthe tertia.

Regulus cristatus.

f These frequent shallow
rivulets, near the spring
heads, where they never
freeze : eat the aurelise
of phryganea. The
smallest birds that

u walk.

("Some of these are to be
J seen with us the winter

(_ through.

This is the smallest Bri-
tish bird : haunts the
tops of tall trees ; stays
the winter through.

1. Ringousel,

2. Redwing,

3. Fieldfare,

4. Royston-crow,

5. Woodcock,

6. Snipe,

7. Jack-snipe,

8. Wood-pigeon,

i

A List of the Winter Birds of Passage round this neighbourhood,
ranged somewhat in the order in which they appear.

("This is a new migration,
which I have lately dis-
covered about Michael-
mas week, and again

L about March the 14th.
About old Michaelmas.

{Though a percher by day,
roosts on the ground.
Most frequently on downs.
("Appears about old Mi-
\ chaelmas.
f Some snipes constantly
I breed with us.

RAII NOMINA.

Merula torquata.

Turdus iliacus.
Turdus pilaris.
Cornix cinerea.
Scolopax.

Gallinago minor.
Gallinago minima.

Oenas.
Cygnus ferus.

lus feru
Anser ferus.

{Anas torquata mi-
nor.

Anas fera fusca.
Penelope.

9. Wild-swan,

10. Wild-goose.

11. Wild-duck,

12. Pochard,

13. Widgeon,

14. Teal, breeds with')

us in Wolmer > Querquedula.
Forest, )

15. Crossbeak, Coccothraustes.

16. Crossbill, Loxia.
,„.„,., f Garrulus Bohemi

17. Silk-tail,

f Seldom appears till late;
not in such plenty as
(, formerly.
On some large waters.

}• On our lakes and streams,

!

("These are only wanderers
that appear occasion-

<j ally, and are not obser-
vant of any regular

(_ migration.

RINGOUSELS. 67

These birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the
following Linnsean genera : —

1, 2, 3, Turdus. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, Anas.

4, Corvus. 15, 16, Loxia.

5, 6, 7, Scolopax. 17, Ampelis.
8, Columba.

Birds that sing in the night are but few : —

-.T. , ^. , -r . . f" In shadiest covert hid."

Nightingale, Luscima. j MILTON.

Woodlark, Alauda arborea. Suspended in mid air.

Less reed-sparrow, \ ^^undinaceiis f Among reeds and wil-

I should now proceed to such birds as continue to sing after
midsummer, but as they are rather numerous, they would
exceed the bounds of this paper ; besides, as this is now the
season for remarking on that subject, I am willing to repeat
my observations on some birds, concerning the continuation
of whose song I seem at present to have some doubt.

LETTER XXVL fej

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, August 30, 1769.

DEAR SIR, — It gives me satisfaction to find that my account
of the ousel migration pleases you. You put a very shrewd
question, when you ask me how I know that their autumnal
migration is southward ? Were not candour and openness the
very life of natural history, I should pass over this query just
as a sly commentator does over a crabbed passage in a
classic ; but common ingenuousness obliges me to confess,
not without some degree of shame, that I only reasoned in
that case from analogy. For as all other autumnal birds
migrate from the northward to us, to partake of our milder
winters, and return to the northward again, when the rigorous
cold abates, so I concluded that the ringousels did the same, as
well as their congeners, the fieldfares ; and especially as ring-
ousels are known to haunt cold mountainous countries ; but I
have good reason to suspect since, that they may come to us
from the westward ; because I hear, from very good authority,
that they breed on Dartmoor : and that they forsake that wild
district about the time that our visitors appear, and do not
return till late in the spring.

I have taken a great deal of pains about your salicaria and

68 SALICARIA — REPTILES.

mine, with a white stroke over its eye, and a tawny rump. I
have surveyed it alive and dead, and have procured several
specimens ; and am perfectly persuaded myself (and trust you
will soon be convinced of the same) that it is no more or
less than the passer arundinaceus minor of Ray. * This bird,
by some means or other, seems to be entirely omitted in the
British Zoology ; and one reason probably was, because it is so
strangely classed in Ray, who ranges it among his pici affines.
It ought, no doubt, to have gone among his aviculce cauda
unicolore, and among your slender-billed small birds of the same
division. Linnaeus might, with great propriety, have put it
into his genus of motacilla ; and the motacilla salicaria of his
fauna suecica seems to come the nearest to it. It is no uncommon
bird, haunting the sides of ponds and rivers, where there is
covert, and the reeds and sedges of moors. The country
people in some places call it the sedge-bird. It sings inces-
santly, night and day, during the breeding time, imitating the
note of a sparrow, a swallow, a skylark ; and has a strange
hurrying manner in its song. My specimens correspond most
minutely to the description of your fen salicaria shot near
Revesby. Mr Ray has given an excellent characteristic of it
when he says, " Rostrum et pcdes in hdc avicula multo majores
sunt qudm pro corporis rationed

I have got you the egg of an oedicnemus, or stone-curlew,
which was picked up in a fallow on the naked ground. There
were two ; but the finder inadvertently crushed one with his
foot before he saw them.

When I wrote to you last year on reptiles, I wish I had not
forgot to mention the faculty that snakes have of stinking sc
defendendo. I knew a gentleman wrho kept a tame snake,
which was in its person as sweet as any animal, while in good
humour and unalarmed ; but, as soon as a stranger, or a dog
or cat, came in, it fell to hissing, and filled the room with such
nauseous effluvia, as rendered it hardly supportable. Thus the
squnck, or stonck, of Ray's Synop. Quadr. is an innocuous
and sweet animal ; but, when pressed hard by dogs and men,
it can eject such a most pestilent and fetid smell and excre-
ment, that nothing can be more horrible, f

* See Letter XXIV.

•f- The skunk (Mephitis Americanis of Desmarest) is an animal
nearly allied to a weasel, and a native of South America. Professor
Kalm mentions that a skunk was once perceived by a servant in a cellar.
She attacked and killed it, without thinking of the effluvia which it
would occasion ; and the place was instantly filled with a horrid stench,

SINGING BIRDS. 69

A gentleman sent me lately a fine specimen of the lanius
minpr cinerascens cum macula in scapulis alba, Rail ; which is a
bird that, at the time of your publishing your two first
volumes of British Zoology, I find you had not seen. You
have described it well from Edward's drawing. *

LETTER XXVII.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, November 2, 1769.

DEAR SIR, — When I did myself the honour to write to you,
about the end of last June, on the subject of natural history, I
sent you a list of the summer birds of passage which I have
observed in this neighbourhood, and also a list of the winter
birds of passage : I mentioned, besides, those soft-billed birds
that stay with us the winter through in the south of England,
and those that are remarkable for singing in the night.

According to my proposal, I shall now proceed to such birds
(singing birds, strictly so called) as continue in full song till
after midsummer, and shall range them somewhat in the order
in which they first begin to open as the spring advances : —

RAII NOMINA.

in January, and con-

,-Woodlark,

Tin January, and

J tt*.&S
V. autumn.

2. Song-thrush, { ^ ""
<• '

j A1
Ditto.

0

C Early in

6. Yellow-hammer, Emberiza flava. -<? on thro

(. August

0. Wren,

4. Red-breast,

5. Hedge-sparrow,

Passer troglodytes,

Rubecula,

Curuea.

song in autumn.
•, hard

Early in February, and
through July to
gust the 21st.

which so affected the thoughtless woman, that she was taken seriously
ill, in which state she continued for some considerable time. — ED.

* This is probably the wood-shrike, (lanius rutilus of Latham.) It
is amongst the rarest of our occasional visitants, but not so much so as
some imagine, being often mistaken for the common butcher-bird. Mr
Hog mentions two having been killed near Canterbury, and another at
Swaffham, Norfolk, within these few years. He says it places its nest
invariably on trees, preferring the oak. One lately killed is in the collec-
tion of the Rev. R. Hammond, Swaffham. — Ed.

70 SINGING BIRDS.

7. Skylark, Alauda vulgaris. {^ ^^ ""* ™ t

8. Swallow, Hirundo domestica. From April to September.

9. Black-cap, Atricapilla. AlJril

10. Titlark, Alauda pratorum. Fr°TII| ™dd!" f APrU tO

\ July the 16th.

f Sometimes in February

11. Blackbird, Merula vulgaris. * ) and March, and so

J on to July the 23d;
V. re-assumes in autumn.

12. White-throat, Ficedula affinis. Ic April, and to July 23.

13. Goldfinch, Carduelis. /April and through to

| September 16.

14. Greenfinch, Chloris. Onto July and August 2d.

15. Less reed-spar- "^ Passer arundinaceus ("May, onto beginning of

row, J minor. \ July.

f Breeds and whistles on till
August ; re-assumes
its note when they

16 Common linnet, Linaria vulgaris. •{ begin to congregate in

October, and again
early before the flocks
[_ separate.

* The following circumstance, as to the imitative powers of the black-
bird, is a new fact in natural history, and was recorded by the Rev. Barton
Bouchier, of Wold Rectory, near Northampton, in April, 1831. " Within
hah0 a mile of my residence," says he, " there is a blackbird which crows
constantly, and as accurately as the common cock, and nearly as loud ; as
it may, on a still day, be heard at the distance of several hundred yards.
When first told of the circumstance, I conjectured that it must have been
the work of a cock pheasant, concealed in a neighbouring brake ; but on
the assurance that it was nothing more or less than a common blackbird,
I determined to ascertain the fact with my own eyes and ears; and this
day 1 had the gratification of getting close to it, seated on the top bough of
an ash-tree, and pursuing with unceasing zeal its unusual note. The
resemblance to the crow of the domestic cock is so perfect, that more
than one in the distance were answering to it, and the little fellow seemed
to take delight in competing with its rivals of the dunghill. It occasion-
ally indulged in its usual song; but only for a second or two, resuming
its more favourite note ; and once or twice it commenced with crowing,
and broke oif in the middle to its more natural whistle. I am not aware
that the blackbird has even been included among those birds which could
be taught to imitate sounds ; such as the starling, jay, or magpie ; and in
what way this bird has acquired its present propensity, I am unable to
say, except that, as its usual haunt is near a mill where poultry are kept,
it may have learnt the note from the common fowl."

Blackbirds can be taught various airs, while in a state of captivity,
but we consider the circumstance of this bird, in a wild state, imitating
the crowing of a cock, as very remarkable. — ED.

SINGING BIRDS. 71

Birds that cease to be in full song, and are usually silent at
or before midsummer : —

17. Middle willow-") Regulus non crista- f Middle of June; begins

wren, ) tus. \ in April.

18. Redstart, Ruticilla. Ditto ; begins in May.

.„-.,— , T-, . .„ f Beginning of June ; sings

19. Chaffinch, Fnngilla. j f™ in8Februar^ !

~ 4T. ••..« i -r • ' f Middle of June; sings

20. Nightingale. Luscima. | first in ApdL '

Birds that sing for a short time, and very early in the
spring ; —

"January the 2d, 1770, in
February. Is called in
Hampshire and Sus-
sex the storm-cock,

21. Missel-bird, Turdus viscivorus.

because its song
supposed to forebode
windy wet weather ;
is the largest singing
bird we have.*

22. Great titmouse,! ,, . .„ f1* Feb" Marf ' APril>

> Jrringillago. < re-assumes for a short

I time in September.

.

I time in September.

Birds that have somewhat of a note or song, and yet are
hardly to be called singing birds : —

RAII NOMINA.

/'Its note as minute as its

23. Golden -crowned) D 7 ... 1 person; frequents tops of

}^9^scnstatus. I tigh oaks and firs : the
V. smallest British bird.

* Although our author has ranked this species amongst our singing
birds, much variety of opinion prevails, up to the present day, whether
or not it is a bird of song. Several articles, however, which have
recently appeared in the Magazine of Natural History, places this
beyond a doubt. The following are the facts recorded : — One writer says,
vol. iii. p. 193, " The note resembles that of the blackbird more than the
common thrush, and is, I believe, generally mistaken for the former, but
it is much louder, and less mellow, and free from that warbling nature so
peculiar to the blackbird." Another correspondent, in Ayrshire, says,
" It often happens that the woods resound, far and near, with its powerful
melody, on a still day, or middle of winter, or early in the spring, when
no other songster is heard." Mr J. D. Marshall, of Belfast, an authority
which we highly respect, says, " This bird seems to have two kinds* of
song, one not unlike the notes of the blackbird, the other very sweet,
though in a much lower tone, and more nearly resembling those of the
common thrush. I have one which I reared from the nest ; and, having
been kept a year near a canary, it has, to a certain degree, acquired its
song, as, in several notes, it has imitated it almost to perfection."—- ED.

72

SINGING BIRDS.

24. Marsh titmouse, Parus palustris.

25. Small willow-

wren,

^ harsh, sharp notes.

\Regulus non crista-f Sings in March, and on
J £ws. \ to September.

'26. Largest do.

27. Grasshopper-

lark,

28. Marten,

29. Bullfinch,

30. Bunting,

Do.

\ Alauda minima
J voce locustcc.

Hirundo agrestis.
Pyrrhula. *
Emberiza alia.

Cantat voce stridula lo-
custcR ; from end of
April to August.
Chirps all night, from the
- middle of April to the
(^ end of July.

{All the breeding time ;
fromMay to September.

f From the end of January
\ to July.

All singing birds, and those that have any pretensions to
song, not only in Britain, but perhaps the world through, come
under the Linnaean or do of passer es.

The above-mentioned birds, as they stand numerically,
belong to the following LinnaBan genera : —

1, 7, 10, 27,
2,11,21,

3,4,5,9, 12, 15, 17,
18, 20, 23, 25,26, '
6, 30,

Alauda.
Turdus.

Emberiza.

8,28,

13, 16, 19,
22, 24,

14, 29,

Hirundo.
Fringilla.
Parus.
Loxia.

Birds that sing as they fly are but few : —

RAII NOMINA.

Skylark, Alauda vulgaris.

Titlark,

Woodlark,
Blackbird,

f In its descent ; also sitting
Alauda pratorum. -J on trees, and walking

( on the ground.

T Suspended; in hot sum-
Alauda arborea. •< mer nights, all night

I long.

7i- 7 f Sometimes from bush to

bush.

* Both male and female bullfinches sing ; their notes are not much
varied, but possess a degree of simple wildness, which is delivered in a
low, but pleasing strain. The call note is very audible, and greatly
resembles the action of metallic substances against each other. In a
domesticated state, these birds are capable of attaining various tunes in a
high degree of perfection. We have heard them singing, with much
exactness, " Braw, braw lads o' Gala Water," and other melodies. In
Germany, they are taught a variety of waltzes. Our friend, William
Sharp, Esq. Cononsyth, near Montrose, has one of these foreign birds,
which sings several difficult waltzes and airs in a beautiful manner. — ED.

SINGING BIRDS. 73

C Uses, when singing on the
wing, odd jer
gesticulations.

bush to

White-throat, Ficedula affinis. < wing, odd jerks and

(. gesticulations.
Swallow, Hirundo domestica. In soft, sunny weather.

h

Wren,* Passer troglodytes.

Birds that breed most early in these parts : —

Raven, Corvus. 4 ^f , "

Song-thrush, Turdus. In March.

Blackbird, Merula. In March.

Rook, Comix frugilega. 4 ul£ jL m , e

Woodlark, Alauda arborea. Hatches in April.

Ringdove, Palumbus torquatus. -f Lajfs Aindlthe beSinnin£

All birds that continue in full song till after midsummer,
appear to me to breed more than once.

Most kinds of birds seem to me to be wild and shy, some-
what in proportion to their bulk ; I mean in this island, where
they are much pursued and annoyed ; but in Ascension Island,
and many other desolate places, mariners have found fowls so
unacquainted with a human figure, that they would stand still
to be taken, as is the case with boobies, &c. As an example
of what is advanced, I remark that the golden-crested wren,
(the smallest British bird,) will stand unconcerned till you
come within three or four yards of it, while the bustard, (otis,)
the largest British land fowl, does not care to admit a person
within so many furlongs.

LETTER XXVIII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, Decembers, 1769.

DEAR SIR, — I was much gratified by your communicative
letter on your return from Scotland, where you spent, I find, some

* The missel-thrush occasionally sings on the wing. In London's
Magazine, we have the following statement by a correspondent: — " I
have once in my life observed one to sing, whilst in the act of flying from
one side of a field to the other ; " and the Rev. W. J. Bree remarks, in
the above, " On the 3d of March, 1831, I was an eye and ear witness of
the fact of a missel-thrush singing — and singing in good style — on the
wing, flying over the Lammas Fields, between the village of Allesly and
Coventry." — Ed.

74 FIELDFARES.

considerable time, and gave yourself good room to examine the
natural curiosities of that extensive kingdom, both those of
the islands, as well as those of the Highlands. The usual
bane of such expeditions is hurry, because men seldom allot
themselves half the time they should do ; but, fixing on a day
for their return, post from place to place, rather as if they were
on a journey that required despatch, than as philosophers
investigating the works of nature.* You must have made, no
doubt, many discoveries, and laid up a good fund of materials
for a future edition of the British Zoology, and will have no
reason to repent that you have bestowed so much pains on a
part of Great Britain that perhaps was never so well examined
before.1

It has always been matter of wonder to me, that fieldfares,
which are so congenerous to thrushes and blackbirds, should
never choose to breed in England : but that they should not
think even the Highlands cold and northerly, and sequestered
enough, is a circumstance still more strange and wonderful.-)*
The ringousel, you find, stays in Scotland the whole year
round ; so that we have reason to conclude that those migrators
that visit us for a short space every autumn, do not come from
thence.

And here, I think, will be the proper place to mention, that
those birds were most punctual again in their migration this
autumn, appearing, as before, about the 30th of September ;
but their flocks were larger than common, and their stay

* The justice of this remark will be appreciated by every person of
reflection, when it is considered that the examination of the parish of
Selborne was the principal business of the intelligent White for nearly a
lifetime, although he paid but little attention to the insects and botany of
the parish. We remember an account of the geology of the country
betwixt Cork and Dublin having been read before a certain learned society,
from observations made by a certain learned and Reverend Doctor, from
the top of a mail coach ! — ED.

f In the Nat. Hist. Mag. \. p. 276, the following remarkable
circumstance is narrated: — " Last week, (19th February, 1832,) as
Mr Mitcalf, keeper to Lord Lowther, in Ravenstondale, was ranging the
fields with his gun, he observed a hawk hovering near him ; and while
preparing to give it a shot, a fieldfare flew in terror against his breast, and
then perched upon his shoulder. He fired at the hawk with the first
barrel, (while the fieldfare sat still,) but missed ; the hawk, intent upon
his prey, disregarded that shot ; with the second barrel he brought the
bird down. The fieldfare left his shoulder, and fluttered for a short time
around its fallen and dead enemy, uttering a chirp of joy, and then winged
away from its friend and unexpected protector. There is something more
than instinct in such a circumstance." — ED,

CHANGE OF COLOUR IN ANIMALS. 75

protracted somewhat beyond the usual time. If they came to
spend the whole winter with us, as some of their congeners do,
and then left us, as they do, in spring, I should not be so much
struck with the occurrence, since it would be similar to that
of the other winter birds of passage ; but when I see them for
a fortnight at Michaelmas, and again for about a week in the
middle of April, I am seized with wonder, and long to be
informed whence these travellers come, and whither they go,
since they seem to use our hills merely as an inn, or baiting
place.

Your account of the greater brambling, or snow-fleck, is
very amusing; and strange it is, that such a short-winged
bird should delight in such perilous voyages over the northern
ocean ! * Some country people in the winter time have every
now and then told me that they have seen two or three white
larks on our downs ; but, on considering the matter, I begin
to suspect that these are some stragglers of the birds we are
talking of, which sometimes, perhaps, may rove so far to the
southward.

It pleases me to find that white hares are so frequent on the
Scottish mountains, and especially as you inform me that it is
a distinct species ; for the quadrupeds of Britain are so few,
that every new species is a great acquisition.-)-

* See note, page 36. The snow-fleck, plectrophanes nivatis, has been
separated from the genus emberiza by Myer, on account of the length of
its wings greatly exceeding those of other birds, which now form this
natural genus. Hence they are fitted for more extensive excursions. — ED.

f This is the Alpine hare, lepus variabilis, of British naturalists. Its
ears are shorter than the head, and black towards the tips ; the rest of the
body, dusky in summer, and white in winter. There appears to be a
correlative connection in the distribution of colour in animals as regards
temperature. In tropical regions, the colour of man and animals exhibits
more variety and intensity than in northern latitudes. In temperate
climates, animals, in general, suffer little change from the vicissitudes of
the seasons, although, in many cases, winter and summer clothing is
very different in some species. In Britain, the white hare is an instance,
whose fur is tawny gray in summer, but changes, in September or October,
to a snowy white. This remarkable transition takes place in the following
manner : — About the middle of September, the gray feet begin to get
white, and, before the end of the month, all the four feet are white, and
the ears and muzzle are of a brighter colour. The white generally
ascends the legs and thighs, and whitish spots are observed under the
gray hairs, which continue to increase till the end of October; but still
the back remains of a gray colour, while the eyebrows and ears are
nearly white. From this period, the change of colour advances very
rapidly, and, by the middle of November, the whole fur, with the excep-
tion of the tips of the ears, which continue black, js of a shining white.

76 WATER-RAT.

The eagle-owl.* could it be proved to belong to us, is so
majestic a bird, that it would grace our fauna much. I never
was informed before where wild geese are known to breed.

You admit, I find, that I have proved your fen salicaria to
be the lesser reed-sparrow of Ray ; and I think you may be
secure that I am right ; for I took very particular pains to
clear up that matter, and had some fair specimens ; but, as
they were not well preserved, they are decayed already. You
will, no doubt, insert it in its proper place in your next edition.
Your additional plates will much improve your work.

De BufFon, I know, has described the water shrew-mouse ; f
but still I am pleased to find you have discovered it in Lincoln-

The back becomes white within eight days. During the whole of this
remarkable change in the fur, no hair falls from the animal. Hence it
appears, that the hair actually changes its colour, and that there is no
renewal of it. The fur continues white till the month of March, or even
later, depending on the temperature of the atmosphere, and, by the
middle of May, it has again assumed its gray colour. But the spring
change is different from the winter, as the hair is completely shed.

An instance of a similar change may be instanced in the ptarmigan,
(tetrao lagopus. ) Its summer plumage is ash gray, mottled with dusky
spots and bars. At the approach of winter, the dark colours disappear,
and its feathers are then found to be pure white. We are naturally led
to inquire what benefit the animals reeceive from this periodical change,
as we know that the All-wise does nothing in vain. Colour has a great
influence on the ratio at which bodies cool. It is an established law, that
surfaces which reflect heat most readily, allow it to escape very slowly by
radiation. White objects reflect most readily, consequently there will be
a proportionate difficulty in its radiation of heat. If a black animal and
a white one were placed in a higher temperature than that of their own
body, the heat will enter the black one with the greatest rapidity, and
soon elevate its temperature considerably above that of the other. These
differences manifest themselves in wearing black and white coloured
clothing during hot weather ; so that if these animals are placed in a
temperature considerably lower than their own, the animal which is black
will give out its heat by radiation to the surrounding objects sooner than
itself, by which its temperature will speedily be reduced, while the white
animal will part with its heat by radiation at a much slower rate. Hence
it would appear that the clothing of animals is suited in colour to the
temperature of the situations where they localize. Accidental variations,
however, sometimes occur, as in some birds we have already mentioned at
page 36. A black hare was shot at Combe, near Coventry, in February,
1828 ; and another was killed at Netley, Shropshire, by the Rev. F. W.
Hope. — ED.

* The strix bubo has been killed in Yorkshire, Sussex, and Scotland.
It is a native of Norway and other parts of Europe. — ED.

f This quadruped has been found in many parts of Great Britain : it
seems to have been long overlooked in this country. In Turton's British
Fauna, there is a second species of water shrew mentioned by the name,

GREAT LARGE BAT. 77

shire, for the reason I have given in the article of the white
hare.

As a neighbour was lately ploughing in a dry chalky field,
far removed from any water, he turned out a water-rat, that
was curiously laid up in an hybernaculum artificially formed of
grass and leaves. At one end of the burrow lay above a gallon
of potatoes, regularly stowed, on which it was to have supported
itself for the winter. But the difficulty with me is, how this
amphibius mus came to fix its winter station at such a distance
from the water. Was it determined in its choice of that place
by the mere accident of finding the potatoes which were planted
there ? or is it the constant practice of the aquatic rat to
forsake the neighbourhood of the water in the colder months ?

Though I delight very little in analogous reasoning, knowing
how fallacious it is with respect to natural history ; yet, in the
following instance, I cannot help being inclined to think it
may conduce towards the explanation of a difficulty that I
have mentioned before, with respect to the invariable early
retreat of the kirundo apus, or swift, so many weeks before its
congeners ; and that not only with us, but also in Andalusia,
where they begin to retire about the beginning of August.

The great large bat* (which, by the by, is at present a
nondescript in England, and what I have never been able yet
to procure) retires or migrates very early in the summer : it
also ranges very high for its food, feeding in a different region
of the air ; and that is the reason I never could procure one. •(•
Now, this is exactly the case with the swifts ; for they take
their food in a more exalted region than the other species, and
are very seldom seen hawking for flies near the ground, or
over the surface of the water. From hence I would conclude,
that these kirundines, and the larger bats, are supported by
some sorts of high-flying gnats, scarabs, or phalcencB, that are
of short continuance ; and that the short stay of these strangers
is regulated by the defect of their food.

the ciliatus, or fringe-tailed water-shrew : he says it is entirely black,
with hardly any white underneath. In Loudon's Magazine, there is a
description of a water shrew nearly double the size of thefodiens, and said
to be of a darker colour ED.

* The little bat appears almost every month in the year ; but I have
never seen the large ones till the end of April, nor after July. They
are most common in June, but never in any plenty : are a rare species
with us.

f This is the great bat, vespertilio noctula, of Turton's British Faunay
first noticed and described by our author. — ED.

78 SINGING BIRDS — AVIARIES.

By my journal it appears, that curlews clamoured on to
October the thirty-first ; since which, I have not seen or heard
any. Swallows were observed on to November the third.

LETTER XXIX.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRIISTGTON.

SELBORNE, January 15, 1770.

DEAR SIR, — It was no small matter of satisfaction to me to
find that you were not displeased with my little methodus of
birds. If there was any merit in the sketch, it must be owing
to its punctuality. For many months I carried a list in my
pocket of the birds that were to be remarked, and, as I rode
or walked about my business, I noted each day the continuance
or omission of each bird's song- ; so that I am as sure of the
certainty of my facts as a man can be of any transaction
whatsoever.

I shall now proceed to answer the several queries which you
put in your two obliging letters, in the best manner that I am
able. Perhaps Eastwick, and its environs, where you heard
so very few birds, is not a woodland country, and, therefore,
not stocked with such songsters. If you will cast your eye oil
my last letter, you will find that many species continued to
warble after the beginning of July.

The titlark and yellow-hammer breed late, the latter very
late ; and, therefore, it is no wonder that they protract their
song : for I lay it down as a maxim in ornithology, that as
long as there is any incubation going on, there is music. * As

* While we admit the truth of our author's remarks, we are inclined
to believe that birds sing frequently from buoyancy of spirits and joy, as
well as from rivalry. Every one must have observed, that birds in con-
finement immediately commence singing whenever a noise is made in the
room where they are situated.

Mr Sweet, who has devoted much time to taming the musical genus
sylvia, has, by diligent observation, and appropriate management, actually
changed most of the species from annual to perennial songsters. In the
month of March, these interesting choristers may be heard, pouring
forth the familiar strains of midsummer. A little room, with a fire-
place, serves as an aviary ; and in this he has two large cages, which
contain the nightingale, white-throat, pettichaps, white-ear, whin-chat,
stone-chat, redstart, black-cap, willow-wren, seskin, and other birds.

The management of an aviary is a most interesting amusement to the
lover of nature. If the apartment be sufficiently large, the little songsters
feel none of the tedium of imprisonment, but sport about, with all the
ardour manifested in their natural groves. The scene is greatly heightened

WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES. 79

to the red-breast and wren, it is well known to the most
incurious observer, that they whistle the year round, hard frost
excepted ; especially the latter.

It was not in my power to procure you a black-cap, or a
less reed-sparrow, or sedge-bird, alive. As the first is, undoubt-
edly, and the last, as far as I can yet see, a summer bird of
passage, they would require more nice and curious manage-
ment in a cage than I should be able to give them: they were
both distinguished songsters. The note of the former has
such a wild sweetness that it always brings to my mind those
lines in a song in " As You Like It," —

And tune his merry note
Unto the wild bird's throat.

The latter has a surprising variety of notes, resembling the
song of several other birds ; but then it has also a hurrying
manner, not at all to its advantage. It is, notwithstanding, a
delicate polyglot.

It is new to me that titlarks in cages sing in the night ; per-
haps only caged birds do so. I once knew a tame red-breast
in a cage that always sang as long as candles were in the
room ; but in their wild state no one supposes they sing in
the night.

I should be almost ready to doubt the fact, that there are to
be seen much fewer birds in July than in any former month,
notwithstanding so many young are hatched daily. Sure I
am, that it is far otherwise with respect to the swallow tribe,
which increases prodigiously as the summer advances ; and I
saw, at the time mentioned, many hundreds of young wagtails
on the banks of the Cherwell, which almost covered the mea-
dows. If the matter appears, as you say, in the other species,
may it not be owing to the dams being engaged in incubation,
while the young are concealed by the leaves ?

Many times have I had the curiosity to open the stomachs of
woodcocks and snipes ; but nothing ever occurred that helped
to explain to me what their subsistence might be ; all that I
could ever find was a soft mucus, among which lay many
pellucid small gravels. *

by the addition of orange trees and evergreens, where they will breed, as
in a state of nature. Here they exhibit no signs of suffering captivity ;
on the contrary, it is delightful to see them, in a stormy day, enjoying
the warmth of summer, while their cheerful notes prove they have no
heart-rending cares. — ED.

* The food of the woodcock and snipe has not yet been properly

80 CUCKOO.

LETTER XXX,

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, February 19, 1770.

DEAR SIR, — Your observation, that "the cuckoo does not
deposit its egg indiscriminately in the nest of the first bird that
comes in its way, but probably looks out a nurse in some
degree congenerous, with whom to intrust its young," is per-
fectly new to me ; and struck me so forcibly, that 1 naturally
fell into a train of thought that led me to consider whether the
fact were so, and what reason there was for it. When I
came to recollect and inquire, I could not find that any cuckoo
had ever been seen in these parts, except in the nest of the
wagtail, the hedge-sparrow, the titlark, the white-throat, and
the red-breast, all soft-billed insectivorous birds. The excel-
lent Mr Willughby mentions the nest of the palumbus, (ring-
dove,) and of the fringilla, (chaffinch,) birds that subsist on
acorns and grains, and such hard food ; but then he does not
mention them as of his own knowledge ; but says afterwards,
that he saw himself a wagtail feeding a cuckoo. It appears
hardly possible that a soft-billed bird should subsist on the
same food with the hard-billed ; for the former have thin
membranaceous stomachs suited to their soft food ; while the
latter, the granivorous tribe, have strong muscular gizzards,
which, like mills, grind, by the help of small gravels and
pebbles, what is swallowed. This proceeding of the cuckoo,
of dropping its eggs as it were by chance, is such a monstrous
outrage on maternal affection, one of the first great dictates of
nature, and such a violence on instinct, that, had it only been
related of a bird in the Brazils, or Peru, it would never have
merited our belief. But yet, should it farther appear that
this simple bird, when divested of that natural avogyjij that
seems to raise the kind in general above themselves, and
inspire them with extraordinary degrees of cunning and
address, may be still endued with a more enlarged faculty of
discerning what species are suitable and congenerous nursing

ascertained ; but we find from Montagu's Ornithological Dictionary r,
second edition, that they are very fond of worms, as stated in the following
paragraph : — "A woodcock, in our menagerie, very soon discovered and
drew forth every worm in the ground, which was dug up to enable it to
be done ; and worms put into a large garden pot, covered with, earth, five
or "six inches deep, are always cleared bv the next morning, without one
being left. — ED."

2

CUCKOO. 81

mothers for its disregarded eggs and young, and may deposit
them only under their care, this would be adding wonder to
wonder, and instancing, in a fresh manner, that the methods
of Providence are not subjected to any mode or rule, but
astonish us in new lights, and in various and changeable
appearances. *

* There exists much opposition of opinion among naturalists on tliis
curious question. We give the following as the latest observations made
by an attentive observer of nature, Mr Hoy, of Stoke Nayland, Suffolk,
in 1831 : — "A pair of wagtails (motacilla alba) fixed their nest, early
in April, among the ivy which covers one side of my house, and reared
and took off their young. A few days after the young birds had left the
nest, I observed the old birds apparently collecting materials for building,
and was much amused at seeing the young running after the parent
birds, with imploring looks and gestures, demanding food ; but the old
birds, with roots or pieces of grass in their bills, seemed quite heedless of
them, and intent on their new habitation. Their motions were narrowly
watched by a female cuckoo, which I saw constantly near the place ; but the
wagtails had placed their second nest within a yard of the door, and so
well concealed among some luxuriant ivy, that the cuckoo, being often
frightened away, was not able to discover the nest. The intruder being
thus thwarted in its design, the birds hatched their second brood, which
was accidentally destroyed a few days after. In about ten days they
actually commenced a third nest, within a few feet of the situation of the
second, in safety. I have repeatedly taken the cuckoo's eggs from the
wagtail's nest ; in this locality, it has a decided preference to it. I do
not recollect finding it in any other, excepting in two instances, once
in the hedge-warbler's, and another time in the redstart's nest. In this
vicinity, whether the wagtail selects the hole of a pollard tree, a cleft in
the wall, or a projecting ledge under a bridge, it does not often escape the
prying eye of the cuckoo, as, in all these situations, I have frequently
found either egg or young. The cuckoo appears to possess the power of
retaining its egg for some time after it is ready for extrusion. On one
occasion, I had observed a cuckoo during several days anxiously watching
a pair of wagtails building ; I saw the cuckoo fly from the nest two or
three times before it was half completed ; and at last the labour of the
wagtails not going on, I imagine, so rapidly as might be wished, the cuckoo
deposited its egg before the lining of the nest was finished. The egg,
contrary to my expectation, was not thrown out ; and on the following
day the wagtail commenced laying, and, as usual, the intruder was hatched
at the same time as the rest, and soon had the whole nest to itself. I
once observed a cuckoo enter a wagtail's nest, which I had noticed before
to contain one egg ; in a few minutes the cuckoo crept from the hole, and
was flying away with something in its beak, which proved to be the egg
of the wagtail, which it dropped on my firing a gun at it. On examining
the nest, the cuckoo had only made an exchange, leaving its own egg for
the one taken. In May, 1829, 1 found two cuckoo's eggs in the same nest,
and depended on witnessing a desperate struggle between the parties, but
my hopes were frustrated by some person destroying it."

This subject is still involved in great obscurity, notwithstanding- the
above striking facts. — ED.

F

HEDGE-HOGS.

What was said by a very ancient and sublime writer con-
cerning the defect of natural affection in the ostrich, may be
well applied to the bird we are talking of : — " She is hardened
against her young ones, as though they were not hers :
Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he
imparted to her understanding."*

Query, — Does each female cuckoo lay but one egg in a
season, or does she drop several in different nests, according
as opportunity offers ?

LETTER XXXI.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, February 22, 1770.

DEAR SIR, — Hedge-hogs abound in my gardens arid fields.
The manner in which they eat the roots of the plantain in my
grass walks is very curious : with their upper mandible, which
is much longer than their lower, they bore under the plant,
and so eat the root off upwards, leaving the tuft of leaves
untouched. In this respect they are serviceable, as they
destroy a very troublesome weed ;* but they deface the walks
in some measure, by digging little round holes. It appears,
by the dung that they drop upon the turf, that beetles are no
inconsiderable part of their food, j- In June last, I procured a

* Job, xxxix. 16, 17.

f We are surprised to find that some naturalists of the present day deny
the fact that hedge-hogs eat flesh. Buffon says, speaking of some tame
ones, — " They ate caterpillars, beetles, and worms, and were also very
fond of flesh, which they devoured, boiled or raw." Later observations
prove them to be predatory animals. We saw one in the possession of
Mr Woodcock, surgeon, Bury, Lancashire, which he got from a peasant,
who caught it in the act of eating a toad, and which it pertinaciously kept
hold of when taken, rolling itself up, and keeping firm hold of the toad
with its mouth. We attempted to pull the toad from it, but it held its
victim the firmer. It had consumed the head and one of the legs, when
discovered. Hedge-hogs also feed on eggs, and do considerable mischief
to game during the breeding season. They have been known to enter
a hen -house, drive the hen off her nest, and devour the eggs.

In 1829, a labourer of the name of Copland, while abroad in the fields
near Terraughty, Dumfriesshire, heard a sound which convinced him
that a hare was at hand, and in jeopardy. The squeaking, however,
soon ceased, and the man, after looking carefully round, came upon a
leveret, which was lying dead by the side of a hedge-hog. The enemy
had, by this time, coiled himself into a ball ; but, as appearances indicated
that he had both bit and smothered the leveret, Copland was so enraged at

HEDGE-HOG FIELDFARE. 83

litter of four or five young hedge-hogs, which appeared to be
about five or six days old : they, I find, like puppies, are born
blind, and could not see when they came to my hands. No
doubt their spines are soft and flexible at the time of their
birth, or else the poor dam would have but a bad time of it in
the critical moment of parturition : but it is plain that they
soon harden ; for these little pigs had such stiff prickles on
their backs and side as would easily have fetched blood, had
they not been handled with caution. Their spines are quite
white at this age ; and they have little hanging ears, which I
do not remember to be discernible in the old ones. They can,
in part, at this age, draw their skin down over their faces ; but
are not able to contract themselves into a ball, as they do, for
the sake of defence, when full grown. The reason, I suppose,
is, because the curious muscle that enables the creature to roll
itself up in a ball was not then arrived at its full tone and
firmness. Hedge-hogs make a deep and warm hybernaculum
with leaves and moss, in which they conceal themselves for the
winter ; but I never could find that they stored in any winter
provision, as some quadrupeds certainly do.

I have discovered an anecdote with respect to the fieldfare,
(turdus pilaris,) which I think is particular enough. This bird,
though it sits on trees in the day-time, and procures the greatest
part of its food from white-thorn hedges ; yea, moreover, builds
on very high trees, as may be seen by the Fauna Suecica; yet
always appears with us to roost on the ground. They are seen
to come in flocks just before it is dark, and to settle and nestle
among the heath on our forest. And, besides, the larkers, in
dragging their nets by night, frequently catch them in the
wheat stubbles ; while the bat fowlers, who take many red-
wings in the hedges, never entangle any of this species. Why
these birds, in the matter of roosting, should differ from ail
their congeners, and from themselves also with respect to their
proceedings by day, is a fact for which I am by no means able
to account.

his audacity, that he took the top of his axe and despatched him in an
instant. Various game-keepers have frequently told us that they sus-
pected the predatory habits of the hedge-hog, though we never knew an
instance in which the fact was so satisfactorily proved as in the present.

In the year 1799, there was a hedge-hog in the possession of Mr Sample,
of the Angel Inn at Felton, in Northumberland, which performed the duty
of a turnspit, as well, in all respects, as the dog called the turnspit. It
ran about the house with the same familiarity as any other domestic
quadruped, and displayed an obedience, till then unknown in this species
of animal. — ED.

84 MOOSE-DEER.

I have somewhat to inform you of concerning- the moose-
deer ; but, in general, foreign animals fall seldom in my way ;
my little intelligence is confined to the narrow sphere of my
own observations at home.

LETTER XXXII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, March, 1770.

ON Michaelmas day, 1768, I managed to get a sight of the
female moose belonging to the Duke of Richmond, at Good-
wood; but was greatly disappointed, when I arrived at the
spot, to find that it died, after having appeared in a languishing
way for some time, on the morning before. However, under-
standing that it was not stripped, I proceeded to examine this
rare quadruped ; I found it in an old greenhouse, slung under
the belly and chin by ropes, and in a standing posture ; but,
though it had been dead for so short a time, it was in so putrid
a state that the stench was hardly supportable. The grand
distinction between this deer and any other species that I have
ever met with, consisted in the strange length of its legs ; on
which it was tilted up much in the manner of the birds of the
grallcB order. I measured it, as they do a horse, and found
that, from the ground to the wither, it was just five feet four
inches, which height answers exactly to sixteen hands, a
growth that few horses arrive at : but then, with this length of
legs, its neck was remarkably short, no more than twelve
inches ; so that, by straddling with one foot forward and the
other backward, it grazed on the plain ground, with the
greatest difficulty, between its legs : the ears were vast and
lopping, and as long as the neck ; the head was about twenty
inches long, and ass-like ; and had such a redundancy of
upper lip as I never saw before, with huge nostrils. * This
lip, travellers say, is esteemed a dainty dish in North America.

* The gigantic moose-deer is said by some travellers to attain from
eleven to twelve feet ; but it is probable that the size of a large horse is
more near its dimensions. The European elk reaches from seven to eight
feet, and measures in length, from the muzzle to the insertion of the tail,
ten feet. We annex a represention of this large animal.

The elk was at one time a native of Ireland, as its remains in a fossil
state are often discovered in that country. A very large fossil skeleton was
found in the Isle of Man, in 1821, while digging a marie pit. It was
obtained for the Edinburgh College Museum, by that patriotic nobleman
the late Duke of Atholl.— ED.

I UK MOOSE-DEER, OR ELK.

Ctrrns Altrx, LiniKcut.

MOOSE-DEER. 85

It is very reasonable to suppose, that this creature supports
itself chiefly by browsing of trees, and by wading after water
plants, towards which way of livelihood the length of legs
and great lip must contribute much. I have read somewhere,
that it delights in eating the nymphcea, or water lily. From
the fore-feet to the belly, behind the shoulder, it measured
three feet and eight inches ; the length of the legs before and
behind consisted a great deal in the tibia, which was strangely
long ; but, in my haste to get out of the stench, I forgot to
measure that joint exactly. Its scut seemed to be about an
inch long; the colour was a grizzly black ; the mane about
four inches long ; the fore-hoofs were upright and shapely, the
hind flat and splayed. The spring before, it was only two
years old, so that most probably it was not then come to its
growth. What a vast tall beast must a full-grown stag be ! I
have been told some arrive at ten feet and a half! This poor
creature had at first a female companion of the same species,
which died the spring before. In the same garden was a
young stag, or red-deer, between whom and this moose it
was hoped that there might have been a breed ; but their
inequality of height must have always been a bar to any
commerce of the amorous kind. I should have been glad to
have examined the teeth, tongue, lips, hoofs, &c. minutely ;
but the putrefaction precluded all farther curiosity. This
animal, the keeper told me, seemed to enjoy itself best in the
extreme frost of the former winter. In the house, they
shewed me the horn of a male moose, which had no front
antlers, but only a broad palm, with some snags on the edge.
The noble owner of the dead moose proposed to make a
skeleton of her bones.

Please to let me hear if my female moose corresponds with
that you saw ; and whether you think still that the American
moose and European elk are the same creature.

LETTER XXXIII.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, April 12, 1770.

DEAR SIR, — I heard many birds of several species sing last
year after midsummer; enough to prove that the summer
solstice is not the period that puts a stop to the music of the
woods. The yellow-hammer, no doubt, persists with more
steadiness than any other ; but the woodlark, the wren, the

S& SINGING BIRDS CUCKOO.

red-breast, the swallow, the white-throat, the goldfinch, the
common linnet, are all undoubted instances of the truth of
what I advanced.

If this severe season does not interrupt the regularity of the
summer migrations, the black-cap will be here in two or three
days. * I wish it was in my power to procure you one of those
songsters ; but I am no bird catcher ; and so little used to
birds in a cage, that I fear, if I had one, it would soon die for
want of skill in feeding.

Was your reed-sparrow, which you kept in a cage, the thick
billed reed-sparrow of the Zoology, p. 320 ? or was it the less
reed-sparrow of Ray, the sedge-bird of Mr Pennant's last
publication, p. 1 6 ?

As to the matter of long billed birds growing fatter in
moderate frosts, I have no doubt within myself what should
be the reason. The thriving at those times appears to me to
arise altogether from the gentle check which the cold throws
upon insensible perspiration. The case1 is just the same with
blackbirds, &c. ; and farmers and warreners observe, the first,
that their hogs fat more kindly at such times, and the latter,
that their rabbits are never in such good case as in a gentle
frost. But, when frosts are severe, and of long continuance,
the case is soon altered ; for then a want of food soon over-
balances the repletion occasioned by a checked perspiration.
I have observed, moreover, that some human constitutions are
more inclined to plumpness in winter than in summer.

When birds come to suffer by severe frost, I find that the
first that fail and die are the red-wing field-fares, and then the
song-thrushes.

You wonder, with good reason, that the hedge-sparrows,
&c. can be induced at all to sit on the egg of the cuckoo,
without being scandalized at the vast disproportioned size of
the supposititious egg ; but the brute creation, I suppose,
have very little idea of size, colour, or number. -j- For, the

* Sir William Jardine supposes that the black-cap of Britain migrates to
Madeira, having received specimens from that island ; but Dr Heineken,
who resided there, informs us that it is resident all the year round. Mr
Lewin shot one in Kent, in January. — ED.

f The egg of the cuckoo is less than that of the hedge-sparrow ; thus
proving the fitness of all natural bodies to the ends for which they are
intended. Were we unacquainted with the fact, that cuckoos do not,
like other birds, incubate their own eggs, we would marvel at their great
disproportion compared with the size of the bird. There is, no doubt,
some wise end to be fulfilled in this singular economy in the habits of the
cuckoo, which has yet eluded human scrutiny. — ED.

STUDY OF NATURAL IIISTOKY. 87

common hen, I know, when the fury of incubation is on her,
will sit on a single shapeless stone, instead of a nest full of
eggs that have been withdrawn ; and, moreover, a hen turkey,
in the same circumstances, would sit on, in the empty nest,
till she perished with hunger.

I think the matter might easily be determined whether a
cuckoo lays one or two eggs, or more, in a season, by opening
a female during the laying time. If more than one were come
down out of the ovary, and advanced to a good size, doubtless
then she would that spring lay more than one.*

I will endeavour to get a hen, and examine.

Your supposition, that there may be some natural obstruction
in singing birds while they are rnute, and that, when this is
removed, the song recommences, is new and bold. I wish you
could discover some good grounds for this suspicion.

I was glad you were pleased with my specimen of the
caprimulgus, or fern-owl; you were, I find, acquainted with
the bird before.

When we meet, I shall be glad to have some conversation
with you concerning the proposal you make of my drawing
up an account of the animals in this neighbourhood. Your
partiality towards my small abilities persuades you, I fear,
that I am able to do more than is in my power ; for it is no
small undertaking for a man, unsupported and alone, to begin a
natural history from his own autopsia. Though there is endless
room for observation in the field of nature, which is boundless,
yet investigation (where a man endeavours to be sure of his
facts) can make but slow progress ; and all that one could collect
in many years would go into a very narrow compass.

Some extracts from your ingenious " Investigations of the
difference between the present temperature of the air in Italy,"
&c. have fallen in my way, and gave me great satisfaction.
They have removed the objection that always arose in my mind
whenever I came to the passages which you quote. Surely
the judicious Virgil, when writing a didactic poem for the
region of Italy, could never think of describing freezing rivers,
unless such severity of weather pretty frequently occurred !

P.S. Swallows appear amidst snows and frost.

* The fact we have recorded in our note, at page 81, shews that they
produce more than one etrg ; and, if we may reason from analogy, it may
be mentioned that the yellow-billed cuckoo of America lays three or four
eggs, and the black-billed cuckoo of the same country lays from four to
five eggs ; and these birds are very closely allied in physical structure to
the common cuckoo. — ED.

88 PAIRING OF BIRDS.

LETTER XXXIV.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, May 12, 1770.

DEAR SIR, — Last month we had such a series of cold tur-
bulent weather, such a constant succession of frost, and snow,
and hail, and tempest, that the regular migration, or appearance
of the summer birds, was much interrupted. Some did not
shew themselves (at least were not heard) till weeks after
their usual time, as the black-cap and white-throat ; and some
have not been heard yet, as the grasshopper-lark and largest
willow-wren. As to the fly-catcher, I have not seen it; it is
indeed one of the latest, but should appear about this time ;
and yet, amidst all this meteorous strife and war of the elements,
two swallows discovered themselves as long ago as the eleventh
of April, in frost and snow ; but they withdrew quickly, and
were not visible again for many days. House-martens, which
are always more backward than swallows, were not observed
till May came in.

Among the monogamous birds, several are to be found, after
pairing time, single, and of each sex : but whether this state
of celibacy is matter of choice or necessity, is not so easily
discoverable. When the house-sparrows deprive my martens
of their nests, as soon as I cause one to be shot, the other, be
it cock or hen, presently procures a mate, and so for several
times following. *

* The late Mr Jaraieson, of Portobello, told us a remarkable circum-
stance of the swallow, which was equal to human sagacity. A pair of
these birds built a nest in the corner of one of his windows at Portobello.
They had scarcely finished their labour, when a pair of house-sparrows
took forcible possession, and drove the rightful owners from their domicile.
The swallows made several unsuccessful attempts to regain possession,
being always beaten off by the sparrows, who defended the entrance with
determined obstinacy. At last, finding their attempts fruitless, they
departed, and, in a short time, returned with a host of their companions,
who did not attempt to take the intruders by storm, but, in a very short
time, by their united efforts, built up the entrance to the nest, determined
seemingly to imprison, for life, the occupiers of the property which had
been unlawfully acquired,

Male birds procure mates by the power of their song. Hence it may
be inferred, that if a confined bird had acquired the song of another species,
without retaining any notes of its own, and was set at liberty, the pro-
bability is, that it would never find a mate of its own species ; and, even

PAIRING OF BIRDS. 89

I have known a dove-house infested by a pair of white
owls, which made great havock among the young pigeons :
one of the owls was shot as soon as possible ;*but the survivor
readily found a mate, and the mischief went on. After some
time the new pair were both destroyed, and the annoyance
ceased. *

Another instance I remember, of a sportsman, whose zeal
for the increase of his game being greater than his humanity,
after pairing time, he always shot the cock-bird of every couple
of partridges upon his grounds, supposing that the rivalry
of many males interrupted the breed. He used to say, that,
though he had widowed the same hen several times, yet he
found she was still provided with a fresh paramour, that did
not take her away from her usual haunt.

Again : I knew a lover of setting, an old sportsman, who
has often told me, that soon after harvest, he has frequently
taken small coveys of partridges, consisting of cock birds
alone : these he pleasantly used to call old bachelors.

There is a propensity belonging to common house cats that
is very remarkable ; I mean their violent fondness for fish,
which appears to be their most favourite food ; and yet,
nature in this instance seems to have planted in them an
appetite that, unassisted, they know not how to gratify : for
of all quadrupeds, cats are the least disposed towards water ;

although it did, there is no reason to doubt but the young of that bird
would be devoid of its native notes.

There has been much controversy among naturalists, whether the
notes of birds are innate or acquired ; the greater part of which has
originated amongst those who argue on general principles without
experimenting. We have ourselves instituted these experiments, and have
hence proved clearly, that the song of birds is innate. We have brought
up repeatedly broods of young chaffinches, and they invariably sang their
native notes when they arrived at maturity ; and this without the possi-
bility of their hearing the song of their kindred. Nay, on the contrary,
they were brought up in the same room with a gray linnet, and never
acquired any of its notes ; but had their peculiar notes, which cannot
possibly be mistaken. — ED.

* It is a fact not generally known that owls feed on fish. The Rev.
Mr Bree took some young brown owls (strix stridula) from the nest,
and placed them among the trees in the garden of Allesley rectory. In
that situation the parent birds repeatedly brought them live fish, such
as bull-heads, and loach, which they had procured in a neighbouring
brook. Many years ago, the gold and silver fish in the fishpond in the
garden of Balstrode, the property of the Duke of Portland, were captured
by the common brown owl. This fact was discovered by men set to
watch the pond. — ED.

90 CATS RETURN OF BIRDS.

and will not, when they can avoid it, deign to wet a foot, much
less to plunge into that element.*

Quadrupeds that prey on fish are amphibious ; such as the
otter, which by nature is so well formed for diving, that it
makes great havock among the inhabitants of the waters. Not
supposing that we had any of those beasts in our shallow
brooks, I was much pleased to see a male otter brought to
me, weighing twenty-one pounds, that had been shot on the
bank of our stream, below the Priory, where the rivulet divides
the parish of Selborne from Harteley Wood.

LETTER XXXV.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, May 21, 1770.

DEAR SIR, — The severity and turbulence of last month so
interrupted the regular process of summer migration, that
some of the birds do but just begin to shew themselves, and
others are apparently thinner than usual ; as the white-throat,
the black-cap, the redstart, the fly-catcher. I well remember,
that, after the very severe spring, in the year 1739-40, summer
birds of passage were very scarce. They come probably
hither with a south-east wind, or when it blows between those
points ; but in that unfavourable year, the winds blew the

* Many instances have been recorded of cats catching fish. Mr
Moody of Jesmond, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, had a cat in 1829, which
had been in his possession for some years, that caught fish with great
assiduity, and frequently brought them home alive ! Besides minnows
and eels, she occasionally carried home pilchards, one of which, about
six inches long, was found in her possession in August, 1827. She also
contrived to teach a neighbour's cat to fish ; and the two have been seen
together watching by the TJis for fish. At other times, they have been
seen at opposite sides of the river, not far from each other, on the look
out for their prey.

The following" still more extraordinary circumstance of a cat fishing in
the sea, appeared in the Plymouth Journal, June, 1828: —

" There is now at the battery on the Devil's Point, a cat, which is an
expert catcher of the finny tribe, being in the constant habit of diving
into the sea, and bringing up the fish alive in her mouth, and depositing
them in the guard-room, for the use of the soldiers. She is now seven
years old, and has long been a useful caterer. It is supposed that her
pursuit of the water-rats first taught her to venture into the water, to
which it is well known puss has a natural aversion. She is as fond of
the water as a Newfoundland dog, and takes her regular peregrinations
along the rocks at its edge, looking out for her prey, ready to dive for
them at a moment's notice. -»-ED.

SUMMER BIRDS REED-SPARROW. 91

whole spring and summer through from the opposite quarters.
And yet, amidst all these disadvantages, two swallows, as I,
mentioned in my last, appeared this year as early as the
eleventh of April, amidst frost and snow ; but they withdrew
again for a time.*

I am not pleased to find that some people seem so little
satisfied with Scopoli's new publication, f There is room to
expect great things from the hands of that man, who is a good
naturalist ; and one would think that a history of the birds of
so distant and southern a region as Carniola would be new and
interesting. I could wish to see that work, and hope to get it
sent down. Dr Scopoli is physician to the wretches that work
in the quicksilver mines of that district.

When you talked of keeping a reed-sparrow, and giving it
seeds, I could not help wondering ; because the reed-sparrow
which I mentioned to you, (passer arundinaceus minor, Raii,) is a
soft-billed bird, and most probably migrates hence before winter ;
whereas the bird you kept (passer torquatus, Raii,) abides all
the year, and is a thick-billed bird. I question whether the
latter be much of a songster ; but in this matter I want to be
better informed. The former has a variety of hurrying notes,
and sings all night. Some part of the song of the former, I
suspect, is attributed to the latter. We have plenty of the
soft-billed sort, which Mr Pennant had entirely left out of his
British Zoology, till I reminded him of his omission. See
British Zoology last published, p. 16. J

* In 1830, the following summer birds were noticed by Mr J. D. Hoy,

at Stoke Rayland, Suffolk, as appearing very early : —

Least willow- wren, . March

18

Sedge warbler, *

April 22

Wry-neck, . . —

31

Cuckoo, .

— 25

Sand martens, a flock of

Lesser white-throat,

— 25

ten, . . . April

1

Wood-wren,

— 26

Chimney swallow ; saw

Martens ; several

— 28

four, ... —

3

Spotted flycatcher, one

7

Yellow wagtail, . —

3

several seen 1st May,

— 29

Willow-wren, . . —

5

Turtle dove,

— 30

Redstart, . . —

6

Great pettychaps,

— 30

Black-cap, . . —

7

Reed warbler, .

May 4

Nightingale, . . —

9

Hobby, .

— 4

Greater white-throat ; saw

Redbacked shrike,

— 7

one, ... —

10

Swifts ; several,

_ 10

Field lark, . . _

14

Quail, . .

— 10

Grasshopper warbler,

14

Goatsucker,

— 14

Whinchat, . . —

15

ED.

f This work he calls his " Annus Primus Historico-Naturalis."
\ See Letter XXVI.- To Thomas Pennant, Esq.

92 MOTIONS OF BIRDS.

I have somewhat to advance on the different manners in
which different birds fly and walk ; but as this is a subject
that I have not enough considered, and is of such a nature as
not to be contained in a small space, I shall say nothing
farther at present.*

* See Letter LXXXIV. To the Hon. Daines Barrington.

There is much variety in the flight of birds; some fly by jerks,
closing their wings every third or fourth stroke, which produces an
undulatory motion, as may be observed in the flight of woodpeckers,
warblers, wagtails, and most other small birds ; others pursue a smooth
and even course ; while others, again, are buoyant, without perceptible
motion, as the kite, kestril, and many of the hawk tribe. The greater
number of birds fly with their legs drawn up, and their neck extended ;
others again, from their great length of neck, and its consequent weight,
are obliged to contract, or bend it in flight, for the purpose of bringing the
centre of gravity on the wings, in aid of which the legs are stretched
behind, as exemplified in the heron, stork, and bittern. Others fly with
protruded necks, but are compelled to throw out their legs behind, as the
goose, duck, and other aquatic birds.

Aquatic birds, and those termed waders, run in the ordinary manner,
by alternately placing one foot before the other, but nearly all the smaller
birds jump, or hop, along as if their legs were united. The crow,
starling, lark, and wagtail, are regular walkers ED.

" The flight of a strong falcon," says Dr Shaw, " is wonderfully swift.
It is recorded that a falcon belonging to the Duke of Cleve, flew out of
Westphalia into Prussia in one day ; and in the county of Norfolk, a
hawk has made a flight at a woodcock near thirty miles in an hour."

" But what are these," says Professor Rennie, " compared to the actual
velocity and continuance of the falcon that is recorded to have belonged
to Henry IV, King of France, which escaped from Fontainbleau, and
in twenty-four hours after was killed in Malta, a space computed to be
not less than one thousand three hundred and fifty miles? a velocity
equal to fifty-seven miles in an hour, supposing the hawk to have been
on the wing the whole time. But as such birds never fly by night, and
allowing the day to be at the longest, or to be eighteen hours light, this
would make seventy -five miles an hour. It is probable, however, thatjie
neither had so many hours of light in the twenty-four to perform the
journey, nor that he was retaken the moment of his arrival, so that we
may fairly conclude much less time was occupied in performing this
distant flight."

We do not agree with the opinion entertained by Professor Rennie, that
the falcon in question did not fly by night. Although the birds of this
tribe are diurnal, still there must be instances of their flying by night, as
in the case above referred to. We would ask, where did be rest during
the night in crossing the Mediterranean ? Birds which make long
migrations, must fly by night as well as by day in crossing a great extent
of ocean.

Audubon says, " The passenger pigeon (columba migratoria) moves
with extreme rapidity, propelling itself by repeated flaps of the wings,
which it brings more or less near to the body, according to the degree of
velocity which is required. Like the domestic pigeon, it often flies

SEX OF ANIMALS. 93

No doubt the reason why the sex of birds in their first
plumage is so difficult to be distinguished is, as you say,
" because they are not to pair and discharge their parental
functions till the ensuing spring." As colours seem to be the
chief external sexual distinction in many birds, these colours
do not take place till sexual attachments begin to obtain. And
the case is the same in quadrupeds ; among whom, in their
younger days, the sexes differ but little ; but, as they advance
to maturity, horns and shaggy manes, beards and brawny
necks, &c. strongly discriminate the male from the female.
We may instance still farther in our own species, where a beard
and stronger features are usually characteristic of the male
sex ; but this sexual diversity does not take place in earlier
life ; for a beautiful youth shall be so like a beautiful girl, that
the difference shall not be discernible : — *

Quern si puellarum insereres choro,
Mir6 sagaces falleret hospites
Discrimen obscurum, solutis

Crinibus, ambiguoque vultu. — HOR.

during the love season, in a circling manner, supporting itself with both
wings angularly elevated, in which position it keeps them until it is about
to alight. Now and then, during these circular flights, the tips of the
primary quills of each wing are made to strike against each other,
producing a sharp rap, which may be heard at a distance of thirty or forty
yards. Before alighting, the passenger pigeon, like the Carolina parrot,
and a few other species of birds, breaks the force of its flight by repeated
flappings, as if apprehensive of receiving injury from coming too suddenly
into contact with the branch, or the spot of ground, on which it intends
to settle."

Mr Audubon calculates that the passenger pigeon must travel at the
rate of a mile in a minute, a velocity which would enable one of these
birds to visit the European continent in less than three days.

* There is a remarkable physiological fact in the animal economy, —
that of the females of many species assuming somewhat of the character
of the male when they become aged. This obtains in a strong degree in
many animals, and something similar takes place in the human species ;
for example, that increase of hair observable in the faces of many women
advanced in h'fe, is certainly an approximation towards a beard, which is
one of the most distinguishing secondary properties of man. It is also
well known that old mares approach the form of the horse, in the
thickening of the crest.

Dr Butter, of Plymouth, has satisfactorily proved, that our female
domestic fowls have all a tendency to assume the male plumage at an
advanced period of their lives, so as to make them resemble the cock of
their own species. In illustration, he states, that " Mr Corham, at
Compton, near Plymouth, has, for a long series of years, possessed an
excellent breed of game-fowls, the cocks of which are of a beautifully
dark-red colour, and the hens of a dusky brown. One hen of this

94 HENS WITH COCK PLUMAGE.

LETTER XXXVI.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, August 1, 1770.

DEAR SIR, — The French, I think, in general, are strangely
prolix in their natural history. What Linnaeus says with

breed was allowed to live as long as possible, because her chickens became
so renowned in the cock-pit. \Vhen, however, she had attained the
age of fifteen years, she was observed, after moulting, to have acquired
some arched cock's feathers in her tail, whilst others (old feathers)
remained straight and brown, as formerly. By degrees, and during
one moulting season, the whole of her dusky plumage was thrown ofi%
and succeeded by a covering of red, and more beautiful feathers, quite
like those of the cock of her own breed. In the course of the single
season, the change was so fully accomplished, that, as she walked about,
any stranger might have pronounced her rather to have been a cock than
a hen. Spurs, likewise, sprouted out on her legs ; she acquired a comb and
wattles on her head ; and even crowed hoarsely, not unlike a young cock.
Her wattles were, however, cut off afterwards, for the purpose of making her
look like a fighting cock. After the completion of this change of plumage,
she discontinued to lay eggs ; and lived no very considerable time to enjoy
her recently acquired, but splendid costume." This bird is now in Dr
Butter's collection. This gentleman adduces other evidence of a similar
change, in two old hens, kept for him by a Mrs Adams, of Bowden, near
Totness, on purpose to ascertain if the change was general. One of these
was fifteen years old, and the other thirteen. Of these she says, " I
bought them both when pullets. They were of the common domestic
breed, and excellent layers, which was the reason I kept them so long.
I first observed the change on them after an absence of five months ; when
I inquired of my dairy-maid, < From whence come these two young
cocks ? ' for such they appeared to me in their plumage and crowing. I
was greatly surprised at being informed, that they were my two old hens."

In Tucker's Ornithologia Danmoniensis, there is an account of a
domestic hen, which changed her feathers to those of the cock; and
Aristotle, in his Hist. Anim. lib. ix. c. 36, makes mention of a domestic
hen assuming the male plumage.

When we were in Downpatrick, our friend, William Johnstone, Esq.
informed us of a circumstance which, no doubt, was referable to this
cause. He had succeeded to a large fortune by the will of an uncle, and
among the animals which he acquired was an old cock, a favourite of the old
gentleman. It was, out of respect for his memory, permitted to live until
it died a natural death. Mr Johnstone shewed me the cock, which was
then alive, and which he considered as a very miraculous one, having, at
short intervals, laid two small eggs, not larger than those of a blackbird,
and nearly circular, with very strong shells. He was quite certain that
they were extruded by this supposed cock, as no other fowl could possibly
get into the place where he was kept at the time. We told him we had no
doubt but it was a hen, with the male plumage from age ; but he was
firmly of belief that it was an old cock. From circumstances of this
kind have arisen, no doubt, the fable of the cockatrice. — ED.

DOMESTIC HEN WITH MALE PLUMAGE.
(rfillns Dvmesticus, Temminck.

SPECIMENS OF HORNS AND OF BIRDS. 95

respect to insects, holds good in every other branch : " Verbo-
sitas pr<zsentis sceculi, calamitas artis"

Pray how do you approve of Scopoli's new work ? As I
admire his Entomologia, I long to see it.

I forgot to mention in my last letter, and had not room to
insert in the former, that the male moose, in rutting time,
swims from island to island, in the lakes and rivers of North
America, in pursuit of the females. My friend, the chaplain,
saw one killed in the water, as it was on that errand, in the
river of St Lawrence : it was a monstrous beast, he told me ;
but he did not take the dimensions.

When I was last in town, our friend Mr Barrington most
obligingly carried me to see many curious sights. As you
were then writing to him about horns, he carried me to see
many strange and wonderful specimens. There is, I remember,
at Lord Pembroke's, at Wilton, a horn-room furnished with
more than thirty different pairs : but I have not seen that
house lately.

Mr Barrington shewed me many astonishing collections of
stuffed and living birds from all quarters of the world. After
I had studied over the latter for a time, I remarked that
every species almost that came from distant regions, such as
South America, the coast of Guinea, &c. were thick-billed
birds, of the loxia and fringilla genera ; and no motacillcs or
muscicapidce, * were to be met with. When I came to consider,
the reason was obvious enough ; for the hard-billed birds
subsist on seeds which are easily carried on board, while the
soft-billed birds, which are supported by worms and insects,
or, what is a succedaneum for them, fresh raw meat, can meet
with neither in long and tedious voyages. It is from this
defect of food that our collections (curious as they are) are
defective, and we are deprived of some of the most delicate
and lively genera.

LETTER XXXVII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, September 14, 1770.

DEAR SIR, — You saw, I find, the ringousels again among
their native crags ; and are farther assured that they continue

* The flycatchers and warblers abound in South America, so that the
arguments of our author are erroneous. — ED.

96 SCOPOLl's ANNUS PRIMUS.

resident in those cold regions the whole year. From whence
then do our ringousels migrate so regularly every September,
and make their appearance again, as if in their return, every
April ? They are more early this year than common, for some
were seen at the usual hill on the fourth of this month.

An observing Devonshire gentleman tells me, that they
frequent some parts of Dartmoor, and breed there, but leave
those haunts about the end of September, or beginning of
October, and return again about the end of March.

Another intelligent person assures me, that they breed in
great abundance all over the Peak of Derby, and are called
there torousels, withdraw in October and November, and
return in spring. This information seems to throw some
light on my new migration.

Scopoli's new work* (which I have just procured) has its
merits, in ascertaining many of the birds of the Tyrol and
Carniola. Monographers, come from whence they may, have, I
think, fair pretence to challenge some regard and approbation
from the lovers of natural history ; for, as no man can alone
investigate all the works of nature, these partial writers may,
each in his department, be more accurate in their discoveries,
and freer from errors, than more general writers, and so by
degrees may pave the way to an universal correct natural
history. Not that Scopoli is so circumstantial and attentive
to the life and conversation of his birds as I could wish : he
advances some false facts ; as when he says of the hirundo
urbicciy that "pullos extra nidum non nutrit" This assertion I
know to be wrong, from repeated observation this summer ;
for house-martens do feed their young flying, though, it must
be acknowledged, not so commonly as the house-swallow :
and the feat is done in so quick a manner as not to be
perceptible to indifferent observers. He also advances some
(I was going to say) improbable facts ; as when he says of the
woodcock that "pullos rostro portal fugiens ab hoste." But
candour forbids me to say absolutely that any fact is false,
because I have never been witness to such a fact. I have
only to remark, that the long unwieldy bill of the woodcock
is perhaps the worst adapted of any among the winged
creation for such a feat of natural affection.

* Annus Primus Historico-Naturalis.

SCOPOLl's ANNUS PRIMUS. 97

LETTER XXXVIII.
TO THE HON. DAINE5 HARRINGTON.

RINGMER, near LEWES, October 8, 1770.

DEAR SIR, — I am glad to hear that Kuekalm is to furnish
you with the birds of Jamaica. A sight of the hirundines of
that hot and distant island would be a great entertainment to
me.

The Anni of Scopoli are now in my possession ; and I have
read the Annus Primus with satisfaction ; for, though some
parts of this work are exceptionable, and he may advance
some mistaken observations, yet the ornithology of so distant
a country as Carniola is very curious. Men that undertake
only one district, are much more likely to advance natural
knowledge, than those that grasp at more than they can pos-
sibly be acquainted with. Every kingdom, every province,
should have its own monographer.

The reason, perhaps, why he mentions nothing of Ray's
Ornithology ', may be the extreme poverty and distance of his
country, into which the works of our great naturalists may
have never yet found their way. You have doubts, I know,
whether this Ornithology is genuine, and really the work of
Scopoli : as to myself, I think I discover strong tokens of
authenticity ; the style corresponds with that of his Entomo-
logy; and his characters of his Ordines and Genera are many
of them new, expressive, and masterly. He has ventured to
alter some of the Linnsean genera, with sufficient show of
reason.

It might, perhaps, be mere accident that you saw so many
swifts and no swallows at Staines ; because, in my long obser-
vation of those birds, I never could discover the least degree
of rivalry or hostility between the species.

Ray remarks, that birds of the galince order, as cocks and
hens, partridges and pheasants, &c. are pulveratrices, such as
dust themselves, using that method of cleansing their feathers,
and ridding themselves of their vermin. As far as I can
observe, many birds that dust themselves never wash ; and I
once thought that those birds that wash themselves would
never dust : but here I find myself mistaken ; for common
house-sparrows are great pulveratrices, being frequently seen
grovelling and wallowing in dusty roads ; and yet they are
great washers. Does not the skylark dust ?

98 FERN-OWL — CUCKOO CROSSBILL.

Query, — Might not Mahomet and his followers take one
method of purification from these pulveratrices ? because I
find, from travellers of credit, that if a strict Mussulman is
journeying in a sandy desert, where no water is to be found,
at stated hours he strips off his clothes, and most scrupulously
rubs his body over with sand or dust.

A countryman told me he had found a young fern-owl in
the nest of a small bird on the ground ; and that it was fed by
the little bird. I went to see this extraordinary phenomenon,
and found that it was a young cuckoo hatched in the nest of a
titlark ; it was become vastly too big for its nest, appearing

Majores pennas nido extendisse,

and was very fierce and pugnacious, pursuing my finger, as I
teased it, for many feet from the nest, and sparring and buffeting
with its wings like a game-cock. The dupe of a dam appeared
at a distance, hovering about, with meat in its mouth, and
expressing the greatest solicitude.

In July, I saw several cuckoos skimming over a large pond ;
and found, after some observation, that they were feeding on
the libellulce, or dragon-flies, some of which they caught as
they settled on the weeds, and some as they were on the wing.
Notwithstanding what Linnaeus says, I cannot be induced to
believe that they are birds of prey.*

This district affords some birds that are hardly ever heard
of at Selborne. In the first place, considerable flocks of
crossbeaks (loxice curvirostra) have appeared this summer in
the pine groves belonging to this house ;f the water-ousel is

* The food of the cuckoo is insects and caterpillars, particularly those
of the lepidopterous order, both smooth and rough, as also butterflies and
moths themselves. Aububon says, the yellow-billed cuckoo of America
robs smaller birds of their eggs, which it sucks on all occasions, and that
the black-billed cuckoo lives on fruits, fresh water shell-fish, aquatic
larvae, and very young frogs ED.

f Three species of crossbills have been identified as occasional visitants
of Britain, namely, the American crossbill, (curvirostra Americana,)
the white-winged crossbill, (curvirostra leucoptera,) and parrot-billed
crossbill, (c. pytiopsittacus,) a specimen of which was shot in Scotland,
and is in the cabinet of Sir William Jardine, Bart. In the autumn of
1821, a large flock of crossbills was discovered feeding in a grove of firs.
" After watching them for some time," says a narrator, " with a gun, I
procured fifteen specimens, out of which only two were in full feather, the
breasts and backs of the others being nearly bare. After this, they used
to visit the same spot pretty regularly twice a day. The males varied
very much in colour, some being of a deeper red, and others inclining

THE DIPPER RINGOUSEL. 99

said to haunt the mouth of the Lewes river, near Newhaven ; *
and the Cornish chough builds, I know, all along the chalky
cliffs of the Sussex shore.

I was greatly pleased to see little parties of ringousels (my
newly discovered migrators) scattered, at intervals, all along
the Sussex downs from Chichester to Lewes. Let them come
from whence they will, it looks very suspicious that they are
cantoned along the coast in order to pass the Channel when
severe weather advances. They visit us again in April, as it
should seem, in their return, and are not to be found in the
dead of winter. It is remarkable that they are very tame, and

rather more to yellow, particularly on tlie tail coverts, and being a little
mottled with yellow upon the breast and back. The Weymouth pine
was their particular favourite, indeed, I scarcely observed them on any
other tree, except the sentinel, who regularly took his station on the top
of a spruce-fir, which happened to be the highest in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of their haunt. Their note, or call, very much resembled the
chirping of a chicken. They continued their visits, though the flock
certainly gradually diminished, during a great part of the winter ; and one
pair remained long after the rest had left, being constantly seen in
February and beginning of March, 1822." This was the year in which
Mr Selby mentions them as being so plentiful throughout the kingdom.
See our note, page 26. — ED.

* This is the dipper of modern ornithologists, (cinclus aquaticus of
Bechstein. ) White does not seem to have been acquainted with the
musical powers of this interesting species. The dipper begins to pour forth
its strong, distinct, and varied notes in the beginning of spring, and is
the earliest warbler of the remote situations where it usually localizes.
Montagu says, " This bird is amongst the few that sing so early in the spring
as the months of January and February. In hard frost, on the 1 1th of the
latter month, when the thermometer in the morning had been at twenty-
six degrees, we heard this bird sing incessantly in a strong and elegant
manner, and with much variation in notes, many of which were peculiar
to itself, intermixed with a little of the piping of the woodlark. At the
time it was singing, the day was bright, but freezing in the shade ; the
sun had considerably passed the meridian, and was obscured from the
bird by the lofty surrounding hills. The dipper devours a considerable
(juantity of fishes' spawn, especially the large ova of the salmon."

The dipper dives with great dexterity, and can swim a considerable
way under water, emerging at a distance from the spot where it dis-
appeared. " We found a nest of this bird," says Colonel Montagu, " in
a steep bank, projecting over a rivulet, clothed with moss. The nest was
so well adapted to the surrounding materials, that nothing but the old
bird flying in with a fish in its bittwould have led to a discovery. The
young were nearly full feathered, but incapable of ilight ; and the moment
the nest was disturbed, they fluttered out, and dropped into the water,
and, to our astonishment, instantly vanished ; but, in a little time, made
their appearance at some distance down the stream ; and it was with
difficulty that two out of the five were taken, as they dived on being
approached. " — ED.

100 LAND TORTOISE."1

seem to have no manner of apprehensions of danger from a
person with a gun. There are bustards on the wide downs
near Brighthelmstone. No doubt you are acquainted with the
Sussex downs. The prospects and rides round Lewes are
most lovely.

As I rode along near the coast, I kept a very sharp look-
out in the lanes and woods, hoping I might, at this time of the
year, have discovered some of the summer short-winged birds
of passage crowding towards the coast, in order for their
departure ; but it was very extraordinary that I never saw a
redstart, white-throat, black-cap, uncrested wren, flycatcher,
£c. ; and I remember to have made the same remark in former
years, as I usually come to this place annually about this time.
The birds most common along the coast, at present, are the
stone-chatters, whinchats, buntings, linnets, some few wheat-
ears, titlarks, &c. Swallows and house-martens abound yet,
induced to prolong their stay by this soft, still, dry season.

A land tortoise, which has been kept for thirty years in a
little walled court belonging to the house where I am now
visiting, retires under ground about the middle of November,
and comes forth again about the middle of April. When it
first appears, in the spring, it discovers very little inclination
towards food ; but, in the height of summer, grows voracious ;
and then, as the summer declines, its appetite declines; so
that, for the last six weeks in autumn, it hardly eats at all.
Milky plants, such as lettuces, dandelions, sow-thistles, are its
favourite dish. In a neighbouring village, one was kept till,
by tradition, it was supposed to be an hundred years old, — an
instance of vast longevity in such a poor reptile ! *

* In the library of Lambeth Palace, is the shell of a tortoise, brought
there iu 1623; it lived until 1730, and was killed by being carelessly
exposed to the inclemency of the weather. Another, at the episcopal
palace at Fulham, procured by Bishop Laud, in 1628, died in 1753. One
at Peterborough was known to have lived to the extraordinary age of
two hundred and twenty years !

During the hybernation of animals, a temporary stagnation or suspen-
sion of active life ensues : their temperature becomes diminished, and the
circulation of the blood slower ; respiration less frequent, and sometimes
entirely suspended ; the action of their stomach and digestive organs arc
also suspended ; and the irritability and sensibility of the muscular and
nervous powers are greatly diminished. Heat and air are the only agencies
which rouse them from their death-like lethargy. Judging from the
circumstance of toads, lizards, and bats, being found alive in solid rocks,
and in the centre of trees, this torpidity may endure the lapse of ages,
without the extinction of life. Mr Murray, in "his Researches in Natural
History, says, " a toad was found, under the coal seam, in the ironstone

SCOPOLI'S ANNUS PRIMUS. 101

!7 LETTER XXXIX.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, October 29, 1770.

DEAR SIR, — After an ineffectual search in Linnaeus, Brisson,
&c. I begin to suspect that I discern my brother's hirundo
kyberna in Scopoli's newly discovered hiriuido rupestris, p. 167.
His description of " Supra murina, subtus albida ; rectrices
macula ovali alba in later e interno ; pedes nudi, nigri; rostrum
aigrum ; remiges obscurlores quam plumes dorsales ; rectrices
remigibus concolores; cauda emarginatd nee for tip atd" agrees
very well with the bird in question ; but, when he comes to
advance that it is " statura hirundmis urbicce" and that " defi-
nitio hirundinis riparice Linncei huic quoque convenit" he, in
some measure, invalidates all he has said ; at least, he shews
at once that he compares them to these species merely from
memory ; for I have compared the birds themselves, and find
they differ widely in every circumstance of shape, size, and
colour. However, as you will have a specimen, I shall be glad
to hear what your judgment is in the matter.

Whether my brother is forestalled in his nondescript or not,
he will have the credit of first discovering that they spend
their winters under the warm and sheltery shores of Gibraltar
and Barbary.

Scopoli's characters of his ordines and genera are clear, just,
and expressive, and much in the spirit of Linnseus. These
few remarks are the result of my first perusal of Scopoli's
Annus Primus.

The bane of our science is the comparing one animal to the
other by memory. For want of caution in this particular,
Scopoli falls into errors. He is not so full with regard to the
manners of his indigenous birds as might be wished, as you
justly observe : his Latin is easy, elegant, and expressive, and
very superior to Kramer's. *

over which it rests, in a coal mine at Auchincruive, in Ayrshire." This
fact invalidates the Huttonian theory of the primitive formation of the
earth, and is in favour of the Wernerian hypothesis. — ED.

* See his Eletichus Vegetabilium et Animalium per Austriam Infe-

102 STONE-CURLEW.

LETTER XL.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, November 26, 1770.

DEAR SIR, — I was much pleased to see, among the collection
of birds from Gibraltar, some of those short-winged English
summer birds of passage, concerning whose departure we have
made so much inquiry. Now, if these birds are found in
Andalusia to migrate to and from Barbary, it may easily be
supposed that those that come to us may migrate back to the
continent, and spend their winters in some of the warmer parts
of Europe. This is certain, that many soft-billed birds that come
to Gibraltar appear there only in spring and autumn, seeming
to advance in pairs towards the northward, for the sake of
breeding during the summer months, and retiring in parties
and broods towards the south at the decline of the year ; so
that the rock of Gibraltar is the great rendezvous and place
of observation, from whence they take their departure each
way towards Europe or Africa. It is therefore no mean
discovery, I think, to find that our small short-winged summer
birds of passage are to be seen, spring and autumn, on the
very skirts of Europe ; it is a presumptive proof of their
emigrations.

Scopoli seems to me to have found the Mrundo melba, (the
great Gibraltar swift,) in Tyrol, without knowing it. For
what is his hirundo alpina, but the aforementioned bird in
other words ? Says he " Omnia prioris, (meaning the swift,)
sed pectus album ; paulo major prior e" I do not suppose this
to be a new species. It is true also of the melba, that
" nidificat in excelsis Alpium rupibus" Vid. Annum Primum*

My Sussex friend, a man of observation and good sense,
but no naturalist, to whom I applied on account of the stone-
curlew, (oedicnemus,) sends me the following account : — " In
looking over my Naturalist's Journal for the month of April,
I find the stone-curlews are first mentioned on the 17th and
18th, which date seems to me rather late. They live with
us all the spring and summer, and at the beginning of autumn
prepare to take leave, by getting together in flocks. They
seem to me a bird of passage that may travel into some dry
hilly country south of us, probably Spain, because of the
abundance of sheep-walks in that country ; for they spend
their summers with us in such districts. This conjecture I

BUSTARD. 103

hazard, as I never met with any one that has seen them in
England in the winter. I believe they are not fond of going
near the water, but feed on earth-worms, that are common on
sheep-walks and downs. They breed on fallows and lay-
fields abounding with grey mossy flints, which much resemble
their young in colour, among which they skulk and conceal
themselves. They make no nest, but lay their eggs on the
bare ground, producing in common but two at a time. There
is reason to think their young run soon after they are hatched,
and that the old ones do not feed them, but only lead them
about at the time of feeding, which, for the most part, is in
the night." Thus far my friend.

In the manners of this bird, you see, there is something very
analogous to the bustard, whom it also somewhat resembles in
aspect and make, and in the structure of its feet. *

For a long time I have desired my relation to look out for
these birds in Andalusia ; and now he writes me word that,
for the first time, he saw one dead in the market, on the 3d of
September.

When the oedicnemus flies, it stretches out its legs straight
behind, like a heron.

LETTER XLI.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, December 20, 1770.

DEAR SIR, — The birds that I took for aberdavines were
reed-sparrows (passeres torquati.*)

* The bustard is the largest of British birds ; but we fear it is now
nearly, if not entirely, extinct in this country. Some years ago, a pair
of these, male and female, were kept in a garden at Norwich infirmary.
The male was an extremely majestic bird, and possessed of much courage,
for he feared nothing, seizing any one who approached near him by the
coat. The female, on the contrary, was shy and timid. It was, however,
remarkable that the male bird, on discovering even a small hawk,
however high in the air, squatted down on the ground, exhibiting
strong marks of fear. In 1804, a fine bustard was shot, and taken to
Plymouth market, where it was purchased by a publican for a shilling,
its value being unknown, whereas it would have brought three or four
pounds in the London market. So completely lost was this rare wanderer,
that it was rejected at the second table, in consequence of the pectoral
muscles differing in colour from the other parts of the breast, which is
not unusual in birds of the grouse kind. Some country gentlemen
arriving at the inn the following evening, and hearing of the circumstance,
desired that the princely bird might be introduced, and partook of it cold
at their repast. — ED.

104 CHAFFINCH FIELDFARE.

There are, doubtless, many home internal migrations within
this kingdom that want to be better understood ; witness those
vast flocks of hen chaffinches that appear with us in the winter
without hardly any cocks among them. * Now, were there a
due proportion of each sex, it would seem very improbable
that any one district should produce such numbers of these
little birds, and much more when only one half of the species
appears ; therefore, we may conclude, that ihefringillce ccelebes,
for some good purposes, have a peculiar migration of their
own, in which the sexes part. Nor should it seem so wonderful
that the intercourse of sexes in this species of birds should be
interrupted in winter ; since, in many animals, and particularly
in bucks and does, the sexes herd separately, except at the
season when commerce is necessary for the continuance of
the breed. For this matter of the chaffinches, see Fauna
Suecica, p. 85, and Sy sterna Naturce, p. 318. I see every winter
vast flights of hen chaffinches, but none of cocks.

Your method of accounting for the periodical motions of
the British singing birds, or birds of flight, is a very probable
one, since the matter of food is a great regulator of the actions
and proceedings of the brute creation : there is but one that
can be set in competition with it, and that is love. But I
cannot quite acquiesce with you in one circumstance, when
you advance that, " When they have thus feasted, they again
separate into small parties of five or six, and get the best fare
they can within a certain district, having no inducement to go
in quest of fresh-turned earth." Now, if you mean that the
business of congregating is quite at an end from the conclusion
of wheat-sowing, to the season of barley and oats, it is not the
case with us ; for larks and chaffinches, and particularly linnets,
flock and congregate as much in the very dead of winter as
when the husbandman is busy with his ploughs and harrows.

Sure there can be no doubt but that woodcocks and field-
fares leave us in the spring, in order to cross the seas, and
to retire to some districts more suitable to the purpose of
breeding, f That the former pair before they retire, and that

* We have already stated, in a note at page 32, that chaffinches do not
always separate into flocks of male and female during winter. May not
the supposed hen chaffinches, so frequently seen, be the young birds of the
previous summer, and the males not having yet assumed the complete
plumage, are not to be distinguished from the females ? — Ep.

f Fieldfares visit us in October, and leave us again about the beginning
of April. Their principal food in this country is the fruit of the haw-
thorn, and other berries, worms, and insects. " Perfectly gregarious as
the fieldfare is," says Knapp, " yet we observe every year, in some tall

WOODCOCK. 105

the hens are forward with egg, I myself, when I was a sports-
man, have often experienced. It cannot indeed be denied,
but that now and then we hear of a woodcock's nest, or young-
hedgerow, or little quiet pasture, two or three of them, that have with-
drawn from the main flocks, and there associate with the blackbird
and the thrush."

The woodcocks arrive in Great Britain in flocks ; some of them in
October, but not in great numbers till November and December. They
generally take advantage of the night, being seldom seen to come before
sunset.

The time of their arrival depends considerably on the prevailing winds ;
for adverse gales always detain them, they not being able to struggle with
the boisterous squalls of the Northern Ocean. The greater part of them
leave this country about the latter end of February, or beginning of
March, always pairing before they set out. They retire to the coast, and,
if the wind be fair, set out immediately ; but, if contrary, they are often
detained in the neighbouring woods and thickets for some time. So well
skilled are these birds in atmospherical changes, that the instant a fail-
wind springs up, they seize the opportunity ; and where the sportsman
has seen hundreds in one day, he will not find even a single bird the next.

At the Landsend, Cornwall, every fisherman and peasant can tell, from
the temperature of the air, the week, if not the day, on which the wood-
cocks will arrive on the coast. They come in prodigious flocks, which
reach the shore at the same time, and from their state of exhaustion,
induced by their long flight, they are easily knocked down, or caught by
dogs. A short respite soon invigorates them, so that they are enabled to
pursue their inland course, but till thus recruited they are an easy prey,
and produce no small profit to those who live in the neighbourhood.

Mr Warner informs us, that " We were told at Truro, as a proof of
the definitive time of their arrival, that a gentleman then had sent to the
Landsend for several brace, to be forwarded to him for a particular
occasion. This correspondent acquainted him in answer, that no wood-
cocks had yet arrived ; but that, on the third day from his writing, if
the weather continued as it then was, there would be plenty. The state
of the atmosphere remained unchanged, the visitors came as it was
asserted they would, and the gentleman received the number of birds he
had ordered."

It seems quite certain that the migratory birds usually return to their
former haunts. The following well authenticated circumstance is related
by Bewick, on the authority of Sir John Trevelyan, Bart. " In the winter
of 1797," says he, " the gamekeeper of E. M. Pleydell, Esq. of Watcombe,
in Dorsetshire, brought him a woodcock, alive and unhurt, which he had
caught in a net set for rabbits. Mr Pleydell scratched the name upon
a bit of thin brass, bent it round the woodcock's leg, and let it fly. In
December, the next year, Mr Pleydell shot this bird, with the brass
about its leg, in the same wood where it had been first caught." We
caught a swallow, which built in the corner of a window, tied a silk
thread about one of its limbs, and set it at liberty. Next year the same
corner was taken possession of by a pair of swallows. We caught them,
and found that one had still round its limb the piece of thread which
we had tied on the preceding year, — ED.

106 NIDIFICATION.

birds, discovered in some part or other of this island ; * but
then they are always mentioned as rarities, and somewhat out
of the common course of things ; but as to redwings and field-
fares, no sportsman or naturalist has ever yet, that I could
hear, pretended to have found the nest or young of those
species in any part of these kingdoms, f And I the more
admire at this instance as extraordinary, since, to all appearance,
the same food in summer, as well as in winter, might support
them here which maintains their congeners, the blackbirds and
thrushes, did they choose to stay the summer through. From
hence it appears, that it is not food alone which determines
some species of birds with regard to their stay or departure.
Fieldfares and redwings disappear sooner or later, according as
the warm weather comes on earlier or later ; for I well remem-
ber, after that dreadful winter, 1739-40, that cold northeast
winds continued to blow on through April and May, and that
these kinds of birds (what few remained of them) did not depart
as usual, but were seen lingering about till the beginning of June.
The best authority that we can have for the nidification of
the birds above mentioned, in any district, is the testimony of
faunists that have written professedly the natural history of
particular countries. Now, as to the fieldfare, Linnaeus, in
his Fauna Suecica, says of it, that " maximis in arboribus nidi-
ficat ;" and of the redwing, he says in the same place, that
" nidificat in mediis arbusculis, sive sepibus ; ova sex cceruleo-
viridia masculis nigris variis." Hence we may be assured that
fieldfares and redwings breed in Sweden. Scopoli says, in his
Annus Primus, of the woodcock, that, " nupta ad nos venit circa
cequinoctium vernale" meaning in Tyrol, of which he is a native.
And afterwards, he adds, " nidificat in paludibus alpinis : ova
ponit 3 — 5." It does not appear from Kramer that wood-
cocks breed at all in Austria ; but he says, " Avis hcec septen-
trionalium provinciarum csstivo tempore incola est ; ubi plerumque
nidificat. Appropinquante hyeme australiores provincias petit :

* A woodcock's nest, with four eggs in it, was found in Chicksand
woods, near Sheffield, in Bedfordshire, on the 15th April, 1828. The
eggs were about the size of a bantam lien's, of a bluish white ground,
with irregular brown spots ED.

••£• Mr Knapp says, " I have before me the egg of a bird, which I
believe to be that of a fieldfare, taken from a nest, somewhat like that
formed by the song-thrush in 1824."

Mr Bullock found the nest of a redwing at the island of Harris, one of
the Hebrides. Mr Jennings says, he has been informed by a friend, on
whose accuracy he can rely, that the redwing occasionally sings in this
country before its departure in the spring. — ED.

RAIN MIGRATION. 107

hinc circa plenilunium potissimum mensis Octobris plerumquc
Austriam transmigrate Tune rursus circa plenilunium potissimum
mensis Martii per Austriam matrimonio juncta ad septentrionalcs
provincial redit" For the whole passage (which I have
abridged) see Elenchus, $c. p. 351. This seems to be a full
proof of the emigration of woodcocks ; though little is proved
concerning the place of their breeding.

P.S. — There fell in the county of Rutland, in three weeks
of this present very wet weather, seven inches and a half of
rain, which is more than has fallen in any three weeks for these
thirty years past, in that part of the world. A mean quantity
in that county for one year is twenty inches and a half. *

LETTER XLII.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

FYFIELD, near ANDOVER, February 12, 1771.

DEAR SIR, — You are, I know, no great friend to migration ;
and the well-attested accounts from various parts of the king-
dom seem to justify you in your suspicions, that at least many
of the swallow kind do not leave us in the winter, but lay
themselves up, like insects and bats, in a torpid state, and
slumber away the more uncomfortable months, till the return
of the sun and fine weather awakens them.

But then we must not, I think, deny migration in general ;
because migration certainly does subsist in some places, as my
brother in Andalusia has fully informed me. Of the motions
of these birds he has ocular demonstration, for many weeks
together, both spring and fall ; during which periods, myriads of
the swallow kind traverse the Straits from north to south,f and

* The average quantity of rain, which falls annually, has been calcu-
lated at between thirty-one and thirty-two inches.* In Scotland, it
varies, as in all other countries, with the locality. In Glasgow, it is
thirty-one inches; Dumfries, thirty-one inches ; and Dalkeith, twenty-five
inches, making an average between thirty and thirty-one inches, or
twenty-eight cubit feet of water. Countries adjacent to the coast of an
extended ocean have usually more rain than inland districts. In some
parts of India it is from one hundred and three to one hundred and twelve,
but the average is eighty-five inches annually En.

f The migration of swallows is not confined to Britain, for they
appear to be influenced by a general law in every variety of climate. It
lias been satisfactorily proved, that swallows leave even the most extreme
southern parts of Europe, as the kingdom of Naples, Sicily, the Morea,
&c. and migrate to Africa and Asia. Mr Rae Wilson gives us positive

108 SWALLOW BEE-BIRD.

from south to north, according to the season. And these vast
migrations consist not only of hirundines, but of bee-birds,*

assurance of these migrations in his travels in Egypt. He says, he had
the proof, in the immense bodies of these birds which he perceived pushing
their way in the direction of Egypt from Europe, during the month of
.November, when the winter sets in.

We are told by Wilson, that the swallows of America are also migra-
tory, " arriving in Pennsylvania late in April, or early in May ; dispersing
themselves over the whole country, wherever there are vacant chimneys,
in summer, sufficiently high and convenient for their accommodation.
In no other situation, with us, are they observed at present to build.
This circumstance naturally suggests the query, Where did these birds
construct their nests before the arrival of Europeans in this country, when
there were no such places for their accommodation ? I would answer,
Probably in the same situations in which they still continue to build in
the remote regions of our western forests, where European improvements
of this kind are scarcely to be found, namely, in the hollow of a tree,
which, in some cases, has the nearest resemblance to their present choice,
of any other. One of the first settlers in the state of Kentucky informed
me, that he cut down a large hollow beech tree, which contained forty or
fifty nests of the chimney swallow, most of which, by the fall of the tree,
or by the weather, were lying at the bottom of the hollow ; but sufficient
fragments remained, adhering to the sides of the tree, to enable him to
number them. They appeared, he said, to be of many years' standing. "

Dr Richardson says, " In the fur countries, where the habitations of
man are few and far between, the barn-swallow inhabits caves, parti-
cularly in the limestone rocks ; and it frequents the out-houses of all
the trading ports. When Fort Franklin was erected on the shores of the
Great Bear Lake, in the autumn of 1825, we found many of the nests in
the ruins of a house that had been abandoned for more than ten years."
In that northern latitude they arrive about the 15th of May, and take
their departure early in August. Swallows were noticed by Dr Richard-
son at Fort Good Hope in latitude sixty-seven and a half degrees, the most
northerly post in America. — ED.

* What our author calls bee-bird, is the European bee-eater, merops
apiaster of Linnaeus. It is the only one of the genus found in Europe.
It is not uncommon in the south of France, Italy, Germany, and Sweden,
but abounds in the southern Russian provinces bordering on the Don and
Wolga. It is gregarious and migratory, leaving its summer quarters
for more southern latitudes in autumn. This bird has been frequently
taken in Britain, but was not noticed tillJuly, 1794, when one was shot
at Mattishall, county of Norfolk. In the same year, a flock of about
twenty was seen in June, and, in October following, a flight, much
fewer in number — in all probability the same — passed over the place
where they had been first seen. This bird feeds on all winged insects,
which it takes on the wing like a swallow. — ED.

Sir William Jardine, in a paper on " the Birds of Madeira," in the
Edinburgh Journal of Natural and Geographical Science, mentions
that the common swift remains in that island all the year round. Not-
withstanding the very respectable authority of Mr Carruthers, on whose
observations he states this, we are inclined to suppose his conclusions

HOOPOE MIGRATING BIRDS. 109

hoopoes, oro pendolos, * or golden thrushes, f &c. and also of
many of our soft-billed summer birds of passage, and moreover,
of birds which never leave us, such as all the various sorts of
hawks and kites. Old Belon, two hundred years ago, gives
a curious account of the incredible armies of hawks and kites
which he saw in the spring time traversing the Thracian
Bosphorus, from Asia to Europe. Besides the above mentioned,
he remarks that the procession is swelled by whole troops of
eagles and vultures. J

must have been formed from a few solitary instances, as we firmly believe
that all the species of swifts and swallows are strictly migratory over the
whole globe. It has been observed, that these birds migrate under even
Afric's burning sun, the equinoctial regions of America, and the more
uniform temperature of all intertropical climates. It would certainly be
a remarkable deviation, were the common swift of Madeira to differ from
its species, which are guided by one similar law in all other parts of the
world.

* We have noticed the occasional appearance of the hoopoe in Britain,
at page 25. This beautiful bird is twelve inches in length, and nineteen
in breadth. The bill is about two inches long, black, slender, and
somewhat curved ; the eyes hazel ; the tongue very short and triangular ;
the head is surmounted by a crest, consisting of a double row of feathers
of a pale orange colour, tipped with black, the largest being about two
inches in length ; the neck is of a faint reddish brown ; the breast and
belly, white ; the back, scapulars, and wings, are crossed with broad bars
of black and white ; the lesser coverts of the wings are light brown ; the
rump is white, and the tail consists of ten feathers, each marked with
white, and, when closed, assumes the form of a crescent, with the horns
pointing downwards ; the legs are short and black. Except when
under some excitement, the crest usually falls behind on its neck.

Bechstein informs us, that, in Germany, hoopoes frequent the meadows
all the summer. In the month of August, they form themselves into
families in the plains ; and, early in September, leave that country,
returning again in the month of April ED.

f The golden thrush of our author is the golden oriole, oriolus galbula
of Linnaeus. It is an occasional visitant. This very elegant species is
about the size of a blackbird ; the male being of a bright golden yellow,
with black wings, marked here and there with yellow ; the two middle
tail feathers are also black, the rest yellow. The female is of a dull
greenish brown in those parts where the male is black ; the breast is
spotted with black. A male and female were shot in the neighbourhood
of the Pentland Hills, near Edinburgh, and are now in the College
Museum. These birds are plentiful in France and Germany : they congre-
gate in August, and migrate to the warmer regions of Asia, and return
again in May. — ED.

\ The geographical range of the vultures and eagles is much extended
in various species; for example, the golden eagle has been found to
breed in Britain, the continent of Europe, and also in America. That
some of them have roving habits, extending their predatory excursions
frequently to a great distance, is quite true ; but we cannot admit the

110 WOODCOCK.

Now, it is no wonder that birds residing in Africa should
retreat before the sun as it advances, and retire to milder
regions, and especially birds of prey, whose blood being
heated with hot animal food, are more impatient of a sultry
climate; but then I cannot help wondering why kites and
hawks, and such hardy birds as are known to defy all the
severity of England, and even of Sweden and all north
Europe, should want to migrate from the south of Europe,
and be dissatisfied with the winters of Andalusia.

It does not appear to me that much stress may be laid on
the difficulty and hazard that birds must run in their migrations,
by reason of vast oceans, cross winds, &c.; because, if we
reflect, a bird may travel from England to the Equator without
lanching out and exposing itself to boundless seas, and that
by crossing the water at Dover, and again at Gibraltar. And
I with the more confidence advance this obvious remark,
because my brother has always found that some of his birds,
and particularly the swallow kind, are very sparing of their
pains in crossing the Mediterranean ; for, when arrived at
Gibraltar, they do not,

- Ranged in figure, wedge their way,
- and set forth

Their airy caravan, high over seas

Flying, and over lands with mutual wing

Easing their flight ; MILTON.

but scout and hurry along in little detached parties, of six or
seven in a company ; and, sweeping low, just over the surface
of the land and water, direct their course to the opposite
continent, at the narrowest passage they can find. They
usually slope across the bay to the south-west, and so pass
over opposite to Tangier, which, it seems, is the narrowest
space.*

In former letters, we have considered, whether it was
probable that woodcocks, in moonshiny nights, cross the
German Ocean from Scandinavia. As a proof that birds of
less speed may pass that sea, considerable as it is, I shall
relate the following incident, which, though mentioned to have
happened so many years ago, was strictly matter of fact: — As

birds of these tribes to be classed among those which are migratory. It
occasionally happens that these birds extend their flight from one country
to another ; but, then, these excursions are not marked by periodical
regularity, nor influenced by atmospherical changes, but proceed from
some unknown cause. — ED.

* Ceuta is the narrowest part of the Straits of Gibraltar. — ED.

NIGHTINGALES THE CHOUGH. Ill

some people were shooting in the parish of Trotton, in the
county of Sussex, they killed a duck in that dreadful winter,
1 708-9, with a silver collar about its neck, * on which were
engraven the arms of the King of Denmark. This anecdote
the rector of Trotton at that time has often told to a near
relation of mine ; and, to the best of my remembrance, the
collar was in the possession of the rector.

At present, I do not know any body near the seaside that
will take the trouble to remark at what time of the moon
woodcocks first come : if I lived near the sea myself, I would
soon tell you more of the matter. One thing I used to observe
when I was a sportsman, that there were times in which wood-
cocks were so sluggish and sleepy, that they would drop again
when flushed just before the spaniels, nay, just at the muzzle
of a gun that had been fired at them : whether this strange
laziness was the effect of a recent fatiguing journey, I shall
not presume to say. •]*

Nightingales not only never reach Northumberland and
Scotland, but also, as I have been always told, Devonshire
and Cornwall. In those two last counties, we cannot attribute
the failure of them to the want of warmth : the defect in the
west is rather a presumptive argument, that these birds come
over to us from the continent at the narrowest passage, and
do not stroll so far westward. J

Let me hear from your own observation whether skylarks
do not dust. I think they do : and if they do, whether they
wash also.

The alauda pratensis of Ray was the poor dupe that was
educating the booby of a cuckoo mentioned in my letter of
October last. §

Your letter came too late for me to procure a ringousel for
Mr Tunstal during their autumnal visit ; but I will endeavour
to get him one when they call on us again in April. 1 am
glad that you and that gentleman saw my Andalusian birds ;

* I have read a like anecdote of a swan.

f It is quite evident that such must be attributed to fatigue after their
long excursions, as mentioned in our note at page 105. — ED.

| The farthest north which this bird has been known to extend in
England, is the neighbourhood of Doncaster, in Yorkshire. It is certainly
a strange circumstance that the nightingale has never been met with in
Devonshire and Cornwall, as these counties appear peculiarly calculated for
their residence, both from the mildness of the temperature and the variety
of ground. The bounds prescribed to all animals and plants, is one of
the most singular arrangements in the economy of nature. — ED.

§ Letter XXXVIII. To the Hon. Daines Barrington.

112 DOVES OWLS.

I hope they answered your expectation. Royston, or gray,
crows, are winter birds that come much about the same time
with the woodcock : they, like the fieldfare and redwing, have
no apparent reason for migration ; for, as they fare in the
winter like their congeners, so might they, in all appearance,
in the summer.* Was not Tenant, when a boy, mistaken V
Did he not find a missel-thrush's nest, and take it for the nest
of a fieldfare ?

The stock-dove, or wood-pigeon, cenas Raii, is the last
winter bird of passage which appears with us, and is not seen
till towards the end of November. About twenty years ago,
they abounded in the district of Selborne, and strings of them
were seen morning and evening that reached a mile or more ;
but, since the beechen woods have been greatly thinned, they
have much decreased in number. The ring-dove, palumbus
Raii, stays with us the whole year, and breeds several times
through the summer, f

Before I received your letter of October last, I had just
remarked in my journal that the trees were unusually green.
This uncommon verdure lasted on late into November, and
may be accounted for from a late spring, a cool and moist
summer, but more particularly from vast armies of chaffers, or
tree-beetles, which, in many places, reduced whole woods to
a leafless naked state. These trees shot again at midsummer,
and then retained their foliage till very late in the year.

My musical friend, at whose house I am now visiting, has
tried all the owls that are his near neighbours, with a pitch-

* The royston croxv, or chough, {pyrrhocorax graculus, of Temminck, )
is not migratory. It is well known in Scotland, and also in England, all
the year round. In other countries, however, it appears to be migratory.
We are told that this bird has been observed to attend the inundation of
the Nile, in September and October. It is a widely diffused species,
being an inhabitant of the Alps, Siberia, and Persia.

Colonel Montagu had one, which would stand quietly for hours to be
caressed ; and if an affront were offered to it, would resist the injury with
bill and claws. — ED.

*}• Considerable confusion arises respecting the stock-dove and rock-
dove ; their history and individuality have been strangely confounded ;
some considering them as the same bird, and others as only varieties of
the same species. The stock-dove, columba cenas, is not migratory, as
White supposes, although it is limited to certain districts of the country.
It is common in Staffordshire, and some of the midland counties ; but it
has never been found in the northern parts of Britanny. The stock-dove
is abundant in southern Europe. It occurs also in Africa, but does not
extend to the southward of the tropic. Those of Germany and France
are, however, migratory. — ED.

3

HARVEST BUG.

pipe set at concert pitch, and finds they all hoot in B flat.
He will examine the nightingales next spring.

LETTER XLIII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, March 30, 1771.

DEAR SIR, — There is an insect with us, especially on chalky
districts, which is very troublesome and teasing all the latter
end of the summer, getting into people's skins, especially those
of women and children, and raising tumours, which itch intol-
erably. This animal (which we call an harvest bug) is very
minute, scarce discernible to the naked eye, of a bright scarlet
colour, and of the genus of acarus.* They are to be met with
in gardens, on kidney beans, or any legumens, but prevail
only in the hot months of summer. Warreners, as some have
assured me, are much infested by them on chalky downs,
where these insects swarm sometimes to so infinite a degree
as to discolour their nets, and to give them a reddish cast ;
while the men are so bitten as to be thrown into fevers.

There is a small, long, shining fly, in these parts, very
troublesome to the housewife, by getting into the chimneys,
and laying its eggs in the bacon, while it is drying. These
eggs produce maggots, called jumpers, which, harbouring in

* This is the acarus autumnalis, or harvest bug, which is one of the
most teasing little insects in nature. Though bred to live on vegetable
substances, such as French beans, currants, raspberries, and other fruits,
yet it deserts these, whether by accident or design, to live on, and among,
the most sensitive portions of the human race. These insects are so
minute, that they are hardly visible to the naked eye, and that only when
they are placed on a smooth, white surface: they are best known by
their effects. Females and children are most liable to their attacks, and
chiefly where any part of the dress fits closely to the skin : there they
seat themselves, at the intersection of the lines, and lay such firm hold with
their feet and jaw, that they cannot be displaced by rubbing, or by
washing, unless a powerful spirit is used. The point of a fine needle is
best calculated for removing them, while the person so employed must
use a magnifying glass, to enabb him to do so. They lacerate the skin
in some way or other, and cause extreme itching, and considerable
inflammation, which surrounds small vesicles, filled with a semi-trans-
parent fluid. These animals have a fastidious taste, for there are some
individuals whom they will not attack. Of two persons, for instance, who
had been together, during a day's nutting in the woods, and who afterwards
slept in the same bed-chamber, one of them was entirely covered with red
blotches, from the attack of the bug, while the other was quite untouched.
ED.

H

114 MAGGOTS.

the gammons and best parts of the hogs, eat down to the bone?
and make great waste. This fly I suspect to be a variety of
the musca putris of Linnaeus. It is to be seen, in the summer,
in farm kitchens, on the bacon racks, and about the mantel-
pieces, and on the ceilings.

The insect that infests turnips, and many crops in the
garden, (destroying often whole fields, while in their seedling
leaves,) is an animal that wants to be better known. The
country people here call it the turnip fly and black dolphin ;
but I know it to be one of the coleoptera, the " chrysomela
oleracea, saltatoria, femoribus posticis crassissimis.* In very

* The hatica nemorum of Illiger, and the root weevil (nedigus
contractus^) of Stephens, are both formidable depredators, in turnip and
other crops. The former of these is that probably meant by White. The
caterpillar of another species of the genus athalia, is no less destructive.
Marshall records an instance, in the Philosophical Transactions, of
many thousand acres, which had to be ploughed up, in consequence of the
devastations caused by these insects. The Norfolk farmers think they
come from beyond the sea, and one even averred, that he saw them arrive
in clouds, so as to darken the air; while the fishermen reported, that they
had repeatedly witnessed flights of them pass over their heads, when they
were at a distance from the shore. So numerous were they upon the
beach and cliffs, and lay in such heaps, that they might have been taken
up with shovels. Three miles inland, they were found congregated like
swarms of bees.

The maggots or larvae of the blow-flies are an equally destructive race
to animal matter. Linnaeus says, the musca vomitaria will devour the
carcass of a horse as quickly as a lion would do. And this is not at all
improbable, when we know, that a species nearly allied to this (the musca
carnaria) produces not fewer than twenty thousand at a time ; and that
they have been proved by Redi to increase in weight two hundred fold
within the short space of twenty-four hours. One of the most extraor-
dinary circumstances connected with the destructive powers of maggots,
and of their attacking the human frame, is recorded in Bell's Weekly
Messenger. " On the 25th June, 1829, died at Asbornby, Lincoln-
shire, John Page, a pauper, belonging to Little Willoughby, under
circumstances truly singular. He being of a restless disposition, and
not choosing to stay in the parish workhouse, was in the habit of strolling
about the neighbouring villages, subsisting on the pittance obtained from
door to door ; the support he usually received from the benevolent was
bread and meat ; and after satisfying the cravings of nature, it was his
custom to deposit the surplus provisions, particularly the meat, betwixt
his shirt and skin. Having a considerable portion of this provision in
store, so deposited, he was taken rather unwell, and laid himself down in
a field, in the parish of Scredington ; when, from the heat of the season
at that time, the meat speedily became putrid, and was of course struck
by the flies : these not only proceeded to devour the inanimate pieces
of flesh, but also literally to prey upon the living substance ; and when
the wretched man was accidentally found by some of the inhabitants,

NOXIOUS INSECTS. 115

hot summers, they abound to an amazing degree ; and, as you
walk in a field, or in a garden, make a pattering like rain, by
jumping on the leaves of the turnips or cabbages.

There is an oestrus, known in these parts to every plough-
boy, which, because it is omitted by Linnaeus, is also passed
over by late writers ; and that is the curvicauda of old Moufet,
mentioned by Derham, in his Physico -Theology, p. 250 : an
insect worthy of remark, for depositing its eggs, as it flies, in
so dexterous a manner on the single hairs of the legs and
flanks of grass horses. But then, Derham is mistaken when
he advances that this oestrus is the parent of that wonderful
star-tailed maggot which he mentions afterwards; for more
modern entomologists have discovered that singular production
to be derived from the egg of the musca chamceleon. See
Geoff roy, t. 17, f. 4.

A full history of noxious insects, hurtful in the field, garden,
and house, suggesting all the known and likely means of
destroying them, would be allowed by the public to be a most
useful and important work. What knowledge there is of this
sort lies scattered, and wants to be collected : great improve-
ments would soon follow, of course. A knowledge of the
properties, economy, propagation, and, in short, of the life and
conversation, of these animals, is a necessary step to lead us
to some method of preventing their depredations.

As far as I am a judge, nothing would recommend ento-
mology more than some neat plates, that should well express
the generic distinctions of insects according to Linnaeus ; for
I am well assured that many people would study insects, could
they set out with a more adequate notion of those distinctions
than can be conveyed at first by words alone.

he was so eaten by the maggots, that his death seemed inevitable. After
clearing away, as well as they were able, these shocking vermin, those
who found courage conveyed him to Asbornby, and a surgeon was
immediately procured, who declared that his body was in such a state,
that dressing it must be little short of instantaneous death : and, in fact,
the man did survive the operation but a few hours. When first found,
and again when examined by the surgeon, he presented a sight loath-
some in the extreme ; white maggots of enormous size were crawling
in and upon his body, which they had most shockingly mangled, and the
removing of the external ones served only to render the sight more
horrid." — ED.

116 PEACOCKS.

LETTER XLIV.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, 1771.

DEAR SIR, — Happening to make a visit to my neighbour's
peacocks, I could not help observing, that the trains of those
magnificent birds appear by no means to be their tails, those
long feathers growing not from their uropygtum, but all up
their backs. A range of short, brown, stift' feathers, about six
inches long, fixed in the uropygium, is the real tail, and serves
as the fulcrum to prop the train, which is long and top-heavy,
when set on end. When the train is up, nothing appears of
the bird before, but its head and neck ; but this would not be
the case, were these long feathers fixed only in the rump, as
may be seen by the turkey cock, when in a strutting attitude.*
By a strong muscular vibration, these birds can make the
shafts of their long feathers clatter like the swords of a sword-
dancer ; they then trample very quick with their feet, and run
backwards towards the females.

I should tell you that I have got an uncommon calculus
cegogropila, taken out of the stomach of a fat ox. It is per-
fectly round, and about the size of a large Seville orange :
such are, I think, usually flat.

LETTER XLV.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, August 1, 1771.

DEAR SIR, — From what follows, it will appear that neither
owls nor cuckoos keep to one note. A friend remarks that
many (most) of his owls hoot in B flat ; but that one went
almost half a note below A. The pipe he tried their notes

* The female peacock, like the hen of the domestic fowl and the pheasant,
has sometimes been known to assume the plumage of the male. Lady
Tynte had a favourite peahen, which at eight several times produced
chicks. Having moulted when eleven years old, the lady and her family
were astonished by her displaying the feathers peculiar to the other sex,
and appearing like a pied peacock. In the process the tail, which was
like that of the cock, first appeared. In the following year she moulted
again and produced similar feathers ; in the third year she did the same,
and then had also spurs resembling those of the cock. The hen never
bred after this change of plumage. — ED.

NOTES OF OWLS REDWINGS. 117

by was a common half-crown pitch-pipe, such as masters use
for tuning of harpsichords ; it was the common London pitch.

A neighbour of mine, who is said to have a nice ear,
remarks, that the owls about this village hoot in three different
keys, in G flat or F sharp, in B flat, and A flat. He heard
two hooting to each other, the one in A flat, and the other
in B flat. Query : Do these different notes proceed from
different species, or only from various individuals ? The same
person finds, upon trial, that the note of the cuckoo (of which
we have but one species) varies in different individuals ; for,
about Selborne wood, he found they were mostly in D ; he
heard two sing together, the one in D, and the other in D
sharp, which made a disagreeable concert ; he afterwards
heard one in D sharp, and about Wolmer Forest, some in C.
As to nightingales, he says, that their notes are so short, and
their transitions so rapid, that he cannot well ascertain their
key. Perhaps in a cage, and in a room, their notes may be
more distinguishable. This person has tried to settle the
notes of a swift, and of several other small birds, but cannot
bring them to any criterion.

As I have often remarked that redwings are some of the
first birds that suffer with us in severe weather, it is no wonder
at all that they retreat from Scandinavian winters ; and much
more the ordo of grallce, who all, to a bird, forsake the northern
parts of Europe at the approach of winter. * " Grallcs tanquam
conjurattB unanimiter in fugam se conjiciunt ; ne earum unlearn
quidem inter nos habitantem invenire possimus ; ut enim testate in
australibus degere nequeunt ob defectum lumbricorum, terramque
siccam ; ita nee infrigidis ob eandem causam" says Ekmarkthe
Swede, in his ingenious little treatise called Migrationes Avium,
which by all means you ought to read, while your thoughts
run on the subject of migration. — See Amaenitates Academics,
vol. iv. p. 565.

Birds may be so circumstanced as to be obliged to migrate
in one country, and not in another; but the grallce (which
procure their food from marshes and boggy ground) must, in
winter, forsake the more northerly parts of Europe, or perish
for want of food.

* In the very severe winter of 1799, immense flocks of redwings
resorted to the west of England, where a sudden fall of snow, unusually
deep in that quarter, cut off these poor birds from all supply of food ; and
being reduced to too great weakness to attempt a passage over the ocean
to some more congenial climate, thousands of them, as well as fieldfares,
were starved to death. — ED.

118 WOODCOCKS.

I am glad you are making inquiries from Linnaeus concerning
the woodcock ; it is expected of him that he should be able
to account for the motions and manner of life of the animals
of his own Fauna. *

Faunists, as you observe, are too apt to acquiesce in bare
descriptions, and a few synonyms : the reason is plain ;
because all that may be done at home in a man's study ; but
the investigation of the life and conversation of animals, is a
concern of much more trouble and difficulty, and is not to be
attained but by the active and inquisitive, and by those that
reside much in the country.

Foreign systematists are, I observe, much too vague in their
specific differences ; which are almost universally constituted
by one or two particular marks, the rest of the description
running in general terms. But our countryman, the excellent
Mr Ray, is the only describer that conveys some precise idea
in every term or word, maintaining his superiority over his

* The woodcock is found in all parts of the old Continent, from north
to south. In some places, it is said to remain the whole year, only
changing its haunts, in the breeding season, from the plains to the
mountainous districts. The habits of all the woodcocks hitherto dis-
covered— only two or three in number — are alike : they are observed to
make partial migrations from north to south during the breeding season.
The woodcock is among the few winter birds that occasionally breed
in Britain. Besides what we have mentioned at page 106, young birds
have been killed in August, and eggs found in June. In the year 1795,
the Rev. Mr Wheatear, of Hastings, found a nest, with four eggs, in a
wood near Battle, in Sussex. In 1802, Mr Foljamb possessed a specimen
of a half fledged bird, taken in Broodsworth Wood, near Doncaster ; and,
in 1805, a brood of four were hatched in a wood at Shucoaks, near
Worksop. The nest from which these last were taken, consisted of moss,
bent, and dry leaves. On the 19th May, 1828, James Smith, keeper to
John Chetwood, Esq. of Ansley, near Naneaton, shot two young wood-
cocks in a wood called Hore Park, in that neighbourhood ; and, on the
following day, an old bird was shot by Smith, at the same spot. The
young ones are said to have been dry and bad when brought to table,
but the old bird was excellent. John Wigson, woodman to W. Dilke,
Esq. discovered a woodcock sitting on four eggs, in Regton Wood, near
Coventry, in the beginning of May, 1829. From some cause, however,
the nest was deserted, and several of the eggs destroyed. On breaking one
that remained, it was found to be nearly ready to hatch ; a fact proving
that the adults must have commenced the business of nidification about
the beginning of April, which is earlier than many individuals of this
species leave Britain for northern climates ; thus affording pretty strong
evidence in favour of woodcocks pairing previous to their departure. On
the 8th August, 1828, a woodcock was shot in Florida demesne, county
of Down, Ireland, which must have remained through the summer. — ED.

BATS. 119

followers and imitators, in spite of the advantage of fresh
discoveries and modern information.

At this distance of years, it is not in my power to recollect
at what periods woodcocks used to be sluggish or alert, when
I was a sportsman ; but, upon my mentioning this circumstance
to a friend, he thinks he has observed them to be remarkably
listless against snowy foul weather : if this should be the case,
then the inaptitude for flying arises only from an eagerness
for food, as sheep are observed to be very intent on grazing
against stormy wet evenings.

LETTER XL VI.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

September, 1771.

DEAR SIR, — The summer through, I have seen but two of
that large species of bat which I call vespertilio altivolans,
from its manner of feeding high in the air. I procured one
of them, and found it to be a male, and made no doubt, as
they accompanied together, that the other was a female ; but,
happening in an evening or two to procure the other likewise,
I was somewhat disappointed when it appeared to be also of
the same sex. This circumstance, and the great scarcity of
this sort, at least in these parts, occasions some suspicions in
my mind whether it is really a species, or whether it may not
be the male part of the more known species, one of which
may supply many females, as is known to be the case in sheep,
and some other quadrupeds. But this doubt can only be
cleared by a farther examination, and some attention to the
sex, of more specimens. All that I know at present is, that
rny two were amply furnished with the parts of generation,
much resembling those of a boar.

In the extent of their wings, they measured fourteen inches
and an half, and four inches and an half from the nose to the
tip of the tail : their heads were large, their nostrils bilobated,
their shoulders broad and muscular, and their whole bodies
fleshy and plump. Nothing could be more sleek and soft
than their fur, which was of a bright chestnut colour ; their
maws were full of food, but so macerated, that the quality
could not be distinguished ; their livers, kidneys, and hearts,
were large, and their bowels covered with fat. They weighed
each, when entire, full one ounce and one drachm. Within
the ear, there was somewhat of a peculiar structure, that I did

120 BATS.

not understand perfectly ; but refer it to the observation of
the curious anatomist. These creatures send forth a very
rancid and offensive smell.*

LETTER XL VII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, 1771.

DEAR SIR, — On the twelfth of July, I had a fair opportunity
of contemplating the motions of the caprimulgus, or fern-owl,
as it was playing round a large oak that swarmed with scarabcei

* Mr Jesse says, — " Bats seem to be gregarious animals. Vast numbers
of them were lately found under the roof of an old building in Richmond
Park. I had two sorts of them brought to me, nearly similar in shape,
but one very considerably larger than the other. This latter is probably
the vespertilio altivolans, mentioned by Mr White, in his Natural History
of Selborne, answering to his description of it. It measured nearly
fifteen inches from the tip of one wing to that of the other. These larger
bats were quite as numerous as the smaller species. A great number of
them were also found in an old building in Combe Wood, adjoining Rich-
mond Park ; and, subsequently, ten of them were discovered in a decayed
tree in that park." This is pretty strong evidence against the migration
of the bat in question. Several of these were sent by Mr Jesse to the
Zoological Societies of London.

A workman employed in the repairs of Cardinal Wolsey's hall, Hamp-
ton-Court Palace, found the skeleton of a bat at the end of one of the
rafters of the ceiling, which is calculated to have been nearly as large as
a pigeon when alive.

Bats are possessed of a sense with which we are yet unacquainted, that
of avoiding objects in the dark. Spallanzani hung up some cloths across
a room, with holes cut in them at various distances, large enough to allow
a bat to fly through. He deprived the poor animals of light, and stopt
their hearing as much as possible. These animals on being turned loose,
flew through the perforations with as much correctness as if they had had
the use of their eyes.

Respecting the hybernation of the bat, the following fact is very curious :
" In the beginning of November, 1821, a woodman engaged in splitting
timber for rails in the woods close to the lake at Haining, a seat of Mr
Pringle in Selkirkshire, discovered in the centre of a large wild cherry
tree, a living bat, of a bright scarlet colour, which, as soon as it was
relieved from its entombment, took to its wings and escaped. In the
tree there was a recess sufficiently large to contain the animal ; but all
around the wood was perfectly sound, solid, and free from any fissure
through which the atmosphere could reach the animal. A man employed
in the same manner at Kelsall, in December, 1826, met with a similar
phenomenon, and allowed the bat to escape, under the influence of fear,
protesting that it was not a ' being of this world. ' " — BlackwoocTs
Magazine, vol. viii. p. 467. — ED.

MIGRATION. 121

solstitiales, or fern-chaffers. The powers of its wing were
wonderful, exceeding, if possible, the various evolutions and
quick turns of the swallow genus. But the circumstance that
pleased me most was, that I saw it distinctly more than once
put out its short leg when on the wing, and, by a bend of
the head, deliver somewhat into its mouth. If it takes any
part of its prey with its foot, as I have now the greatest reason
to suppose it does these chaffers, I no longer wonder at the
use of its middle toe, which is curiously furnished with a
serrated claw. *

Swallows and martins — the bulk of them, I mean — have
forsaken us sooner this year than usual ; for, on September
the 22d, they rendezvoused in a neighbour's walnut tree,
where, it seemed probable, they had taken up their lodgings
for the night. At the dawn of the day, which was foggy, they
rose altogether in infinite numbers, occasioning such a rushing,
from the strokes of their wings against the hazy air, as might
be heard to a considerable distance : since that, no flock has
appeared, only a few stragglers.

Some swifts staid late, till the 22d of August ; a rare
instance ! for they usually withdraw within the first week, f

On September the 24th, three or four ringousels appeared
in my fields, for the first time this season. How punctual are
these visitors in their autumnal and spring migrations !

LETTER XL VIII.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, February 8, 1772.

DEAR SIR, — When I ride about in winter, and see such
prodigious flocks of various kinds of birds, I cannot help

* The use of the serrated claw of the goat-sucker has occasioned much
controversy amongst naturalists within the last few years, but is satis-
factorily accounted for byo\Vilson, in his description of the Carolina night-
jar. " Their mouths," says he, " are capable of prodigious expansion,
to seize their prey with more certainty, and furnished with long hairs
or bristles, serving as palisades to secure what comes between them.
Reposing much during the heat of day, they are greatly infested with
vermin, particularly about the head, and are provided with a comb on the
under edge of the middle claw, with which they are often employed in
ridding themselves of these pests, at least when in a state of captivity."
— ED.

f See letter XC VII. to the Hon. Daines Barring-ton. — In the Magazine
of Natural History, we are informed that swifts were seen at Chipping
Norton, on the 27th September, 1830 ED.

122 CONGREGATING OF BIRDS.

admiring at these congregations, and wishing that it was in
my power to account for those appearances, almost peculiar
to the season. The two great motives which regulate the
proceedings of the brute creation, are love and hunger : the
former incites animals to perpetuate their kind, the latter
induces them to preserve individuals. Whether either of
these should seem to be the ruling passion, in the matter of
congregating, is to be considered. As to love, that is out of
the question, at a time of the year when that soft passion is not
indulged ; besides, during the amorous season, such a jealousy
prevails between the male birds, that they can hardly bear to
be together in the same hedge or field. Most of the singing
and elation of spirits of that time, seem to me to be the effect
of rivalry and emulation ; and it is to this spirit of jealousy,
that I chiefly attribute the equal dispersion of birds in the
spring, over the face of the country.

Now as to the business of food. As these animals are
actuated by instinct to hunt for necessary food, they should
not, one would suppose, crowd together in pursuit of suste-
nance, at a time when it is most likely to fail ; yet such
associations do take place in hard weather chiefly, and thicken
as the severity increases. As some kind of self-interest and
self-defence is, no doubt, the motive for the proceeding, may
it not arise from the helplessness of their state in such rigorous
seasons, as men crowd together, when under great calamities,
though they know not why? Perhaps approximation may
dispel some degree of cold ; and a crowd may make each
individual appear safer from the ravages of birds of prey, and
other dangers.

If I admire when I see how much congenerous birds love
to congregate, I am the more struck when I see incongruous
ones in such strict amity.* If we do not much wonder to see
a flock of rooks usually attended by a train of daws, yet it is
strange that the former should so frequently have a flight of
starlings for their satellites, f Is it because rooks have a more

* There is nothing more strange in starlings and rooks being seen in
company, than for the short-eared owl to be seen amongst flights of
woodcocks. Pennant mentions simultaneous migrations of cuckoos and
turtle-doves having been noticed in Greece.

f The author of the Journal of a Naturalist, speaking of the readiness
with which rooks detect the places where grubs are sure to be found,
says, " I have often observed them alight on a pasture of uniform verdure,
and exhibiting no sensible appearance of feathering or decay, and imme-
diately commence staking up the ground. Upon investigating the object
of their operations, I have found the heads of plantains, the little autumnal

ROOKS LAPWINGS. 123

discerning scent than their attendants, and can lead them to
spots more productive of food ? Anatomists say that rooks,
by reason of two large nerves which run down between the
eyes into the upper mandible, have a more delicate feeling in
their beaks than other round-billed birds, and can grope for
their meat when out of sight. Perhaps, then, their associates
attend them on the motive of interest, as greyhounds wait on the
motions of their finders, and as lions are said to do on the yelp-
ings of jackals. Lapwings and starlings sometimes associate.*

dandelions, and other plants, drawn out of the "ground and scattered about,
their roots having been eaten off by a grub, leaving only a crown of leaves
upon the surface. This grub beneath, in the earth, the rooks had detected
in their flight, and descended to feed on it, first pulling up the plant
which concealed it, and then drawing the larvae from their holes. "

A correspondent, in the Magazine of Natural History, proves that
the rook is occasionally a predatory bird. He says, " As I was passing
through Chandos Street, Cavendish Square, London, soon after six
o'clock this morning, my attention was attracted to a rook flying low,
near the walls of some out-buildings, in which were many holes occupied
by sparrows' nests. He directed his flight to one of these holes, into
which he thrust himself as far as possible. It was evident that he was
attempting to reach something with his bill ; but apparently he did not
succeed, for he shortly withdrew himself from this hole, and flew to
another, into which he intruded himself in the same manner. From
this second hole he retired almost immediately, bearing in his beak one
of the callow brood. He flew with his spoil to a high chimney at the
corner house, followed for a short distance by ten or twelve sparrows,
clamouring loudly at such an atrocious robbery ; and one sparrow,
probably the parent, ventured to pursue even to the chimney-top, as if
determined to assail the fell destroyer ; but both the rook and the sparrow
quickly disappeared behind the chimney-pot, and prevented my farther
observation. "

Colonel Montagu records an instance of great sagacity in rooks. He
noticed two of them by the sea shore, after having satisfied the calls of
hunger, busy in removing small fish beyond the flux of the tide, and
depositing them just above high water mark under the broken rocks. — ED.

* Lapwings are invariably gregarious, assembling in very large flocks
in the autumn. At this time they are esteemed excellent food.

The starlings also congregate in autumn. We saw a flight of these
birds in the autumn of 1814, in Kings County, Ireland, which liter-
ally darkened the air, and must have consisted of at least a hundred
thousand ; they were flying near the immense marshy plain near Banachee,
through which the Shannon flows. " In the autumnal and hyemal
months," says Selby, " these birds gather in immense flocks, and are
particularly abundant in the fenny parts of Nottinghamshire and Lin-
colnshire, where they roost among the reeds. Before they retire to rest,
they perform various manoeuvres in the air, the whole frequently describing
rapid revolutions round a common centre. This peculiar flight will
sometimes continue for nearly half an hour before they become finally
settled for the night. Upon the approach of spring they spread them-
selves over the whole country." — ED.

124 SWALLOWS — TORTOISE.

LETTER XLIX.

'

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

March 9, 1772.

DEAR SIR, — As a gentleman and myself were walking, on
the 4th of last November, round the sea-banks at Newha^en,
near the mouth of the Lewes river, in pursuit of natural
knowledge, we were surprised to see three house swallows
gliding very swiftly by us. That morning was rather chilly,
with the wind at north-west ; but the tenor of the weather, for
some time before, had been delicate, and the noons remarkably
warm. From this incident, and from repeated accounts which
I meet with, I am more and more induced to believe, that
many of the swallow kind do not depart from this island, but
lay themselves up in holes and caverns, and do, insect-like,
and bat-like, come forth at mild times, and then retire again to
their latebrce. Nor make I the least doubt but that, if I lived
at Newhaven, Seaford, Brighthelmstone, or any of those towns
near the chalk cliffs of the Sussex coast, by proper observations,
I should see swallows stirring at periods of the winter, when
the noons were soft and inviting, and the sun warm and invi-
gorating. And I am the more of this opinion, from what I
have remarked during some of our late springs, and though
some swallows did make their appearance about the usual
time, viz. the 13th or 14th of April, yet, meeting with a harsh
reception, and blustering, cold, north-east winds, they imme-
diately withdrew, absconding for several days, till the weather
gave them better encouragement.

LETTER L.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

April 12, 1772.

DEAR SIR, — While I was in Sussex last autumn, my resi-
dence was at the village near Lewes, from whence I had
formerly the pleasure of writing to you. On the 1st of
November, I remarked that the old tortoise, formerly men-
tioned, began first to dig the ground, in order to the forming
of its hybernaculum, which it had fixed on just beside a great
turf of hepaticas. It scrapes out the ground with its fore
feet, and throws it up over its back with its hind ; but the

TORTOISE. 125

motion of its legs is ridiculously slow, little exceeding the
hour hand of a clock, and suitable to the composure of an
animal said to be a whole month in performing one feat of
copulation. Nothing can be more assiduous than this creature
night and day in scooping the earth, and forcing its great body
into the cavity ; but, as the noons of that season proved unu-
sually warm and sunny, it was continually interrupted, and
called forth, by the heat in the middle of the day ; and, though
I continued there till the 13th of November, yet the work
remained unfinished. Harsher weather, and frosty mornings,
would have quickened its operations.

No part of its behaviour ever struck me more than the extreme
timidity it always expresses with regard to rain ; for though it
has a shell that would secure it against the wheel of a loaded
cart, yet does it discover as much solicitude about rain as a
lady dressed in all her best attire, shuffling away on the first
sprinklings, and running its head up in a corner. If attended
to, it becomes an excellent weather-glass ; for as sure as it
walks elate, and as it wrere on tiptoe, feeding with great earnest-
ness in a morning, so sure will it rain before night. It is
totally a diurnal animal, and never pretends to stir after it
becomes dark. The tortoise, like other reptiles, has an
arbitrary stomach, as well as lungs ; and "can refrain from
eating as well as breathing for a great part of the year. When
first awakened it eats nothing ; nor again in the autumn,
before it retires ; through the height of the summer, it feeds
voraciously, devouring all the food that comes in its way. I
was much taken with its sagacity in discerning those that do
it kind offices ; for, as soon as the good old lady comes in
sight who has waited on it for more than thirty years, it hobbles
towards its benefactress with awkward alacrity ; but remains
inattentive to strangers. Thus not only " the ox krroweth
his owner, and the ass his master's crib,"* but the most abject
reptile and torpid of beings distinguishes the hand that feeds
it, and is touched with the feelings of gratitude.

P. S. — In about three days after I left Sussex, the tortoise
retired into the ground under the hepatica. f

* Isaiah, i. 3.

f A singular circumstance occurred at Ludlow with a tortoise, the
property of Mr Jones, which was put in a convenient place to spend
the winter. It was soon attacked by rats, which ate away its eyes,
tongue, and all the under parts of its throat, together with the windpipe.
In that mutilated state it is supposed it had continued for about three
weeks prior to its being discovered. The most remarkable circumstance

126 MIGRATION.

LETTER LI.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, March 15, 1773.

DEAR SIR, — By my journal for last autumn, it appears that
tne house-martens bred very late, and staid very late in these
parts ; for, on the 1st of October, I saw young martens in their
nests, nearly fledged ; and again, on the 21st of October, we
had, at the next house, a nest full of young martens just ready
to fly, and the old ones were hawking for insects with great
alertness. The next morning, the brood forsook their nest, and
were flying round the village. From this day, I never saw
one of the swallow kind till November the 3d ; when twenty,
or perhaps thirty, house-martens were playing all day long by
the side of the Hanging Wood, and over my fields. Did these
small weak birds, some of which were nestlings twelve days
ago, shift their quarters at this late season of the year, to the
other side of the northern tropic ? Or rather, is it not more
probable, that the next church, ruin, chalk-cliff, steep covert,
or perhaps sand-bank, lake, or pool, (as a more northern
naturalist would say,) may become their hybernaculum, and
afford them a ready and obvious retreat ? *

attending this is, that the animal did not exhibit the least signs of
decomposition, nor was animation perceptible. It is, however, quite
evident it was alive, otherwise putridity would have ensued. The extreme
slow motions of the limbs of tortoises, mentioned by White, is depicted in
Homer's Hymn to Hermes, which has been thus translated : —

Feeding far off from man, the flowery herb
Slow moving with his feet.

* The young of the swifts, before leaving their nests, are quite pre-
pared for an aerial excursion of almost any extent. At one time, we were
detached, at Holy Island, coast of Northumberland, in command of the
castle. A pair of martens built in a hole over the window of our apart-
ment. We were generally disturbed at the early dawn by these birds
feeding their young. We had the curiosity to take all the young, four in
number, out of the nest for examination. We found them in full feather,
although they had never yet attempted to leave their nest. After having
satisfied our curiosity, we were preparing to replace them in their nest,
when the one we had just taken m our hand for that purpose took to its
wings, and was immediately followed by the others. These little birds,
accompanied by their parents, disported in the sun for upwards of
two hours over the deep valley beneath our windows. They returned
to the nest in the afternoon, and left it early next morning, never to
return. The parents, on the following day, commenced anew the business
of incubation. — - ED.

AFFECTION IN BIRDS. 127

We now begin to expect our vernal migration of ringousels
every week. Persons worthy of credit assure me, that ring-
ousels were seen at Christmas, 1770, in the forest of Bere, on
the southern verge of this county. Hence we may conclude,
that their migrations are only internal, and not extended to the
continent southward, if they do at first come at all from the
northern parts of this island only, and not from the north of
Europe. Come from whence they will, it is plain, from the
fearless disregard that they shew for men or guns, that they
have been little accustomed to places of much resort. Navi-
gators mention, that, in the Isle of Ascension, and other such
desolate districts, birds are so little acquainted with the human
form, that they settle on men's shoulders, and have no more
dread of a sailor than they would have of a goat that ,,was
grazing. A young man at Lewes, in Sussex, assured me, that,
about seven years ago, ringousels abounded so about that town
in the autumn, that he killed sixteen himself in one afternoon :
he added farther, that some had appeared since in: every
autumn ; but he could not find that any had been observed
before the season in which he shot so many. I myself have
found these birds in little parties in the autumn, cantoned all
along the Sussex downs, wherever there were shrubs and
bushes, from Chichester to Lewes ; particularly in the autumn
of 1770.

LETTER LII.
TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, March 26, 1773.

DEAR SIR,— The more I reflect on the tfrogyij of animals,
the more I am astonished at its effects. Nor is the violence
of this affection more wonderful than the shortness of its
duration. Thus, every hen is in her turn the virago of the
yard, in proportion to the helplessness of her brood ; and will
fly in the face of a dog or a sow in defence of those chickens,
which, in a few weeks, she will drive before her with relentless
cruelty.*

* The hen will attack any animal whatever in defence of her chickens ;
and has been known to lose her own life in attempting to save the life,
as she thought, of a brood of young ducklings which she had hatched, on
their entering the water.

A singular instance of strong affection in the feathered tribe is related
by Mr Jesse : — " A gentleman in my neighbourhood," says he, " had

128 AFFECTION IN BIRDS.

This affection sublimes the passions, quickens the invention,
and sharpens the sagacity of the brute creation. Thus a hen,
just become a mother, is no longer that placid bird she used
to be ; but, with feathers standing on end, wings hovering,
and clucking note, she runs about like one possessed. Dams
will throw themselves in the way of the greatest danger in
order to avert it from their progeny. Thus a partridge will
tumble along before a sportsman, in order to draw away the
dogs from her helpless covey. In the time of nidification, the
most feeble birds will assault the most rapacious. All the
hirundines of a village are up in arms at the sight of a hawk,
whom they will persecute till he leaves that district.* A very

directed one of his wagons to be packed with sundry hampers and
boxes, intending to send it to Worthing, where he was going himself.
For some time his going was delayed, and he therefore directed that the
wagon should be placed in a shed in his yard, packed as it was, till it
should be convenient for him to send it off. While it was in the shed, a
pair of robins built their nest among some straw in the wagon, and had
hatched their young just before it was sent away. One of the old birds,
instead of being frightened away by the motion of the wagon, enly left
its nest from time to time for the purpose of flying to the nearest hedge
for food for its young ; and thus, alternately affording warmth and nourish-
ment to them, it arrived at Worthing. The affection of this bird having
been observed by the wagoner, he took care in unloading not to disturb
the robin's nest, and my readers will, I am sure, be glad to hear, that the
robin and its young ones returned in safety to Walton Heath, being the
place from whence they had set out. The distance the wagon went in
going and returning could not have been less than one hundred miles."
— ED.

* A curious example of this was manifested by a wren in opposition
to martens. Mr Simpson mentions, that, during his residence at Welton,
North America, he one morning heard a loud noise from a pair of martens
that were flying from tree to tree near his dwelling. They made several
attempts to get into a box fixed against the house, which they had before
occupied as a breeding place ; but they always appeared to fly from it
again with the utmost dread, at the same time repeating their usual loud
cries. Curiosity led the gentleman to watch their motions. After some
time, a small wren came from the box, and perched on a tree near it,
when her shrill notes seemed to amaze her antagonists. Having remained
a short time, she flew away, when the martens took an opportunity
of returning to the box, but their stay was of short duration; for
their diminutive adversary returned, and made them retreat with the
greatest precipitation. They continued maneuvering in this way the
whole day ; but the following morning, on the wren quitting the box,
the martens immediately returned, took possession of their mansion,
broke up their own nest, went to work afresh with much diligence and
ingenuity, and soon barricaded their door. The wren returned, but
could not now re-e«ter. She made some bold efforts to storm the nest,
but was unsuccessful. The martens abstained from food for nearly two
4

AFFECTION IN BIRDS. 129

exact observer has often remarked, that a pair of ravens,
nesting in the rock of Gibraltar, would suffer no vulture or
eagle to rest near their station, but would drive them from the
hill with an amazing fury : even the blue thrush, at the season
of breeding, would dart out from the clefts of the rocks to
chase away the kestrel, or the sparrow-hawk. If you stand
near the nest of a bird that has young, she will not be induced
to betray them by an inadvertent fondness, but will wait about
at a distance, with meat in her mouth, for an hour together.

Should I farther corroborate what I have advanced above,
by some anecdotes which I probably may have mentioned
before in conversation, yet you will, I trust, pardon the repe-
tition for the sake of the illustration.

The fly-catcher of the Zoology (the stoparola of Ray) builds
every year in the vines that grow on the walls of my house.*
A pair of these little birds had one year inadvertently placed
their nest on a naked bough, perhaps in a shady time, not
being aware of the inconvenience that followed. But a hot
sunny season coming on before the brood was half fledged,
the reflection of the wall became insupportable, and must
inevitably have destroyed the tender young, had not affection
suggested an expedient, and prompted the parent birds to
hover over the nest all the hotter hours, while, with wings
expanded, and mouths gaping for breath, they screened off the
heat from their suffering offspring.

A farther instance I once saw of notable sagacity in a willow-
wren, which had built in a bank in my fields. This bird a
friend and myself had observed as she sat in her nest, but were
particularly careful not to disturb her, though we saw she eyed
us with some degree of jealousy. Some days after, as we
passed that way, we were desirous of remarking how this brood
went on ; but no nest could be found, till I happened to take
up a large bundle of long green moss, as it were carelessly
thrown over the nest, in order to dodge the eye of any imper-
tinent intruder.

A still more remarkable mixture of sagacity and instinct
occurred to me one day, as my people were pulling off the
lining of a hot-bed, in order to add some fresh dung*. From
out of the side of this bed leaped an animal with great agility,

days, persevering during the whole of that time in defending the entrance ;
and the wren, after many fruitless attempts to force the works, raised the
siege, quitted her intentions, and left the martens in quiet possession of
their dwelling. — ED.

* The beam bird, muscicapa grisola of Linnaeus. — ED.
I

130 AFFECTION IN BIRDS*

that made a most grotesque figure ; nor was it without great
difficulty that it could be taken, when it proved to be a large
white-bellied field-mouse, with three or four young clinging to
her teats by their mouths and feet. It was amazing that the
desultory and rapid motions of this dam should not oblige her
litter to quit their hold, especially when it appeared that they
were so young as to be both naked and blind ! *

To these instances of tender attachment, many more of which
might be daily discovered, by those that are studious of nature,
may be opposed that rage of affection, that monstrous perver-
sion of the <fc*C£j% which induces some females of the brute
creation to devour their young, because their owners have
handled them too freely, or removed them from place to place !
Swine, and sometimes the more gentle race of dogs and cats, are
guilty of this horrid and preposterous murder.f When I hear
now and then of an abandoned mother that destroys her
offspring, I am not so much amazed ; since reason perverted,
and the bad passions let loose, are capable of any enormity ;
but why the parental feelings of brutes, that usually flow in
one most uniform tenor, should sometimes be so extravagantly
diverted, I leave to abler philosophers than myself to determine.

LETTER LIII.
TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, July 8, 1773.

DEAR SIR, — Some young men went down lately to a pond
on the verge of Wolmer Ferest, to hunt flappers, or young
wild ducks, many of which they caught, and, among the rest,
some very minute yet well-fledged wild fowls alive, which,
upon examination, I found to be teals. I did not know till
then that teals ever bred in the south of England, and was

* Bats fly with their young adhering to their teats. — ED.

f There are a few species, and but a few, of the brute creation which
occasionally destroy their offspring immediately on their birth, an anomaly
in the law of nature commonly followed by another, that of devouring
them. But as the latter usually takes place among domestic animals, it
is obvious that hunger has no share in the transaction, and that it may
rather be ascribed to some temporary derangement (occasioned, perhaps,
by agonizing pain) of the instinctive solicitude, interwoven with the
constitution and existence of every living creature, to protect and preserve
its young. — JED.

OWLS. 131

much pleased with the discovery : this I look upon as a great
stroke in natural history.*

We have had, ever since I can remember, a pair of white
owls that constantly breed under the eaves of this church. As
I have paid good attention to the manner of life of these birds
during their season of breeding, which lasts the summer
through, the following remarks may not perhaps be unaccep-
table. About an hour before sunset, (for then the mice begin
to run,) they sally forth in quest of prey* and hunt all round
the hedges of meadows and small enclosures for them, which
seem to be their only food. In this irregular country, we can
stand on an eminence and see them beat the fields over like a
setting-dog, and often drop down in the grass or corn. I have
minuted these birds with my watch for an hour together, and
have found, that they return to their nest, the one or the other
of them, about once in five minutes ; reflecting, at the same
time, on the adroitness that every animal is possessed of, as
far as regards the well-being of itself and offspring. •)• But a
piece of address, which they shew when they return loaded,
should not, I think, be passed over in silence. As they take
their prey with their claws, so they carry it in their claws to
their nest ; but, as the feet are necessary in their ascent under
the tiles, they constantly perch first on the roof of the chancel,
and shift the mouse from their claws to their bill, that the feet
may be at liberty to take hold of the plate on the wall, as they
are rising under the eaves.

White owls seem not (but in this I am not positive) to hoot
at all ; J all that clamorous hooting appears to me to come from
the wood kinds. The white owl does indeed snore and hiss in
a tremendous manner ; and these menaces well answer the
intention of intimidating, for I have known a wrhole village up
in arms on such an occasion, imagining the church-yard to be
full of goblins and spectres. $ White owls also often scream

* Dr Haysham says, that the teal is now known to breed in the
mosses about Carlisle. — ED.

f Colonel Montagu has remarked, that the wren returns with food to
its offspring once in two minutes. The swallow generally feeds its young
every second or third minute. — ED.

| Sir William Jardine says white owls do hoot, and that he has shot
them in the act ; and a correspondent in Loudon's Magazine says,
" Owls which build in Attenborough Church, in this parish, sit on the
turrets and hoot fearfully. An old white owl used to frequent a dovecot,
not two hundred yards from where I am writing this, and, late in the
evening, would sit at the top and utter its doleful cries." — ED.

§ Dr Richardson, in speaking of the great Virginian horned owl,

132 OWLS.

horribly as they fly along : from this screaming probably arose
the common people's imaginary species of screech-ow], which
they superstitiously think attends the windows of dying
persons. The plumage of the remiges of the wings, of every
species of owl that I have yet examined, is remarkably soft
and pliant. Perhaps it may be necessary that the wings of
these birds should not make much resistance or rushing, that
they may be enabled to steal through the air unheard upon a
nimble and watchful quarry.

While I am talking of owls, it may not be improper to
mention what I was told by a gentleman of the county of
Wilts : As they were grubbing a vast hollow pollard ash,
that had been the mansion of owls for centuries, he discovered
at the bottom a mass of matter that at first he could not
account for. After some examination, he found that it was
a congeries of the bones of mice, (and perhaps of birds and
bats,) that had been heaping together for ages, being cast up
in pellets out of the crops of many generations of inhabitants.
For owls cast up the bones, fur, and feathers of what they

gives the following animated picture of its dismal unearthly cry. He
says, " It is found in almost every quarter of the United States, and
occurs in all parts of the fur countries. Its loud and full nocturnal cry,
issuing from the gloomy recesses of the forest, bear some resemblance to
the human voice, uttered in a hollow, sepulchral tone, and has been
frequently productive of alarm to the traveller, of which an instance
occurred within my own knowledge. A party of Scottish Highlanders,
in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, happened, in a winter
journey, to encamp after nightfall in a dense clump of trees, whose dark
tops and lofty stems, the growth of centuries, gave a solemnity to the
scene that had strongly tended to excite the superstitious feelings of the
Highlanders. The effect was heightened by the discovery of a tomb,
which, with a natural taste often exhibited by the Indians, had been placed
in this secluded spot. Our travellers, having finished their supper, were
trimming their fire, preparatory to retiring to rest, when the slow and
dismal notes of the horned owl fell on the ear with a startling nearness.
None of them being acquainted with the sound, they at once concluded,
that so unearthly a voice must be the moaning of the spirit of the
departed, whose repose they supposed they had disturbed, by inadvertently
making a fire of the wood of which the tomb had been constructed.
They passed a tedious night of fear, and with the first dawn of day
hastily quitted the ill-omened spot. " Audubon describes the cry of this owl
as fearful. He says, " It suddenly alights on the top of a fern-stake or a
dead stump, shakes its feathers, arranges them, and utters a shriek so
horrid that the woods around echo to its dismal sound. Now, it seems
as if you heard the barking of a cur-dog ; again, the notes are so rough
and mingled together, that they might be mistaken for the last gurglings
of a murdered person, striving in vain to call for assistance." — ED.

I

OWLS SWALLOWS. 133

devour, after the manner of hawks. He believes, he told me,
that there were bushels of this kind of substance.

When brown owls hoot, their throats swell as big as a
hen's egg*. I have known an owl of this species live a full
year without any water. Perhaps the case may be the same
with all birds of prey.* When owis fly, they stretch out
their legs behind them, as a balance to their large heavy heads ;
for, as most nocturnal birds have large eyes and ears, they
must have large heads to contain them. Large eyes, I pre-
sume, are necessary to collect every ray of light, and large
concave ears to command the smallest degree of sound or
noise.

The hirundmes are a most inoffensive, harmless, entertaining,
social, and useful tribe of birds ; they touch no fruit in our
gardens ; delight, all except one species, in attaching them-
selves to our houses ; amuse us with their migrations, songs,
and marvellous agility ; and clear our outlets from the annoy-
ances of gnats and other troublesome insects. Some districts
in the South Seas, near Guiaquil,f are desolated, it seems, by
the infinite swarms of venomous mosquitoes, which fill the
air, and render those coasts insupportable. It would be worth
inquiring, whether any species of hirundmes is found in these
regions. Whoever contemplates the myriads of insects that
sport in the sunbeams of a summer evening in this country,
will soon be convinced to what a degree our atmosphere would
be choked with them were it not for the friendly intercourse
of the swallow tribe. J

* Predatory birds are endowed with the power of existing for a great
length of time without food or water. In them, digestion seems to be
carried on in a slow manner ; and very different from this function in
most other birds, as it is extremely rapid in the smaller species. Vultures
after feeding may be seen in one unvaried position, patiently waiting till
the work of digestion is completed, and the stimulus of hunger is renewed.
If violently disturbed after a full meal, they are quite incapable of flight,
until they have disgorged the contents of their stomach. — ED.

f See Ulloa's Travels.

| The wanton destruction of the swallow tribe is not only an act of
great inhumanity, but also very impolitic, and can only be practised by
persons who are defective either in the head or heart. The author of the
Journal of a Naturalist expresses himself thus feelingly on the subject : —
" The sportsman's essaying his skill on the swallow race, that « skim
the dimpled pool,' or harmless glide along the flowery mead, when, if
successful, he consigns whole nests of infant broods to famine and to
death, is pitiable indeed ! No injury, no meditated crime, was ever
imputed to these birds ; they free our dwelling from multitudes of
insects; their unsuspicious confidence and familiarity with man merit

134 SWALLOWS.

Many species of birds have their peculiar lice ; but the
hirundines alone seem to be annoyed with dipterous insects,*
which infest every species, and are so large, in proportion to
themselves, that they must be extremely irksome and injurious
to them. These are the hippoboscce hirundines, with narrow
subulated wings, abounding in every nest ; and are hatched
by the warmth of the bird's own body during incubation, and
crawl about under its feathers.

A species of them is familiar to horsemen in the south of
England, under the name of forest-fly, and, to some, of side-
fly, from its running sideways, like a crab. It creeps under
the tails and about the groins of horses, which, at their first

protection, not punishment from him. The sufferings of their broods,
when the parents are destroyed, should excite humanity and demand
forbearance. I supplicate from the youthful sportsman his considera-
tion for these most useful creatures. The positive good they do, the
beneficial services they perform for us, by clearing the air of innumer-
able insects, ought to render them sacred, and secure them from our
molestation. Without their friendly aid, the atmosphere we live in would
scarcely be habitable by man. They feed entirely on insects, which, if
not kept under by their means, would swarm and torment us like another
Egyptian plague. The immense quantity of flies destroyed in a short
space of time by one individual bird is scarcely to be credited by those
who have not actual experience of the fact. I was once present when a
swift was shot — I may as well confess the truth— I myself (then a
thoughtless youth) the perpetrator of the deed : I acknowledge the fault
in contrition, and will never be guilty of the like again. It was in the
breeding season, when the young were hatched, at which time the parent
birds, it is well known, are in the habit of making little excursions into
the country, to a considerable distance from the breeding places, for the
purpose of collecting flies, which they bring home to their infant progeny.
On picking up my hopeless and ill-gotten prey, I observed a number of
flies, some mutilated, others scarcely injured, crawling out of the bird's
mouth ; the throat and pouch seemed absolutely stuffed with them, and
an incredible number was at length disgorged. I am sure I speak \\athin
compass when I state, that there was a mass of flies, just caught by this
single swift, larger than, when pressed close, could conveniently be con-,
tained in the bowl of an ordinary tablespoon ! Thus was a whole brood,
of young birds deprived of one of their nursing parents, by an act of the
most wanton cruelty. " — ED.

* This insect is the craterina hirundines of Olfers, which has the
instinct to deposit its cocoons in the well sheltered and warm nest of the
swallow tribe, heat being so necessary to its existence. The fly, when
hatched, lives by sucking the blood of the swallow. So tormenting are
these insects to swallows, that they sometimes render the poor animals
quite stupid, and unfit for their aerial excursions. Thfe hippobosca equina,
is the insect which sucks the blood of horses, and known in England by
the name of the forest-fly : it belongs to the same natural family with
that above described. — ED,

INSECTS ON BIRDS OSPREY. 135

coming out of the north, are rendered half frantic by the
tickling sensation ; while our own breed little regards them.

The curious Reaumur discovered the large eggs, or rather
pupce, of these flies, as big as the flies themselves, which he
hatched in his own bosom. Any person that will take the
trouble to examine the old nests of either species of swallows,
may find in them the black shining cases, or skins, of the
pupcB of these insects ; but, for other particulars, too long for
this place, we refer the reader to L'Histoire d'Insectcs of that
admirable entomologist, torn. iv. pi. 11.

LETTER LIV.
TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, November 9, 1773.

DEAR SIR, — As you desire me to send you such observa--
tions as may occur, I take the liberty of making the following
remarks, that you may, according as you think me right or
wrong, admit or reject what I here advance, in your intended
new edition of the British Zoology.

The osprey* was shot about a year ago at Frinsham Pond,
a great lake, at about six miles from hence, while it was sitting
on the handle of a plough and devouring a fish ; it used to
precipitate itself into the water, and so take its prey by
surprise, f

* British Zoology, vol. i. p. 128.

kali

nest, he usually 1

easy curving lines, turning sometimes in the air on a pivot, apparently
without the least exertion, rarely moving the wings, his legs extended
in a straight line behind, and his remarkable length and curvature, or
bend of wing, distinguishes him from all other hawks. The height at
which he thus elegantly glides is various, from one hundred to one
hundred and fifty, and two hundred feet, sometimes much higher, all the
while calmly reconnoitring the face of the deep below. Suddenly he is
seen to check his course, as if struck by a particular object, which he
seems to survey for a few moments with such steadiness, that he appears
fixed in air, flapping his wings. This object, however, he abandons,
or rather the fish he had in his eye has disappeared, and he is again seen
sailing around as before. Now his attention is again arrested, and he
descends with great rapidity ; but ere he reaches the surface, shoots off
on another course, as if ashamed that a second victim had escaped him.
He now sails at a short height above the surface, and by a zigzag descent,
and without seeming to dip his feet in the water, seizes a fish, which,

136 MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS.

A great ash-colour od* butcher-bird was shot last winter in
Tisted Park, and a red-backed butcher-bird at Selborne.
They are rarts aves in this country.

Crows f go in pairs the whole year round.

Cornish choughs J abound, and breed on Beechy Head, and
on all the cliffs of the Sussex coast.

The common wild pigeon, § or stock-dove, is a bird of
passage in the south of England, seldom appearing till towards
the end of November ; || is usually the latest winter bird of
passage. Before our beechen woods were so much destroyed,
we had myriads of them, reaching in strings for a mile toge-
ther, as they went out in a morning to feed. They leave us
early in spring : where do they breed ?

The people of Hampshire and Sussex call the missel-bird H"
the storm-cock, because it sings early in the spring, in blowing,

after carrying a short distance, he probably drops, or yields up to the
bald eagle, (J'alco leucocephalus,) and again ascends by easy spiral circles,
to the higher regions of the air, where he glides about in all the ease and
majesty of his species. At once, from this sublime aerial height, he
descends like a perpendicular torrent, plunging into the sea with a loud
rushing sound, and with the certainty of a rifle. In a few moments, he
emerges, bearing in his claws his struggling prey, which he always carries
head foremost ; and, having risen a few feet above the surface, shakes
himself as a water spaniel would do, and directs his heavy and laborious
course straightway to the land."

Mr Lloyd mentions, that in Sweden, the eagle sometimes strikes so
large a pike, and so firmly do his talons hold their grasp, that he is carried
under water by the superior gravity of the pike, and drowned. Dr
Mullenbog says, he himself saw an enormous pike with an eagle fixed to
its back by his talons, lying dead on a piece of ground which had been
overflowed by a river, and from which the water had subsided.

This naturalist also gives an account of a conflict between an eagle and
a pike, which a gentleman saw on the river Gotha, near Wenersborg. In
this case, when the eagle first seized the pike, he soared a short distance
into the air, but the weight and struggling of the fish together, soon
obliged the eagle to descend. Both fell into the water and disappeared.
Presently, however, the eagle again came to the surface, uttering the
most piercing cries, and making apparently every endeavour to extricate
his talons, but in vain ; and, after a violent struggle, was carried under
water.

Montagu tell us, an osprey was seen to stoop and carry off a half-grown
duck from the surface of the water, at Slapton Ley. In the struggle, the
duck fell from the talons of the eagle, but was recovered before it reached
the water. — ED.

* British Zoology, vol. i. p. 16 J. f Ibid. p. 167.

J Ibid. p. 198. § Ibid, p. 216.

|| See our note, p. 112 ED.

f British Zoology, vol. i. p. 224.

MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 137

showery weather. Its song often commences with the year :
with us it builds much in orchards.

A gentleman assures me he has taken the nests of ring-
ousels * on Dartmoor : they build in banks on the sides of
streams.

Titlarks f not only sing sweetly as they sit on trees, but
also as they play and toy about on the wing ; and particularly
while they are descending, and sometimes as they stand on the
ground. J

Adanson's § testimony seems to me to be a very poor
evidence that European swallows migrate during our winter
to Senegal ; he does not talk at all like an ornithologist, and
probably saw only the swallows of that country, which I know
build within Governor O'Hara's hall against the roof. Had
he known European swallows, would he not have mentioned
the species ?

The house-swallow washes by dropping into the water as it
flies ; this species appears commonly about a week before the
house-marten, and about ten or twelve days before the swift.

In 1772, there were young house-martens || in their nest till
October the 23d.

The swift f appears about ten or twelve days later than
the house-swallow ; viz. about the 24th or 26th of April.

Whin-chats ** and stone-chatters f f stay with us the whole
year.

Some wheatears J J continue with us the winter through. §§

Wagtails, all sorts, remain with us all the winter. || ||

* British Zoology, vol. i. p. 229. f Ibid. vol. ii. p. 237.
\ This must have been the tree pipet, anthus arboreus, as the titlark

generally sits on the ground ED.

§ British Zoology, vol. ii. p. 242.

1| Ibid. p. 244. ' f Ibid. p. 245.

* * This is a migratory species, appearing in Britain about the middle of
April ED.

ff British Zoology, vol. ii. p. 270, 271. \\ Ibid. p. 269.

§§ Wheatears are migratory, and some few do remain. Montagu
mentions the fact, and Mr Sweet says, " 1 observed a pair on the 17th
November, near the gravel pit in Hyde-Park, which were quite lively,
and flying about after the insects, as brisk as if it had been the middle of
summer." They generally migrate in September ED.

j| || There are three species of wagtails in Britain, — the pied, gray,
and yellow. The pied wagtail is to be found in the south of England,
during the whole year ; but, in the northern parts, it is migratory, retiring
to the southward about the middle of October, and returning to the
north about the beginning of March. The gray wagtail is only known

138 MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS.

Bullfinches, * when fed on hempseed, often become wholly
black.

We have vast flocks of female chaffinches f all the winter,
with hardly any males among them.

When you say that, in breeding time, the cock snipes J
make a bleating noise, and a drumming, (perhaps I should
have rather said a humming,) I suspect we mean the same
thing. However, while they are playing about on the wing,
they certainly make a loud piping with their mouths ; but
whether that bleating or humming is ventriloquous, or proceeds
from the motion of their wings, I cannot say ; but this I know,
that when this noise happens, the bird is always descending,
and his wings are violently agitated.

Soon after the lapwings § have done breeding, they congre-
gate, and, leaving the moors and marshes, betake themselves
to downs and sheep walks.

Two years ago || last spring, the little auk was found alive
and unhurt, but fluttering and unable to rise, in a lane a few
miles from Alresford, where there is a great lake ; it was kept
a while, but died.

I saw young teals f taken alive in the ponds of Wolmer
Forest in the beginning of July last, along with flappers, or
young wild ducks.

Speaking of the swift,** that page says, «' its drink the dew"
whereas it should be, " it drinks on the wing ;" for all the
swallow kind sip their water as they sweep over the face of
pools or rivers : like Virgil's bees, they drink flying, — "flumina
summa libant" In this method of drinking, perhaps this genus
may be peculiar.

Of the sedge-bird, f f be pleased to say, it sings most part of
the night ; its notes are hurrying, but not unpleasing, and
imitative of several birds, as the sparrow, swallow, skylark. JJ

as an equatorial migrant in the southern counties of England, but is a
regular summer visitant in the northern parts of the kingdom, arriving
in April, and departing in the end of September, or beginning of October.
The yellow wagtail, motacitta flava of Linnaeus, is also migratory,
appearing about the end of March : it leaves Britain in September, in
search of a warmer residence for winter. — ED.

* British Zoology, vol. ii. p. 300. f Ibid. p. 306.

\ Ibid. p. 358. " § Ibid. p. 360. || Ibid. p. 409.

f Ibid. p. 475. ** Ibid. p. 15. ff Ibid. p. 16.

${ In London's Magazine, a correspondent says, " The sedge-bird has
a variety of notes, which partake of that of the skylark and the swallow,

HOUSE MARTEN. 139

When it happens to be silent in the night, by throwing a stone
or clod into the bushes where it sits, you immediately set it
a-singing, or, in other words, though it slumbers sometimes,
yet, as soon as it is awakened, it reassumes its song.

It will be proper to premise here, that the fifty-fifth, fifty-seventh,
fifty-ninth, and sixty-first letters have been published already in the
Philosophical Transactions ; but, as nicer observation has furnished
several corrections and additions, it is hoped that the republication of
them will not give offence ; especially as these sheets would be very
imperfect without them, and as they will be new to many readers who
had no opportunity of seeing them when they made their first appearance.

LETTER LV.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, November, 20, 1773.

DEAR SIR, — In obedience to your injunctions, I sit down
to give you some account of the house-marten, or martlet ;
and, if my monography of this little domestic and familiar bird
should happen to meet with your approbation, I may probably
soon extend my inquiries to the rest of the British htrwidta&i
— the swallow, the swift, and the bank-marten.

A few house-martens begin to appear about the 16th of
April ; usually some few days later than the swallow. For
some time after they appear, the hirundines in general pay no
attention to the business of nidification, but play and sport
about, either to recruit from the fatigue of their journey, if

as well as that of the house-sparrow. I have heard it imitate, in succes-
sion, (intermixed with its own note of chur chur,) the swallow, the
house-marten, the greenfinch, the chaffinch, and lesser redpole, the red-
start, the willow-wren, the whinchat, the pied and spring wagtails ; yet
its imitations are confined to the notes of alarm of these birds, and so
exactly does it imitate them, both in tone and modulation, that, if it were
to confine itself to one, (no matter which,) and not interlard the wailings
of the little redpole and the shrieks of the marten, with the curses of the
house-sparrow, and the twink twink of the chaffinch, and its' own care-
for-nought chatter, the most practised ear would not detect the difference.
After being silent for a while, it often begins with the chur chur of the
sparrow, so exactly imitated, in every respect, that, were it not for what
follows, no one would suppose it to be any other bird. It is called the
mocking bird here, (Lancashire,) and it well deserves the name; for it
is a real scoffer at the sorrows of other birds, which it laughs to scorn,
and turns into ridicule, by parodying them so exactly." — ED.

140 HOUSE-MARTEN.

they do migrate at all, or else that their blood may recover its
true tone and texture after it has been so long benumbed by
the severities of winter.* About the middle of May, if the
weather be fine, the marten begins to think in earnest of pro-
viding a mansion for its family. The crust, or shell, of this
nest seems to be formed of such dirt or loam as comes most
readily to hand, and is tempered and wrought together with
little bits of broken straws, to render it tough arid tenacious.
As this bird often builds against a perpendicular wall, without
any projecting ledge under it, it requires its utmost efforts to
get the first foundation firmly fixed, so that it may safely carry
the superstructure. On this occasion the bird not only clings
with its claws, but partly supports itself by strongly inclining
its tail against the wall, making that a fulcrum ; and, thus
steadied, it works and plasters the materials into the face of
the brick or stone. But then, that this work may not, while
it is soft and green, pull itself down by its own weight, the
provident architect has prudence and forbearance enough not
to advance her work too fast ; but, by building only in the
morning, and by dedicating the rest of the day to food and
amusement, gives it sufficient time to dry and harden. About
half an inch seems to be a sufficient layer for a day. Thus,
careful workmen, when they build mud-walls, (informed at
first, perhaps, by this little bird,) raise but a moderate layer
at a time, and then desist ; lest the work should been me top-
heavy, and so be ruined by its own weight. By this method,
in about ten or twelve days, is formed an hemispheric nest,
with a small aperture towards the top, strong, compact, and
warm ; and perfectly fitted for all the purposes for which it
was intended. But then, nothing is more common than for
the house-sparrow, as soon as the shell is finished, to seize on
it as its own, to eject the owner, and to line it after its own
manner.-)*

After so much labour is bestowed in erecting a mansion, as

* We are surprised to find that the more our author seems to have
investigated the subject of swallows and their congeners, the greater is his
leaning to the side of their hibernation. We need only again refer to our
notes at pages 22 and 30. The ancient authors all speak of their migratory
habits. From a passage in the JSirds of Aristophanes, we are told that
the swallow pointed out the time to dress in summer attire: and agreeable
to the Greek calendar of Flora, which was kept at Athens by Theo-
phrastus, the Ornithian winds blow, and the swallow arrives, between the
28th February and the 12th March ED.

f See our note at page 88. — ED.

HOUSE-MARTEN. 141

Nature seldom works in vain, martens will breed on for several
years together in the same nest, where it happens to be well
sheltered and secure from the injuries of weather. The shell,
or crust, of the nest is a sort of rustic work, full of knobs and
protuberances on the outside ; nor is the inside of those that
I have examined smoothed with any exactness at all ; but is
rendered soft and warm, and fit for incubation, by a lining of
small straws, grasses, and feathers ; and sometimes by a bed
of moss, interwoven with wool. In this nest, they tread, or
engender, frequently during the time of building ; and the hen
lays from three to five white eggs.

At first, when the young are hatched, and are in a naked
and helpless condition, the parent birds, with tender assiduity,
carry out what comes away from their young. Were it not
for this affectionate cleanliness, the nestlings would soon be
burnt up and destroyed, in so deep and hollow a nest, by their
own caustic excrement. In the quadruped creation, the same
neat precaution is made use of ; particularly among dogs and
cats, where the dams lick away what proceeds from their
young. But, in birds, there seems to be :i particular provision,
that the dung of nestlings is enveloped in a tough kind of
jelly, and, therefore, is the easier conveyed off, without soiling
or daubing. Yet, as Nature is cleanly in all her ways, the
young1 perform this office for themselves in a little time, by
thrusting their tails out at the aperture of their nest. As the
young of small birds presently arrive at their jjX/x/a, or full
growth, they soon become impatient of confinement, and sit
all day with their heads out at the orifice, where the dams, by
clinging to the nest, supply them with food from morning to
night. For a time, the young are fed on the wing by their
parents ; but the feat is done by so quick and almost imper-
ceptible a sleight, that a person must have attended very
exactly to their motions, before he would be able to perceive
it. As soon as the young are able to shift for themselves, the
dams immediately turn their thoughts to the business of a
second brood ; while the first flight, shaken off and rejected
by their nurses, congregate in great flocks, and are the birds
that are seen clustering and hovering, on sunny mornings and
evenings, round towers and steeples, and on the roofs of
churches and houses. These congregaiings usually begin to
take place about the first week in August ; and, therefore, we
may conclude, that by that time the first flight is pretty well
over. The young of this species do not quit their abodes all
together ; but the more forward birds get abroad some days

142

before the rest. These, approaching- the eaves of buildings,
and playing about before them, make people think that several
old ones attend one nest. They are often capricious in fixing
on a nesting-place, beginning many edifices, and leaving them
unfinished ; but when once a nest is completed in a sheltered
place, it serves for several seasons. Those which breed in a
ready finished house get the start, in hatching, of those that
build new, by ten days or a fortnight. These industrious
artificers are at their labours in the long days before four in
the morning : when they fix their materials, they plaster them
on with their chins, moving their heads with a quick vibratory
motion. They dip and wash as they fly sometimes, in very
hot weather, but not so frequently as swallows. It has been
observed, that martens usually build to a north-east or north-
west aspect, that the heat of the sun may not crack and destroy
their nests : but instances are also remembered where they
bred for many years in vast abundance in a hot stifled inn-
yard, against a wall facing to the south.

Birds in general are wise in their choice of situation ; but,
in this neighbourhood, every summer, is seen a strong proof
to the contrary, at a house without eaves, in an exposed
district, where some martens build year by year in the corners
of the windows. * But, as the comers of these windows (which
face to the south-east and south-west) are too shallow, 'the

* A gentleman residing at Blois, in France, on the 14th April, 1831,
made the following curious remarks on the building of the marten : — A
pair of martens commenced making their nest in the deep corner of one
of his windows, which, being of French make, frame and all moved inwards
every time it was opened. So close did these birds build their nest to
the corner, that it became attached to the frame of the window ; the
nest was consequently carried away every time the window was opened;
but they recommenced building every morning, and so perseveringly did
they adhere to the spot, that nothing would make them desist from their
fruitless labour, until a piece of paper was nailed up at the corners of the
window. When this was done, they removed to the next window, and
there, with wonderful sagacity, commenced and carried on the business
of building their nest, out of reach of the motion of the window frame.
It is surprising to see animals thus exhibit such strong proofs of thought
and skill out of the ordinary sphere of their habits.

Mr Clement Jackson, of East Looe, observed, in the same year, in a
cavern near Falmouth, numbers of martens building their nests, and
says, the roof was quite studded with them. But what renders the
circumstance still more remarkable is, that while these birds colonized in
the upper part of the cave, a pair of kestrels had taken up their abode,
and were rearing their brood, under a projecting ledge at the entrance.
Neither party seemed to be incommoded by the neighbourhood of the
other. — ED.

HOUSE MARTEN. 143

nests are washed down every hard rain ; and yet these birds
drudge on to no purpose, from summer to summer, without
changing their aspect or house. It is a piteous sight to see
them labouring when half their nest is washed away, and
bringing dirt " generis lapsi sarcire ruinas" Thus is instinct
a most wonderfully unequal faculty ; in some instances so
much above reason, in other respects so far below it ! Martens
love to frequent towns, especially if there are great lakes and
rivers at hand ; nay, they even affect the close air of London.
And I have not only seen them nesting in the Borough, but
even in the Strand and Fleet Street : but then it was obvious,
from the dinginess of their aspect, that their feathers partook
of the filth of that sooty atmosphere. Martens are by far the
least agile of the four species ; their wings and tails are short,
and therefore they are not capable of such surprising" turns,
and quick and glancing evolutions as the swallow. Accord-
ingly, they make use of a placid, easy motion, in a middle
region of the air, seldom mounting to any great height, and
never sweeping along together over the surface of the ground
or water. They do not wander far for food, but affect sheltered
districts, over some lake, or under some hanging wood, or in
some hollow vale, especially in windy weather. They breed
the latest of all the swallow kind : in 1772, they had nestlings
on to October twenty-first, and are never without unfledged
young as late as Michaelmas.

^As the summer declines, the congregating flocks increase
in numbers daily by the constant accession of the second
broods : till at last they swarm in myriads upon myriads round
the villages on the Thames, darkening the face of the sky as
they frequent the aits of that river, where they roost. They
retire, the bulk of them I mean, in vast flocks together, about
the beginning of October ; but have appeared of late years,
in a considerable flight, in this neighbourhood, for one day or
two, as late as November the third and sixth, after they were
supposed to have been gone for more than a fortnight. They,
therefore, withdraw with us the latest of any species. Unless
these birds are very short-lived, indeed, or unless they do not
return to the district where they are bred, they must undergo
vast devastations somehow, and somewhere ; for the birds that
return yearly bear no manner of proportion to the birds that
retire. *

* Inscrutable are the ways of Him who is the director of all things.
He has, in his infinite wisdom, so nicely regulated the increase of animal
life, that there shall be no superabundance. But for this, there would

144 SUSSEX DOWNS.

House-martens are distinguished from their congeners by
having their legs covered with soft downy feathers down to
their toes. They are no songsters, but twitter in a pretty,
inward, soft manner in their nests. During the time of breed-
ing, they are often greatly molested with fleas.

LETTER LVI.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

RINGMER, near LEWES, December 9, 1773.

DEAR SIR, — I received your last favour just as I was setting
out for this place ; and am pleased to find that my mono-
graphy met with your approbation. My remarks are the
result of many years' observation ; and are, I trust, true on
the whole ; though I do not pretend to say that they are
perfectly void of mistake, or that a more nice observer might
not make many additions, since subjects of this kind are
inexhaustible.

If you think my letter worthy the notice of your respectable
Society, you are at liberty to lay it before them ; and they
will consider it, I hope, as it was intended, as an humble
attempt to promote a more minute inquiry into natural history,
— into the life and conversation of animals. Perhaps, here-
after, I may be induced to take the house-swallow under
consideration.; and from that proceed to the rest of the British
hirundines.

Though I have now travelled the S.ussex Downs upwards
of thirty years, yet I still investigate that chain of majestic
mountains with fresh admiration, year by year ; and I think I
see new beauties every time I traverse it. This range, which
runs from Chichester eastward, as far as East Bourn, is about
sixty miles in length, and is called the South Downs, properly
speaking, only round Lewes. As you pass along, you com-
mand a noble view of the wold, or weald, on one hand, and
the broad downs and sea, on the other. Mr Ray used to

not be at this moment a vacant acre of ground in our globe, so thickly
studded would it have been with the human race, and its surface would
have been more then covered by even any one species of animal which is
more prolific than man ; the atmosphere would have been a solid mass of
insects, and the mighty ocean incapable of containing its tenants. But
how differently is every thing ordered, and we behold nothing but
harmony of design, and a wise regulation of every object, xvhich Its it
for the ends it is destined to fulfil in the scale of being. — ED.

2

SUSSEX DOWNS SHEEP. 145

visit a family* just at the foot of these hills, and was so
ravished with the prospect from Plympton-plain, near Lewes,
that he mentions those capes in his Wisdom of God in the
Works of the Creation, with the utmost satisfaction, and thinks
them equal to any thing he had seen in the finest parts of
Europe.

For my own part, I think there is somewhat peculiarly
sweet and amusing in the shapely-figured aspect of chalk
hills, in preference to those of stone, which are rugged, broken,
abrupt, and shapeless.

Perhaps I may be singular in my opinion, and not so happy
as to convey to you the same idea, but I never contemplate
these mountains, without thinking I perceive somewhat
analogous to growth, in their gentle swellings, and smooth
fungus-like protuberances, their fluted sides, and regular
hollows and slopes, that carry at once the air of vegetative
dilatation and expansion ; or, was there ever a time when
these immense masses of calcareous matter were thrown into
fermentation by some adventitious moisture, — were raised
and leavened into such shapes, by some plastic power, and so
made to swell and heave their broad backs into the sky, so
much above the less animated clay of the wild below?

By what I can guess, from the admeasurements of the hills
that have been taken round my house, I should suppose that
these hills surmount the wild, at an average, at about the rate
of five hundred feet.

One thing is very remarkable as to the sheep: from the
westward, till you get to the river Adur, all the flocks have
horns, and smooth white faces, and white legs ; and a hornless
sheep is rarely to be seen. But as soon as you pass that
river eastward, and mount Beeding-hill, all the flocks at once
become hornless, or, as they call them, poll-sheep ; and have,
moreover, black faces, with a white tuft of wool on their fore-
heads, and speckled and spotted legs : so that, you would think
that the flocks of Laban were pasturing on one side of the
stream, and the variegated breed of his son-in-law, Jacob, were
cantoned along on the other. And this diversity holds good
respectively on each side, from the valley of Bramber and
Beeding to the eastward, and westward all the whole length
of the downs. If you talk with the shepherds on this subject,
they tell you that the case has been so from time immemorial ;
and smile at your simplicity if you ask them, whether the

* Mr Courthope, of Danny.
K

146 BIRDS OF PASSAGE.

situation of these two different breeds might not be reversed ?
(However, an intelligent friend of mine near Chichester is
determined to try the experiment ; and has, this autumn, at
the hazard of being laughed at, introduced a parcel of black-
faced hornless rams among his horned western ewes.) The
black-faced poll-sheep have the shortest legs and the finest
wool.*

As I had hardly ever before travelled these downs at so late
a season of the year, I was determined to keep as sharp a look-
out as possible so near the southern coast, with respect to the
summer short-winged birds of passage. We make great
inquiries concerning the withdrawing of the swallow kind,
without examining enough into the causes why this tribe is
never to be seen in winter ; for, entre nous, the disappearing
of the latter is more marvellous than that of the former, and
much more unaccountable. The kirundines, if they please,
are certainly capable of migration ; and yet, no doubt, are
often found in a torpid state: but redstarts, nightingales,
white-throats, black-caps, &c. &c. are very ill provided for long
flights ; have never been once found, as I ever heard of, in a
torpid state, and yet can never be supposed, in such troops,
from year to year, to dodge and elude the eyes of the curious
and inquisitive, which, from day to day, discern the other small
birds that are known to abide our winters. But, notwithstanding
all my care, I saw nothing like a summer bird of passage ; and
what is more strange, not one wheatear, though they abound

* There are ten or twelve distinct varieties of the common sheep,
which will all breed with each other. In the mountainous districts of
Wales and in the Highlands of Scotland, the kind preferred is the small-
horned black-faced breed, remarkable for the very fine flavour of its flesh.
There are four distinct species ; the bearded sheep of Barbary, the argali,
which ranges the mountains and steeps of Northern Asia, the American
argali, which inhabits Canada, and the musmon of Corsica and Sardinia.
With regard to colour, Southey, in his Letters from Spain, says, the sheep
of that peninsula are nearly all black. Geraldus Cambrensis informs us
that the Irish in his time were usually clothed in black habiliments,
made from wool which did not require dying. Much has been done
within the last century to improve the breed in Ireland, but still, in many
districts, black sheep are numerous. The cloth peculiar to Scotland,
called hodden grey, was a manufacture from the natural fleece ; and
throughout the domestic farming districts, the housewives still use their
iniiuence to have one black lamb retained among the flock, as the wool
takes on the dye more kindly, and is indeed often spun into thread for
the stockings of the family, without receiving any artificial tinge. Indi-
viduals with a black covering are very common in black-faced flocks, and
occasionally occur among the Cheviot breed. — ED.

[Ill- 1'AIUIOT CROSSBILL,
L,oxia Pytiopsittacus, Itccltsfcitt-

WHEATEARS — RINGOUSELS CROSSBILLS. 147

so in the autumn as to be a considerable perquisite to the
shepherds that take them ; and though many are to be seen
to my knowledge all the winter through, in many parts of the
south of England. The most intelligent shepherds tell me,
that some few of these birds appear on the downs in March,
and then withdraw to breed, probably, in warrens and stone
quarries : now and then a nest is ploughed up in a fallow on
the downs, under a furrow ; but it is thought a rarity. At
the time of wheat-harvest, they begin to be taken in great
numbers ; are sent for sale in vast quantities to Brighthelm-
stone and Tunbridge ; and appear at the tables of all the
gentry that entertain with any degree of elegance. About
Michaelmas they retire, and are seen no more till March.
Though these birds are, when in season, in great plenty on
the South Downs round Lewes, yet at East Bourn, which is
the eastern extremity of those downs, they abound much more.
One thing is very remarkable, that, though in the height of the
season so many hundreds of dozens are taken, yet they never
are seen to flock ; and it is a rare thing to see more than three
or four at a time : so that there must be a perpetual flitting
and constant progressive succession. It does not appear that
any wheatears are taken to the westward of Houghton-bridge,
which stands on the river Arun. *

I did not fail to look particularly after my new migration of
ringousels, and to take notice whether they continued on the
downs to this season of the year ; as I had formerly remarked
them in the month of October all the way from Chichester to
Lewes, wherever there were any shrubs and covert : but not
one bird of this sort came within my observation. I only saw
a few larks and whinchats, some rooks, and several kites and
buzzards.

About midsummer, a flight of crossbills comes to the pine-
groves about this house, but never makes any long stay, -j-

The old tortoise, that I have mentioned in a former letter,

* Mr White is mistaken when he says that the xvheatear is not to be
found farther west than Hougliton-bridge, as they have frequently been

taken many miles west of the point mentioned £D.

^ f This bird but seldom visits this kingdom : it is a native of the extensive
pine forests of the Rhine. Mr Knapp knew one instance of it breeding
in England; he says, " That rare bird the crossbill occasionally visits
the orchards in our neighbourhood, coming in little parties to feed on the
seeds of the apple, and, seldom as it appears, it is always noticed by the
mischief it does to fruit, cutting it asunder with its well-constructed
mandibles, in order to obtain the kernels." — ED.

148 TORTOISE ROOKS.

still continues in this garden ; and retired under ground about
the 20th of November, and came out again for one day on the
30th : it lies now buried in a wet swampy border under a wall
facing to the south, and is enveloped at present in mud and
mire!

Here is a large rookery round this house, the inhabitants of
which seem to get their livelihood very easily ; for they spend
the greatest part of the day on their nest-trees when the
weather is mild. These rooks retire every evening, all the
winter, from this rookery, where they only call by the way, as
they are going to roost in deep woods : at the dawn of day,
they always revisit their nest-trees,* and are preceded a few
minutes by a flight of daws, that act, as it were, as their har-
bingers, f

* Rooks are not easily driven from the trees on which they were bred.
Two striking instances of this have recently been witnessed in Edinburgh,
on the grounds of the Earl of Moray, which have all been lately
converted into magnificent streets and squares. Several rooks continue
on the few remaining trees at the end of Ainslie Place ; and at St
Bernard's Crescent, which is surrounded on both sides with, houses, the
rooks still incubate.

Mr Jesse makes the following curious remarks, illustrative of the
attachment of this bird to its old accustomed haunts, and to the established
usages of its tribe : — " The average number of rooks' nests, during the
last four years, in the avenue of Hampton-Court Park, has been about
seven hundred and fifty. Allowing three young birds and a pair of
old ones to each nest, the number would amount to three thousand
seven hundred and fifty. They are very particular that none of their
society build away from the usual line of trees. A pair of rooks did so
this spring, 1832, and when their nest was nearly finished, at least fifty
others came and demolished it in a few minutes."

Differently from all other birds, rooks exhibit much sympathy when
one of their fraternity has been killed, or hurt by a shot. They hover
over their wounded companion, uttering cries of distress, and endeavouring
all in their power to render him assistance. If he be able to flutter along,
they animate him with their voices, and by advancing a little in front,
try to induce him by their example to follow. — ED.

JThe jack-daw is a bird of great intelligence; is easily domesticated,
becomes very familiar. We had a pair in Fife, which new about
all our grounds, and even to the villages around, yet never strayed. They
slept in a box, at a back window of the house. They entered the house,
and even allowed themselves to be handled. They caught in their bill
with great adroitness pieces of bread which were thrown to them. They
followed the different members of our family through all the walks of
the garden and shrubbery, and would perch on a tree, near the seats, and
chatter while any person rested. One of them pronounced several words
very distinctly ; such as wee kaeie, (little kae, the Scottish provincial
name,) and come here. They were much addicted to stealing, and carried

SWALLOWS. 149

LETTER LVII.
TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, January 29, 1774.

DEAR SIR, — The house-swallow, or chimney-swallow, is,
undoubtedly, the first comer of all the British hirundines ; and
appears in general on or about the thirteenth of April, as I have
remarked from many years' observation. * Not but now and
then a straggler is seen much earlier : and, in particular, when
I was a boy, I observed a swallow for a whole day together
on a sunny warm Shrove Tuesday, which day could not fall
out later than the middle of March, and often happened early
in February.

It is worth remarking, that these birds are seen first about
lakes and mill-ponds ; and it is also very particular, that, if
these early visitors happen to find frost and snow, as was the
case of the two dreadful springs of 1770 and 1771, they imme-
diately withdraw for a time ; a circumstance this, much more
in favour of hiding than migration ; since it is much more
probable that a bird should retire to its hybernaculum just

off to their box every thing they could get hold of. Besides this, they
were very mischievous : they would attend the gardener at his work, and
as soon as he removed to another part of the garden, they pulled up by
the roots every thing he had planted ; such as young cabbages, or leeks.
They Lad particular pleasure in turning over the leaves of a book, or
pulling the whole thread off a bobbin. — ED.

* The following beautiful and vivid reflections on the swallow are
from the pen of the late Sir Humphry Davy : — "I delight in this
living landscape ! the swallow is one of my favourite birds, and a rival of
the nightingale ; for he glads my sense of hearing. He is the joyous
prophet of the year, the harbinger of the best season ; he has a life of
enjoyment amongst the loveliest forms of nature ; winter is unknown to
him, and he leaves the green meadows of England in autumn for the
myrtle and orange groves of Italy, and for the palms of Africa ; he has
always objects of pursuit, and his success is secure. Even the beings
selected for his prey are poetical, beautiful, and transient. The ephemerae are
saved by his means from a slow and lingering death in the evening, and
killed in a moment when they have known nothing of life but pleasure.
He is the constant destroyer of insects, the friend of man ; and with
the stork and the ibis, may be regarded as a sacred bird. This instinct,
which gives him his appointed seasons, and which teaches him always
when and where to move, may be regarded as flowing from a Divine
source, and he belongs to the oracles of nature, which speak the awful
and intelligible language of a present Deity." — ED.

150 SWALLOWS.

at hand, than return for a week or two only to warmer
latitudes.*

The swallow, though called the chimney -swallow, by no
means builds altogether in chimneys, but often within barns
and out-houses, against the rafters ; and so she did in VirgiPs
time, —

Ante

Garrula quam tignis nidos suspendat hirundo.

In Sweden, she builds in barns, and is called ladu swala,
(the barn-swallow.) Besides, in the warmer parts of Europe,
there are no chimneys to houses, except they are English
built ; in these countries, she constructs her nest in porches,
and gateways, and galleries, and open halls, j-

* That the migration of the swallow elicited attention in the earliest
times, is evident from the manner in which it is noticed by the prophet
Jeremiah. From that migration also, Cicero has drawn the following
simile : " As swallows are present with us in summer, but are gone
in winter, so false friends attend us in the sunshine of prosperity, but
in the winter of affliction they all flee away." The ancients usually
mention this bird as wintering in Africa ; which is distinctly stated in
Anacreon, \J. Edn. Brunck. p. 38. So great a favourite was the
swallow among the Greeks, particularly at Rhodes, that they had a festival
called ysX/3oy/cc, which was a holyday for the Greek boys, when they
carried about young swallows, and sung a song, which is preserved in
the works of Meursius. It has been thus rendered in English : —

He comes ! He comes ! who loves to hear

Soft sunny hours, and seasons fair ;

The swallow hither comes, to rest

His sable wing, and snowy breast. *

These young mendicants (like Eton scholars at the Montem) used to levy
contributions from the good nature of their felloxv-citizens.

It is remarkable that most countries have a similar proverb relating to
the swallow's accidental appearance before its usual time. The French
have, Une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps ; the Germans, Eine
Sheval bemacht keinen Fruhling • the Dutch, Eeu swalaw maak geen
zomer ; the Italians, Una rodine non fa primevera ; the Swede?, En
svala gor ingen sommar; which may be all literally translated by the
English proverb, " One swallow doth not make a summer." The story
is well known of a thin brass plate having been fixed on a swallow, with
this inscription, — " Prithee, swallow, \v hither goest thou in winter?"
The bird returned next spring, with the answer subjoined, " To Anthony
of Athens. Why dost thou inquire?" — ED.

•f- Dr Richardson gives a curious example of the cliff-swallow (Jrirundo
lunifrons) building in houses. " On the 25th of June, in the year ]825,"
aays he, " a number of them made their first appearance at Fort Che-

S»ewyan, North America, and built their nests under the eaves of the
welling-house, which are about six feet above a balcony that extends the
* Vol. iii. p. 974, folio edition.

SWALLOWS. 151

Here and there a bird may affect some odd, peculiar place ;
as we have known a swallow build down the shaft of an old
well, through which chalk had been formerly drawn up, for
the purpose of manure ; but, in general, with us this hirundo
breeds in chimneys, and loves to haunt those stacks where
there is a constant fire — no doubt for the sake of warmth.
Not that it can subsist in the immediate shaft where there is
a fire ; but prefers one adjoining to that of the kitchen, and
disregards the perpetual smoke of that funnel, as I have often
observed with some degree of wonder.

Five or six, or more feet down the chimney, does this little
bird begin to form her nest, about the middle of May, which

whole length of the building, and is a frequented promenade. They had
thus to graze the heads of the passengers on entering their nests, and
were, moreover, exposed to the depredations of the children, to whom
they were novelties ; yet they preferred the dwelling-house to the more
lofty eaves of the storehouses, and, on the following season, returned
with augmented numbers to the same spot. Fort Chepewyan has existed
for many years, and trading posts, though far distant from each other,
have been established in the fur countries for a century and a half; yet
this, as far as I could learn, is the first instance of this species of swallow
placing itself under the protection of man within the widely extended
lands north of the great lakes. What cause could have thus suddenly
called into action that confidence in the human race, with which the
Framer of the universe has endowed this species, in common with others
of the swallow tribe ? It has been supposed that birds, frequenting desert
countries, and unaccustomed to annoyance from man, would approach
him fearlessly, or at least be less shy than those inhabiting the thickly
peopled districts where they are daily exposed to the attacks of the great
destroyer of their tribes. But although this may be true of some
families of birds, it is far from being generally the case. On the contrary,
the small birds of the fur countries, which are never objects of pursui't,
and scarcely even of notice, to the Indian hunter, are shy, retiring, and
distrustful, their habits contrasting strongly with the boldness and
familiarity of sparrows, that are persecuted to death by every idle boy in
Europe. Nay, some species which are bold enough during their winter
residence in the United States, evince great timidity in the northern
regions, where the raising their progeny occupies the whole time. In
like manner, the redbreast of Europe, familiar as it is in winter, sequesters
itself with the greatest care in the breeding season. The question,
however, recurs, What is the peculiarity of economy which leads one
species of bird to conceal its nest with the most extraordinary care and
address, and another to place its offspring in the most exposed situation
it can select ?"

In the cabinet of the Lycaeurn, Governor De Witt Clinton has given an
account of the fulvous swallow, il folva, which is nearly allied to the
preceding species, laving built its nest in the walls of houses in the
Western States ; and which has, every succeeding year, been advancing
farther to the eastward. — ED.

i'1

la

152 SWALLOWS.

consists, like that of the house-marten, of a crust, or shell,
composed of dirt, or mud, mixed with short pieces of straw, to
render it tough and permanent ; with this difference, that
whereas the shell of the marten is nearly hemispheric, that of
the swallow is open at the top, and like half a deep dish : this
nest is lined with fine grasses, and feathers, which are often
collected as they float in the air.

Wonderful is the address which this adroit bird shews all
day long, in ascending and descending with security through
so narrow a pass. When hovering over the mouth of the
funnel, the vibrations of her wings, acting on the confined air,
occasion a rumbling like thunder. It is not improbable that
the dam submits to this inconvenient situation so low in the
shaft, in order to secure her broods from rapacious birds, and
particularly from owls, which frequently fall down chimneys,
perhaps in attempting to get at these nestlings. *

The swallow lays from four to six white eggs, dotted with
red specks ; and brings out her first brood about the last week
in June, or the first week in July. The progressive method
by which the young are introduced into life is very amusing :
first they emerge from the shaft with difficulty enough, and
often fall down into the rooms below ; for a clay or so, they
are fed on the chimney top, and then are conducted to the
dead leafless bough of some tree, where, sitting in a row,
they are attended with great assiduity, and may then be called
perchers. In a day or two more, they become fliers, but are
still unable to take their own food ; therefore, they play about
near the place where the dams are hawking for flies ; and
when a mouthful is collected, at a certain signal given, the
dam and the nestling advance, rising towards each other, and
meeting at an angle ; the young one all the while uttering

* Swallows have a strong attachment to places where they once found
security, and sometimes make their nests in curious situations. At Blois,
in France, a chimney, which had a moving iron top placed over it to
prevent smoking, became, in consequence of the fireplace being bricked
up, a safe place for building in; and, no doubt, the birds discovered that
it was such. Within the very hood, or top of this machine, swinging
about with every wind, and making a most hideous noise, swallows have
built their nests for the last two years, 1830 and 1831 ; and often, for
five minutes or more, when the wind was high, they have been noticed
in vain attempting to get into it, the constant motion preventing them
from entering their airy dwelling. The force of habit must be very
strong indeed to induce birds to choose so inconvenient a situation for
incubation, No doubt, however, the feelings of security overcome many
considerations. — ED.

SWALLOWS. 153

such a little quick note of gratitude and complacency, that a
person must have paid very little regard to the wonders of
Nature that has not often remarked this feat.

The dam betakes herself immediately to the business of a
second brood, as soon as she is disengaged from her first ;
which at once associates with the first broods of house-martens,
and with them congregates, clustering on sunny roofs, towers*
and trees. This hirundo brings out her second brood towards
the middle and end of August.

All the summer long is the swallow a most instructive
pattern of unwearied industry and affection ; for, from morning
to night, while there is a family to be supported, she spends
the whole day in skimming close to the ground, and exerting
the most sudden turns and quick evolutions. Avenues, and
long walks, under hedges, and pasture fields, and mown meadows
where cattle graze, are her delight, especially if there are trees
interspersed ; because in such spots insects most abound.
When a fly is taken, a smart snap from her bill is heard,
resembling the noise at the shutting of a watch case ; but the
motion of the mandibles is too quick for the eye.

The swallow, probably the male bird, is the excubitor to
house-martens, and other little birds, announcing the approach
of birds of prey. For as soon as a hawk appears, with a shrill
alarming note, he calls all the swallows and martens about
him ; who pursue in a body, and buffet and strike their enemy,
till they have driven him from the village, darting down from
above on his back, and rising in a perpendicular line in perfect
security. This bird also will sound the alarm, and strike at
cats when they climb on the roofs of houses, or otherwise
approach the nests.* Each species of hirundo drinks as it

* The swallow is well known to be a very intrepid bird, and will attack
animals of a size superior to itself, and which larger birds would not dare
to face. While a gentleman was walking through a retired village lane,
near Lynn Regis, in 1830, a stoat, mustela erminea, issued from the
hedge a few paces before him, on the footpath. A swallow, flying over
the place, immediately discovered the animal, fearlessly pounced upon
him, and forced him to retire to his hiding-place. In a minute after-
wards, however, the stoat again ventured out, when the swallow, having
taken another round in the air, again obliged him to retreat. This was
repeated four several times, after which the stoat disappeared, and was
not again seen.

A swallow has been seen to attack a cat, in the same manner as above
described. A writer in London's Magazine says, — " Swallows were
and ^are allowed to build in out-houses belonging to my father ; the
house cat would often bask in the sun, beside the out-houses, when the
swallows testified their detestation of her by flying over her head in a

154 SWALLOWS.

flies along, sipping the surface of the water; but the swallow
alone, in general, washes on the wing, by dropping into a pool
for many times together : in very hot weather, house-martens
and bank-martens dip and wash a little.

The swallow is a delicate songster, and, in soft, sunny
weather, sings both perching and flying ; on trees in a kind of
concert, and on chimney tops ; is also a bold flier, ranging to
distant downs and commons, even in windy weather, which
the other species seem much to dislike ; nay, even frequenting
exposed seaport towns, and making little excursions over the
salt water. Horsemen on wide downs are often closely
attended by a little party of swallows for miles together, which
plays before and behind them, sweeping around, and collecting
all the skulking insects that are roused by the trampling of
the horses' feet. When the wind blows hard, without this
expedient, they are often forced to settle to pick up their
lurking prey.

This species feeds much on little coleoptera, as well as on
gnats and flies, and often settles on dug ground, or paths, for
gravels to grind and digest its food. Before they depart, for
some weeks, to a bird they forsake houses and chimneys, and
roost in trees, and usually withdraw about the beginning of
October, though some few stragglers may appear on, at times,
till the first week in November.

rapid, sweeping curve, almost touching her in its lowest inclination ; and
they shrieked their hatred as they flew. Now and then, as if enraged by
their pertinacity, and her own want of success, she would spring up in
the air at them, as they passed, with her best vigour and agility ; but I
never knew her catch one." Another correspondent mentions a cat which
was more successful. He says, " The thing is, a priori, nearly impossible,
and yet we stake our credit on the authenticity of the fact, having seen
the whole process of grimalkin's wonderful cunning, and almost miraculous
rapidity. It was in the early part of May, 1832, when insects, in conse-
quence of the cold, fly low, and, of course, the swallows are forced to
Hawk for their prey by skimming the surface of the ground. The wily
cat, taking advantage of this, stretches herself upon the sunny grass-plot,
with her legs extended, as if she were dead ; the flies collect about her,
as flies always do when they can find any animal as patient as my Uncle
Toby, to endure their tickling and buzzing ; the simple swallows, dream-
ing of no harm, and thinking they can make good a meal, dip down from
the barren air, dart with free will upon the flies, when puss, perceiving
her prey within reach, makes a spring like a flash of lightning, and
strikes down with her paw the poor thoughtless swallow. The best
marksmen know how difficult it is to shoot a swallow on the wing ; but
the cat found her patience, cunning, and rapidity, well rewarded, by
her unerring success whenever a swallow ventured within her reach*" —
ED.

SWALLOWS. 155

Some few pairs haunt the new and open streets of London
next the fields, but do not enter, like the house-marten, the
close and crowded parts of the city.*

Both male and female are distinguished from their con-
geners by the length and forkedness of their tails. They are
undoubtedly the most nimble of all the species ; and when the
male pursues the female in amorous chase, they then go beyond
their usual speed, and exert a rapidity almost too quick for
the eye to follow.

After this circumstantial detail of the life and discerning
tftvgyq of the swallow, I shall add, for your farther amusement,
an anecdote or two, not much in favour of her sagacity : —

A certain swallow built, for two years together, on the
handles of a pair of garden shears, that were stuck up against
the boards in an out-house, and therefore must have her nest
spoiled whenever that implement was wanted. And, what is
stranger still, another bird of the same species built its nest on
the wings and body of an owl, that happened by accident to
hang, dead and dry, from the rafter of a barn. This owl, with
the nest on its wings, and with eggs in the nest, was brought
as a curiosity worthy the most elegant private museum in
Great Britain. The owner, struck with the oddity of the
sight, furnished the bringer with a large shell, or conch, desiring
him to fix it just where the owl hung. The person did as he
was ordered ; and the following year, a pair, probably the same
pair, built their nest in the conch, and laid their eggs, f

The owl and the conch make a strange, grotesque appear-
ance, and are not the least curious specimens in that wonderful
collection of art and nature. £

* In J 819, we noticed the nest of a chimney-swallow, under the coping
of a stack of chimneys, in Hyde Street, Bloomsbury, the very heart of
London. — EB.

•f- The following interesting circumstance is mentioned in Kalm's
Travels: — " A pair of swallows built their nest in the stable belonging
to n lady ; the female laid eggs in the nest, and was about to breed them.
Some days after, the people saw the female sitting on the eggs, but the
male flying about the nest, and, sometimes sitting on a nail, he was heard
to utter a very plaintive note, which betrayed his uneasiness. On a nearer
examination, the female was found dead in the nest, and the people flung
her body away. The male went to sit upon the eggs ; but, after being
about two hours on them, and perhaps finding the business too trouble-
some, he went out, and returned in the afternoon with another female,
which sat upon the nest, and afterwards fed the young ones, till they were
able to provide for themselves." There seems to have been displayed in
this a degree of intelligence higher than mere instinct. — ED.

| Sir Ashton Lever's Museum.

156 SWALLOWS.

Thus is instinct in animals, taken the least out of its way,
an undistinguishing, limited faculty, and blind to every circum-
stance that does not immediately respect self-preservation, or
lead at once to the propagation or support of their species.

LETTER LVIII.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, February 14, 1774.

DEAR SiR,>-^I received your favour of the eighth, and am
pleased to find that you read my little history of the swallow
with your usual candour ; nor was I the less pleased to find
that you made objections where you saw reason.

As to the quotations, it is difficult to say precisely which
species of hit- undo Virgil might intend, in the lines in question,
since the ancients did not attend to specific differences, like
modern naturalists ; yet somewhat may be gathered, enough
to incline me to suppose, that, in the two passages quoted, the
poet had his eye on the swallow.

In the first place, the epithet garrula suits the swallow well,
who is a great songster, and not the marten, which is rather a
mute bird, and when it sings, is so inward as scarce to be
heard. Besides, if tignum in that place signifies a rafter, rather
than a beam, as it seems to me to do, then I think it must be
the swallow that is alluded to, and not the marten, since the
former does frequently build within the roof, against the
rafters, while the latter always, as far as I have been able to
observe, builds without the roof, against eaves and cornices.*

As to the simile, too much stress must not be laid on it ;
yet the epithet nigra speaks plainly in favour of the swallow,
whose back and wings are very black ; while the rump of the
marten is milk-white, its back and wings blue, and all its under
part white as snow. Nor can the clumsy motions (compara*
tively clumsy) of the marten well represent the sudden and
artful evolutions, and quick turns, which Juturna gave to her
brother's chariot, so as to elude the eager pursuit of the enraged

* We have seen that the marten and cliff-swallow of America have
changed their habits, so far as their breeding places are concerned. The
former has been known to breed in caverns, as mentioned in our note at
page 142, and the latter has deserted the cliff of the desert for the abode
of man, as noticed in our note, pages 150, 151 : so that the argument
made use of by our author is no evidence in favour of the point he wishes to
establish. — ED.

LAND SPRINGS SWALLOWS. 157

./Eneas. The verb sonat, also, seems to imply a bird that is
somewhat loquacious. *

We have had a very wet autumn and winter, so as to raise
the springs to a pitch beyond any thing since 1 764, which was
a remarkable year for floods and high waters. The land-
springs, which we call levants, break out much on the downs
of Sussex, Hampshire, and Wiltshire. The country people
say, when the levants rise, corn will always be dear ; meaning,
that when the earth is so glutted with water as to send forth
springs on the downs and uplands, that the corn vales must be
drowned : and so it has proved for these ten or eleven years
past ; for land-springs have never obtained more since the
memory of man than during that period, nor has there been
known a greater scarcity of all sorts of grain, considering the
great improvements of modern husbandry. Such a run of wet
seasons, a century or two ago, would, I am persuaded, have
occasioned a famine. Therefore, pamphlets and newspaper
letters that talk of combinations, tend to inflame and mislead,
since we must not expect plenty till Providence sends us more
favourable seasons.

The wheat of last year, all round this district, and in the
county of Rutland, and elsewhere, yields remarkably bad ; and
our wheat on the ground, by the continual late sudden vicissi-
tudes from fierce frost to pouring rains, looks poorly, and the
turnips rot very fast.

; LETTER LIX. ; !

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, February 26, 1774.

DEAR SIR, — The sand-marten, or bank-marten, is by much
the least of any of the British hirundines, and, as far as we have
ever seen, the smallest known hirundo; though Brisson asserts
that there is one much smaller, and that is the hirundo esculenta.-\

* Nigra velut magnas domini cum divitis sedes
Pervolat, et pennis alta atria lustrat hirundo,
Pabula parva legens, nidisque loquacibus escas :
Et mine porticibus vacuis, nunc huraida circum
Stagna sonat.

The edible nest of this species constitutes one of the luxuries of an
ian banquet. The Nicobar swallow builds in fissures and cavities of
rocks, especially such as are open to the south. In the latter situation, the
finest and whitest nests are found. Sometimes fifty pounds weight of
them are gathered in a nest-hunting excursion. They are small, and

f Th
Indian 1

158 SAND-MARTENS.

But it is much to be regretted, that it is scarce possible for
any observer to be so full and exact as he could wish, in
reciting the circumstances attending the life and conversation
of this little bird, since it \sfera naturd, at least in this part of
the kingdom, disclaiming all domestic attachments, and haunt-
ing wild heaths and commons where there are large lakes ;
while the other species, especially the swallow and house-
marten, are remarkably gentle and domesticated, and never
seem to think themselves safe but under the protection of man.*

Here are in this parish, in the sand-pits and banks of the
lake of Wolmer Forest, several colonies of these birds ; and
yet they are never seen in the village, nor do they at all
frequent the cottages that are scattered about in that wild
district. The only instance I ever remember where this species
haunts any building, is at the town of Bishop's Waltham, in
this county, where many sand-martens nestle and breed in the
scaffold holes of the back wall of William of Wykeham's
stables ; but then this wall stands in a very sequestered and
retired enclosure, and faces upon a large and beautiful lake.

shaped like the nest of a window-swallow. If these are perfect, seventy-
two of them will go to a catty, or one pound and three quarters. They
bring a very high price in China. They are composed of a substance
resembling amber, and probably the gum of the Nicobar cedar, which
grows abundantly in all the islands. From December to May, it is
covered with blossoms, and bears a fruit somewhat resembling a cedar
or pine apple, but more like a large berry full of pustules, discharging
a gum or resinous fluid. The hen constructs a neat, large nest, for
laying and hatching her eggs, and the cock contrives to fix another
smaller, and rather more clumsy, close to his mate ; for they are not only
built for the purpose of incubation, but also for resting places. If they
are robbed of them, they immediately fall to work to build others, ana1
being remarkably active, are able in a day to finish enough to support the
weight of their bodies, although they take about three weeks to com-
plete a nest. During the north-east trade-wind, they are all alive, and
fly about briskly ; but as soon as the wind comes round to the south-
west, they sit or lie in their nests, in a state of stupor, and shew anima-
tion only by a kind of tremulous motion over their whole body. If the
nests were taken away at this season, the poor birds must inevitably

perish ED.

* If the sand-martens of Selborne were solitary, as Mr White states, they
have been different from all others we have heard of or seen. In many
situations the excavations are so near each other, that the entrance to
one of their holes is frequently close to that of the other. Professor
Rennie tells us that he has noticed them not three inches apart, and the
whole face of a bank thickly studded over with them. We have seen
them in an indurated sandbank, on the side of a stream called the
Lothrie, near Leslie, in Fife, very numerous, and not above fifteen inches
from each other. — ED.

SAND-MARTENS. 159

And, indeed, this species seems so to delight in large waters,
that no instance occurs of their abounding, but near vast pools
or rivers ; and, in particular, it has been remarked that they
swarm in the banks of the Thames, in some places below
London Bridge.

It is curious to observe with what different degrees of
architectonic skill Providence has endowed birds of the same
genus, and so nearly correspondent in their general mode of
life ; for, while the swallow and the house-marten discover the
greatest address in raising and securely fixing crusts, or shells,
of loam, as cunabula for their young, the bank-marten terebrates
a round and regular hole in the sand or earth, which is serpen-
tine, horizontal, and about two feet deep. At the inner end
of this burrow does this bird deposit, in a good degree of safety,
her rude nest, consisting of fine grasses and feathers, usually
goose feathers, very inartificially laid together.

Perseverance will accomplish any thing : though at first one
would be disinclined to believe that this weak bird, with her
soft and tender bill and claws, should ever be able to bore the
stubborn sand bank, without entirely disabling herself ; * yet,
with these feeble instruments, have I seen a pair of them make
great despatch, and could remark how much they had scooped
that day, by the fresh sand which ran down the bank, and was
of a different colour from that which lay loose and bleached in
the sun.

In what space of time these little artists are able to mine
and finish these cavities, I have never been able to discover,
for reasons given above ; but it would be a matter worthy of
observation, where it falls in the way of any naturalist, to
make his remarks. This I have often taken notice of, that
several holes of different depths are left unfinished at the end
of summer. To imagine that these beginnings were inten-
tionally made, in order to be in the greater forwardness for
next spring, is allowing, perhaps, too much foresight and
rerum prudentia to a simple bird. May not the cause of these
latebraz being left unfinished arise from their meeting in those
places with strata too harsh, hard, and solid for their purpose,
which they relinquish, and go to a fresh spot that works more
freely ? or may they not in other places fall in with a soil as
much too loose and mouldering, liable to founder, and threaten-
ing to overwhelm them and their labours ?

* The bill is rather hard and sharp, well adapted for digging ; and its
shortness adds greatly to its strength. — ED.

160 SAND-MARTENS.

One thing is remarkable, that, after some years, the old
holes are forsaken, and new ones bored ; perhaps because the
old habitations grow foul and fetid from long use, or because
they may so abound with fleas as to become untenantable.
This species of swallow, moreover, is strangely annoyed with
fleas ; and we have seen fleas, bed-fleas, (pulex irritans, *)
swarming at the mouths of these holes like bees on the stools
of their hives.

The following circumstance should by no means be omitted,
— that these birds do not make use of their caverns by way of
hybernacula, as might be expected ; since banks so perforated
have been dug out with care in the winter, when nothing was
found but empty nests.

The sand-marten arrives much about the same time with the
swallow, and lays, as she does, from four to six white eggs.
But, as this species is cryptogame, carrying on the business of
nidification, incubation, and the support of its young, in the
dark, it would not be easy to ascertain the time of breeding,
were it not for the coming forth of the broods, which appear
much about the time, or rather somewhat earlier, than those of
the swallow. The nestlings are supported, in common, like
those of their congeners, with gnats and other small insects,
and sometimes they are fed with libellultz, (dragon-flies,)
almost as long as themselves. In the last week in June, we
have seen a row of these sitting on a rail, near a great pool, as
perchers, and so young and helpless, as easily to be taken by
hand ; but whether the dams ever feed them on the wing, as
swallows and house-martens do, we have never yet been able
to determine ; nor do we know whether they pursue and attack
birds of prey.

When they happen to breed near hedges and enclosures,
they are dispossessed of their breeding holes by the house-
sparrow, which is, on the same account, a fell adversary to
house-martens.

These hirundines are no songsters, but rather mute, making
only a little harsh noise when a person approaches their nests.
They seem not to be of a sociable turn, never with us congre-
gating with their congeners in the autumn. Undoubtedly
they breed a second time, like the house-marten and swallow,
and withdraw about Michaelmas.

Though, in some particular districts, they may happen to

* Our author is wrong in supposing these insects to be the common.
*>ed-flea ; it is the swallow-flea, (pulex hirundinis of Stephens,) by which
they are infested. — ED.

2

SAND-MARTENS. 161

abound, yet, on the whole, in the south of England at least, is
this much the rarest species ; for there are few towns or large
villages but what abound with house-martens ; few churches,
towers, or steeples, but what are haunted by some swifts ;
scarce a hamlet or single cottage chimney that has not its
swallow ; while the bank-martens, scattered here and there
live a sequestered life among some abrupt sand hills, and in
the banks of some few rivers. *

These birds have a peculiar manner of flying, flitting about
with odd jerks and vacillations, not unlike the motions of a
butterfly. Doubtless the flight of all hirundines is influenced
by, and adapted to, the peculiar sort of insects which furnish
their food. Hence it would be worth inquiry to examine
what particular genus of insects affords the principal food of
each respective species of swallow.

Notwithstanding what has been advanced above, some few
sand-martens, I see, haunt the skirts of London, frequenting
the dirty pools in St George's Fields, and about Whitechapel.
The question is, where these build, since there are no banks or
bold shores in that neighbourhood ? Perhaps they nestle in
the scaffold-holes of some old or new deserted building. They
dip and wash as they fly sometimes, like the house-marten
and swallow.

* Professor Rennie says, " We can hardly bring ourselves to believe
that he meant the same species, or at least that he spoke in this instance
from his own observation. A more decidedly social bird we are not
acquainted with ; since it not only nestles in numerous colonies, but also
hunts for insects in troops of from thirty to fifty, and, as BuiFon correctly
remarks, associates freely with other swallows." La Vaillant, Montagu,
and Wilson, all agree on this point ; the latter says, it " appears to be
the most social of its kind of all our swallows, living together in large
communities of sorretimes three or four hundred. Several of their holes,"
he adds, " are often within a few inches of each other, and extend in
various strata along the front of a precipice, sometimes for eighty or a
hundred yards. They are particularly fond of the shores of rivers, and
in several places along the Ohio and the Kentucky river, they congregate
in immense multitudes." Although it may be true, according to the
remarks of these naturalists, that the sand-marten has been found in much
frequented situations, we do not think that any proof of the inaccu-
racy of our author, as the Professor seems desirous of establishing. We
have already pointed out, in our note at page 150, on the respectable
authority of Dr Richardson, that one of the congeners of this bird, the
cliif-swallow, has entirely changed its habits within these very few years ;
and this may be the case with the sand-marten also. These birds may
have been in Mr White's time much more rare in this country than at
present. As far as our own observation goes, we have always noticed
this species in remote and rather sequestered situations. — ED.

L

162 SWALLOWS NIGHTINGALES.

Sand-martens differ from their congeners in the diminutive-
ness of their size, and in their colour, which is what is usually
called a mouse-colour. Near Valencia, in Spain, they are
taken, says Willoughby, and sold in the markets for the table,
and are called by the country people, probably from their
desultory, jerking manner of flight, Papillon de Montagna.*

LETTER LX.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, September 2, 1774.

DEAR SIR, — Before your letter arrived, and of my own
accord, I had been remarking and comparing the tails of the
male and female swallow, and this ere any young broods
appeared ; so that there was no danger of confounding the
dams with their pulli ; and, besides, as they were then always
in pairs, and busied in the employ of nidification, there could
be no room for mistaking the sexes, nor the individuals of
different chimneys, the one for the other. From all my obser-
vations, it constantly appeared that each sex has the long
feathers in its tail that give it that forked shape ; with this
difference, that they are longer in the tail of the male than in
that of the female.

Nightingales, when their young first come abroad, and are
helpless, make a plaintive and a jarring noise ; and also a
snapping or cracking, pursuing people along the hedges as
they walk : these last sounds seem intended for menace and
•defiance, f

* Dr Richardson considers the sand-marten of the fur countries of
North America, as identical with the European bird ; and, from all
accounts, it is the same in every quarter of the glohe. It breeds but once
in the fur countries, generally late, and takes its departure about the
middle of August with the rest of the swallow tribe ; which confirms
the fact that they live in societies. That traveller says, " We observed
thousands of these sand-martens fluttering at the entrance of their burrows,
near the mouth of the Mackenzie, in the sixty-eighth parallel, on the 4th
July ; and it is probable, from the state of the weather, that they had
arrived at least a fortnight prior to that date. They are equally numerous
in every district of the fur countries, wherein banks suitable for burrowing
exist." — En.

f It has been generally believed that the migratory songsters, both old
and young, return to their native haunts in the breeding season. From
this circumstance it is believed, that if any of these could be bred beyond
the ordinary limits of their incubation, they would return in the follow-
ing season to their birth place. Impressed with this belief, Sir John

MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 163

The grasshopper-lark chirps all night in the height of
summer.

Swans turn white the second year, and breed the third.

Weasels prey on moles, as appears by their being some-
times caught in mole-traps.*

Sparrow-hawks sometimes breed in old crows' nests ; and
the kestrel in churches and ruins.

There are supposed to be two sorts of eels in the island of
Ely. The threads sometimes discovered in eels are perhaps
their young : the generation of eels is very dark and myste-
rious.f

Sinclair, Bart, long known for his patriotism, comrnissioned the late Mr
Dickson of Covent Garden, to purchase for him as many nightingales'
eggs 'as he could procure, at a shilling each. This was accordingly done,
the eggs carefully packed in wool, and transmitted to Sir John by the
mail. Sir John employed several men to find, and take care of, the
nests of several robins, "in places where the eggs might be deposited and
hatched with security. The robins' eggs were removed, and replaced
by those of the nightingale, which were all sat upon, hatched in due
time, and the young brought up by the foster-parents. The songsters
flew, when fully fledged, and were observed, for some time afterwards,
near the places where they were incubated. In September, the usual
migratory period, they disappeared, and never returned to the place of
their birth. The nightingale is usually silent on the 1st of July. — ED.

* A man of acute observation, who had set a common spring mole-
trap, perceived that a mole was taken. He took the trap from the
ground, allowing the mole to continue suspended in it. He was working
in the neighbourhood, and chancing to look at the trap, he perceived a
weasel actively engaged in attempting to get the mole out of the wires
which held it. The weasel ran up the stick, which formed the spring of
the trap, and descended on the captive, which he seized, and, tried by
wriggling, twisting, and hanging by it, to disengage it from the trap, but
without being able to effect his purpose. When exhausted with these
fruitless efforts, he relinquished his hold, and dropt to the ground, where
he rested for some time; he re-ascended the stick, and renewed his efforts
with redoubled ardour. The workman, after seeing him make nearly
a dozen attempts, took the mole from the trap, and threw it down as a
reward for his perseverance ; but, on seeing the man, he made his escape,
and never returned while he remained. — ED.

f The uncertainty on this subject has, as is usual in most cases, invested
it with a degree of fable. It is a common belief among schoolboys in
Scotland, that horse hairs left in the water are, in a short time, converted
into young eels ; and they establish the fact, to their own full satisfaction,
by experiment. Repairing to a rivulet, they stick a hair in the mud at
the bottom, both because they think the incipient animal derives some
nourishment from the ground, and to prevent its being swept away from
their observation. On their return to the spot, next day perhaps, the
admiring group gather round ; one of them with his finger touches the
hair, which being by this time moistened and rendered pliable, exhibits
in the rippling stream a tremulous motion, that is unhesitatingly ascribed

164 MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS.

Hen-harriers breed on the ground, and seem never to settle
on trees.

When redstarts shake their tails, they move them horizon-
tally, as dogs do when they fawn .- the tail of the wagtail, when
in motion, bobs up and down, like that of a jaded horse.

Hedge-sparrows have a remarkable flirt with their wings in
breeding time : as soon as frosty mornings come, they make a
very piping, plaintive noise.

Many birds which become silent about midsummer, reassume
their notes again in September, as the thrush, blackbird, wood-
lark, willow-wren, &c. ; hence August is by much the most
mute month, the spring, summer, and autumn through. Are
birds induced to sing again because the temperament of autumn
resembles that of spring ?

Linnaeus ranges plants geographically : palms inhabit the
tropics ; grasses the temperate zones ; and mosses and lichens
the polar circles : no doubt animals may be classed in the same
manner with propriety.

House-sparrows build under eaves in the spring ; as the
weather becomes hotter, they get out for coolness, and nest
in plum-trees and apple-trees. These birds have been known
sometimes to build in rooks' nests, and sometimes in the forks
of boughs under rooks' nests. *

to animation. It is allowed to float down the current, and the urchin
philosophers depart, fully persuaded of the possibility of the planting and
rearing beds of eels. — ED.

* The late Mrs O'Brien, of Manor Place, Chelsea, being exceedingly
fond of birds, kept a number in cages. One of them, a canary, was a
great favourite, but the loudness of its song frequently obliged her to put
it outside of the window, among trees trained in the front of the house.
During breakfast one morning, a sparrow was observed to fly several
times round the cage, to alight upon the top, and chirp to the canary ;
at length a reciprocal conversation ensued. He remained a few minutes,
and then flew away, but soon returned with a worm in his bill, which he
dropped into the cage, and again took his departure. The same atten-
tions were manifested day after day, till they became so familiar, that
the canary would at length receive the proffered food from the bill of his
generous friend. This trait of the sparrow soon became known to the
neighbours, who were frequent spectators of his acts of benevolence.
Some of them, wishing to ascertain the extent of his kindly feelings, also
put their birds out at the window, and he extended his attention to all of
them ; but his first and longest visit was always paid to his old acquain-
tance, Mrs O'Brien's canary.

Notwithstanding the sociable disposition manifested by this sparrow
towards his feathered companions, he was excessively shy with regard to
man, for they were obliged to observe his motions at a distance, as the
instant he noticed them he flew away. These visits were continued till

MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 165

As my neighbour was housing1 a rick, he observed that his
dogs devoured all the little red mice that they could catch, but
rejected the common mice ; and that his cats eat the common
mice, refusing the red.

Red-breasts sing all through the spring, summer, and autumn.
The reason that they are called autumn songsters is, because
in the two first seasons their voices are lost and drowned in
the general chorus : in the latter, their song becomes distin-
guishable. Many songsters of the autumn seem to be the
young cock red-breast of that year : notwithstanding the
prejudices in their favour, they do much mischief in gardens
to the summer fruits. *

The tit-mouse, which early in February begins to make two
quaint notes, like the whetting of a saw,*)" is the marsh tit-
mouse ; the great tit-mouse sings with three cheerful joyous
notes, and begins about the same time.

Wrens sing all the winter through, frost excepted.

House-martens came remarkably late this year, both in
Hampshire and Devonshire : Is this circumstance for or
against either hiding or migration ?

Most birds drink sipping at intervals ; but pigeons take a
long continued draught, like quadrupeds.

Notwithstanding what I have said in a former letter, no
gray crows were ever known to breed on Dartmoor ; it was my
mistake.

The appearance and flying of the scarabceus solstitiafa, or
fern-chaffer, commence with the month of July, and cease about
the end of it. These scarabs are the constant food of caprimulgi,
or fern-owls, through that period. They abound on the chalky
downs, and in some sandy districts, but not in the clays.

In the garden of the Black Bear Inn, in the town of Reading,
is a stream, or canal, running under the stables and out into
the fields on the other side of the road : in this water are many
carps, which lie rolling about in sight, being fed by travellers,
who amuse themselves by tossing them bread ; but as soon as
the weather grows at all severe, these fishes are no longer seen,

the commencement of winter, and he then withdrew, never to appear
again. — ED.

* They eat also the berries of the ivy, the honeysuckle, and the
euonymus europceus, or spindle-tree.

Redbreasts were very frequent here about the end of January, 1832,
during the cold weather ; but, on the air becoming milder, they entirely
disappeared ; nor did they again return, although the frost became pretty
severe about six weeks after. — ED.

f It is the greater titmouse (par us major of Linnaeus) which makes
the sound alluded to. — ED.

166 MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS.

because they retire under the stables, where they remain till
the return of spring. Do they lie in a torpid state ? if they do
not, how are they supported ?#

The note of the white-throat, which is continually repeated,
and often attended with odd gesticulations on the wing, is
harsh and displeasing. These birds seem of pugnacious dis-
position, for they sing with an erected crest, and attitudes of
rivalry and defiance ; are shy and wild in breeding time, avoid-
ing neighbourhoods, and haunting lonely lanes and commons ;
nay, even the very tops of the Sussex Downs, where there are
bushes and covert ; but in July and August, they bring their
broods into gardens and orchards, and make great havoc among
the summer fruits.

The black-cap has, in common, a full, sweet, deep, loud,
and wild pipe ; yet that strain is of short continuance, and his
motions are desultory ; but, when that bird sits calmly and
engages in song in earnest, he pours forth very sweet, but
inward melody, and expresses great variety of soft and gentle
modulations, superior perhaps to those of any of our warblers,
the nightingale excepted.

Black-caps mostly haunt orchards and gardens : while they
warble, their throats are wonderfully distended.

The song of the redstart is superior, though somewhat like
that of the white-throat ; some birds have a few more notes
than others. Sitting very placidly on the top of a tall tree in
a village, the cock sings from morning to night : he affects
neighbourhoods, and avoids solitude, and loves to build in
orchards and about houses ; with us he perches on the vane of
a tall maypole.

The fly-catcher is, of all our summer birds, the most mute

* These fishes are extremely cunning ; hence their rustic name, river
fox. They have frequently been known to leap over a net when used to
take them, or to immerse themselves in the mud, that it might pass over
without touching them.

In ponds carp become exceedingly tame, and will allow themselves to
be handled. Sir John Hawkins was assured by a clergyman, a friend of
his, that at the Abbey of St Bernard, near Antwerp, he saw one come to
the edge of the water at the whistling of the person who fed it.

Carp are very long lived : there was one in the garden of Emanuel
College, Cambridge, which was known to have inhabited it for upwards
of seventy years. Gesner mentions an instance of one that reached the
extraordinary age of a hundred years. Carp have been known to live a
fortnight out of the water, being placed in a net, among wet moss, the
head only left out, and hung up in a cellar. They are frequently plunged
into water, and fed with white bread and milk. In this situation they
even fatten, and their flesh is considered of a higher flavour than when
taken fresh out of a pond. — ED.

MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS SWIFTS. 167

and the most familiar; it also appears the last of any. It
builds in a vine, or a sweet-brier, against the wall of a house,
or in the hole of a wall, or on the end of a beam or plate, and
often close to the post of a door, where people are going
in and out all day long. This bird does not make the least
pretension to song, but uses a little inward wailing note when
it thinks its young in danger from cats, or other annoyances :
it breeds but once, and retires early.*

Selborne parish alone can and has exhibited at times more
than half the birds that are ever seen in all Sweden : the
former has produced more than one hundred and twenty
species, the latter only two hundred and twenty-one. Let
me add also, that it has shewn near half the species that were
ever known in Great Britain.f

On a retrospect, I observe that my long letter carries with
it a quaint and magisterial air, and is very sententious ; but
when I recollect ^that you requested stricture and anecdote,
hope you will pardon the didactic manner for the sake of the
information it may happen to contain.

LETTER LXI.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, September 28, 1774.

DEAR SIR, — As the swift, or black-marten, is the largest
of the British hirundinesy so it is undoubtedly the latest comer :
for I remember but one instance of its appearing before the
last week in April ; and in some of our late frosty harsh
springs, it has not been seen till the beginning of May. This
species usually arrives in pairs.

The swift, like the sand-marten, is very defective in
architecture, making no crust, or shell, for its nest, but
forming it of dry grasses and feathers, very rudely and
inartificially put together. With all my attention to these
birds, I have never been able once to discover one in the act
of collecting or carrying in materials : so that I have suspected
(since their nests are exactly the same) that they sometimes

* The beam-bird, (muscicapa grisola, Linn.) It is very rare in
Scotland. The nest is neatly constructed, of long green moss, intermixed
with the catkins of the hazel and filbert, the interior lined with straw and
wool. — ED.

f Sweden 221, Great Britain 252 species, — There are now 368,
including the occasional visitants. — ED.

168 SWIFTS.

usurp upon the house-sparrows, and expel them, as sparrows
<lo the house and sand-marten — well remembering that I
have seen them squabbling together at the entrance of their
holes, and the sparrows up in arms, and much disconcerted at
these intruders ; and yet, I am assured by a nice observer in
such matters, that they do collect feathers for their nests in
Andalusia, and that he has shot them with such materials in
their mouths.

Swifts, like sand-martens, carry on the business of nidifica-
tion quite in the dark, in crannies of castles, and towers, and
steeples, and upon the tops of the walls of churches, under
the roof, and therefore cannot be so narrowly watched as those
species that build more openly ; but, from what I could ever
observe, they begin nesting about the middle of May ; and I
have remarked, from eggs taken, that they have sat hard by
the 9th of June. In general, they haunt tall buildings, churches,
and steeples, and breed only in such ; yet, in this village, some
pairs frequent the lowest and meanest cottages, and educate
their young under those thatched roofs. We remember but
one instance where they breed out of buildings, and that is in
the sides of a deep chalk pit near the town of Odiham, in this
county, where we have seen many pairs entering the crevices,
and skimming and squeaking round the precipices.

As I have regarded these amusive birds with no small
attention, if I should advance something new and peculiar
with respect to them, and different from all other birds, I
might perhaps be credited, especially as my assertion is the
result of many years' exact observation. The fact that I
would advance is, that swifts tread, or copulate, on the wing ;
and I would wish any nice observer, that is startled at this
supposition, to use his own eyes, and I think he will soon be
convinced. In another class of animals, viz. the insect, nothing
is so common as to see the different species of many genera,
in conjunction as they fly. The swift is almost continually on
the wing ; and, as it never settles on the ground, on trees, or
roofs, would seldom find opportunity for amorous rites, were
it not enabled to indulge them in the air. If any person
would watch these birds of a fine morning in May, as they are
sailing round, at a great height from the ground, he would see,
every now and then, one drop on the back of another, and
both of them sink down together for many fathoms, with a
loud, piercing shriek. This I take to be the juncture when
the business of generation is carrying on.

As the swift eats, drinks, collects materials for its nest, and,

SWIFTS. 169

as it seems, propagates on the wing, it appears to live more in
the air than any other bird, and to perform all functions there,
save those of sleeping and incubation.

This hirundo differs widely from its congeners, in laying
invariably but two eggs at a time, which are milk-white, long,
and peaked at the small end ; whereas the other species lay
at each brood from four to six.* It is a most alert bird, rising
very early, and retiring to roost very late, and is on the wing
in the height of summer, at least sixteen hours. In the longest
days it does not withdraw to rest till a quarter before nine in
the evening^ being the latest of all day birds. Just before
they retire, whole groups of them assemble high in the air, and
squeak and shoot about with wonderful rapidity. But this
bird is never so much alive as in sultry thundery weather,
when it expresses great alacrity, and calls forth all its powers.
In hot mornings, several, getting together into little parties,
dash round the steeples and churches, squeaking as they go,
in a very clamorous manner: these, by nice observers, are
supposed to be males serenading their sitting hens ; and not
without reason, since they seldom squeak till they come close
to the walls or eaves, and since those within utter at the same
time, a little inward note of complacency.^

When the hen has sat hard all day, she rushes forth just as
it is almost dark, and stretches and relieves her weary limbs,
and snatches a scanty meal for a few minutes, and then returns
to her duty of incubation. J Swifts, when wantonly and cruelly
shot while they have young, discover a little lump of insects
in their mouths, which they pouch and hold under their
tongue. In general, they feed in a much higher district than
the other species ; a proof that gnats and other insects do

* Temminck, the greatest living ornithologist, says, that the swift
(cypselus murarius of Temminck) lays four eggs ED.

f The velocity of the swift's flight is extraordinary; the following
curious circumstance is recorded in London's Magazine of Natural
History, for November, 1831 : — " Some few months ago, being on
a visit at Hastings, I stopped, during an early morning's walk, to watch
a party of swifts dashing round the ruins of an old castle which overlook
the town. While I was thus amusing myself, and admiring the extraor-
dinary rapidity of their flight, to my infinite astonishment, one of them
flew directly against the castle wall. My surprise was so great, that at
first I thought I was mistaken ; but as the spot where the bird fell was
not very difficult of approach, I climbed up, and there found the bird
fluttering on the ground. I picked it up, but in a very few minutes it
died in my hand. It would be difficult to assign a cause* for this curious
circumstance. " — ED.

\ Montagu says, that at night, both male and female sit upon the
nest. — ED.

170 SWIFTS.

also abound to a considerable height in the air : they also
range to vast distances ; since locomotion is no labour to
them, who are endowed with such wonderful powers of wing.
Their powers seem to be in proportion to their levers ; and
their wings are longer in proportion, than those of almost any
other bird. When they mute, or ease themselves in flight,
they raise their wings, and make them meet over their backs.

At some certain times in the summer, I had remarked that
swifts were hawking very low, for hours together, over pools
and streams ; and could not help inquiring into the object of
their pursuit, that induced them to descend so much below
their usual range. After some trouble, I found that they
were taking phryganece, ephemerae^ libellulas^ (cadew-flies, may-
flies, and dragon-flies,) that were just emerged out of their
aurelia state. I then no longer wondered that they should
be so willing to stoop for a prey that afforded them such
plentiful and succulent nourishment.

They bring out their young about the middle or latter end
of July ; but as these never become perchers, nor, that ever I
could discern, are fed on the wing by their dams, the coming
forth of the young is not so notorious as in the other species.

On the thirtieth of last June, I untiled the eaves of a house
where many pairs build, and found in each nest only two
squab, naked pulli ; on the eighth of July, I repeated the
same inquiry, and found they had made very little progress
towards a fledged state, but were still naked and helpless.
From whence we may conclude, that birds whose way of life
keeps them perpetually on the wing, would not be able to quit
their nest till the end of the month. Swallows and martens,
that have numerous families, are continually feeding them
every two or three minutes ; while swifts, that have but two
young to maintain, are much at their leisure, and do not attend
on their nests for hours together.

Sometimes they pursue and strike at hawks that come in
their way, but not with that vehemence and fury that swallows
express on the same occasion. * They are out all day long
on wet days, feeding about, and disregarding still rain ; from
whence two things may be gathered, — first, that many insects
abide high in the air, even in rain ; and next, that the feathers
of these birds must be well preened to resist so much wet.f

* Swifts are very spirited birds, and being extremely pugnacious among
themselves, they sometimes fight till the contending parties are brought to
the ground, with the claws mutually clasping each other. — ED.

f Mr Henslow of St Alban's gives the following interesting proof of
birds oiling their feathers, — a fact concerning which some eminent

SWIFTS. 171

Windy, and particularly windy weather with heavy showers,
they dislike, and on such days withdraw, and are scarcely ever
seen.

There is a circumstance respecting the colour of swifts,
which seems not to be unworthy our attention. When they
arrive in the spring, they are all over of a glossy dark soot
colour, except their chins, which are white ; but, by being all
day long in the sun and air, they become quite weather-beaten
and bleached before they depart, and yet they return glossy
again in the spring. Now if they pursue the sun into lower
latitudes, as some suppose, in order to enjoy a perpetual
summer, why do they not return bleached ? Do they not
rather, perhaps, retire to rest for a season, and at that juncture
moult and change their feathers, since all other birds are
known to moult soon after the season of breeding?*

Swifts are very anomalous in many particulars, dissenting-
from all their congeners, not only in the number of their
young, but in breeding but once in a summer ; whereas all
the other British hirundines breed invariably twice. It is past
all doubt that swifts can breed but once, since they withdraw
in a short time after the flight of their young, and some time

naturalists have lately had a controversy. " Last summer," says he, " I
brought up by hand a turtle dove, which I accustomed to fly about my
room, till within this last month, at all times, except at night. Invariably
when I had it sitting on my hand, it would begin pluming itself,
(particularly while in moult, which was for about four months,) and, at
such times, it was curious to see it apply its bill to the gland, or nipple
just above its tail, and, by pincing it, procure something, though I
could never discover what. On withdrawing its bill, it always stretched
out its neck, and twisted its head about in the strangest manner, with its
eyes shut, and the bill opening and shutting, as if in the act of chewing
something which put it in pain, but which I always considered was for
the purpose of spreading, or allowing the substance procured to circulate
to all parts of the bill. This operation lasted about twelve seconds, and
then it immediately applied it, quickly, to only three or four different
parts of its plumage at a time, and, at its pleasure, easily enough, all over
its head and neck, by rubbing them on such parts ae were within a
convenient distance ; for who ever saw a bird, particularly a duck, wash
itself, without observing it rub its head and neck on its back, or the
shoulders of its wings ? This I have seen it do at least ten times in as
many minutes on my hand; but confess, I could never detect what it

he probability is, that these birds have just arrived in this country
after they have undergone the vernal moult. Birds differ considerably
in colour before the renewal of their plumage ; and that they are in this
state before taking their departure there can be little doubt, as they have
not yet been subjected to the autumnal moult. — ED.

172 SWIFTS.

before their congeners bring out their second broods. We
may here remark, that, as swifts breed but once in a summer,
and only two at a time, and the other hirundines twice, the
latter, who lay from four to six eggs, increase, at an average,
five times as fast as the former.

But in nothing are swifts more singular than in their early
retreat. They retire, as to the main body of them, by the
tenth of August, and sometimes a few days sooner ; and every
straggler invariably withdraws by the twentieth : while their
congeners, all of them, stay till the beginning of October, many
of them all through that month, and some occasionally to the
beginning of November. This early retreat is mysterious and
wonderful, since that time is often the sweetest season in the
year. But, what is more extraordinary, they begin to retire
still earlier in the more southerly parts of Andalusia, wrhere
they can be nowise influenced by any defect of heat, or as one
might suppose, defect of food. Are they regulated in their
motions with us by a failure of food, or by a propensity to
moulting, or by a disposition to rest after so rapid a life, or by
what ? This is one of those incidents in natural history that
not only baffles our researches, but almost eludes our guesses !

These hirundines never perch on trees or roofs, and so never
congregate with their congeners. They are fearless while
haunting their nesting places, and are not to be scared with
a gun, and are often beaten down with poles and cudgels as
they stoop to go under the eaves. Swifts are much infested
with those pests to the genus, called hippobosccE hirundinis,*
and often wriggle and scratch themselves, in their flight, to
get rid of that clinging annoyance.

Swifts are no songsters, and have only one harsh, screaming
note ; yet there are ears to which it is not displeasing, from
an agreeable association of ideas, since that note never occurs
but in the most lovely summer weather.

They never settle on the ground but through accident, and
when down can hardly rise, on account of the shortness of
their legs, and the length of their wings : neither can they
walk, but only crawl ; but they have a strong grasp with their
feet, by which they cling to walls. Their bodies being flat,
they can enter a very narrow crevice ; and where they cannot
pass on their bellies, they will turn up edgewise.

The particular formation of the foot discriminates the swift
from all the British hirundines, and, indeed, from all other

* Craterina hirundinis of Olfers. — ED.

SWIFTS. 173

known birds, the hirundo melba, or great white-bellied swift of
Gibraltar, excepted ; for it is so disposed as to carry " omnes
quatuor digitos anticos" all its four toes forward : besides, the
least toe, which should be the back toe, consists of one bone
alone, and the other three only of two apiece, — a construction
most rare and peculiar, but nicely adapted to the purposes in
which their feet are employed. This, and some peculiarities
attending the nostrils and under mandible, have induced a
discerning naturalist* to suppose that this species might con-
stitute a genus per se. f

In London, a party of swifts frequent the Tower, playing
and feeding over the river just below the Bridge ; others haunt
some of the churches of the Borough next the fields, but do
not venture, like the house-marten, into the close, crowded
part of the town.

The Swedes have bestowed a very pertinent name on this
swallow, calling it ring-sivala, from the perpetual rings, or
circles, that it takes round the scene of its nidification.

Swifts feed on coleoptera, or small beetles with hard cases
over their wings, as well as on the softer insects ; but it does
not appear how they can procure gravel to grind their food,
as swallows do, since they never settle on the ground. Young
ones, overrun with li'ippoboscce, are sometimes found, under
their nests, fallen to the ground, the number of vermin ren-
dering their abode insupportable any longer. They frequent,
in this village, several abject cottages ; yet a succession still
haunts the same unlikely roofs — a good proof this that the
same birds return to the same spots. As they must stoop very
low to get up under these humble eaves, cats lie in wait, and
sometimes catch them on the wing.

On the 5th of July, 1775, I again untiled part of a roof
over the nest of a swift. The dam sat in the nest ; but so
strongly was she aifected by natural tirooyri for her brood,
which she supposed to be in danger, that, regardless of her
own safety, she would not stir, but lay sullenly by them, per-
mitting herself to be taken in hand. The squab young we
brought down, and placed on the grass-plot, where they
tumbled about, and were as helpless as a new-born child.
While we contemplated their naked bodies, their unwieldy,

* John Antony Scopoli, of Carniola, M.D.

f This difference of character from that of the swallow tribe, has been
laid hold of as a generic distinction by Illiger, under the name of cyp-
selus. — ED.

174 SWALLOWS.

disproportioned abdomina, and their heads too heavy for their
necks to support, we could not but wonder when we reflected
that these shiftless beings, in a little more than a fortnight,
would be able to dash through the air almost with the incon-
ceivable swiftness of a meteor, and, perhaps, in their emigration,
must traverse vast continents and oceans as distant as the
equator. So soon does Nature advance small birds to their
3?X//£/a, or state of perfection ; while the progressive growth
of men and large quadrupeds is slow and tedious !

LETTER LXII.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, September, 1774.

DEAR SIR, — By means of a straight cottage chimney, I had
an opportunity this summer of remarking, at my leisure, how
swallows ascend and descend through the shaft ; but my plea-
sure in contemplating the address with which this feat was
performed, to a considerable depth in the chimney, was some-
what interrupted by apprehensions lest my eyes might undergo
the same fate with those of Tobit.*

Perhaps it may be some amusement to you to hear at what
times the-different species of hirundines arrived this spring in
three very distant counties of this kingdom. With us, the
swallow was seen first on April the 4th ; the swift on April
the 24th ; the bank-marten on April the 12th ; and the house-
marten not till April the 30th. At South Zele, Devonshire,
swallows did not arrive till April the 25th ; swifts, in plenty,
on May the 1st ; and house-martens not till the middle of
May. At Blackburn, in Lancashire, swifts were seen April the
28th ; swallows, April the 29th ; house-martens, May the 1st.
Do these different dates, in such distant districts, prove any
thing for or against migration ?

A farmer near Weyhill fallows his land with two teams of
asses, one of which works till noon, and the other in the after-
noon. When these animals have done their work, they are
penned all night, like sheep, on the fallow. In the winter,
they are confined and foddered in a yard, and make plenty of
dung.

LinnaBus says, that hawks " padscuntu r inducias cum avibus,
quamdiu cuculus cuculat ;" but it appears to me, that, during

* Tobit, ii. 10.

MISSEL-THRUSH RING-DOVE CROPS. 175

that period, many little birds are taken and destroyed by birds
of prey, as may be seen by their feathers left in lanes and
under hedges.

The missel-thrush is, while breeding-, fierce and pugnacious,
driving such birds as approach its nest, with great fury, to a
distance. The Welsh call it pen y llwyn, the head, or master
of the coppice. He suffers no magpie, jay, or blackbird, to
enter the garden where he haunts ; and is, for the time, a good
guard to the new-sown legumens. In general, he is very suc-
cessful in the defence of his family : but once I observed in my
garden, that several magpies came determined to storm the
nest of a missel-thrush ; the dams defended their mansion with
great vigour, and fought resolutely pro arts etfocis ; but num-
bers at last prevailed, they tore the nest to pieces, and swal-
lowed the young alive.*

In the season of modification, the wildest birds are compara-
tively tame. Thus the ring-dove breeds in my fields, though
they are continually frequented ; f and the missel-thrush,
though most shy and wild in the autumn and winter, builds in
my garden, close to a walk where people are passing all day
long.

Wall-fruit abounds with me this year ; but my grapes, that
used to be forward and good, are at present backward beyond
all precedent : and this is not the worst of the story ; for the
same ungenial weather, the same black cold solstice, has
injured the more necessary fruits of the earth, and discoloured
and blighted our wheat. The crop of hops promises to be
very large.

Frequent returns of deafness incommode me sadly, and half

* No kind of animal food is despised by this carnivorous depredator.
Young lambs, poultry, eggs, fish, carrion, insects, and fruit, — all come
within the range of his voracious appetite. He is a great enemy to
all young birds ; and, in many places, commits extensive ravages on the
brood and eggs of game. In various places of England and Ireland, a
reward is given for their heads, at the quarter sessions. The jay is
another beautiful bird; but, like his congener, the magpie, is a most
destructive knave amongst smaller birds and their eggs. — ED.

•J* During our residence in Fife, a pair of ring-doves incubated in a
larch tree, close to a walk in the garden, and not more than twenty-five
yards from the house, although this walk was frequented many times
•luring the day, and there brought up a brood. These young doves built
in a tree not far distant from the others. The old birds returned in the
following summer, and continued to breed there every season while I
remained ; as did also part of their progeny, for we had three nests within
the flower garden alone, which was next to the house, and without any
wall or hedge intervening. — ED.

176 SUBSISTENCE OF BIRDS IN WINTER.

disqualify me for a naturalist ; for, when those fits are upon
me, I lose all the pleasing notices and little intimations arising
from rural sounds ; and May is to me as silent and mute, with
respect to the notes of birds, &c. as August. My eyesight is,
thank God, quick and good ; but with respect to the other
sense, I am, at times, disabled,

And Wisdom at one entrance quite shut out.

LETTER LXIII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

IT is matter of curious inquiry to trace out how those species
of soft-billed birds, that continue with us the winter through,
subsist during the dead months. The imbecility of birds
seems not to be the only reason why they shun the rigour of
our winters ; for the robust wry-neck (so much resembling the
hardy race of woodpeckers) migrates, while the feeble little
golden-crowned wren, that shadow of a bird, braves our
severest frosts, without availing himself of houses or villages,
to which most of our winter birds crowd in distressful seasons,
while he keeps aloof in fields and woods ; but perhaps this
may be the reason why they may often perish, and why they
are almost as rare as any bird we know. *

I have no reason to doubt, but that the soft-billed birds,
which winter with us, subsist chiefly on insects in their aurelia
state. All the species of wagtails, in severe weather, haunt
shallow streams, near their spring-heads, where they never
freeze ; and, by wading, pick out the aurelias of the genus
phrygane&j^ &e.

Hedge-sparrows frequent sinks and gutters in hard weather,
where they pick up crumbs and other sweepings ; and in mild
weather, they procure worms, which are stirring every month
in the year, as any one may see, that will only be at the
trouble of taking a candle to a grass-plot on any mild winter's
night. Redbreasts and wrens, in the winter, haunt out-
houses, stables, and barns, where they find spiders and flies,
that have laid themselves up during the cold season. J But

* This bird inhabits Britain, from the Landsend to the Shetland
Islands, as also Ireland and the Isle of Man. It is sometimes migratory.
See our note, page 42. — En.

f See Derham's Physico - Theology, p. 2,35.

| Both redbreasts and wrens approach villages and towns in winter,
and will eat crumbs of bread, and other farinaceous substances. \Ve

4

TITMOUSE. 177

the grand support of the soft-billed birds in winter is that
infinite profusion of aureliae of the lepidoptera ordo, which is
fastened to the twigs of trees and their trunks ; to the pales
and walls of gardens and buildings ; and is found in every
cranny and cleft of rock or rubbish, and even in the ground
itself.

Every species of titmouse winters with us ; they have what
I call a kind of intermediate bill, between the hard and the
soft, between the Linnsean genera of fringilla and motacilla.
One species alone spends its whole time in the woods and
fields, never retreating for succour, in the severest seasons, to
houses and neighbourhoods, — and that is the delicate long-
tailed titmouse,* which is almost as minute as the golden-
crowned wren : but the blue titmouse, or nun, (parus cceruleus^)
the cole-mouse, (parus ater^) the great black-headed titmouse,
(JringiUagOj) and the marsh titmouse, (parus palustris,') all
resort, at times, to buildings ; and in hard weather particu-
larly. The great titmouse, driven by stress of weather, much
frequents houses ; and, in deep snows, I have seen this bird,
while it hung with its back downwards, (to my no small delight
and admiration,) draw straws lengthwise from out the eaves
of thatched houses, in order to pull out the flies that were
concealed between them, and that in such numbers that they
quite defaced the thatch, and gave it a ragged appearance, f

The blue titmouse, or nun, is a great frequenter of houses,
and a general devourer. Besides insects, it is very fond of

have seen these birds feeding along with domestic poultry, during snow
storms, and even in frosty weather ; on which occasions they become very
tame. — ED.

* We have never heard of this beautiful little bird approaching the
habitations of man during storms, although its congeners are as familiar
as the robin during a hard winter, and will feed on bread, or other
farinaceous diet. In the severe spring of 1824, great numbers, of various
species, visited our grounds, and remained close to the house during the
time the snow lay, mixing and feeding with the poultry. We have more
than once seen a little hero of a blue titmouse disputing the right of a
hen to feed from the same dish with him. In Loudon's Magazine, a
correspondent says that this species destroys bees, " which it eifects by
rapping with its bill at the entrance of the hive, and killing the insects as
they come out. I was informed that a whole hive was in this manner
quickly destroyed. " — ED.

f Mr Gavin Inglis, of Strathendry Bleachfield, near Leslie, Fife,
informed us, that he saw sparrows similarly employed on the thatch of
one of his stacks ; and that, finding their efforts ineffectual when exerted
singly, they accomplished their end by uniting their strength, — several
of them hung to one straw, and thus pulled it out. — ED.

M

178 TITMOUSE IRELAND.

flesh ; for it frequently picks bones on dunghills ; it is a vast
admirer of suet, and haunts butchers' shops. When a boy, I
have known twenty in a morning caught with snap mouse-
traps, baited with tallow or suet. It will also pick holes in
apples left on the ground, and be well entertained with the
seeds on the head of a sunflower. The blue, marsh, and great
titmice will, in very severe weather, carry away barley and
oat straws from the sides of ricks.

How the wheatear and whin-chat support themselves in
winter, cannot be so easily ascertained, since they spend their
time on wild heaths and warrens ; the former especially,
where there are stone quarries : most probable it is, that their
maintenance arises from the aurelise of the lepidoptera ordo,
which furnish them with a plentiful table in the wilderness.

LETTER LXIV.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, March 9, 1775.

DEAR SIR, — Some future faunist, a man of fortune, will, I
hope, extend his visits to the kingdom of Ireland ; a new field,
and a country little known to the naturalist.* He will not, it
is to be wished, undertake that tour unaccompanied by a
botanist, because the mountains have scarcely been sufficiently
examined ; and the southerly counties of so mild an island may
possibly afford some plants little to be expected within the
British dominions.-)- A person of a thinking turn of mind will
draw many just remarks from the modern improvements of that

* Among the newly described species indigenous to these kingdoms,
is Sabine's snipe, scolopax Sabini, which was discovered in Ireland. It has
now been identified as a native of that country. — ED.

j- In Cunnemara, a wild district of Gaiway, Ireland, Mr Mackay of
Dublin discovered the erica Mediterranean growing on a declivity, by a
stream, in boggy ground, at the foot of Urrisbeg mountain, occupying a
space of about hall a mile ; and also the Menziesia polifolio. These two
plants had not before been found in Britain or Ireland, being only known
to the botanist as indigenous to the south of Europe; and Mr Lees dis-
covered the iris tuberosa near Cork. The eriocaulon septangular^
abounds in all the small lakes of Cunnemara. The rare aralis ciliata,
the Menziesia polifolio, the sascifraya umbro&a, so well known as London
pride, are also reckoned among its natives; the aluoria ciliata has been
found on Ben Bulbew, and the rosa Hibernica in the vicinity of Belfast.
The arbutus unedo, or snowberry tree, contributes much to the beauty
of Killarney, where the elegant pinguicala grandiflora is also found, and
to be met with nowhere else. — ED.

IRELAND — SCOTLAND. 179

country, both in arts and agriculture, where premiums obtained
long before they were heard of with us. The manners of the
wild natives, their superstitions, their prejudices, their sordid
way of life, will extort from him many useful reflections. He
should also take with him an able draughtsman : for he must>
by no means, pass over the noble castles and seats, the exten-
sive and picturesque lakes and waterfalls, and the lofty,
stupendous mountains, so little known, and so engaging to the
imagination, when described and exhibited in a lively manner.
Such a work would be well received.

As I have seen no modern map of Scotland, I cannot pretend
to say how accurate or particular any such may be : but this
I know, that the best old maps of that kingdom are very
defective.

The great obvious defect that I have remarked in all maps
of Scotland that have fallen in my way is, a want of a coloured
line, or stroke, that shall exactly define the just limits of that
district called the Highlands.* Moreover, all the great avenues

* The Highlands of Scotland are separated from that portion of North
Britain termed the Lowlands, by a lofty range of granitic mountains,
called the Grampians, which is the only line of demarkation between
these distinct divisions of the kingdom. The physical structure of this
chain is as remarkable as the general direction is striking, regular, and
continuous, forming a grand natural boundary of sublime and romantic
peaks, commencing north of the river Don, in the county of Aberdeen,
and intersecting the kingdom in a diagonal direction, till it terminates in
the south-west, beyond Ardmore, in the county of Dunbarton. This
barrier presents a bold, rocky, and precipitous aspect. Many places of the
south front consist of a species of breccia. In the centre, and following
the range, is a bed of limestone, of vast extent, which contains many
strata of slate, and a marble which takes a fine polish, the prevailing
colours of which are blue, green, and brown, intermixed with streaks of
pure white. A very valuable quarry of green marble has been recently
wrought in Glentilt. In the districts of Fortingall, Strathfillan, and
Glenlyon, quantities of lead and silver ore have been found. Over the
whole of this great range of mountains are numerous detached masses
of red and blue granite, containing garnets, amethysts, aqua-marines,
rock-crystals, and pebbles of great beauty and variety.

In this fine chain, there are many summits of considerable altitude,
as Benlomond, Schiehallion, and Benlawers. From these, the views are
extensive, wild, and magnificent :

There the boundless eye might sail,
O'er a sea of mountains borne.

Here you have a wide fertile valley, and there the rugged and preci-
pitous fastness of some sublime cliffs, on whose tops the golden eagle
holds undisputed sway, with nought to disturb the repose of the solitude
but the notes of the ptarmigan ; while the white hare may be noticed
stealing slowly along the bottom of the cliff. — ED.

180 SCOTLAND — GOSSAMER.

to that mountainous and romantic country want to be well
distinguished. The military roads formed by General Wade,
are so great and Roman-like an undertaking, that they well
merit attention. My old map, Moll's map, takes notice of
Fort William ;rbut could not mention the other forts, that have
been erected long since ; therefore, a good representation of
the chain of forts should not be omitted.

The celebrated zigzag up the Coryarich must not be passed
over. Moll takes notice of Hamilton and Drumlanrig, and
such capital houses ; but a new survey, no doubt, should repre-
sent every seat and castle remarkable for any great event, or
celebrated for its paintings, &c. Lord Breadalbane's seat and
beautiful policy are too curious and extraordinary to be omitted.

The seat of the Earl of Eglintoun, near Glasgow, is worthy
of notice. The pine plantations of that nobleman are very
grand and extensive indeed.

LETTER LXV.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, June 8, 1 775.

DEAR SIR, — On September the 21st, 1741, being then on a
visit, and intent on field diversions, I rose before daybreak ;
when I came into the enclosures, I found the stubbles and
clover grounds matted all over with a thick coat of cobweb, in
the meshes of which, a copious and heavy dew hung so plen-
tifully that the whole face of the country seemed, as it were,
covered with two or three setting-nets drawn one over another.
When the dogs attempted to hunt, their eyes were so blinded
and hoodwinked that they could not proceed, but were obliged
to lie down and scrape the encumbrances from their faces with
their fore feet ; so that, finding my sport interrupted, I returned
home, musing in my mind on the oddness of the occurrence.

As the morning advanced, the sun became bright and warm,
and the day turned out one of those most lovely ones which
no season but the autumn produces, — cloudless, calm, serene,
and worthy of the south of Erance itself.

About nine, an appearance very unusual began to demand
our attention, — a shower of cobwebs falling from very elevated
regions, and continuing, without any interruption, till the close
of the day.

These webs were not single filmy threads, floating in the
air in all directions, but perfect flakes, or rags : some near an

GOSSAMER. 181

inch broad, and five or six long, which fell with a degree of
velocity, that shewed they were considerably heavier than the
atmosphere.

On every side, as the observer turned his eyes, he might
behold a continual succession of fresh flakes falling into his
sight, and twinkling like stars, as they turned their sides towards
the sun.

How far this wonderful shower extended, would be difficult
to say ; but we know that it reached Bradley, Selborne, and
Alresford, three places which lie in a sort of triangle, the
shortest of whose sides is about eight miles in extent.

At the second of those places, there was a gentleman, (for
whose veracity and intelligent turn we have the greatest
veneration,) who observed it the moment he got abroad ; but
concluded that, as soon as he came upon the hill above his
house, where he took his morning rides, he should be higher
than this meteor, which he imagined might have been blown,
like thistle-down, from the common above ; but, to his great
astonishment, when he rode to the most elevated part of the
down, three hundred feet above his fields, he found the webs,
in appearance, still as much above him as before ; still des-
cending into sight in constant succession, and twinkling in the
sun, so as to draw the attention of the most incurious.

Neither before nor after, was any such fall observed ; but on
this day, the flakes hung in the trees and hedges so thick, that
a diligent person sent out might have gathered baskets full.

The remark that I shall make on these cobweb-like appear-
ances, called gossamer, is, that strange and superstitious as the
notions about them were formerly, nobody in these days doubts
but that they are the real production of small spiders, which
swarm in the fields in fine weather in autumn, and have a
power of shooting out webs from their tails, so as to render
themselves buoyant and lighter than air. But why these
apterous insects should that day take such a wonderful aerial
excursion, and why their webs should at once become so gross
and material as to be considerably more weighty than air, and
to descend with precipitation, is a matter beyond my skill. If
I might be allowed to hazard a supposition, I should imagine
that those filmy threads, when first shot, might be entangled
in the rising dew, and so drawn up, spiders and all, by a
brisk evaporation, into the regions where clouds are formed ;
and if the spiders have a power of coiling and thickening their
webs in the air, as Dr Lister says they have, [see his Letters

182 GOSSAMER.

to Mr Ray,] then, when they were become heavier than the
air, they must fall.

Every day in fine weather, in autumn chiefly, do I see those
spiders shooting out their webs and mounting aloft : they will
go off from your finger, if you will take them into your hand.
Last summer, one alighted on my book as I was reading in the
parlour ; and, running to the top of the page, and shooting out
a web, took its departure from thence. But what I most
wondered at was, that it went off with considerable velocity
in a place where no air was stirring ; and I am sure that I did
not assist it with rny breath. So that these little crawlers seem
to have, while mounting, some locomotive power without the
use of wings, and to move in the air faster than the air itself. *

* Gossamer has been long noticed both by poets and naturalists. It is
now known to be produced by several different kinds of spiders, particu-
larly the flying ones. Mr Murray, who has given much attention to the
economy of these insects, says, they have the power of projecting their
threads to a considerable distance, and by this means transporting them-
selves from the ground to any elevation in the atmosphere, or from the
apex of one object to another. He is of opinion that the threads of their
web are electric, or so influenced by that subtle element, that buoyancy is
imparted, and the baseless shrouds of this aerial voyager are, together
with their fabricator, raised into the higher regions of the air.

Most spiders, when crawling over uneven surfaces, leave behind them
a thread, serving as a cable, or line of suspension, lest they should foil, or
be blown from their eminence ; so that nearly the whole surface of the
ground is covered with the net work of these singular animals. Besides
the ground spiders, other wanderers contribute to these accumulations,
which, however delicate, are at the same time durable. That this tissue
is always on the increase, may be noticed by following a plough for a
short space ; for no sooner has it finished one ridge, than the fresh mould
turned up is equally interlaced with innumerable threads, which glisten
in the sun's rays, and can only be accounted for by the circumstance
mentioned by Mr Murray, that during fine weather the air is filled with
these excursive webs of the aranea aeronautica. The spider is often seen
at the end of its thread, with extended limbs, balancing itself like a bird,
and invariably floating before the wind. The same gentleman, however,
says, he has seen threads projected in a close room, where there was no
current of air to carry them in a direct line, which is an interesting'fact.

Mr Murray thinks that electricity, either positive or negative, is an
active agent in the movement of the spiders' webs ; which opinion has
been combated by Mr Bakewell, who asserts, that they have not the
power of propelling their webs without assistance from the wind, and
that the cobwebs seen floating in the air are raised from the surface of the
ground by the action of air, highly rarified by a cloudless sun. — ED.

SOCIALITY OF BRUTES. 183

LETTER LXVL
TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, August 15, 1775.

DEAR SIR, — There is a wonderful spirit of sociality in the
brute creation, independent of sexual attachment : the con-
gregating of gregarious birds in the winter is a remarkable
instance.

Many horses, though quiet with company, will not stay one
minute in a field by themselves ; the strongest fences cannot
restrain them. My neighbour's horse will not only not stay by
himself abroad, but. he will not bear to be left alone in a strange
stable, without discovering the utmost impatience, and endea-
vouring to break the rack and manger with his fore feet. He
has been known to leap out at a stable window, through which
dung was thrown, after company ; and yet, in other respects,
is remarkably quiet. Oxen and cows will not fatten by
themselves ; ' but will neglect the finest pasture that is not
recommended by society. It would be needless to instance
in sheep, which constantly flock together. *

* There were two Hanoverian horses, which had assisted in drawing the
same gun during the whole Peninsular War, in the German brigade of
artillery. One of them met his death in an engagement ; after which the
survivor was picqueted as usual, and his food was brought to him. He
refused to eat, and kept constantly turning his head round to look for his
companion, and sometimes calling him by a neigh. Every care was taken,
and all means that could be thought of were adopted, to make him eat,
but without effect. Other horses surrounded him on all sides, but he
paid no attention to them ; his whole demeanour indicated the deepest
sorrow, and he died from hunger, not having tasted a bit from the time
his companion fell.

Lord Kaimes relates a circumstance of a canary which fell dead in
singing to his mate, while in the act of incubation. The female quitted
her nest, and finding him dead, rejected all food, and died by his side.

Mr Charles Hall, of Englishbatch, had a beagle bitch which suckled a
kitten, to whom she shewed the most devoted attachment.

*' M. Antoine," says Professor Rennie, " relates the following anecdote
of a lapwing which a clergyman kept in his garden : — It lived chiefly on
insects, but, as the winter drew on, these failed, and necessity compelled
the noor bird to approach the house, from which it had previously
remained at a wary distance; and a servant, hearing its feeble cry, as
if it were asking charity, opened for it the door of the back kitchen. It
did not venture far at first, but it became daily more familiar and
imboldened as the cold increased, till at length it actually entered the
Jckchen, though already occupied by a dog and a cat. By degrees it at

184 SOCIALITY OF BRUTES.

But this propensity seems not to be confined to animals of
the same species ; for we know a doe, still alive, that was
brought up from a little fawn with a dairy of cows ; with them
it goes afield, and with them it returns to the yard. The dogs
of the house take no notice of this deer, being used to her ;
but, if strange dogs come by, a chase ensues ; while the master
smiles to see his favourite securely leading her pursuers over
hedge, or gate, or stile, till she returns to the cows, who, with
fierce lo wings, and menacing horns, drive the assailants quite
out of the pasture.

Even great disparity of kind and size does not always
prevent social advances and mutual fellowship. For a very
intelligent and observant person has assured me, that, in the
former part of his life, keeping but one horse, he happened
also on a time to have but one solitary hen. These two
incongruous animals spent much of their time together, in a
lonely orchard, where they saw no creature but each other.
By degrees, an apparent regard began to take place between
these two sequestered individuals. The fowl would approach
the quadruped with notes of complacency, rubbing herself
gently against his legs ; while the horse would look down with
satisfaction, and move with the greatest caution and circum-
spection, lest he should trample on his diminutive companion.
Thus, by mutual good offices, each seemed to console the
vacant hours of the other ; so that Milton, when he puts the

length came to so good an understanding with these animals, that it
entered regularly at nightfall, and established itself at the chimney corner,
where it remained snugly beside them for the night ; but, as soon as the
warmth of spring returned, it preferred roosting in the garden, though it
resumed its place at the chimney corner the ensuing winter. Instead
of being afraid of its two old acquaintances, the dog and the cat, it now
treated them as inferiors, and arrogated to itself the place which it had
previously obtained by humble solicitation. This interesting pet was at
last choked by a bone which it had swallowed."

The following singular presentiment in a goose is related by Mr C. A.
Brew, of Ennis : — " An old goose, that had been for a fortnight hatching in
a farmer's kitchen, was perceived on a sudden to be taken violently ill. She
soon after left the nest, and repaired to an outhouse, where there was a
young goose of the past year, which she brought with her into the kitchen.
The young one immediately scrambled into the old one's nest, sat, hatched,
and afterwards brought up the brood. The old goose, as soon as the
young one had taken her place, sat down by the side of the nest, and
shortly after died. As the young goose had never been in the habit of
entering the kitchen before, it would be difficult to account for this fact,
except by supposing that the old one had some way of communicating
her anxieties, which the other was perfectly able to understand. " — ED.

SOCIALITY OF BRUTES GIPSIES. 185

following1 sentiment in the mouth of Adam, seems to be
somewhat mistaken : —

Much less can bird with beast, or fish with fowl,
So well converse, nor with the ox the ape.

LETTER LXVII.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, October 2, 1775.

DEAR SIR, — We have two gangs, or hordes of gipsies,
which infest the south and west of England, and come round
in their circuit two or three times in the year. One of these
tribes calls itself by the noble name of Stanley, of which I
have nothing particular to say ; but the other is distinguished
by an appellative somewhat remarkable. As far as their harsh
gibberish can be understood, they seem to say that the name
of their clan is Curleople : now the termination of this word
is apparently Grecian ; and, as Mezeray and the gravest
historians all agree that these vagrants did certainly migrate
from Egypt and the East, two or three centuries ago, * and so

* The gipsies first attracted notice in the beginning of the fifteenth
century, and, within a few years afterwards, they had spread themselves
all over the Continent. The earliest mention which is made of them
was in the years 1414 and 1417, when they were observed in Germany.
In 1418, they were found in Switzerland"; in 1422, in Italy; and, in
1427, they are mentioned as having been seen in the neighbourhood of
Paris, and about the same time in Spain. In England they were not
known till some time after. One remarkable part of their history is, their
continuing the same unsettled mode of life, and rigidly keeping apart
from all other people. It is impossible to find a greater similarity in
the traits of character, and the manners exhibited by different tribes of
the same family, than that which is observable amongst the gipsies of the
different countries of Europe, under whatever appellation they are known.
The habits of the cygani of Hungary, the gitano of Spain, the zigenners
of Transylvania, the zingari of Italy, the bohemien of France, the gipsy
of England, and the tinkler of Scotland, are identical ; whether we regard
their physical distinction, or their mode of subsistence.

Their features and complexion mark them of eastern origin. Grell-
man thinks them Hindoos of the lowest class; and a comparison of
the language of that people with a list of about four hundred words pos-
sessed by him goes far to prove a national connection. There is, besides,
some striking coincidences in the construction of the languages. He
attributes their appearance to the cruel war of devastation carried on by
Timur-Beg in 1408-9, and supposes them to be fugitives from their native
land, and that they passed through the desert of Persia, and along the
Gulf of Persia, through Arabia Petrea, over the Isthmus of Suez, into

186 GIPSIES.

spread by degrees over Europe, may not this family name, a
little corrupted, be the very name they brought with them

Egypt, and, entering Europe from thence, have brought with them the
name Egyptians, which has been corrupted in England into gipsies.

This opinion seems to have been early entertained, but soon forgotten ;
for we find that Hieronymus Foroliviensis, in the nineteenth volume of
Muratori, says, that, on the 7th day of August, A.D. 1432, two hundred
of the cingari came to his native town, and halted there two days on
their journey to Rome, and that some of them said they came from India —
" et, ut atidivi, aliqui dicebant quod erant India." Munster, who, in 1524,
conversed with one of the cingari, found that bis belief was, the tribe
had come from that country.

The Abbe Dubois says, that in every country of the Peninsula, great
numbers of families are to be found, whose ancestors were obliged to
emigrate thither in times of trouble or famine from their native land, and
to establish themselves amongst strangers. But the most remarkable
feature in their history is, that these colonists preserve their own language,
from generation to generation, as well as their national peculiarities.
Many families might be pointed out who have continued four or five
hundred years in particular districts without approximating in the least
to the manners, fashions, or language, of the tribes among whom they
have been naturalized.

Leaving this species of evidence, we shall proceed to one which seems
to afford more conclusive proofs than any other of the Hindoo origin of
the gipsies ; namely, a short vocabulary of words, collected from the
gipsy of England, the giatano of Spain, and the cygani of Hungary;
and if we make allowance for the corruptions, which must necessarily
have crept in amongst people wandering through countries whose language
was not only distinct from their own, but also unconnected with each
other, we shall not wonder at the slight difference, seeing the great variety
of provincial dialect spoken even in Britain itself :

English Gypsy. Hungarian. Hindoo. Spanish.

Cow, Goururnin. Gourumin, Goru.

Old woman, Puromanesche. — Peer. Pari.

Ox, Gocero. Gouro.

Soul, — — Jee, Javo. Ochi.

Bed, (Bedstead ) Charpoai. Choripey.

Face, Mui. Mooh.

Duck, Heretz. Haunse.

Worm, Kirma. Keerak.

Fork, Kassoni. Kastoni. " Kaunta.

Scissors, Catsaw. Quinchee.

Knife, Churi. Schluri. Chorah. Churi.

Drunk, Motto. — Mad-walla. Matocino.

Red, Laul. Oiajo.

Salt, Lone. Lhon. Loon. Lon.

Key, Kesin. Klucko. Koonjee. Clachi.

Besides these, we may mention, that the gipsies use the word banduk,
for a musket, which, in the Hindoo, is bundooq ; and kahngeree English,
cangri Spanish, and kahngeri Hungarian, all signify church. Could a

GIPSIES. 187

from the Levant ? It would be matter of some curiosity could
one meet with an intelligent person among them, to inquire
whether, in their jargon, they still retain any Greek words :
the Greek radicals will appear in hand, foot, head, water, earth,
&c. It is possible, that, amidst their cant and corrupted
dialect, many mutilated remains of their native language might
still be discovered.

With regard to those peculiar people, the gipsies, one thing
is very remarkable, and especially as they came from warmer
climates ; and that is, that while other beggars lodge in barns,
stables, and cow-houses, these sturdy savages seem to pride
themselves in braving the severities of winter, and in living
sub dio the whole year round. Last September was as wet a
month as ever was known ; and yet, during those deluges, did
a young gipsy girl lie in the midst of one of our hop-gardens,
on the cold ground, with nothing over her but a piece of a
blanket, extended on a few hazel rods bent hoop fashion, and
stuck into the earth at each end, in circumstances too trying
for a cow in the same condition : yet within this garden there
was a large hop-kiln, into the chambers of which she might
have retired, had she thought shelter an object worthy her
attention.

Europe itself, it seems, cannot set bounds to the rovings of
these vagabonds ; for Mr Bell, in his return from Peking, met
a gang of these people on the confines of Tartary, who were
endeavouring to penetrate those deserts, and try their fortune
in China.*;

Gipsies are called in French, Bohemiens ; in Italian and
modern Greek, Zingani.

vocabulary be formed of the dialect used by gipsies, the era and route
by which they entered Europe might possibly be traced by an ingenious
linguist.

Ludolf, in the seventeenth century, collected from certain wandering
tribes, which he met in ^Ethiopia and Nubia, a vocabulary of thiry-eight
words. These were so fortunately selected, that a counterpart has, in
almost every instance, offered itself, both from the language of Hindostan,
and from that of the European gipsy. This fact recalls an observation
made by Sir William Jones, though it may bear but little upon the
question — that the ancient Egyptian and Sanscrit are probably the
same. — ED.

* See Bell's Travels in China.

188 RUSHLIGHTS.

LETTER LXVIII.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, November 1, 1775.
DEAR SIR,

Hie tsedse pingues, hie plurimus ignis

Semper, et assidua postes fuligine nigri.

I shall make no apology for troubling you with the detail
of a very simple piece of domestic economy, being satisfied
that you think nothing beneath your attention that tends to
utility : the matter alluded to is the use of rushes instead of
candles, which I arn well aware prevails in many districts
besides this ; but as I know there are countries also where it
does not obtain, and as I have considered the subject with
some degree of exactness, I shall proceed in my humble
story, and leave you to judge of the expediency.

The proper species of rush for this purpose seems to be the
juncus conglomerate, or common soft rush, which is to be
found in most moist pastures, by the sides of streams, and
under hedges.* These rushes are in best condition in the
height of summer ; but may be gathered, so as to serve the
purpose well, quite on to autumn. It would be needless to
add, that the largest and longest are best. Decayed labourers,
women, and children, make it their business to procure and
prepare them. As soon as they are cut, they must be flung
into water, and kept there ; for otherwise they will dry and
shrink, and the peel will not run. At first, a person would
find it no easy matter to divest a rush of its peel, or rind, so
as to leave one regular, narrow, even rib, from top to bottom,
that may support the pith; but this, like other feats, soon
becomes familiar, even to children ; and we have seen an old
woman, stone blind, performing this business with great des-
patch, and seldom failing to strip them with the nicest

* In many of the northern parts of Scotland rushes were formerly used
in place of cotton for wicks to lamps, which, in Perthshire and the
adjoining counties, are termed crozeys. They are much more durable than
cotton. In Zetland, a shell, the fusus antiquus of Lamark, suspended
horizontally by a cord, was formerly used as a lamp, the canal of the
shell serving as a cavity for the reception of the rush-wick. In various
places of the same districts, ropes for tethering cattle were formed of
rushes by the peasantry during their idle hours, and also by herd boys.
If firmly platted, they were pretty durable. We have seen them often
used in the north. — ED.

RUSHLIGHTS. 189

regularity. When these junci are thus far prepared, they
must lie out on the grass to be bleached, and take the dew for
some nights, and afterwards be dried in the sun.

Some address is required in dipping these rushes in the
scalding fat, or grease ; but this knack also is to be attained
by practice. The careful wife of an industrious Hampshire
labourer obtains all her fat for nothing, for she saves the
scummings of her bacon-pot for this use ; and, if the grease
abounds with salt, she causes the salt to precipitate to the
bottom, by setting the scummings in a warm oven. Where
hogs are not much in use, and especially by the sea-side, the
coarser animal oils will come very cheap. A pound of common
grease may be procured for fourpence ; and about six pounds
of grease will dip a pound of rushes ; and one pound of rushes
may be bought for one shilling ; so that a pound of rushes,
medicated and ready for use, will cost three shillings. If men
that keep bees will mix a little wax with the grease, it will
give it a consistency, and render it more cleanly, and make
the rushes burn longer : mutton suet would have the same
effect.

A good rush, which measured in length two feet four inches
and a half, being minuted, burnt only three minutes short of
an hour ; and a rush of still greater length has been known to
burn one hour and a quarter.

These rushes give a good, clear light. Watch-lights, (coated
with tallow,) it is true, shed a dismal one — " darkness visible ;"
but then the wicks of those have two ribs of the rind, or peel,
to support the pith, while the wick of the dipped rush has but
one. The two ribs are intended to impede the progress of the
flame, and make the candle last.

In a pound of dry rushes, avoirdupois, which I caused to be
weighed and numbered, we found upwards of one thousand
six hundred individuals. Now, suppose each of these burns,
one with another, only half an hour, then a poor man will
purchase eight hundred hours of light, a time exceeding thirty-
three entire days, for three shillings. According to this account,
each rush, before dipping, costs one thirty-third of a farthing,
and one-eleventh afterwards. Thus a poor family will enjoy
five and a half hours of comfortable light for a farthing. An
experienced old housekeeper assures me, that one pound and
a half of rushes completely supplies his family the year round,
since working people burn no candle in the long days, because
they rise and go to bed by daylight.

Little farmers use rushes much in the short days, both

190 RUSHLIGHTS BESOMS IDIOT BOY.

morning and evening, in the dairy and kitchen ; but the very
poor, who are always the worst economists, and therefore must
continue very poor, buy a halfpenny candle every evening,
which, in their blowing, open rooms, does not burn much more
than two hours. Thus have they only two hours' light for
their money, instead of eleven.

While on the subject of rural economy, it may not be
improper to mention a pretty implement of housewifery that
we have seen nowhere else ; that is, little neat besoms which
our foresters make from the stalks of the polytricum commune,
or great golden maiden-hair, which they call silk-wood, and
find plenty in the bogs.* When this moss is well combed and
dressed, and divested of its outer skin, it becomes of a beautiful
bright chestnut colour; and, being soft and pliant, is very
proper for the dusting of beds, curtains, carpets, hangings, &c.
If these besoms were known to the brushmakers in town, it
is probable they might come much in use for the purpose above
mentioned, -j*

LETTER LXIX.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, December 12, 1775.

DEAR SIR, — We had in this village, more than twenty
years ago, an idiot boy, whom I well remember, who, from a
child, shewed a strong propensity to bees ; they were his food,
his amusement, his sole object. And as people of this cast
have seldom more than one point in view, so this lad exerted
all his few faculties on this one pursuit. In the winter, he
dozed away his time, within his father's house, by the fire-side,
in a kind of torpid state, seldom departing from the chimney
corner ; but in the summer he was all alert, and in quest of his
game in the fields, and on sunny banks. Honey-bees, humble-
bees, and wasps, were his prey wherever he found them : he
had no apprehensions from their stings, but would seize them
nudis manibus, and at once disarm them of their weapons, and
suck their bodies for the sake of their honey-bags. Sometimes
he would fill his bosom, between his shirt and skin, with a
number of these captives ; and sometimes would confine them

* These besoms are common in the south of Scotland. From the
same substance mats and rugs are plaited. In Ireland large mats of this
kind are used by the peasantry for beds. — ED.
. f A besom of this sort is to be seen in Sir Ashton Lever's museum.

BEE-DEVOURING IDIOT BOY. 191

in bottles. He was a very merops apiaster, or bee-bird, and
very injurious to men that kept bees ; for he would slide into
their bee-gardens, and, sitting down before the stools, would
rap with his finger on the hives, and so take the bees as they
came out. He has been known to overturn hives for the sake
of honey, of which he was passionately fond. Where metheglin
was making, he would linger round the tubs and vessels,
begging a draught of what he called bee-wine. As he ran
about, he used to make a humming noise with his lips,
resembling the buzzing of bees. This lad was lean and
sallow, and of a cadaverous complexion ; and, except in his
favourite pursuit, in which he was wonderfully adroit, discovered
no manner of understanding. Had his capacity been better,
and directed to the same object, he had perhaps abated much
of our wonder at the feats of a more modern exhibiter of bees ;
and we may justly say of him now,

Thou,

Had thy presiding star propitious shone,

Shouldst Wildman be.

When a tall youth, he was removed from hence to a distant
village, where he died, as I understand, before he arrived at
manhood.

LETTER LXX.
TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, January 8, 1776*

DEAR SIR, — It is the hardest thing in the world to shake
off superstitious prejudices : they are sucked in, as it were>
with our mother's milk ; and, growing up with us at the time
when they take the fastest hold, and make the most lasting
impressions, become so interwoven into our very constitutions,
that the strongest good sense is required to disengage our-
selves from them. No wonder, therefore, that the lower people
retain them their whole lives through, since their minds are
not invigorated by a liberal education, and therefore not
enabled to make any efforts adequate to the occasion.

Such a preamble seems to be necessary before we enter on
the superstitions of this district, lest we should be suspected
of exaggeration in a recital of practices too gross for this
enlightened age.

But the people of Tring, in Hertfordshire, would do well to
remember, that no longer ago than the year 1751, and within

192 SUPERSTITIONS.

twenty miles of the capital, they seized on two superannuated
wretches, crazed with age, and overwhelmed with infirmities,
on a suspicion of witchcraft ; and, by trying experiments,
drowned them in a horse-pond.

In a farm-yard, near the middle of this village, stands, at
this day, a row of pollard-ashes, which, by the seams and long
cicatrices down their sides, manifestly shew that, in former
times, they have been cleft asunder. These trees, when young
and flexible, were severed and held open by wedges, while
ruptured children, stripped naked, were pushed through the
apertures, under a persuasion that, by such a process, the poor
babes would be cured of their infirmity. As soon as the
operation was over, the tree in the suffering part was plastered
with loam, and carefully swathed up. * If the parts coalesced

* Among the popular superstitions of Britain trees have always held a
conspicuous place. There is hardly a county in the kingdom, or indeed
a parish, that has not had its witch's thorn, or some such ominously
named tree. Among the peasantry of Scotland, the mountain ash, which
is termed the rowan tree, was considered a complete antidote against the
effects of witchcraft ; and, in consequence, a twig of it was very commonly
carried in the pocket : but that it might have complete efficacy, it was
necessary that it should be accompanied by the following couplet, written
on paper, wrapped round the wood, and secured by a red silk thread :

Rowan tree and red thread
Keeps the witches at their speed.

An amber bead was supposed to have precisely the same effect ; if the
red silk thread was attached to it with the above couplet, only the words
" lammar bead" were substituted for rowan tree. Among the higher
classes, amber beads were worn, and always strung with red silk thread.
The Hindoos have a similar superstition, as remarked by Bishop Heber,
near Boitpoor, in Upper Nilia. " I passed a fine tree of the mimosa,
with leaves, at a little distance, so much resembling those of the mountain
ash, that I was for a moment deceived, and asked if it did not bring
fruit ? They answered, no ; but that it was a very noble tree, being called

* the imperial tree,' for its excellent properties ; that it slept all night,
and wakened and was alive all day, withdrawing its leaves if any one
attempted to touch them. Above ah1, however, it was useful as a pre-
servative against magic ; a sprig worn in the turban, or suspended over
the bed, was a perfect security against all spells, evil eye, &c. insomuch
that the most formidable wizard would not, if he could help it, approach
its shade. One, indeed, they said, who was very renowned for his
power (like Loorinite in the Kehama) of killing plants and drying up
their sap with a look, had come to this very tree, and gazed on it intently ;

* but,' said the old man, who told me this, with an air of triumph, ' look
as he might, he could do the tree no harm ;' a fact of which I make no
question. I was amused and surprised to find the superstition, which,
in England and Scotland, attaches to the rowan tree, was applied to a
tree of nearly similar form. Which nation has been, in this case, the

2

SUPERSTITIONS. 193

and soldered together, as usually fell out where the feat was
performed with any adroitness at all, the party was cured ; but
where the cleft continued to gape, the operation, it was
supposed, Vould prove ineffectual. Having occasion to enlarge
my garden not long since, I cut down two or three such trees,
one of which did not grow together.

Wg have several persons now living in the village, who, in
their childhood, were supposed to be healed by this super-
stitious ceremony, derived down, perhaps, from our Saxon
ancestors, who practised it before their conversion to Chris-
tianity. *

imitator? or from what common centre are all these common notions
derived ? " — ED.

* It would be difficult to trace at what time these superstitions crept
in ; there can be little doubt, however, that they prevailed long before the
light of Christianity shed its rays on mankind. They exist amongst
all nations ; and the less informed the people, the greater their influence
on the human mind. Even to the present hour, we find persons in the
highest ranks of society whose minds are deeply tinctured with them.

If a magpie cross our path, when we first go out of a morning, it is
considered a bad omen. Anglers, in spring, seeing a single magpie, augur
a bad day's sport ; but^if there are two, the case is otherwise. We have
no doubt the observation may generally hold true, as in cold weather the
prudent magpies only leave their nests, one at a time, in search of food,
the other remaining to keep the eggs warm. It is, therefore, only in
mild weather that two are to be seen together ; and fish never take well,
except in such weather. The magpie has always been esteemed an
ominous bird ; the following old distich tells what the numbers of those
seen at a time forebodes : —

One sorrow, two mirth,
Three a wedding, four death.

The feathers of the pigeon are never used for stuffing beds or pillows,
because it is said they cwould prolong the deathbed sufferings. The
reason assigned is, that " the bird has no gall. "

When the aurora borealis is seen in great quantity, and very luminous,
it is said to be the precursor of some great and terrible events. In the
autumn of 1830, this phenomenon caused much consternation amongst
the inhabitants of Weardale, as appears from the Newcastle Chronicle.
They imagined they saw the figure of a man on a white horse, holding in
his hand a red sword, moving across the heavens, and that it foretold
the present eventful* times, — "wars and rumours of wars." Sailors for
the most part will not whistle at sea, because, they say, it will raise the
wind. When, however, they are becalmed, and wish to have a breeze,
they invite its approach by frequent whistling as they tread the deck
with impatient steps.

Insects also assert an important place amongst the superstitions of all
countries. The following amusing passage is quoted from a Tour in Brit"
tany : — "If there are bees kept in the house where a marriage feast is
celebrated, care is always taken to dress up their hives in red, which is
done by placing upon them pieces of scarlet cloth, or of some such bright

N

194 SUPERSTITIONS.

At the south comer of the Plestor, or area, near the church,
there stood, about twenty years ago, a very old, grotesque,
hollow, pollard-ash, which for ages had been looked on with
no small veneration as a shrew-ash. Now, a shrew-ash is an
ash whose twigs or branches, when gently applied to the limbs
of cattle, will immediately relieve the pains which a beast
suffers from the running of a shrew-mouse over the part
affected : for it is supposed that a shrew-mouse is of so baneful
and deleterious a nature, that wherever it creeps over a beast,
be it horse, cow, or sheep, the suffering animal is afflicted with
cruel anguish, and threatened with the loss of the use of the
limb. Against this accident, to which they were continually
liable, our provident forefathers always kept a shrew-ash at
hand, which, when once medicated, would maintain its virtue
for ever. A shrew-ash was made thus:* — Into the body
of the tree, a deep hole was bored with an auger, and a poor
devoted shrew-mouse was thrust in alive, and plugged in, no
doubt, with several quaint incantations, long since forgotten.
As the ceremonies necessary for such a consecration are no
longer understood, all succession is at an end, and no such tree
is known to subsist in the manor or hundred.

As to that on the Plestor,

The late vicar stubb'd and burnt it, "

when he was way-warden, regardless of the remonstrances of
the bystanders, who interceded in vain for its preservation,
urging its power and efficacy, and alleging that it had been
Religione patrum multos servata per ann os.

LETTER LXXI.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, February 7, 1776.

DEAR SIR, — In heavy fogs, on elevated situations especially,
trees are perfect alembics : and no one that has not attended
to such matters, can imagine how much water one tree will
distil in a night's time, by condensing the vapour, which

colour ; the Bretons imagining that the bees would forsake their dwellings
if they were not made to participate in the rejoicings of their owners : in
like manner, they are all put into mournings when a death occurs in the
family. "

Innumerable illustrations of similar superstitions might be quoted ;
but we conceive the above sufficient for our purpose. — ED.

* For a similar practice, see Plot's Staffordshire.

DRIPPING OF TREES. 195

trickles down the twigs and boughs, so as to make the ground
below quite in a float. In Newton-lane, in October, 1775, on
a misty day, a particular oak in leaf dropped so fast that the
cart-way stood in puddles, and the ruts ran with water,
though the ground in general was dusty.*

In some of our smaller islands in the West Indies, if I
mistake not, there are no springs or rivers ; but the people are
supplied with that necessary element, water, merely by the
dripping of some large tall trees, which, standing in the bosom
of a mountain, keep their heads constantly enveloped with fogs
and clouds, from which they dispense their kindly, never-
ceasing moisture ; and so render those districts habitable by
condensation alone, f

* The house in which we resided in Fife was built on a greenstone rock,
on the south brow of the high ground overlooking the beautiful river
Leven, about two hundred feet above its level, and five hundred feet
distant from it. We there remarked, that, even in closets in the garrets,
shoes, and all kinds of leather, soon became mouldy, which could be
produced only by the moisture generated by the trees, which in thick
groves closely surrounded the house. — ED.

•f* There are no rivulets, or springs, in the island of Ferro, the westmost
of the Canaries, except on apart of the beach, which is nearly inaccessible.
To supply the place of a fountain, however, Nature, ever bountiful,
has bestowed upon this island a species of tree, unknown to all other parts
of the world. It is of moderate size, and its leaves are straight, long, and
evergreen. Around its summit a small cloud perpetually rests, which so
drenches the leaves with moisture, that they continually distil upon the
ground a stream of fine clear water. To these trees, as to perennial
springs, the inhabitants of Ferro resort ; and are thus supplied with an
abundance of water for themselves and for their cattle.

The trunk of this tree is about nine feet in circumference ; the top
branches are not higher than thirty feet from the ground ; the circum-
ference of all the branches together is one hundred and twenty feet ; the
branches are thick, and extended, the leaves being about three feet nine
inches from the ground. Its fruit is shaped like that of the oak, but
tastes like the kernel of a pine apple, and the leaves resemble those of the
laurel, but are longer, wider, and curved.

Trees require a great quantity of water to supply their organs. This
is given off in perspiration by their leaves. In the experiments of Hales
on the quantity of water taken up by plants, it was found that a pear-
tree, which weighed seventy-one pounds, absorbed fifteen pounds of water
in six hours ; and that branches of an inch diameter, and from five to
six feet high, sucked up from fifteen to thirty ounces in twelve hours.
When these were stript of their leaves, they only sucked up one ounce in
twelve hours.

The white birch tree, betula alba, is noted on account of the wine that
is extracted from it, and is said to possess the medical qualities of an anti-
scorbutic, deobstruent, and diuretic. The method of bleeding the tree
is performed thus: — About the beginning of March, an oblique cut is

196 DRIPPING OF TREES.

Trees in leaf have such a vast proportion more of surface
than those that are naked, that, in theory, their condensations
should greatly exceed those that are stripped of their leaves :
but, as the former imbibe also a great quantity of moisture,
it is difficult to say which drip most : but this I know, that
deciduous trees, that are entwined with much ivy, seem to
distil the greatest quantity. Ivy leaves are smooth, and thick,
and cold, and therefore condense very fast ; and besides, ever-
greens imbibe very little.* These facts may furnish the
intelligent with hints concerning what sorts of trees they
should plant round small ponds that they would wish to be
perennial ; and shew them how advantageous some trees are
in preference to others.

Trees perspire profusely, condense largely, and check
evaporation so much, that woods are always moist ; no

made, almost as deep as the pith, under some well spreading branch,
into which a small stone or chip is inserted to keep the lips of the wound
open. To this orifice a bottle is attached to collect the flowing juice,
which is limpid, watery, and sweetish, but retains something of both
the taste and odour of the tree. One tree affords two or three gallons
a day ; at the same time, it receives no perceptible injury from being
thus bled, from which it would appear, that much of its moisture
has at other times been given off through its leaves ; and, in all proba-
bility, it acquires an increased action to supply the extra quantity which
is thus drained from it. — ED.

* There can be little doubt, that the moisture of climate is greatly
influenced by trees. It has been remarked, after cutting down forests,
particularly on high grounds, that the quantity of rain has been lessened,
by diminishing, it is supposed, the attraction between the earth and the
clouds. This fact has been experienced on a large scale in America.
In Kentucky there are many brooks, now completely dry in summer,
which afforded an abundant supply of water all the year round about
twenty-five or thirty years ago ; and, in some parts of the state of New
Jersey, where the woods have been extensively cleared away, many streams
have altogether disappeared.

The climate of Britain, it is very generally believed, has deteriorated by
becoming much more changeable than it was sixty years ago. This has,
with much probability, been attributed to the extent of planting, to the
introduction of green crops, and abolition of fallows in an improved sys-
tem of agriculture. Mr Murray is of opinion, that trees, by condensing
the moisture of the air in foggy weather, materially affect the climate, and
that thickly wooded countries must necessarily be colder, and more
humid than naked savannahs. Trees are, therefore, it would seem, ready-
conductors of aerial electricity, the climate being improved when woods
are cleared away, and becoming more moist by planting. This fact
receives corroboration from the history of our own country, as well as
from that of North America. — ED.

PONDS ON THE SUMMITS OF CHALK HILLS. 197

wonder, therefore, that they contribute much to pools and
streams.

That trees are great promoters of lakes and rivers, appears
from a well-known fact in North America ; for, since the woods
and forests have been grubbed and cleared, all bodies of water
are much diminished : so that some streams, that were very
considerable a century ago, will not now drive a common
mill.* Besides, most woodlands, forests, and chases, with us,
abound with pools and morasses, no doubt for the reason given
above, f

To a thinking mind, few phenomena are more strange than
the state of little ponds on the summits of chalk hills, many
of which are never dry in the most trying droughts of summer ;
on chalk hills, I say, because in many rocky and gravelly soils,
springs usually break out pretty high on the sides of elevated
grounds and mountains ; but no person acquainted with chalky
districts will allow that they ever saw springs in such a soil
but in valleys and bottoms, since the waters of so pervious a
stratum as chalk all lie on one dead level, as well-diggers have
assured me again and again, J

Now, we have many such little round ponds in this district ;
and one in particular on our sheep-down, three hundred feet
above my house ; which, though never above three feet deep
in the middle, and not more than thirty feet in diameter, and

* Vide Kalm's Travels to North America.

•j* For the diminution of some of the lakes and rivers of America, we
must seek other causes. About a thousand rivers and streams empty
themselves into Lake Superior, sweeping into it earth, primitive boulder
stones, and drift timber, which sometimes accumulate so much as to form
islands in the estuaries. A lignite formation, indeed, is said to be now in
progress, similar to that of Bovey in Devonshire. Within a mile of the
share, the water is about seventy fathoms; within eight miles, one
hundred and thirty-six fathoms ; and the greatest depth of the lake,
farther from the shore, is unknown. Lake Erie, from similar causes, is
gradually becoming shallower. Long Point, for example, has, in three
years, gained no less than three miles on the water.— ED.

\ In making wells at Modena, in Italy, the workmen dig through
several strata of soils, till they come to a very hard kind of earth, much
resembling chalk ; here they begin the mason-work, and build a wall,
which they carry on at their leisure till they finish it, without being
interrupted with one drop of water, and without any apprehension of not
finding it when they come to make the experiment. The wall being
completed, they bore through the bed of chalk, at the bottom, with a
long auger, but take care to ascend from the pit before they draw out the
instrument again : which when they have done, the water springs up
into the well, and in a little time rises to the brim — nay, sometimes over-
flows the neighbouring grounds. — ED. j

198 PONDS ON THE SUMMITS OF CHALK HILLS.

containing perhaps not more than two or three hundred hogs-
heads of water, yet never is known to fail, though it affords
drink for three hundred or four hundred sheep, and for at
least twenty head of large cattle besides. This pond, it is true,
is overhung with two moderate beeches, that, doubtless, at
times, afford it much supply; but then we have others as
small, that, without the aid of trees, and in spite of evaporation
from sun and wind, and perpetual consumption by cattle, yet
constantly maintain a moderate share of water, without over-
flowing in the wettest seasons, as they would do if supplied
by springs. By my journal of May, 1775, it appears that
" the small and even considerable ponds on the vales are now
dried up, while the small ponds on the very tops of hills are
but little affected." Can this difference be accounted for
from evaporation alone, which certainly is more prevalent in
bottoms ? or rather have not those elevated pools some
unnoticed recruits, which in the night-time counterbalance
the waste of the day ; without which, the cattle alone must
soon exhaust them ? And here it will be necessary to enter
more minutely into the cause. Dr Hales, in his Vegetable
Statics, advances, from experiment, that " the moister the earth
is, the more dew falls on it in a night ; and more than a double
quantity of dew falls on an equal surface of moist earth."
Hence we see that water, by its coolness, is enabled to assimi-
late to itself a large quantity of moisture nightly by condensation ;
and that the air, when loaded with fogs and vapours, and even
with copious dews, can alone advance a considerable and never-
failing resource.* Persons that are much abroad, and travel
early and late, such as shepherds, fishermen, &c. can tell what
prodigious fogs prevail in the night on elevated downs, even
in the hottest parts of summer ; and how much the surfaces of
things are drenched by those swimming vapours, though, to the
senses, all the while, little moisture seems to fall.

* Fogs are much more frequent in cold seasons, and cold countries, than
in such as are warm ; because, in the former, the aqueous particles, being
condensed almost as soon as they proceed from the surface of the earth, are
incapable of rising into the higher portions of the atmosphere. If the
cold be augmented, the fog freezes, attaching itself in small icicles to the
branches of trees, and to the hair and clothes of persons exposed to it, to
the blades of grass, and other substances. — ED.

THE CUCKOO. 199

LETTER LXXII.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, April 3, 1776.

DEAR SIR, — Monsieur Herissant, a French anatomist, seems
persuaded that he has discovered the reason why cuckoos do
not hatch their own eggs ; the impediment, he supposes, arises
from the internal structure of their parts, which incapacitates
them for incubation. According to this gentleman, the crop,
or craw, of a cuckoo, does not lie before the sternum at the
bottom of the neck, as in the gallmcB, columbce, &c. but imme-
diately behind it, on and over the bowels, so as to make a large
protuberance in the belly.*

Induced by this assertion, we procured a cuckoo ; and,
cutting open the breast-bone, and exposing the intestines to
sight, found the crop lying as mentioned above. This stomach
was large and round, and stuffed hard, like a pin-cushion, with
food, which, upon nice examination, we found to consist of
various insects ; such "as small scarabs, spiders, and dragon-
flies ; the last of which we have seen cuckoos catching on
the wing, as they were just emerging out of the aurelia state.
Among this farrago also were to be seen maggots, and many
seeds, which belonged either to gooseberries, currants, cran-
berries, or some such fruit ; so that these birds apparently
subsist on insects and fruits ; nor was there the least appear-
ance of bones, feathers, or fur, to support the idle notion of
their being birds of prey, f

The sternum in this bird seemed to us to be remarkably
short, between which and the anus lay the crop, or craw, and,
immediately behind that, the bowels against the back-bone.

It must be allowed, as this anatomist observes, that the crop,
placed just below the bowels, must, especially when full, be in
a very uneasy situation during the business of incubation ; yet
the test will be, to examine whether birds that are actually
known to sit for certain are not formed in a similar manner.

* Histoire de F Academic Roy ale, 1752.

f Sir William Jardine says, that when cuckoos have fed much on some of
the large hairy caterpillars so common on the northern moors, the stomach
becomes coated with the short hairs, which may have given rise to the
opinion that they are predatory. But has not Sir William mistaken the
fibrous structure of the stomach for these hairs ? Its American congeners,
the yellow-billed cuckoo, and the black-billed cuckoo, rob birds of their
effgs ; and the latter feeds on fresh water shell-fish. — ED.

200 THE CUCKOO THE VIPER.

This inquiry I proposed to myself to make with a fern-owl, or
goat-sucker, as soon as opportunity offered : because, if their
formation proves the same, the reason for incapacity in the
cuckoo will be allowed to have been taken up somewhat
hastily.

Not long after, a fern-owl was procured, which, from its
habits and shape, we suspected might resemble the cuckoo
in its internal construction. Nor were our suspicions ill
grounded ; for, upon the dissection, the crop, or craw, also lay
behind the sternum, immediately on the viscera, between them
and the skin of the belly. It was bulky, and stuffed hard with
large phakEnce, moths of several sorts, and their eggs, which,
no doubt, had been forced out of these insects by the action of
swallowing.

Now, as it appears that this bird, which is so well known to
practise incubation, is formed in a similar manner with cuckoos,
Monsieur Herissant's conjecture, that cuckoos are incapable
of incubation from the disposition of their intestines, seems to
fall to the ground : and we are still at a loss for the cause of
that strange and singular peculiarity in the instance of the
cuculus canorus.

We found the case to be the same with the ring-tail hawk,
in respect to formation ; and, as far as I can recollect, with
the swift ; and probably it is so with many more sorts of birds
that are not granivorous.

LETTER LXXIII.
TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, April 29, 1776.

DEAR SIR, — On August the 4th, 1775, we surprised a large
viper, which seemed very heavy and bloated, as it lay in the
grass, basking in the sun. When we came to cut it up, we
found that the abdomen was crowded with young, fifteen in
number ; the shortest of which measured full seven inches,
and were about the size of full-grown earth-worms. This little
fry issued into the world with the true viper spirit about them,
shewing great alertness as soon as disengaged from the belly
of the dam : they twisted and wriggled about, and set them-
selves up, and gaped very wide, when touched with a stick,
shewing manifest tokens of menace and defiance, though as
yet they had no manner of fangs that we could find, even with
the help of our glasses.

THE VIPER CASTRATION. 201

To a thinking mind, nothing is more wonderful than that
early instinct which impresses young animals with the notion
of the situation of their natural weapons, and of using them
properly in their own defence, even before those weapons
subsist or are formed. * Thus a young cock will spar at his
adversary before his spurs are grown ; and a calf or lamb will
push with their heads before their horns are sprouted. In the
same manner did these young adders attempt to bite before their
fangs were in being. The dam, however, was furnished with
very formidable ones, which we lifted up, (for they fold down
when not used,) and cut them off with the point of our scissars.

There was little room to suppose that this brood had ever
been in the open air before, and that they were taken in for
refuge, at the mouth of the dam, when she perceived that
danger was approaching ; because then, probably, we should
have found them somewhere in the neck, and not in the
abdomen.

LETTER LXXIV.
TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

CASTRATION has a strange effect : it emasculates both man,
beast, and bird, and brings them to a near resemblance of the
other sex. Thus, eunuchs have smooth unmuscular arms,
thighs, and legs ; and broad hips, and beardless chins, and
squeaking voices. Gelt stags and bucks have hornless heads,
like hinds and does. Thus wethers have small horns, like
ewes ; and oxen large bent horns, and hoarse voices when they
low, like cows : for bulls have short straight horns ; and
though they mutter and grumble in a deep tremendous tone,
yet they low in a shrill high key. Capons have small combs
and gills, and look pallid about the head like pullets; they
also walk without any parade, and hover chickens like hens.
Barrow-hogs have also small tusks like sows.f

* An adder with two distinct heads, which lived three days, taken with
five others from the body of an old one, found in a ditch at Drumlanrig,
Dumfriesshire, is now in the museum of Mr Thomas Grierson, Baitford,
near Thornhill. — ED.

•f- After castration animals generally lose their spirit, although, in the
instance of horses, this is by no means always the case. The following
fact is a strong evidence of this : — The horse of a nobleman in Ireland
ran at a man, seized him with his teeth by the arm, which he broke ;
he then threw him down, and lay upon him. Every effort to get him off

202 CASTRATION THE HOG.

Thus far it is plain, that the deprivation of masculine vigour
puts a stop to the growth of those parts or appendages that are
looked upon as its insignia. But the ingenious Mr Lisle, in
his book on husbandry, carries it much farther ; for he says,
that the loss of those insignia alone has sometimes a strange
effect on the ability itself. He had a boar so fierce and
venereous that, to prevent mischief, orders were given for his
tusks to be broken off. No sooner had the beast suffered this
injury than his powers forsook him, and he neglected those
females to whom before he was passionately attached, and
from whom no fences could restrain him.

LETTER LXXV.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

THE natural term of a hog's life is little known, and the
reason is plain, — because it is neither'profitable nor convenient
to keep that turbulent animal to the full extent of its time ;
however, my neighbour, a man of substance, who had no
occasion to study every little advantage to a nicety, kept a
half-bred Bantam sow, who was as thick as she was long, and
whose belly swept on the ground, till she was advanced to her
seventeenth year ; at which period, she shewed some tokens of
age by the decay of her teeth, and the decline of her fertility.

For about ten years, this prolific mother produced two
litters in the year, of about ten at a time, and once above
twenty at a litter ; but, as there were near double the number
of pigs to that of teats, many died. From long experience
in the world, this female was grown very sagacious and artful.
When she found occasion to converse with a boar, she used to
open all the intervening gates, and march, by herself, up to a
distant farm where one was kept, and when her purpose was
served, would return by the same means. At the age of about
fifteen, her litters began to be reduced to four or five ; and
such a litter she exhibited when in her fatting-pen. She
proved, when fat, good bacon, juicy, and tender ; the rind, or
sward, was remarkably thin. At a moderate computation,
she was allowed to have been the fruitful parent of three

proved unavailing, and they were forced to shoot him. The only reason
could.be assigned for such ferocity was, that he had been castrated by
this man some time before, which the animal seems to have remembered.
— ED.

A LEVERET REARED BY A CAT. 203

hundred pigs, — a prodigious instance of fecundity in so large a
quadruped! She was killed in spring, 1775.*

LETTER LXXVI.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, May 9, 1776.
Admorunt ubeva tigres.

DEAR SIR, — We have remarked in a former letter how
much incongruous animals, in a lonely state, may be attached
to each other from a spirit of sociality ;" in this, it may not be
amiss to recount a different motive, which has been known to
create as strange a fondness.

My friend had a little helpless leveret brought to him, which
the servants fed with milk in a spoon, and, about the same
time, his cat kittened, and the young were despatched and
buried. The hare was soon lost, and supposed to be gone
the way of most foundlings, to be killed by some dog or cat.
However, in about a fortnight, as the master was sitting in his
garden, in the dusk of the evening, he observed his cat, with tail
erect, trotting towards him, and calling with little short inward
notes of complacency, such as they use towards their kittens,
and something gamboling after, which proved to be the leveret
that the cat had supported with her milk, and continued to
support with great affection.

Thus was a graminivorous animal nurtured by a carnivorous
and predaceous one ! f

* The hog is a very prolific animal, and where persons have the proper
means of feeding, it turns out very profitable. The following is the
produce of a sow fed near Drogheda, for the short space of nine months :
July, 1813. A litter of eleven, seven sold at 80s. . . £1010 0
July, 1814. A litter of eleven, nine sold at 40s. . . 18 0 0
March, Three of first litter, sold in market at . 31 0 0

April, Sow sold fat, 20 5 5

£79 15 5

And a breeding sow was kept, valued at £20. A sow, belonging to Mr
Thomas Richdale, Leicestershire, had produced, in the year 1797, three
hundred and fifty pigs in twenty litters ; four years before, it brought
two hundred and five in twelve litters. A sow, the property of George
Baillie, butcher, in Hospital Street, Perth, on the 22d of August, 1829,
littered the amazing number of twenty-nine pigs. Suaban is of opinion,
that in twelve generations, a single pair would produce as many as Europe
could support. — ED.

f Of incongruous attachments formed by animals, there is perhaps
none more remarkable than the following, jwhich proves that even the
strongest of nature's laws may be altered by circumstances : Mr Cross,

204 CHILDREN SUCKLED BY WILD BEASTS.

Why so cruel and sanguinary a beast as a cat, of the ferocious
genus offelis, the murium leo,*>&s Linnaeus calls it, should be
affected with any tenderness towards an animal which is its
natural prey, is not so easy to determine. *

This strange affection probably was occasioned by that
desiderium, those tender maternal feelings, which the loss of
her kittens had awakened in her breast ; and by the compla-
cency and ease she derived to herself from procuring her teats
to be drawn, which were too much distended with milk ; till,
from habit, she became as much delighted with this foundling,
as if it had been her real offspring.

This incident is no bad solution of that strange circumstance
which grave historians, as well as the poets, assert, of exposed
children being sometimes nurtured by female wild beasts that
probably had lost their young. For it is not one whit more
marvellous that Romulus and Remus, in their infant state,
should be nursed by a she-wolf, than that a poor little sucking
leveret should be fostered and cherished by a bloody grimalkin :

• Viridi fcetam Mavortis in antro

Procubuisse lupam : geminos huic ubera circum
Ludere pendentes pueros, et lambere matrem
Impavidos : illam tereti cervice reflexam
Mulcere alternos, et corpora fingere lingua.

in Exeter Change, had, for some years, within one cage, the snake called
the hooded snake, cobra di capello, and a canary bird ; they appeared
most affectionately attached to each other. — ED.

* A cat, belonging to a person in Taunton, in May, 1822, having lost
her kittens, transferred her affection to two ducklings, which were kept
in the yard'adjoining. She led them out every day to feed ; seemed quite
pleased to see them eat; returned with them to their usual nest, and
evinced for them as much attachment as she could have shewn to her lost
young ones.

The following is a still more extraordinary proof of the kindly feelings
of the cat: — A short time ago, a young girl, daughter of Mr John Ander-
son, farmer at Collin, on the road to Annan, brought home early one
morning two fine larks, which she had taken from the nest in a neigh-
bouring field. Soon afterwards, the girl discovered that one of the
larks had been taken out of the cage, and, on searching for it, found that
the cat, whose only kitten died a day or two before, had carried the bird
to the place where she usually nurtured her offspring, and was trying
every method to make it suckle her ; and when the lark attempted to
get away, she still detained it, evincing the utmost anxiety for its safety.
The girl, however, caught the bird, and placed it in the cage, which she
hung in a situation beyond the reach of the cat. A few days after, several
more birds were brought to the house, one of which the persevering cat
also stole, and again tried, by all the endearing acts in her power, to
make this likewise accept of her nourishment. Neither of the birds
suffered the least injury from the animal. — ED.

WORMS. 205

LETTER LXXVII.
TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, May 20, 1777.

DEAR SIR, — Lands that are subject to frequent inundations,
are always poor ; and, probably, the reason may be, because
the worms are drowned. The most insignificant insects and
reptiles are of much more consequence, and have much more
influence in the economy of Nature, than the incurious are
aware of ; and are mighty in their effect, from their minuteness,
which renders them less an object of attention ; and from their
numbers and fecundity. * Earth-worms, though in appearance
a small and despicable link in the chain of Nature, yet, if
lost, would make a lamentable chasm. For to say nothing of
half the birds, and some quadrupeds, which are almost entirely
supported by them, worms seem to be the great promoters of
vegetation, which would proceed but lamely without them, by
boring, perforating, and loosening the soil, and rendering it
pervious to rains and the fibres of plants, by drawing straws
and stalks of leaves into it ; and, most of all, by throwing up
such infinite numbers of lumps of earth, called worm-casts,

* The earth-worm has been long considered a viviparous animal, but
M. Leon Dufour seems to have determined that it is oviparous. The
eggs are of a very peculiar structure, being long, tapering, and terminated
at each end by a pencil of fringed membranaceous substance. They have
more the appearance, indeed, of a chrysalis or cocoon than of an egg ;
but their pulp, £c. prove them to be true eggs. The worms, when
hatched, are very agile, and, when disturbed, will sometimes retreat for
safety within the shell, which they have just quitted, or instinctively dig
into the clay.

Reaumur computes, though from what data it is difficult to conjecture,
that the number of worms lodged in the bosom of the earth exceeds that
of the grains of all kinds of corn collected by man.

A narrative in the Times newspaper of the disinterment of the body
of the patriot Hampden, in Hampden Church, in July, 1828, contains
some curious facts respecting the worm of corruption. Hampden was
interred in June, 1643. It is stated in the Times, that " the skull was
in some places perfectly bare, whilst in others the skin remained nearly
entire, upon which we discovered a number of maggots, [and small red
worms, feeding with great activity. This was the only spot where any
symptoms of life were apparent, as if the brain contained a vital principle
within it which engendered its own destruction ; otherwise, how can we
account, after a lapse of nearly two centuries, for finding living creatures
preying upon the seat of intellect, when they were nowhere else to be
found — in no other part of the body? " — ED.

206 WORMS.

which, being their excrement, is a fine manure for grain and
grass. Worms probably provide new soil for hills and slopes
where the rain washes the earth away ; and they affect slopes,
probably, to avoid being flooded. Gardeners and farmers
express their detestation of worms ; the former, because they
render their walks unsightly, and make them much work : and
the latter, because, as they think, worms eat their green corn.
But these men would find, that the earth without worms would
soon become cold, hard-bound, and void of fermentation,
and consequently steril : and, besides, in favour of worms it
should be hinted, that green corn, plants, and flowers are not
so much injured by them as by many species of coleoptera
(scarabs) and tipulcs (long-legs,) in their larva or grub state ;
and by unnoticed myriads of small shell-less snails, called
slugs, which silently and imperceptibly make amazing havoc
in the field and garden.*

These hints we think proper to throw out, in order to set
the inquisitive and discerning to work.

A good monography of worms would afford much enter-
tainment, and information at the same time ; and would open
a large and new field in natural history. Worms work most
in the spring, but by no means lie torpid in the dead months ;
are out every mild night in the winter, as any person may be
convinced that will take the pains to examine his grass plots
with a candle ; are hermaphrodites, and much addicted to
venery, and consequently very prolific.

LETTER LXXV1II.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, November 22, 1777.

DEAR SIR, — You cannot but remember, that the twenty-
sixth and twenty-seventh of last March were very hot days ;
so sultry, that every body complained, and were restless under
those sensations to which they had not been reconciled by
gradual approaches.

The sudden summer-like heat was attended by many
summer coincidences ; for, on those two days, the thermometer
rose to sixty-six in the shade ; many species of insects revived

* Farmer Young, of Norton-farm, says, that this spring, rabout four
acres of his wheat, in one field, was entirely destroyed .by slugs, which
swarmed on the blades of corn, and devoured it as fast as it sprang.

TORPIDITY OF SWALLOWS. 207

and came forth ; some bees swarmed in this neighbourhood ;
the old tortoise, near Lewes, awakened, and came forth out of
its dormitory ; and, what is most to my present purpose, many
house -swallows appeared, and were very alert in many places,
and particularly at Cobham, in Surrey.*

But as that short warm period was succeeded as well as
preceded by harsh, severe weather, with frequent frosts and
ice, and cutting winds, the insects withdrew, the tortoise retired
again into the ground, and the swallows were seen no more
until the tenth of April, when, the rigour of the spring abating,
a softer season began to prevail.

Again, it appears by my journals for many years past, that
house-martens retire, to a bird, about the beginning of October ;
so that a person not very observant of such matters would
conclude that they had taken their last farewell ; but then it
may be seen in my diaries, also, that considerable flocks have
discovered themselves again in the first week of November,
and often on the fourth day of that month, only for one day ;
and that not as if they were in actual migration, but playing
about at their leisure, and feeding calmly, as if no enterprise of
moment at all agitated their spirits. And this was the case in
the beginning of this very month ; for, on the fourth of Novem-
ber, more than twenty house-martens, which, in appearance,

* We are still unable to account for the reappearance of swallows after
they seem to have taken their departure ; but, at the same time, we are
not inclined to believe in their general torpidity during the winter. We
must have proof on this subject.

A curious fact respecting the swallow was mentioned by our late
worthy friend and intelligent naturalist, Captain Dougal Carmichael. It
appears that swallows are birds of passage at the southern extremity of
Africa, as well as in other parts of the world. They return to the Cape
of Good Hope in September, and quit it again in March and April. A
pair of these birds (liirundo capensis} fixed their flask-shaped nest against
the angle formed by the wall with the board which supported the eaves.
This nest had a single aperture, by which the birds went in and out.
It fell down after the young quitted it. On the February following, these
birds built in the same place ; but on this occasion Captain Carmichael
remarked, in the construction of the nest, an improvement which can
hardly be referred to the dictates of mere instinct. It was formed with
an opening at both sides, and the swallows invariably entered at the one,
and came out at the other. One advantage obtained by this arrangement
was, that its occupants were saved the trouble of turning round in the
nest, and thus avoided the risk of any derangement in its internal economy.
But the chief object appeared to be, to facilitate their escape from the
attacks of serpents, which harbour in the roofs of thatched houses, or
crawl up along the wall, and not unfrequently devour both the mother
and her young. — ED.

208 TORPIDITY OF SWALLOWS — >EPROSY.

had all departed about' the seventh of October, were seen
again, for that one morning only, sporting between my fields
and the Hanger, and feasting on insects which swarmed in
that sheltered district. The preceding day was wet and
blustering, but the fourth was dark, and mild, and soft, the
wind at south-west, and the thermometer at 58^ ; a pitch not
common at that season of the year. Moreover, it may not be
amiss to add in this place, that whenever the thermometer is
above 50, the bat comes flitting out in every autumnal and
winter month.

From all these circumstances laid together, it is obvious that
torpid insects, reptiles, and quadrupeds, are awakened from
their profoundest slumbers by a little untimely warmth ; and,
therefore, that nothing so much promotes this deathlike stupor
as a defect of heat. And farther, it is reasonable to suppose,
that two whole species, or at least many individuals of these
two species of British hirundines^ do never leave this island at
all, but partake of the same benumbed state ; for we cannot
suppose that, after a month's absence, house-martens can
return from southern regions to appear for one morning in
November, or that house-swallows should leave the districts
of Africa to enjoy, in March, the transient summer of a couple
of days.

LETTER LXXIX.
TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, January 8, 1 778.

DEAR SIR, — There was, in this village, several years ago,
a miserable pauper, who, from his birth, was afflicted with a
leprosy, as far as we are aware, of a singular kind, since it
affected only the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet.
This scaly eruption usually broke out twice in the year, at the
spring and fall ; and by peeling away, left the skin so thin and
tender, that neither his hands nor feet were able to perform
their functions ; so that the poor object was half his time on
crutches, incapable of employ, and languishing in a tiresome
state of indolence and inactivity. His habit was lean, lank,
and cadaverous. In this sad plight, he dragged on a miserable
existence, a ; burden to^ himself and his parish, which was
obliged to support him, till he was relieved by death, at more
than thirty years of age.

The good women, who love to account for every defect in

3

LEPROSY. 209

children by the doctrine of longing, said that his mother felt a
violent propensity for oysters, which she was unable to gratify,
and that the black rough scurf on his hands and feet were the
shells of that fish. We knew his parents, neither of whom
were lepers : his father, in particular, lived to be far advanced
in years.

In all ages, the leprosy has made dreadful havoc among
mankind. The Israelites seem to have been greatly afflicted
with it from the most remote times, as appears from the pecu-
liar and repeated injunctions given them in the Levitical law, *
Nor was the rancour of this foul disorder much abated in the
last period of their commonwealth, as may be seen in many
passages of the New Testament.

Some centuries ago, this horrible distemper prevailed all
over Europe ; and our forefathers were by no means exempt,
as appears by the large provision made for objects labouring
under this calamity. There was an hospital for female lepers
in the diocese of Lincoln, a noble one near Durham, three in
London and Southwark, and perhaps many more in or near
our great towns and cities. Moreover, some crowned heads,
and other wealthy and charitable personages, bequeathed large
legacies to such poor people as languished under this hopeless
infirmity.

It must, therefore, in these days, be, to a humane and
thinking person, a matter of equal wonder and satisfaction,
when he contemplates how nearly this pest is eradicated, and
observes that a leper is now a rare sight. He will, moreover,
when engaged in such a train of thought, naturally inquire for
the reason. This happy change, perhaps, may have originated
and been continued from the much smaller quantity of salted
meat and fish now eaten in these kingdoms — from the use of
linen next the skin — from the plenty of better bread — and
from the profusion of fruits, roots, legumes, and greens, so
common in every family, f Three or four centuries ago, before
there were any enclosures, sown grasses, field turnips, or field
carrots, or hay, all the cattle that had grown fat in summer,
and were not killed for winter use, were turned out soon after
Michaelmas to shift as they could through the dead months ;

* See Leviticus, chap. xiii. and xiv.

f Leprosy is closely allied to scurvy ; and certainly has been nearly
eradicated, from the causes pointed out by our author, with the use of
tea, coffee, and other diluting diet. Medical practitioners treat it in thy
same manner as scurvy. The case here noticed has been certainly a
peculiar one. — En.

O

210 MODERN COMFORTS.

so that no fresh meat could be had in winter or spring. Hence
the marvellous account of the vast stores of salted flesh found
in the larder of the eldest Spencer,* in the days of Edward
the Second, even so late in the spring as the third of May.
It was from magazines like these that the turbulent barons
supported in idleness their riotous swarms of retainers, ready
for any disorder or mischief. But agriculture has now arrived
at such a pitch of perfection, that our best and fattest meats
are killed in the winter ; and no man needs eat salted flesh,
unless he prefer it, that has money to buy fresh.

One cause of this distemper might be, no doubt, the quantity
of wretched fresh and salt fish consumed by the commonalty
at all seasons, as well as in Lent, which our poor now would
hardly be persuaded to touch.

The use of linen changes, shirts or shifts, in the room of
sordid or filthy woollen, long worn next the skin, is a matter
of neatness comparatively modern, but must prove a great
means of preventing cutaneous ails. At this very time, woollen
instead of linen prevails among the poorer Welsh, who are
subject to foul eruptions.

The plenty of good wheaten bread that now is found among
all ranks of people in the south, instead of that miserable sort
which used in old days to be made of barley or beans, may
contribute not a little to the sweetening their blood and cor-
recting their juices ; for the inhabitants of mountainous districts,
to this day, are still liable to the itch and other cutaneous
disorders, from a wretchedness and poverty of diet.

As to the produce of a garden, every middle-aged person
of observation may perceive, within his own memory, both in
town and country, how vastly the consumption of vegetables
is increased. Green stalls in cities now support multitudes in
a comfortable state, while gardeners get fortunes. Every
decent labourer, also, has his garden, which is half his support,
as well as his delight ; and common farmers provide plenty of
beans, pease, and greens, for their hinds to eat with their
bacon ; and those few that do not are despised for their sordid
parsimony, and looked upon as regardless of the welfare of
their dependents. Potatoes have prevailed in this little district,
by means of premiums, within these twenty years only, and
are much esteemed here now by the poor, who would scarce
have ventured to taste them in the last reign.

* Namely, six hundred bacons, eighty carcasses of beef, and six hundred
muttons.

HORTICULTURE. 211

Our Saxon ancestors certainly had some sort of cabbage,
because they call the month of February sprout-cale ; * but
long after their days, the cultivation of gardens was little
attended to. The religious, being men of leisure, and keeping
up a constant correspondence with Italy, were the first people
among us who had gardens and fruit trees in any perfection,
within the walls of their abbeys f and priories. The barons
neglected every pursuit that did not lead to war, or tend to
the pleasure of the chase.

It was not till gentlemen took up the study of horticulture
themselves that the knowledge of gardening made such hasty
advances. Lord Cobham, Lord Ila, and Mr Waller of Bea-
consfield, were some of the first people of rank that promoted
the elegant science of ornamenting, without despising the
superintendence of the kitchen quarters and fruit walls. J

A remark made by the excellent Mr Ray, in his Tour of
Europe, at once surprises us, and corroborates what has been
advanced above; for we find him observing, so late as his days,
that " the Italians use several herbs for salads, which are not
yet, or have not been but lately, used in England, viz. seller'^
(celery,) which is nothing else but the sweet smallage, the
young shoots whereof, with a little of the head of the root cut
off, they eat raw with oil and pepper." And farther, he adds,
" curled endive, blanched, is much used beyond seas, and, for
a raw salad, seemed to excel lettuce itself." Now this journey
was undertaken no longer ago than in the year 1663.

* The Saxons derived the names of their months from similar causes,
— March was called stormy month ; May, Trimilki, from cows being
milked thrice a day in that month ; June was called diet and weed
month ; and September barley month. — ED.

f " In monasteries, the lamp of knowledge continued to burn, however
dimly. In them, men of business were formed for the state. The art of
writing was cultivated by the monks ; they were the only proficients in
mechanics, gardening, and architecture." — See DALRYMPLE'S Annals
of Scotland.

f Horticulture has made great progress in Britain since our author's
time. Societies have been established, experimental gardens formed,
premiums awarded for the best vegetables produced, and an excellent
magazine, exclusively devoted to horticultural science, has been published
for some years, under the able direction of Mr J. C. Loudon.

212 ECHOES.

i LETTER LXXX.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, February 12, 1778.

Forte puer, comitum seductus ab agmine fido,
Dixerat, ecquis adest ? et, adest, responderat echo.
Hie stupet; utque aciem partes divisit in omnes;
Voce, veni, clamat magna. Vocat ilia vocantem.

DEAR SIR, — In a district so diversified as this, so full of
hollow vales and hanging woods, it is no wonder that echoes
should abound. Many we have discovered, that return the
cry of a pack of dogs, the notes of a hunting horn, a tunable
ring of bells, or the melody of birds, very agreeably ; but we
were still at a loss for a polysyllabical articulate echo, till a
young gentleman, who had parted from his company in a
summer evening walk, and was calling after them, stumbled
upon a very curious one, in a spot where it might least be
expected. At first, he was much surprised, and could not be
persuaded but that he was mocked by some boy ; but repeating
his trials in several languages, and finding his respondent to
be a very adroit polyglot, he then discerned the deception.

This echo, in an evening before rural noises cease, would
repeat ten syllables most articulately and distinctly, especially
if quick dactyls were chosen. The last syllables of

Tityre, tu patulse recubans

were as audibly and intelligibly returned as the first; and there
is no doubt, could trial have been made, but that at midnight,
when the air is very elastic, and a dead stillness prevails, one
or two syllables more might have been obtained ; but the
distance rendered so late an experiment very inconvenient.

Quick dactyls, we observed, succeeded best ; for when we
came to try its powers in slow, heavy, embarrassed spondees,
of the same number of syllables,

Monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens

we could perceive a return but of four or five.*

* There is a very extraordinary echo at a ruined fortress near Lourain
in France. If a person sings, he only hears his own voice, without any
repetition ; on the contrary, those who stand at some distance, hear the
echo, but not the voice ; but then they hear it with surprising variations,
sometimes louder, sometimes softer, now more near, then more distant.

ECHOES. 213

All echoes have some one place to which they are returned
stronger and more distinct than to any other; and that is
always the place that lies at right angles with the object of
repercussion, and is not too near, nor too far off. Buildings,
or naked rocks, re-echo much more articulately than hanging
woods or vales ; because, in the latter, the voice is, as it were,
entangled, and embarrassed in the covert, and weakened in
the rebound.

The true object of this echo, as we found by various experi-
ments, is the stone-built, tiled hop-kiln in Gaily Lane, which
measures in front forty feet, and from the ground to the eaves,
twelve feet. The true centrum phonicum, or just distance, is
one particular spot in the King's Field, in the path to Nore-
•hill, on the very brink of the steep balk above the hollow
cart-way. In this case, there is no choice of distance ; but
the path, by mere contingency, happens to be the lucky, the
identical spot, because the ground rises or falls so immediately,
if the speaker either retires or advances, that his mouth would
at once be above or below the object.

We measured this polysyllabical echo with great exactness,
and found the distance to fall very short of Dr Plot's rule for
distinct articulation ; for the Doctor, in his History of Oxford-
shire, allows one hundred and twenty feet for the return of
each syllable distinctly ; hence this echo, which gives ten dis-
tinct syllables, ought to measure four hundred yards, or one
hundred and twenty feet to each syllable ; whereas our distance
is only two hundred and fifty-eight yards, or near seventy-five
feet to each syllable. * Thus our measure falls short of the
Doctor's as five to eight ; but then it must be acknowledged,
that this candid philosopher was convinced afterwards, that
some latitude must be admitted of in the distance of echoes,
according to time and place.

When experiments of this sort are making, it should always
be remembered, that weather and the time of day have a vast

There is an account in the Memoirs of the French Academy of a similar
echo near Rouen. The building which returns it is a semicircular court-
yard ; yet every one of the same form does not produce a similar effect. — ED.
* A knowledge of the progression of sound is not an article of mere
steril curiosity, but in several instances useful ; for by this means we are
enabled to determine the distance of ships, or other moving bodies.
Suppose, for example, that a vessel fires a gun, the sound of which is
heard five seconds after the flash is seen, as sound moves one thousand one
hundred and forty-two English feet in a second, this number, multiplied
by five, gives the distance of five thousand seven hundred and ten teet.
The same principle is applicable in storms of lightning and thunder. — ED,

214 ECHOES.

influence on an echo ; for a dull, heavy, moist air deadens and
clogs the sound ; and hot sunshine renders the air thin and
weak, and deprives it of all its springiness ; and a ruffling wind
quite defeats the whole. In a still, clear, dewy evening, the
air is most elastic ; and perhaps the later the hour the more so.

Echo has always been so amusing to the imagination, that
the poets have personified her ; and, in their hands, she has
been the occasion of many a beautiful fiction. Nor need the
gravest man be ashamed to appear taken with such a pheno-
menon, since it may become the subject of philosophical or
mathematical inquiries.

One should have imagined that echoes, if not entertaining,
must at least have been harmless and inoffensive : yet Virgil
advances a strange notion, that they are injurious to bees.
After enumerating some probable and reasonable annoyances,
such as prudent owners would wish far removed from their
bee-gardens, he adds,

- Aut ubi concava pulsu

Saxa sonant, vocisque offensa resultat imago.

This wild and fanciful assertion will hardly be admitted by
the philosophers of these days, especially as they all now seem
agreed that insects are not furnished with any organs of hear-
ing at all.* But if it should be urged, that, though they cannot
hear, yet perhaps they may feel the repercussion of sounds, I
grant it is possible they may. Yet that these impressions are
distasteful or hurtful I deny, because bees, in good summers,
thrive well in my outlet, where the echoes are very strong ; for
this village is another Anathoth, a place of responses, or echoes.
Besides, it does not appear from experiment that bees are in
any way capable of being affected by sounds : for I have often
tried my own with a large speaking trumpet held close to their
hives, and with such an exertion of voice as would have hailed
a ship at the distance of a mile, and still these insects pursued
their various employments undisturbed, and without shewing
the least sensibility or resentment.

* The organs of hearing in insects are the antennae, or horn-like
processes, which stand out from the forehead. If these organs do not
convey sound, in the same manner as the ears of other animals, they are,
at least, very sensible of any concussion produced in the atmosphere by
sounds, and if not the ears themselves, are, at least, analogous to them.
The reflected sound of an echo cannot take place at less than fifty-five
feet ; because it is necessary that the distance should be such, and the
reverberated or reflected sound so long in arriving, that the ear may
distinguish clearly between that and the original sound. — ED.

ECHOES. 215

Some time since its discovery, this echo is become totally
silent, though the object, or hop-kiln, remains : nor is there any
mystery in this defect, for the field between is planted as a
hop-garden, and the voice of the speaker is totally absorbed and
lost among the poles and entangled foliage of the hops. And
when the poles are removed in autumn, the disappointment is
the same ; because a tall quick-set hedge, nurtured up for the pur-
pose of shelter to the hop-ground, entirely interrupts the impulse
and repercussion of the voice : so that, till those obstructions
are removed, no more of its garrulity can be expected.

Should any gentleman of fortune think an echo in his park
or outlet a pleasing incident, he might build one at little or no
expense. For, whenever he had occasion for a new barn,
stable, dog-kennel, or the like structure, it would be only need-
ful to erect this building on the gentle declivity of a hill, with
a like rising opposite to it, at a few hundred yards' distance ;
and perhaps success might be the easier ensured could some
canal, lake, or stream, intervene. From a seat at the centrum
phonicum, he and his friends might amuse themselves sometimes
of an evening with the prattle of this loquacious nymph ; of
whose complacency and decent reserve, more may be said than
can with truth of every individual of her sex ; since she is

Quse nee reticere loquenti,
Nee prior ipsa loqui, didicit resonabilis echo.

P.S. The classic reader will, I trust, pardon the following
lovely quotation, so finely describing echoes, and so poetically
acccounting for their causes from popular superstition : —

Quae bene quom videas, rationem reddere possis
Tute tibi atque aliis, quo paeto per loca sola
Saxa pareis formas verborum ex ordine reddant,
Palanteis comites quom monteis inter opacos
Quaerimus, et magna disperses voee ciemus.
Sex etiam, aut septem loca vidi reddere voces
Unam quom jaceres : ita colles collibus ipsis
Verba repulsantes iterabant dicta referre.
Hsec loca eapripedes Satyros, Nymphasque tenere
Finitimi fingunt, et Faunos esse loquuntur ;
Quorum noctivago strepitu, ludoque jocanti
Adfirmant volgo taciturna silentia rumpi,
Chordarumque sonos fieri, dulceisque querelas,
Tibia quas fundit digitis pulsata canentum ;
Et genus agricolum late sentiscere, quom Pan
Pinea semiferi capitis velamina quassans,
Unco ssepe labro calamos percurrit hianteis,
Fistula silvestrem ne cesset fundere musam.

LUCEETIUS, lib. ir.

216 SWIFTS.

LETTER LXXXI.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, May 13, 1778.

DEAR SIR, — Among the many singularities attending those
amusing birds, the swifts, I am now confirmed in the opinion
that we have every year the same number of pairs invariably ;
at least the result of my inquiry has been exactly the same for
a long time past. The swallows and martens are so numerous,
and so widely distributed over the village, that it is hardly
possible to recount them ; while the swifts, though they do not
all build in the church, yet so frequently haunt it, and play and
rendezvous round it, that they are easily enumerated. The
number that I constantly find are eight pairs, about half of
which reside in the church, and the rest build in some of the
lowest and meanest thatched cottages. * Now, as these eight
pairs — allowance being made for accidents — breed yearly
eight pairs more, what becomes annually of this increase ? and
what determines, every spring, which pairs shall visit us, and
re-occupy their ancient haunts ?

Ever since I have attended to the subject of ornithology, I
have always supposed that the sudden reverse of affection, that
strange avrnfrogyvi, which immediately succeeds in the feathered
kind to the most passionate fondness, is the occasion of an equal
dispersion of birds over the face of the earth. Without this
provision, one favourite district would be crowded with inha-
bitants, while others would be destitute and forsaken. But the
parent birds seem to maintain a jealous superiority, and to
oblige the young to seek for new abodes ; and the rivalry of
the males in many kinds prevents their crowding the one on
the other. Whether the swallows and house-martens return
in the same exact number annually it is not easy to say, for
reasons given above; but it is apparent, as I have remarked
before in my Monographing, that the numbers returning bear
no manner of proportion to the numbers retiring.

* We do not mean to dispute the accuracy of the fact here mentioned ;
but we have seen many instances where the number of nests were trebled,
during three or four years, in one locality. — ED.

BOTANY. 217

LETTER LXXXII.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, June 2, 1778.

DEAR SIR, — The standing objection to botany has always
been, that it is a pursuit that amuses the fancy and exercises
the memory, without improving the mind, or advancing any
real knowledge ; and, where the science is carried no farther
than a mere systematic classification, the charge is but too true.
But the botanist that is desirous of wiping off this aspersion,
should be by no means content with a list of names ; he should
study plants philosophically, should investigate the laws of
vegetation, should examine the powers and virtues of efficacious
herbs, should promote their cultivation, and graft the gardener,
the planter, and the husbandman on the phytologist. Not that
system is by any means to be thrown aside — without system
the field of Nature would be a pathless wilderness — but sys-
tem should be subservient to, not the main object of, pursuit.

Vegetation is highly worthy of our attention, and in itself
is of the utmost consequence to mankind, and productive of
many of the greatest comforts and elegancies of life. To
plants we owe timber, bread, beer, honey, wine, oil, linen,
cotton, &c. — what not only strengthens our hearts, and exhi-
larates our spirits, but what secures us from inclemencies of
weather, and adorns our persons. Man, in his true state of
nature, seems to be subsisted by spontaneous vegetation ; in
middle climes, where grasses prevail, he mixes some animal
food with the produce of the field and garden ; and it is towards
the polar extremes only, that, like his kindred bears and wolves,
he gorges himself with flesh alone, and is driven to what hunger
has never been known to compel the very beasts, — to prey
upon his own species.*

The productions of vegetation have had a vast influence on
the commerce of nations, and have been the great promoters
of navigation, as may be seen in the articles of sugar, tea,
tobacco, opium, ginseng, betel, pepper, &c. As every climate
has its peculiar produce, our natural wants bring on a mutual
intercourse ; so that by means of trade, each distant part is
supplied with the growth of every latitude. But, without the
knowledge of plants and their culture, we must have been

* See the late voyages to the Couth Seas.

218 BOTANY — GRASSES.

content with our hips and haws, without enjoying the delicate
fruits of India, and the salutiferous drugs of Peru.

Instead of examining the minute distinctions of every various
species of each obscure genus, the botanist should endeavour
to make himself acquainted with those that are useful. You
shall see a man readily ascertain every herb of the field, yet
hardly know wheat from barley, or at least one sort of wheat
or barley from another. *

But of all sorts of vegetation, the grasses seem to be most
neglected : neither the farmer nor the grazier seem to distin-
guish the annual from trie perennial, the hardy from the tender,
nor the succulent and nutritive from the dry and juiceless.-)-

The study of grasses would be of great consequence to a
northerly and grazing kingdom. The botanist that could
improve the sward of the district where he lived, would be
a useful member of society : to raise a thick turf on a naked
soil, would be worth volumes of systematic knowledge ; and he
would be the best commonwealth's man that could occasion the
growth of "two blades of grass where one alone was seen before."

LETTER LXXXIII.

TO THE HON. DANIES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, July 3, 1778.

DEAR SIR, — In a district so diversified with such a variety
of hill and dale, aspects and soils, it is no wonder that great
choice of plants should be found. Chalks, clays, sands, sheep-
walks and downs, bogs, heaths, woodlands, and champaign
fields, cannot but furnish an ample flora. The deep rocky
lanes abound with filices, and the pastures and moist woods
with fungi. If in any branch of botany we may seem to be
wanting, it must be in the large aquatic plants, which are not

* The observations and experiments of one generation after another,
have enabled us progressively to improve, by culture, the cereal grasses,
into those valuable plants wheat and barley, which now maintain millions
of our fellow men. — ED.

f Of late not only the attention of the naturalist, but also of the farmer,
has been directed to the study of grasses, to the preference of particular
species, and to the relative produce of the different kinds. Among the
works which have most contributed to the advancement of this highly
important department of agriculture, we would mention Curtis on British
Grasses, and the splendid and valuable Hortus Gramineus Woburnensis ;
and in Young's Farmer's Magazine many interesting experiments have
been recorded. — ED.

BOTANY OF SELBORNE. 219

to be expected on a spot far removed from rivers, and lying
up amidst the hill country at the spring-heads. To enumerate
all the plants that have been discovered within our limits,
would be a needless work ; but a short list of the more rare,
and the spots where they are to be found, may neither be
unacceptable nor unentertaining.

Helleborus fcetidus, stinking hellebore, bear's-foot, or setter-
wort, — all over the Highwood and Coney-croft-hanger. This
continues a great branching plant the winter through, blossom-
ing about January, and is very ornamental in shady walks and
shrubberies. The good women give the leaves powdered to
children troubled with worms ; but it is a violent remedy, and
ought to be administered with caution.

Helleborus viridis, green hellebore, — in the deep stony lane,
on the left hand, just before the turning to Norton Farm, and
at the top of Middle Dorton, under the hedge. This plant dies
down to the ground early in autumn, and springs again about
February, flowering almost as soon as it appears above ground.

Vacdnium oxy coccus, creeping bilberries, or cranberries, —
in the bogs of Bin's-pond :

Vacdnium myrtillus, whortle, or bilberries, — on the dry hil-
locks of Wolmer Forest :

Drosera rotundifolia, round-leaved sundew, — in the bogs of
Bin's-pond :

Drosera longifolia, long-leaved sundew, — in the bogs of Bin's-
pond:

Comarum palustre, purple comarum, or marsh cinque-foil, —
in the bogs of Bin's-pond :

Hypericum androscemum, Tutsan, St John's wort, — in the
stony hollow lanes :

Vinca minor , less periwinkle, — in Selborne-hanger or Shrub-
wood :

Monatropa hypopithys, yellow monotropa, or bird's-nest, —
in Selborne-hanger under the shady beeches, to whose roots it
seems to be parasitical — at the north-west end of the Hanger :

Chlora perfoliata, Blackstonia perfoliata, Hudsoni, perfoliated
yellow-wort, — on the banks in the King's Field:

Paris quadrifolia, herb Paris, true-love, or one-berry, — in
the Church-litten-coppice :

Chrysosplenium oppositifolium," opposite golden saxifrage, —
in the dark and rocky hollow lanes :

Gentiana amarellay autumnal gentian, or fell wort,— on the
Zig-zag and Hanger :

squammaria, tooth-wort, — in the Church-litten-

220 BOTANY OF SELBORNE.

coppice, under some hazels near the foot-bridge, in Trimming's
garden hedge, and on the dry wall opposite Grange-yard :

Dipsacus pilosus, small teasel, — in the Short and Long Lith :

Lathyrus sylvestris, narrow-leaved, or wild lathyrus, — in the
bushes at the foot of the Short Lith, near the path :

Ophrys spiralis, ladies' traces, — in the Long Lith, and towards
the south corner of the common :

Ophrys nidus avis, bird's-nest ophrys, — in the Long Lith,
under the shady beeches among the dead leaves, in Great
Dorton among the bushes, and on the Hanger plentifully :

Serapias latifolia, helleborine, — in the Highwood under the
shady beeches :

Daphne laureola, spurge laurel, — in Selborne-hanger and
the High-wood:

Daphne mezereum, the mezereon, — in Selborne-hanger,
among the shrubs at the south-east end, above the cottages :

Lycoperdon tuber, truffles, — in the Hanger and High-wood :

Sambucus ebulus, dwarf elder, walwort, or danewort, — among
the rubbish and ruined foundations of the Priory.

Of all the propensities of plants, none seem more strange
than their different periods of blossoming. Some produce
their flowers in the winter, or very first dawnings of spring ;
many when the spring is established ; some at midsummer,
and some not till autumn. When we see the helleborus fvetidus
and helleborus niger blowing at Christmas, the helleborus
hyemalis in January, and the helleborus viridis as soon as ever
it emerges out of the ground, we do not wonder, because they
are kindred plants that we expect should keep pace the one
with the other ; but other congenerous vegetables differ so
widely in their time of flowering, that we cannot but admire.
I shall only instance at present in the crocus sativus, * the

* Two species are generally admitted by botanists, the crocus sativus
of Linnaeus, or saffron crocus, and the crocus vernus, the vernal crocus.
Besides good specific differences, these two plants are distinct in their
properties, the highly odoriferous stigmas of the crocus sativus alone
furnishing the saffron of commerce. The stigma of the crocus vernus is
inodorous.

Tke similarity of climate and weather that characterizes vernal and
autumnal days, often produces, towards the latter end of September, a
vegetation vying with that of May in profusion and variety of tints.

Many plants, generally considered as exclusively vernal, bloom a second
time. Of this, the vidce canina and odorata are striking examples ; and
the sweet gentiana verna, or spring gentian, often unfolds its azure
blossoms for the second time, late in October, studding the verdant sward
with a blue that rivals in intensity the ultramarine. — ED.

FLIGHT OF BIRDS. 221

vernal and the autumnal crocus, which have such an affinity,
that the best botanists only make them varieties of the same
genus, of which there is only one species, not being able to
discern any difference in the corolla, or in the internal struc-
ture. Yet the vernal crocus expands its flowers by the
beginning of March at farthest, and often in very rigorous
weather ; and cannot be retarded but by some violence offered ,
while the autumnal (the saffron) defies the influence of the
spring and summer, and will not blow till most plants begin
to fade and run to seed. This circumstance is one of the
wonders of the creation, little noticed because a common
occurrence ; yet ought not to be overlooked on account of its
being familiar, since it would be as difficult to be explained as
the most stupendous phenomenon in nature.

Say, what impels, amidst surrounding snow
Congeal'd, the crocus' flamy bud to glow ?
Say, what retards, amidst the summer's blaze,
Th' autumnal bulb, till pale, declining days ?
The GOD OF SEASONS, whose pervading power
Controls the sun, or sheds the fleecy shower :
He bids each flower his quickening word obey,
Or to each lingering bloom enjoins delay.

LETTER LXXXIV.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, August 7, 1778.

Omnibus animalibus reliquis certus et uniusmodi, et in suo cuique
genere incessus est ; aves solse vario meatu feruntur, et in terra, et in
aere. PUN. Hist. Nat. lib. x. cap. 38.

DEAR SIR, — A good ornithologist should be able to distin-
guish birds by their air as well as their colours and shape, on
the ground as well as on the wing, and in the bush as well as
in the hand. For, though it must not be said that every
species of birds has a manner peculiar to itself, yet there is
somewhat in most genera at least that at first sight discriminates
them, and enables a judicious observer to pronounce upon
them with some certainty. Put a bird in motion,

Et vera incessu patuit.

Thus kites and buzzards sail round in circles, with wings
expanded and motionless ; and it is from their gliding manner
that the former are still called, in the north of England,
gleads, from the Saxon verb glidan, to glide. The kestrel, or

222 FLIGHT OF BIRDS.

windhover, has a peculiar mode of hanging in the air in one
place, his wings all the while being briskly agitated. Hen-
harriers fly low over heaths or fields of corn, and beat the
ground regularly like a pointer or setting-dog. Owls move in
a buoyant manner, as if lighter than the air ; they seem to want
ballast. There is a peculiarity belonging to ravens that must
draw the attention even of the most incurious, — they spend all
their leisure time in striking and cuffing each other on the wing
in a kind of playful skirmish ; and when they move from one
place to another, frequently turn on their backs with a loud
croak, and seem to be falling to the ground. When this odd
gesture betides them, they are scratching themselves with one
foot, and thus lose the centre of gravity. Rooks sometimes
dive and tumble in a frolicsome manner ; crows and daws
swagger in their walk ; woodpeckers fly volatu undoso, opening
and closing their wings at every stroke, and so are always
rising and falling in curves. All of this genus use their tails,
which incline downward, as a support while they run up trees.
Parrots, like all other hooked-clawed birds, walk awkwardly,
and make use of their bill as a third foot, climbing and
descending with ridiculous caution. All the gallincs parade
and walk gracefully, and run nimbly ; but fly with difficulty,
with an impetuous whirring, and in a straight line. Magpies
and jays flutter with powerless wings, and make no despatch ;
herons seem encumbered with too much sail for their light
bodies ; but these vast hollow wings are necessary in carrying
burdens, such as large fishes, and the like ; pigeons, and
particularly the sort called smiters, have a way of clashing
their wings, the one against the other, over their backs with a
loud snap ; another variety, called tumblers, turn themselves
over in tne air. * Some birds have movements peculiar to the
season of love : thus ring-doves, though strong and rapid at
other times, yet, in the spring, hang about on the wing in
a toying and playful manner ; thus the cock snipe, while
breeding, forgetting his former flight, fans the air like the
windhover ; and the greenfinch, in particular, exhibits such
languishing and faltering gestures as to appear like a wounded
and dying bird ; the king-fisher darts along like an arrow ;
fern-owls, or goat-suckers, glance in the dust over the tops
of trees like a meteor ; starlings, as it were, swim along, while
missel-thrushes use a wild and desultory flight ; swallows

* Mr Swainson is of opinion, that this movement is indicative of
pleasure or excitement. — ED.

FLIGHT AND LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 223

sweep over the surface of the ground and water, arid distinguish
themselves by rapid turns and quick evolutions : swifts dash
round in circles ; and the bank-marten moves with frequent
vacillations like a butterfly. Most of the small birds fly by
jerks, rising and falling as they advance. Most small birds
hop ; but wagtails and larks walk, moving their legs alter-
nately. Sky-larks rise and fall perpendicularly as they sing ; *
woodlarks hang poised in the air ; and titlarks rise and fall
in large curves, singing in their descent. The white-throat
uses odd jerks and gesticulations over the tops of hedges and
bushes. All the duck kind waddle ; divers and auks walk as
f fettered, and stand erect on their tails ; these are the
compedes of LinnaBiis. Geese and cranes, and most wild
owls, move in figured flights, often changing their position.
The secondary remiges o£tring<z, wild ducks, and some others,
are very long, and give their wings, when in motion, a hooked
appearance. Dabchicks, moor-hens, and coots, fly erect,
with their legs hanging down, and hardly make any despatch :
the reason is plain, their wings are placed too forward out of
the true centre of gravity ; as the legs of auks and divers are
situated too backward.

LETTER LXXXV.
TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBOKNE, September 9, 1778.

DEAR SIR, — From the motion of birds, the transition is
natural enough to their notes and language, of which I shall
say something. Not that I would pretend to understand their
language like the vizier, who, by the recital of a conversation
which passed between two owls, reclaimed a sultan,f before
delighting in conquest and devastation ; but I would be thought
only to mean, that many of the winged tribes have various
sounds and voices adapted to express their various passions,
wants, and feelings, such as anger, fear, love, hatred, hunger,
and the like. All species are not equally eloquent ; some are
copious and fluent, as it were, in their utterance, while others
are confined to a few important sounds ; no bird, like the fish

* The male of the yellow breasted chat, icteria polyglotta of Swain-
son, while the female is sitting, sometimes mounts up into the air almost
perpendicularly, to the height of thirty or forty feet, with his legs hanging,
descending, as he rose, by repeated jerks, as if highly irritated. — ED.

f See Spectator, No. 512.

224 LANGUAGE OF BIRDS.

kind, is quite mute,* though some are rather silent. The lan-
guage of birds is very ancient, and like other ancient modes of
speech, very elliptical ; little is said, but much is meant and
understood, f

The notes of the eagle kind are shrill and piercing ; and
about the season of nidification much diversified, as I have
been often assured by a curious observer of nature, who long
resided at Gibraltar, where eagles abound. The notes of our
hawks much resemble those of the king of birds. Owls have
very expressive notes ; they hoot in a fine vocal sound, much
resembling the vox humana, and reducible by a pitch-pipe to a
musical key. This note seems to express complacency and
rivalry among the males ; they use also a quick call and an
horrible scream ; and can snore and hiss when they mean to
menace. Ravens, besides their loud croak, can exert a deep
and solemn note that makes the woods to echo ; the amorous
sound of a crow is strange and ridiculous ; rooks, in the breed-
ing season, attempt sometimes, in the gaiety of their hearts, to
sing, but with no great success ; the parrot kind have many
modulations of voice, as appears by their aptitude to learn
human sounds ; doves coo in an amorous and mournful manner,
and are emblems of despairing lovers ; the woodpecker sets up
a sort of loud and hearty laugh ; the fern-owl, or goat-sucker,
from the dusk till daybreak, serenades his mate with the clat-
tering of castanets. All the tuneful passeres express their

* Mr John Thomson of Hull says, " Some tench, which I caught in
ponds, made a croaking like a frog for a full half hour, whilst in the
basket at my shoulder. " It is well known that when the herring is just
caught in the net, and brought into the boat, it utters a shrill cry like a
mouse. The gurnard grunts or croaks when taken and freed from the
hook ED.

f Mr J. Murray says, " I once heard the cuckoo's note at midnight.
This occurred some years ago, as I was coming from Charleton to Douglas,
in the Isle of Man. It was moonlight, and I enjoyed a delightful walk
en solitaire, my reveries being frequently interrupted by this interesting
note, unusual, if I mistake not, for the ' witching hour.' " Mr W. H.
White says, " During the summer of 1830, the days were wet and chilly,
and the nights clear and calm, so that the night was in fact more pleasant
than the day ; so much so, that I frequently went out after supper, and

„,.... „ 1 majesty,'

about the « witching hour of night,' both the cuckoo and the nightingale ;
and on the 9th was highly gratified in hearing a trio, with all the native
melody of the grove, performed by the cuckoo, the nightingale, and the
sedge-warbler, a little after midnight." — ED.

4

LANGUAGE OF FOWLS. 225

complacency by sweet modulations, and a variety of melody.
The swallow, as has been observed in a former letter, by a
shrill alarm, bespeaks the attention of the other hirundines, and
bids them be aware that the hawk is at hand.* Aquatic and
gregarious birds, especially the nocturnal, that shift their quar-
ters in the dark, are very noisy and loquacious, — as cranes,
wild-geese, wild-ducks, and the like : their perpetual clamour
prevents them from dispersing and losing their companions.

In so extensive a subject, sketches and outlines are as much
as can be expected ; for it would be endless to instance in all
the infinite variety of the feathered nation. We shall, there-
fore, confine the remainder of this letter to the few domestic
fowls of our yards, which are most known, and, therefore,
best understood. And first, the peacock, with his gorgeous
train, demands our attention ; but, like most of the gaudy birds,
his notes are grating and shocking to the ear : the yelling
of cats, and the braying of an ass, are not more disgustful.
The voice of the goose is trumpet-like, and clanking ; and once
saved the Capitol at Rome, as grave historians assert: the
hiss, also, of the gander is formidable, and full of menace, and
" protective of his young." Among ducks, the sexual dis-
tinction of voice is remarkable ; for, while the quack of the
female is loud and sonorous, the voice of the drake is inward,
arid harsh, and feeble, and scarce discernible. The cock
turkey struts and gobbles to his mistress in a most uncouth
manner : he hath also a pert and petulant note when he attacks
his adversary. When a hen turkey leads forth her young
brood, she keeps a watchful eye ; and if a bird of prey appear,
though ever so high in the air, the careful mother announces
the enemy with a little inward moan, and watches him with a

* Syme makes the following judicious remarks upon the songs of
birds : — " The notes of soft-billed birds are finely toned, mellow, and
plaintive ; those of the hard-billed species are sprightly, cheerful, and
rapid. This difference proceeds from the construction of the larynx ; as
a large pipe of an organ produces a deeper and more mellow-toned note
than a small pipe ; so the trachea of the nightingale, which is wider than
that of the canary, sends forth a deeper and more mellow-toned note.
Soft-billed birds, also, sing more from the lower part of their throat than
the hard-billed species. This, together with the greater width of the
larynx of the nightingale and other soft-billed warblers, fully accounts for
their soft, round, mellow notes, compared with the shrill, sharp, and clear
notes of the canary and other hard-billed songsters. In a comprehensive
sense, the complete song of birds includes all the notes they are capable of
uttering, and, taken in this sense, it is analogous to the speech of man.1'
— ED.

p

226 LANGUAGE OF FOWLS.

steady and attentive look ; but, if he approach, her note becomes
earnest and alarming, and her outcries are redoubled.

No inhabitants of a yard seem possessed of such a variety
of expression, and so copious a language, as common poultry.
Take a chicken of four or five days old, and hold it up to a
window where there are flies, and it will immediately seize its
prey with little twitterings of complacency ; but if you tender
it a wasp or a bee, at once its note becomes harsh, and expres-
sive of disapprobation and a sense of danger. When a pullet
is ready to lay, she intimates the event by a joyous and easy
soft note. Of all the occurrences of their life, that of laying
seems to be the most important; for no sooner has a hen
disburdened herself, than she rushes forth with a clamorous
kind of joy, which the cock and the rest of his mistresses
immediately adopt. The tumult is not confined to the family
concerned, but catches from yard to yard, and spreads to every
homestead within hearing, till at last the whole village is in
an uproar. As soon as a hen becomes a mother, her new
relation demands a new language ; she then runs clucking and
screaming about, and seems agitated as if possessed. The
father of the flock has also a considerable vocabulary : if he
finds food, he calls a favourite concubine to partake ; and if a
bird of prey passes over, with a warning voice, he bids his
family beware. The gallant chanticleer has, at command, his
amorous phrases, and his terms of defiance. But the sound
by which he is best known is his crowing : by this he has been
distinguished in all ages as the countryman's clock orlarum, —
as the watchman that proclaims the divisions of the night.
Thus the poet elegantly styles him

the crested cock, whose clarion sounds

The silent hours.

A neighbouring gentleman, one summer, had lost most of
his chickens by a sparrow-hawk, that came gliding down,
between a fagot pile and the end of his house, to the place
where the coops stood. The owner, inwardly vexed to see
his flock thus diminishing, hung a setting net adroitly between
the pile and the house, into which the caitiff dashed, and was
entangled. Resentment suggested the law of retaliation ; he,
therefore, clipped the hawk's wings, cut off his talons, and,
fixing a cork on his bill, threw him down among the brood-
hens. Imagination cannot paint the scene that ensued ; the
expressions that fear, rage, and revenge inspired, were new, or
at least such as had been unnoticed before. The exasperated

HELIOTROPES. 227

matrons upbraided — they execrated — they insulted — they
triumphed. In a word, they never desisted from buffeting
their adversary till they had torn him in a hundred pieces.

LETTER LXXXVI.
TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE.

• monstrent

Quid tantum Oceano properent se tingere soles
Hyberni ; vel quse tardis mora noctibus obstet.

GENTLEMEN who have outlets might contrive to make
ornament subservient to utility; a pleasing- eye-trap might
also contribute to promote science : an obelisk in a garden or
park might be both an embellishment and a heliotrope.

Any person that is curious, and enjoys the advantage of a
good horizon, might, with little trouble, make two heliotropes,
the one for the winter, the other for the summer solstice ; and
these two erections might be constructed with very little
expense ; for two pieces of timber frame-work, about ten or
twelve feet high, and four feet broad at the base, and close
lined with plank, would answer the purpose.

The erection for the former should, if possible, be placed
within sight of some window in the common sitting parlour ;
because men, at that dead season of the year, are usually
within doors at the close of the day ; while that for the latter
might be fixed for any given spot in the garden or outlet,
whence the owner might contemplate, in a fine summer's
evening, the utmost extent that the sun makes to the north-
ward at the season of the longest days. Now nothing would
be necessary but to place these two objects with so much
exactness, that the westerly limb of the sun, at setting, might
but just clear the winter heliotrope to the west of it, on the
shortest day, and that the whole disc of the sun, at the longest
day, might exactly, at setting, also clear the summer helio-
trope to the north of it.*

* Mr Mark Watt lias invented a very curious and interesting instru-
ment, which he calls the heliastron, or solar compass. Having observed
the daily variation of barometers and the magnetic needle, and remarking
that a similar series of alternate changes were more or less observable in
every instrument capable of indicating a slight alteration of the impression*
made on them, and that these diurnal changes bore a proportionate

228 HELIOTROPES.

By this simple expedient, it would soon appear, that there
is no such thing, strictly speaking, as a solstice ; for, from the
shortest day, the owner would, every clear evening, see the
disc advancing, at its setting, to the westward of the object ;
and, from the longest day, observe the sun retiring backwards
every evening, at its setting, towards the object westward, till,
in a few nights, it would set quite behind it,*and so by degrees
to the west of it ; for when the sun comes near the summer
solstice, the whole disc of it would at first set behind the object:
after a time, the northern limb would first appear, and so every
night gradually more, till at length the whole diameter would
set northward of it for about three nights ; but, on the middle
night of the three, sensibly more remote than the former or
following. When beginning its recess from the summer tropic,
it would continue more and more to be hidden every night, till
at length it would descend quite behind the object again ; and
so nightly more and more to the westward.

relation to the latitude in which the instruments were placed, or to the
degrees of solar influence that might exist in the regions in which they
were used, and of which they would partake ; he also noticed, in coin-
cidence with these movements, the daily expansion and contraction of
the petals and leaves of most plants, and that the different species of the
heliotropium and chrysanthemum, turned their corollee round toward the
sun for many hours during the day. Hence he concluded that an
instrument might be constructed upon principles nearly similar to the
laws which regulate these motions in plants.

This instrument he formed of a circular ring of cork, three inches in
diameter. Into this is fixed twenty-five needles fully impregnated with
the magnetic fluid, and these are placed at equal distances round the
circumference of the circle, with their north and south poles placed out-
- wards alternately. This circle is affixed to a light slip of wood, five inches
long, and one-fourth of an inch broad, by a piece of copper wire, of a
semicircular form, the extremities of which are passed through the
opposite sides of the cork's circle ; and the slip of w^ood attached to the
centre of the wire. Into the centre of the bar is fixed an agate cup ; and
the whole traverses like a compass needle upon a fine steel point, the bar
of wood being equipoised by a small weight at the end of it, equivalent to
the weight of the needles. This instrument, when placed with a disc of
purple velvet across the needles, in the sun's rays, continued to revolve
nearly the whole day, moving always in the direction from east to west
by south, in the course of the sun's apparent motion. It moves forty or
fifty degrees to the light of a single candle held close to the side of the
circle. A piece of clear amber, formed into a convex lens, if fixed into a
circle of cork, and suspended by a fine hair or filament, under a glass
cover, will also be arrested by the incidence of the solar rays, and\vill
continue to present its surface to the sun, if unclouded, as long as he is
invisible above the horizon.

It is, perhaps, not generally known, that the conducting power of living
plants, in favouring the rapid distribution of electricity, has been reckoned
three millions of times greater than that of watejr. — ED.

MOVING HILLS. 229

LETTER LXXXVII.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE.

- Mugire videbis
Sub pedibus terrain, et desceudere montibus ornos.

WHEN I was a boy, I used to read, with astonishment and
implicit assent, accounts in Baker's Chronicle of walking hills
and travelling mountains. John Philips, in his Cyder, alludes
to the credit that was given to such stories with a delicate but
quaint vein of humour, peculiar to the author of the Splendid
Shilling :

I nor advise, nor reprehend, the choice

Of Marcley Hill ; * the apple no where finds

A kinder mould : yet 'tis unsafe to trust

Deceitful ground : who knows but that, once more,

This mount may journey, and, his present site

Forsaking, to thy neighbour's bounds transfer

The goodly plants, affording matter strange

For law debates !

But, when I came to consider better, I began to suspect
that, though our hills may never have journeyed far, yet that
the ends of many of them have slipped and fallen away at
distant periods, leaving the cliffs bare and abrupt. This seems
to have been the case with Nore and Whetham Hills, and
especially with the ridge between Harteley Park arid Ward-
le-ham, where the ground has slid into vast swellings and
furrows, and lies still in such romantic confusion as cannot be
accounted for from any other cause. A strange event, that
happened not long since, justifies our suspicions ; which,
though it befell not within the limits of this parish, yet as it
was within the hundred of Selborne, and as the circumstances
were singular, may fairly claim a place in a work of this nature,

* Marcl
miles eas

cley Hill is near the confluence of the Lug and Wye, about six
t of Hereford. In the year 1595, it was, after roaring and shaking
in a terrible manner for three days together, about six o'clock on Sunday
evening, put in motion, and continued moving for eight hours, in which
time it advanced upwards of two hundred feet from its first situation, and
mounted twelve fathoms higher than it was before. In the place where
it set out, it left a gap four hundred feet long, and three hundred anil
twenty broad ; and in its progress it overthrew a chapel, together with
trees and houses that stood in its way. — ED.

230 FALL OF A CLIFF.

The months of January and February in the year 1774,
were remarkable for great melting snows and vast gluts of'
rain, so that, by the end of the latter month, the land-springs,
or levants, began to prevail, and to be near as high as in the
memorable winter of 1764. The beginning of March also
went on in the same tenor, when, in the night between the
8th and 9th of that month, a considerable part of the great
woody hanger at Hawkley was torn from its place, and fell
down, leaving a high freestone cliff naked and bare, and
resembling the steep side of a chalk-pit. It appears that this
huge fragment, being, perhaps, sapped and undermined by
waters, foundered, and was ingulfed, going down in a perpen-
dicular direction ; for a gate, which stood in the field on the
top of the hill, after sinking with its posts for thirty or forty
feet, remained in so true and upright a position, as to open
and shut with great exactness, just as in its first situation,
Several oaks also are still standing, and in a state of vegetation,
after taking the same desperate leap. That great part of this
prodigious mass was absorbed in some gulf below, is plain
also from the inclining ground at the bottom of the hill, which
is free and unencumbered, but would have been buried in
heaps of rubbish, had the fragment parted and fallen forward.
About an hundred yards from the foot of this hanging coppice
stood a cottage by the side of a lane ; and two hundred yards
lower, on the other side of the lane, was a farm-house, in
which lived a labourer and his family ; and just by, a stout
new barn. The cottage was inhabited by an old woman and
her son, and his wife. These people, in the evening, which
was very dark and tempestuous, observed that the brick floors
of their kitchens began to heave and part, and that the walls
seemed to open, and the roofs to crack ; but they all agree
that no tremor of the ground, indicating an earthquake, was
ever felt, only that the wind continued to make a most tre-
mendous roaring in the woods and hangers. The miserable
inhabitants, not daring to go to bed, remained in the utmost
solicitude and confusion, expecting every moment to be buried
under the ruins of their shattered edifices. When daylight
came, they were at leisure to contemplate the devastations of
the night. They then found that a deep rift, or chasm, had
opened under their houses, and torn them, as it were, in two,
and that one end of the bam had suffered in a similar manner :
that a pond near the cottage had undergone a strange reverse,
becoming deep at the shallow end, and so vice versa : that
many large oaks were removed out of their perpendicular,

MOUNTAIN SLIPS. 231

some thrown down, and some fallen into the heads of neigh-
bouring trees ; and that a gate was thrust forward, with its
hedge, full six feet, so as to require a new track to be made to
it. From the foot of the cliff, the general course of the ground,
which is pasture, inclines in a moderate descent for half a mile,
and is interspersed with some hillocks, which were rifted in
every direction, as well towards the great woody hanger as
from it. In the first pasture the deep clefts began, and, running
across the lane and under the buildings, made such vast shelves
that the road was impassable for some time ; and so over to
an arable field on the other side, which was strangely torn and
disordered. The second pasture field, being more soft and
springy, was protruded forward without many fissures in the
turf, which was raised in long ridges resembling graves, lying
at right angles to the motion. At the bottom of this enclosure,
the soil and turf rose many feet against the bodies of some
oaks that obstructed their farther course, and terminated this
awful commotion.*

* There are numerous instances on record of mountain slips of this
kind, in various places of the world ; indeed, they are almost of daily
occurrence, to a greater or lesser extent. That which is recorded by our
author, is trifling when compared to some others. We may particularize
the fall of Mount Rusfi, in Switzerland, which took place in 1806.
" Here," says Saussure, writing on the spot, " but three weeks ago, was
one of the most delightfully fertile valleys of all Switzerland, green and
luxuriant, adorned with little villages, full of secure and happy farmers.
Now, three of these villages are for ever erased from the face of the earth,
and an extended desolation, burying alive several hundred peasants, over-
spreads the valley of Lowertz."

Early in the evening of the second of September, an immense projection
of the mountain of Rusfi gave way, and was precipitated into the valley.
In four minutes, it completely overwhelmed three villages, and part of
two others. The torrent of earth and stones was more rapid than that
of lava, and its effects as irresistible and terrible. The mountain, in its
tremendous descent, carried trees, rocks, houses, and every thing before
it ; the mass spread in every direction, so as to bury completely a space of
charming country, more than three miles square. The force of the earth
was so great, that it not only overspread the hollow of the valley, but even
ascended to a considerable height on the side of the opposite mountain.

Part of the falling mass rolled into the lake of Lowertz, filling a
fifth part of it up; and raised the water so much, that two islands within
it, and the village of Sever, were, for a time, completely overwhelmed by
the swell. By this frightful catastrophe, four hundred and thirty-four
individuals lost their lives ; and there were also lost one hundred and
seventy cows and horses, and one hundred and three goats and sheepj
eighty-seven meadows destroyed, sixty meadows damaged ; ninety-three
houses entirely destroyed, eight houses damaged, and uninhabitable;
one hundred and sixty-six cow-houses, barns, &c. destroyed, and nineteen
damaged. — ED.

232 FIELD-CRICKET.

The perpendicular height of the precipice, in general, is
twenty-three yards ; the length of the lapse, or slip, as seen
from the fields below, one hundred and eighty-one ; and a
partial fall, concealed in the coppice, extends seventy yards
more : so that the total length of this fragment that fell was
two hundred and fifty-one yards. About fifty acres of land
suffered from this violent convulsion ; two houses were entirely
destroyed ; one end of a new barn was left in ruins, the walls
being cracked through the very stones that composed them ;
a hanging coppice was changed to a naked rock ; and some
grass grounds and an arable field so broken and rifted by the
chasms, as to be rendered, for a time, neither fit for the plough,
nor safe for pasturage, till considerable labour and expense
had been bestowed in levelling the surface, and filling in the
gap ing' fissures.

LETTER LXXXVIII.
TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE.
Resonant arbusta.

THERE is a steep abrupt pasture field, interspersed with
furze, close to the back of this village, well known by the
name of the Short Lithe, consisting of a rocky dry soil, and
inclining to the afternoon sun. This spot abounds with the
gryllus campestris, or field-cricket ; * which, though frequent
in these parts, is by no means a common insect in many other
counties.

As their cheerful summer cry cannot but draw the attention
of a naturalist, I have often gone down to examine the economy
of these grylli, and study their mode of life ; but they are so
shy and cautious that it is no easy matter to get a sight of
them ; for, feeling a person's footsteps as he advances, they
stop short in the midst of their song, and retire backward
nimbly into their burrows, where they lurk till all suspicion of
danger is over.

At first, we attempted to dig them out with a spade, but
without any great success ; for either we could not get to the
bottom of the hole, which often terminated under a great
stone, or else, in breaking up the ground, we inadvertently
squeezed the poor insect to death. Out of one so bruised, we

* Acheta campestris, Fabricius. — ED. •

FIELD-CRICKET. 233

took a multitude of eggs, which were long and narrow, of a
yellow colour, and covered with a very tough skin. By this
accident, we learned to distinguish the male from the female ;
the former of which is shining black, with a golden stripe
across his shoulders ; the latter is more dusky, more capacious
about the abdomen, and carries a long sword-shaped weapon
at her tail, which probably is the instrument with which she
deposits her eggs in crannies and safe receptacles.

Where violent methods will not avail, more gentle means
will often succeed ; and so it proved in the present case . for,
though a spade be too boisterous and rough an implement, a
pliant stalk of grass, gently insinuated into the caverns, will
probe their windings to the bottom, and quickly bring out the
inhabitant; and thus the humane inquirer may gratify his
curiosity without injuring the object of it. * It is remarkable,
that, though these insects are furnished with long legs behind,
and brawny thighs for leaping, like grasshoppers, yet, when
driven from their holes, they shew no activity, but crawl along
in a shiftless manner, so as easily to be taken ; and again,
though provided with a curious apparatus of wings, yet they
never exert them when there seems to be the greatest occasion.
The males only make that shrilling noise, perhaps out of
rivalry and emulation, as is the case with many animals which
exert some sprightly note during their breeding time : it is
raised by a brisk friction of one wing against the other. They
are solitary beings, living singly male or female, each as it may
happen ; but there must be a time when the sexes have some
intercourse, and then the wings may be useful, perhaps, during
the hours of night. When the males meet, they will fight
fiercely, as I found by some which I put into the crevices of a
dry stone wall, where I should have been glad to have made
them settle ; for though they seemed distressed by being taken
out of their knowledge, yet the first that got possession of the
chinks would seize on any that were obtruded upon them,
with a vast row of serrated fangs. With their strong jaws,

* The children in France amuse themselves in the fields hunting the
field-cricket. They put into the hole of that insect an ant, to which a
long hair is attached, and allowing the little animal to penetrate to the
bottom of the burrow, they then draw it out, and the cricket always
follows it, and in this manner is c;iptured. Pliny informs us of a simple
method of taking this insect, which is, by thrusting a slender piece of
stick to the bottom of their burrow, when the cricket immediately gets
upon it to know the reason of the intrusion, and is thus easily secured.
This simplicity of the animal no doubt gave rise to the proverb stultior
grillo, — more foolish than a cricket. — ED.

234 *FIELD-CRICKET.

toothed like the shears of a lobster's claws, they perforate and
round their curious regular cells, having no fore-claws to dig,
like the mole-cricket. When taken in hand, I could not but
wonder that they never offered to defend themselves, though
armed with such formidable weapons. Of such herbs as grow
before the mouths of their burrows, they eat indiscriminately ;
and, on a little platform, which they make just by, they drop
their dung ; and never in the day-time seem to stir more than
two or three inches from home. Sitting in the entrance of
their caverns, they chirp all night as well as day, from the
middle of the month of May to the middle of July ; and, in
hot weather, when they are most vigorous, they make the hills
echo ; and, in the still hours of darkness, may be heard to a
considerable distance. In the beginning of the season, their
notes are more faint and inward ; but become louder as the
summer advances, and so die away again by degrees.

Sounds do not always give us pleasure according to their
sweetness and melody ; nor do harsh sounds always displease.
We are more apt to be captivated or disgusted with the
associations which they promote, than with the notes them-
selves. Thus the shrilling of the field-cricket, though sharp
and stridulous, yet marvellously delights some hearers, filling
their minds with a train of summer ideas of every thing that
is rural, verdurous, and joyous.

About the 10th of March, the crickets appear at the mouths
of their cells, which they then open and bore, and shape very
elegantly. All that ever I have seen at that season were in
their pupa state, and had only the rudiments of wings lying
under a skin, or coat, which must be cast before the insect can
arrive at its perfect state ; * from whence I should suppose
that the old ones of last year do not always survive the winter.
In August, their holes begin to be obliterated, and the insects
are seen no more till spring.

Not many summers ago, I endeavoured to transplant a
colony to the terrace in my garden, by boring deep holes in
the sloping turf. The new inhabitants staid some time, and
fed and sung ; but wandered away by degrees, and were heard
at a farther distance every morning ; so that it appears that,
on this emergency, they made use of their wings in attempting
to return to the spot from which they were taken. "

One of these crickets, when confined in a paper cage, and

* We have observed that they cast these skins in April, which are then
seen lying at the mouths of their holes.

HOUSE-CRICKET. 235

set in the sun, and supplied with plants moistened with water ,
will feed and thrive, and become so merry and loud as to be
irksome in the same room where a person is sitting : if the
plants are not wetted, it will die.

LETTER LXXXIX.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARR1NGTOX.

SELBORKE.

Far from all resort of mirth
Save the cricket on the hearth.

MILTON'S 11 Penseroso.

DEAR SIR, — While many other insects must be sought after
in fields, and woods, and waters, the gryllus domesticus,* or
house-cricket, resides altogether within our dwellings, intruding
itself upon our notice whether we will or no. This species
delights in new-built houses, being, like the spider, pleased
with the moisture of the walls ; and, besides, the softness of
the mortar enables them to burrow and mine between the
joints of the bricks or stones, and to open communications from
one room to another. They are particularly fond of kitchens
and bakers' ovens, on account of their perpetual warmth, f

Tender insects that live abroad either enjoy only the short
period of one summer, or else doze away the cold uncomfortable
months in profound slumbers ; but these, residing as it were
in a torrid zone, are always alert and merry ; a good Christmas
fire is to them like the heats of the dog-days. Though they
are frequently heard by day, yet is their natural time of motion
only in the night. As soon as it grows dusk, the chirping
increases, and they come running forth, and are from the size
of a flea to that of their full stature. As one should suppose,

* Acheia domestica, Fabricius. — ED.

f These animals are exceedingly pugnacious, and fight desperately with
each other. We have frequently captured crickets, and, having put
them into a tumbler covered with paper, have witnessed their battles.
Upon more than one occasion we have known them eat each other. We
left three of them together in a tumbler, along with some pieces of bread,
and, on examining them on the following day, two had been completely
devoured, except three of the limbs and the antennae. The survivor was
quite brisk and lively. In return for his misdeeds, we terminated the
existence of this insect cannibal, and placed him in our cabinet. Latreille
informs us that this cricket eats only insects, and certainly thrives well
in houses infested by cockroches. We had always supposed that they
lived upon bread, until we discovered them devouring each other. — ED.

236 HOUSE-CRICKET.

from the burning atmosphere which they inhabit, they are a
thirsty race, and shew a great propensity for liquids, being
found frequently drowned in pans of water, milk, broth, or the
like. Whatever is moist they affect ; and, therefore, often
gnaw holes in wet woollen stockings and aprons that are hung
to the fire ; they are the housewife's barometer, foretelling her
when it will rain ; and are prognostics sometimes, she thinks,
of ill or good luck ; of the death of a near relation, or the
approach of an absent lover. By being the constant com-
panions of her solitary hours, they naturally become the objects
of her superstition. * These crickets are not only very thirsty,
but very voracious ; for they will eat the scummings of pots,
and yeast, salt, and crumbs of bread ; and any kitchen offal or
sweepings. In the summer we have observed them to fly,
when it became dusk, out of the windows, and over the
neighbouring roofs. This feat of activity accounts for the
sudden manner in which they often leave their haunts, as it
does for the method by which they come to houses where they
were not known before. It is remarkable, that many sorts of
insects seern never to use their wings but when they have a
mind to shift their quarters and settle new colonies. When in
the air, they move volatu undoso, in waves, or curves, like
woodpeckers, opening and shutting their wings at every stroke,
and so are always rising or sinking.

When they increase to a great degree, as they did once in
the house where I am now writing, they become noisome pests,
flying into the candles, and dashing into people's faces ; but
may be blasted and destroyed by gunpowder discharged into
their crevices and crannies. In families, at such times, they
are, like Pharaoh's plague of frogs, " in their bed-chambers,
and upon their beds, and in their ovens, and in their kneading-
troughs." f Their shrilling noise is occasioned by a brisk
attrition of their wings. Cats eatch hearth-crickets, and,
playing with them as they do with mice, devour them.
Crickets may be destroyed, like wasps, by phials half filled with
beer, or any liquid, and set in their haunts ; for, being always
eager to drink, they will crowd in till the bottles are full.

* Sir William Jardine says, that, in Dumfriesshire, it is considered
lucky to have crickets in a house ; but if they disappear from one which
they have long inhabited, it is looked upon as foreboding some calamity to
the family. — ED.

f Exod. viii. 3.

MOLE-CRICKET. 237

LETTER XC.
TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE.

How diversified are the modes of life, not only of incon-
gruous, but even of congenerous animals ! and yet their specific
distinctions are not more various than their propensities.
Thus, while the field-cricket delights in sunny, dry banks, and
the house-cricket rejoices amidst the glowing heat of the kitchen
hearth or oven, the gryllus gryllotalpa (the mole-cricket) haunts
moist meadows, and frequents the sides of ponds, and banks of
streams, performing all its functions in a swampy wet soil. With
a pair of fore-feet, curiously adapted to the purpose, it burrows
and works under ground like the mole, raising a ridge as it
proceeds, but seldom throwing up hillocks.*

As mole-crickets often infest gardens by the sides of canals,
they are unwelcome guests to the gardener, raising up ridges
in their subterraneous progress, and rendering the walks
unsightly. If they take to the kitchen quarters, they occasion
great damage among the plants and roots, by destroying whole
beds of cabbages, young legumes, and flowers. When dug out,
they seem very slow and helpless, and make no use of their
wings by day ; but at night they come abroad, and make long
excursions, as I have been convinced by finding stragglers, in
a morning', in improbable places. In fine weather, about the
middle of April, and just at the close of day, they begin to
solace themselves with a low, dull, jarring note, continued for
a long time without interruption, and not unlike the chattering
of the fern-owl, or goat-sucker, but more inward.

* This is the gryllotalpa vulgaris of Latreille ; the structure of its
arms and fore-feet tit it in a peculiar manner for these operations, being

a/ juaiu. aim tnniv uui'ny »u us bailee, sireiigiiieiieu. \v 1111111 uy a. uuuuic

frame-work of tough gristle, in the front edge of which the shoulder-
blades are firmly articulated. This structure seems intended to prevent
the breast from being injured by the powerful muscles of the arms during
the operation of digging. The arms are powerfully formed, and of great
breadth, in proportion to the size of the animal ; the feet are shaped
like two broad hands, and provided with four large broad-based and sharp
claws, pointing somewhat obliquely outwards, like the hands of the mole,
this being the direction in which the animal digs, throwing the earth
on both sides as it advances. — ED.
3

238 MOLE-CRICKET.

About the beginning of May> they lay their eggs, as I was
once an eye-witness ; for a gardener, at a house where I was
on a visit, happening to be mowing, on the 6th of that month,
by the side of a canal, his scythe struck too deep, pared off a
large piece of turf, and laid open to view a curious scene of
domestic economy : —

— ingentem lato dedit ore fenestram ;

Apparet domus intus, et atria longa patescunt :
Apparent penetralia.

There were many caverns and winding passages leading to
a kind of chamber, neatly smoothed and rounded, and about
the size of a moderate snuff-box. Within the secret nursery
were deposited near an hundred eggs, of a dirty yellow colour,
and enveloped in a tough skin ; but too lately excluded to con-
tain any rudiments of young, being full of a viscous substance.
The eggs lay but shallow, and within the influence of the sun,
just under a little heap of fresh moved mould, like that which
is raised by ants.

When mole-crickets fly, they move cursu undoso, rising and
falling in curves, like the other species mentioned before. In
different parts of this kingdom, people call them fen-crickets,
churr-worms, and eve-churrs, — all very apposite names.

Anatomists, who have examined the intestines of these
insects, astonish me with their accounts : for they say, that
from the structure, position, and number of their stomachs,
or maws, there seems to be good reason to suppose that this
and the two former species ruminate, or chew the cud like many
quadrupeds !

LETTER XCI.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELJBORNE, May 7, 1779.

IT is now more than forty years that I have paid some atten-
tion to the ornithology of this district, without being able to
exhaust the subject : new occurrences still arise as long as any
inquiries are kept alive.

In the last week of last month, five of those most rare birds,
too uncommon to have obtained an English name, but known to
naturalists by the terms of himantopus, or loripes, and charadrius
ftimantopus,* were shot upon the verge of Frinsham Pond,

* This is the long-legged plover of Bewick, and other British authors.
— ED.

HIMANTOPUS. 239

a large lake belonging to the Bishop of Winchester, and lying
between Wolmer Forest and the town of Farnham, in the
county of Surrey. The pond-keeper says there were three
brace in the flock ; but that, after he had satisfied his curiosity,
he suffered the sixth to remain unmolested. One of these
specimens I procured, and found the length of the legs to be
so extraordinary, that, at first sight, one might have supposed
the shanks had been fastened on to impose on the credulity of
the beholder : they were legs in caricatura; and had we seen
such proportions on a Chinese or Japan screen, we should have
made large allowances for the fancy of the draughtsman. These
birds are of the plover family, and might, with propriety, be
called the stilt-plovers. Brisson, under that idea, gives them
the apposite name of Vechasse. My specimen, when drawn,
and stuffed with pepper, weighed only four ounces and a quar-
ter, though the naked part of the thigh measured three inches
and a half, and the legs four inches and a half : Hence we may
safely assert, that these birds exhibit, weight for inches, incom-
parably the greatest length of legs of any known bird. The
flamingo, for instance, is one of the most long-legged birds,
and yet it bears no manner of proportion to the himantopus ;
for a cock flamingo weighs, at an average, about four pounds
avoirdupois ; and his legs and thighs measure usually about
twenty inches. But four pounds are fifteen times and a frac-
tion more than four ounces and one quarter : and if four ounces
and a quarter have eight inches of legs, four pounds must have
one hundred and twenty inches and a fraction of legs, viz.
somewhat more than ten feet, — such a monstrous proportion
as the world never saw ! If you should try the experiment in
still larger birds, the disparity would still increase. It must
be matter of great curiosity to see the stilt-plover move ; to
observe how it can wield such a length of lever with such
feeble muscles as the thighs seem to be furnished with. At
best, one should expect it to be but a bad walker : but what
adds to the wonder is, that it has no back toe. Now, without
that steady prop to support its steps, it must be liable, in
speculation, to perpetual vacillations, and seldom able to pre-
serve the true centre of gravity.

The old name of himantopus is taken from Pliny ; and, by an
awkward metaphor, implies that the legs are as slender and
pliant as if cut out of a thong of leather. Neither Willughby
nor Ray, in all their curious researches, either at home or
abroad, ever saw this bird. Mr Pennant never met with it in

240 HIMANTOPUS TORTOISE.

all Great Britain, but observed it often in the cabinets of the
curious at Paris. Hasselquist says, that it migrates to Egypt
in the autumn ; and a most accurate observer of nature has
assured me, that he has found it on the banks of the streams
in Andalusia.

Our writers record it to have been found only twice in Great
Britain. From all these relations it plainly appears, that these
long-legged plovers are birds of South Europe, and rarely visit
our island ; and when they do, are wanderers and stragglers,
and impelled to make so distant and northern an excursion,
from motives or accidents, for which we are not able to account.
One thing may fairly be deduced, that these birds come over
to us from the Continent, since nobody can suppose that a
species not noticed once in an age, and of such a remarkable
make, can constantly breed unobserved in this kingdom.*

LETTER XCII.
TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, April 21, 1780.

DEAR SIR, — The old Sussex tortoise, that I have mentioned
to you so often, is become my property. 1 dug it out of its
winter dormitory in March last, when it was enough awakened
to express its resentments by hissing ; and, packing it in a box
with earth, carried it eighty miles in post chaises. The rattle
and hurry of the journey so perfectly roused it, that when I
turned it out on a border, it walked twice down to the bottom
of my garden : however, in the evening, the weather being
cold/ it buried itself in the loose mould, and continues still
concealed.

As it will be under my eye, I shall now have an opportunity
of enlarging my observations on its mode of life, and propen-
sities ; and perceive already, that, towards the time of coming
forth, it opens a breathing-place in the ground near its head,
requiring, I conclude, a freer respiration as it becomes more
alive. This creature not only goes under the earth from the
middle of November to the middle of April, but sleeps great
part of the summer ; for it goes to bed, in the longest days, at
four in the afternoon, and often does not stir in the morning

* This bird is a widely diffused species, being common in Egypt, the
shores of the Caspian Sea, the southern deserts "of Independent Tartary?
and Madras, in the East Indies ED.

TORTOISE. 24i

till late. Besides, it retires to rest for every shower, and does
not move at all in wet days. *

When one reflects on the state of this strange being, it is a
matter of wonder, to find that Providence should bestow such
a profusion of days, such a seeming waste of longevity, on a
reptile that appears to relish it so little as to squander more
than two-thirds of its existence in a joyless stupor, and be lost
to all sensation for months together in the profoundest of
slumbers.

While I was writing this letter, a moist and warm afternoon,
with the thermometer at 50, brought forth troops of shell-
snails ; and, at the same juncture, the tortoise heaved up the
mould and put out its head ; and the next morning came forth,
as it were raised from the dead, and walked about till four in
the afternoon. This was a curious coincidence — a very amu-
sing occurrence — to see such a similarity of feelings between
two <pggso/?co/, — for so the Greeks call both the shell-snail and
the tortoise. •)•

Summer birds are, this cold and backward spring, unusually

* Dr Bright mentions that land-tortoises are used as food in Hungary.
He says, " In the evening I was taken to see another object of curiosity.
— the garden kept for the rearing and preservation of land -tortoises.
The testudo orbicularis is the species most common about the lake, and
the river Szala, which falls into it. Tortoises, likewise, occur in great
numbers in various parts of Hungary, more particularly about Fiixes
Gyarmath, and the marshes of the river Theiss ; and being deemed a
delicacy for the table, are caught and kept in preserves. That of
Keszthely encloses about an acre of land, intersected by trenches and
ponds, in which the animals feed and enjoy themselves. In one corner
was a space separated from the rest by boards two feet high, forming a
pen for snails, which here, as well as in Germany, are in request as an
article of food. The upper edge of the boards were spiked with nails an
inch in height, and at intervals of half an inch, over which, I was assured,
these animals never attempt to make their way. This snail, the helix
pomatia, is in great demand in Vienna, where sacks of them are regularly
exposed for sale in the markets, alternating with sacks of beans, lentils,
kidney-beans, and truffles." The helix pomatia is now ranked among the
British land snails. It is the largest of our land shells ; is pretty abun-
dant in some of the southern counties of England ; and was introduced by
the luxurious Romans, during their residence in Britain. — ED.

•f* Snail shells remain in a torpid state during the winter, in the holes
of walls, in the ground, or under large stones. They, however, sometimes
make their appearance in winter, if the weather should be very mild, and
particularly in moist or rainy days. These animals have a wonderful
faculty of living, for a great length of time, without food. They have
been known to exist in a drawer, or box, without nutriment of any kind,
for two or three years. — ED.

242 TORTOISE.

late : I have seen but one swallow yet. This conformity with
the weather convinces me more and more that they sleep in
the winter.

MORE PARTICULARS RESPECTING THE OLD FAMILY TORTOISE*

BECAUSE we call this creature an abject reptile, we are too
apt to undervalue his abilities, and depreciate his powers of
instinct. Yet he is, as Mr Pope says of his lord,

Much too wise to walk into a well ;

and has so much discernment as not to fall down a haha, but to
stop and withdraw from the brink with the readiest precaution.

Though he loves warm weather, he avoids the hot sun;
because his thick shell, when once heated, would, as the poet
says of solid armour, " scald with safety." He therefore spends
the more sultry hours under the umbrella of a large cabbage
leaf, or amidst the waving forests of an asparagus bed.

But as he avoids the heat in summer, so, in the decline of
the year, he improves the faint autumnal beams, by getting
within the reflection of a fruit wall ; and, though he never has
read that planes inclining to the horizon receive a greater share
of warmth,* he inclines his shell, by tilting it against the wall*
to collect and admit every feeble ray.

Pitiable seems the condition of this poor embarrassed reptile ;
to be cased in a suit of ponderous armour, which he cannot
lay aside ; to be imprisoned, as it were, within his own shell,
must preclude, we should suppose, all activity and disposition
for enterprise. Yet there is a season of the year (usually the
beginning of June) when his exertions are remarkable. He
then walks on tiptoe, and is stirring by five in the morning ;
and, traversing the garden, examines every wicket and inter-
stice in the fences, through which he will escape if possible ;
and often has eluded the care of the gardener, and wandered
to some distant field. The motives that impel him to under-
take these rambles seem to be of the amorous kind : his fancy
then becomes intent on sexual attachments, which transport
him beyond his usual gravity, and induce him to forget for a
time his ordinary solemn deportment.

* Several years ago a book was written entitled, " Fruit walls improved
by inclining them to the horizon ; " in which the author has shewn, by
calculation, that a much greater number of the rays of the sun will fall on
such walls than on those which are perpendicular.

HONEY-BUZZARD — SPARROW-HAWK. 243

LETTER XCIII.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

A PAIR of honey-buzzards, buteo apivorus, sive vespivorus,
Rail, built them a large shallow nest, composed of twigs, and
lined with dead beechen leaves, upon a tall slender beech near
the middle of Selborne hanger, in the summer of ] 780. In the
middle of the month of June, a bold boy climbed this tree,
though standing on so steep and dizzy a situation, and brought
down an egg, the only one in the nest, which had been sat on
for some time, and contained the embryo of a young bird. The
egg was smaller, and not so round, as those of the common
buzzard ; was dotted at each end with small red spots, and
surrounded in the middle with a broad bloody zone.

The hen bird was shot, and answered exactly to Mr Ray's
description of that species : had a black cere, short thick legs,
and a long tail. When on the wing, this species may be easily
distinguished from the common buzzard, by its hawk-like
appearance, small head, wings not so blunt, and longer tail.
This specimen contained in its craw some limbs of frogs, and
many gray snails without shells. The irides of the eyes of this
bird were of a beautiful bright yellow colour.

About the tenth of July, in the same summer, a pair of
sparrow-hawks bred in an old crow's nest on a low beech in
the same hanger ;# and as their brood, which was numerous,
began to grow up, became so daring and ravenous, that they
were a terror to all the dames in the village that had chickens
or ducklings under their care. A boy climbed the tree, and
found the young so fledged that they all escaped from him ;
but discovered that a good house had been kept ; the larder
was well stored with provisions ; for he brought down a young
blackbird, jay, and house-marten, all clean picked, and some

* Professor Rennie says, " Although I have known this bird frequently
take possession of the abandoned nest of a crow or a magpie, without
making any additional repairs, I have also known it breed in the holes of
precipitous rocks, as at Howford, near Mauchline, in Ayrshire, and
Cartlan Crags, near Lanark,"

The sparrow-hawk is a bold, audacious bird, and builds frequently in
the most frequented situations. Some years ago, when on a visit to Lord
Douglas, at Douglas Castle, Lanarkshire, we discovered a nest close to
the approach, and not far distant from the east gate. We were desirous
to possess the birds, and his lordship gave orders to the gamekeeper to
shoot them, but he only killed the female. — ED.

244 DOVES.

half devoured. * The old birds had been observed to make
gad havoc for some days among the new-flown swallows and
martens, which, being 'but lately out of their nests, had not
acquired those powers and command of wing that enable
them, when more mature, to set such enemies at defiance.

LETTER XCIV.
TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, November 30, 1780.

DEAR SIR, — '• Every incident that occasions a renewal of our
correspondence will ever be pleasing and agreeable to me.

As to the wild wood-pigeon, the oenas, or vinago, of Ray, I
am much of your mind ; and see no reason for making it the
origin of the common house-dove : but suppose those that
have advanced that opinion may have been misled by another
appellation, often given to the oenas, which is that of stock-
dove.

Unless the stock-dove in the winter varies greatly in manners
from itself in summer, no species seems more unlikely to be
domesticated, and to make a house-dove. We very rarely see
the latter settle on trees at all, nor does it ever haunt the
woods ; but the former, as long as it stays with us, from
November perhaps to February, lives the same wild life with
the ring-dove, (palumbus torquatus ;) frequents coppices and
groves, supports itself chiefly by mast, and delights to roost
in the tallest beeches. Could it be known in what manner
stock-doves build, the doubt would be settled with me at once,
provided they construct their nests on trees, like the ring-
dove, as I much suspect they do.

You received, you say, last spring, a stock-dove from Sussex ;
and are informed that they sometimes breed in that country.
But why did not your correspondent determine the place of its
nidification, whether on rocks, cliffs, or trees ? If he was not
an adroit ornithologist, I should doubt the fact, because people

* Speaking of the cruel propensities of this bird, Montagu says, *' The
more generous hawks, we have frequently observed, kill their prey as soon
as caught, by eating the head first ; whereas the buzzards, in particular,
begin eating their prey indiscriminately. We have several times taken
partridges and other birds from them, which had one side of the breast or
a thigh devoured, and the bird still alive." — ED.

WOOD-PIGEONS. 245

with us perpetually confound the stock-dove with the ring-
dove. *

For my own part, I readily concur with you in supposing
that house-doves are derived from the small blue rock-pigeon,
for many reasons. In the first place, the wild stock-dove is
manifestly larger than the common house-dove, against the
usual rule of domestication, which generally enlarges the
breed. Again, those two remarkable black spots on the
remiges of each wing of the stock-dove, which are so charac-
teristic of the species, would not, one should think, be totally
lost by its being reclaimed ; but would often break out among
its descendants. But what is worth a hundred arguments* is
the instance you give in Sir Roger Mostyn's house- doves in
Caernarvonshire ; which, though tempted by plenty of food
and gentle treatment, can never be prevailed on to inhabit
their cote for any time ; but, as soon as they begin to breed,
betake themselves to the fastnesses of Ormshead, and deposit
their young in safety amidst the inaccessible caverns and
precipices of that stupendous promontory.

Naturam expellas furca . . . tamen usque recurret.

I have consulted a sportsman, now in his seventy-eighth
year, who tells me, that fifty or sixty years back, when the
beechen woods were much more extensive than at present, the
number of wood-pigeons was astonishing ; that he has often
killed near twenty in a day ; and that, with a long wild-fowl
piece, he has shot seven or eight at a time on the wing, as
they came wheeling over his head : he moreover adds, which
I was not aware of, that often there were among them little
parties of small blue doves, which he calls rockiers. The
food of these numberless emigrants was beech-mast and some
acorns ; and particularly barley, which they collected in the
stubbles. But of late years, since the vast increase of turnips,
that vegetable has furnished a great part of their support in

* There are three species of wild pigeon in Britain, besides the turtle-
dove, — the ring-dove, columba palumbus, the stock-dove, columba oenas,
and the rock-dove, columba lima. The two latter are very nearly allied ;
but a very strong distinctive mark is, that the stock-dove is larger than
the rock-dove, and the latter is white on the lower part of the back,
whereas the stock-dove is ash-coloured. It is now generally believed
that the rock-dove is the progenitor of all our domestic breeds of pigeons.
There is one circumstance which renders this opinion pretty conclusive,
and that is, we never find the domestic pigeon taking to trees to build,
when they become wild, but always resorting to old ruins, or to rocks.
The ring-dove is much larger than the other two species. — ED.

246 RING-DOVE.

hard weather ; and the holes they pick in these roots greatly
damage the crop. From this food their flesh has contracted
a rancidness which occasions them to he rejected by nicer
judges of eating, who thought them before a delicate dish.
They were shot not only as they were feeding in the fields, and
especially in snowy weather, but also at the close of the even-
ing, by men who lay in ambush among the woods and groves
to kill them as they came in to roost. * These are the principal
circumstances relating to this wonderful internal migration,
which with us takes place towards the end of November, and
ceases early in the spring. Last winter we had, in Selborne
High-wood, about an hundred of these doves ; but in former
times the flocks were so vast, not only with us, but all the
district around, that on mornings and evenings they traversed
the air, like rooks, in strings, reaching for a mile together.
When they thus rendezvoused here by thousands, if they
happened to be suddenly roused from 'their roost-trees on an
evening,

Their rising all at once was like the sound
Of thunder heard remote.

It will by no means be foreign to the present purpose to
add, that I had a relation in this neighbourhood who made it
a practice for a time, whenever he could procure the eggs of a
ring«dove, to place them under a pair of doves that were sitting
in his own pigeon-house, hoping thereby, if he could bring
about a coalition, to enlarge his breed, and teach his own
doves to beat out into the woods, and to support themselves
by mast. The plan was plausible, but something always
interrupted the success ; for though the birds were usually
hatched, and sometimes grew to half their size, yet none ever
arrived at maturity. I myself have seen these foundlings in
their nest displaying a strange ferocity of nature, so as scarcely
to bear to be looked at, and snapping with their bills by way
of menace. In short, they always died, perhaps for want of
proper sustenance ; but the owner thought that by their fierce
and wild demeanour they frighted their foster-mothers, and so
were starved.

Virgil, as a familiar occurrence, by way of simile, describes
a dove haunting the cavern of a rock, in such engaging
numbers, that I cannot refrain from quoting the passage ; and

* Some old sportsmen say, that the main part of these flocks used to
withdraw as soon as the heavy Christmas frosts were over.

HOUSE-MARTEN. 247

John Dryden has rendered it so happily in our language, that
without farther excuse, I shall add his translation also :

Qualis spelunca subito commota columba,
Cui domus, et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi,
Fertur in arva volans, plausumque exterrita penm's
Dat tecto ingentem : mox aere lapsa quieto
Radit iter liquidura, celeres neque commovet alas.

As when the dove her rocky hold forsakes,
Roused in a fright, her sounding wings she shakes ;
The cavern rings with clattering j out she flies,
And leaves her callow care, and cleaves the skies :
At first she flutters ; but at length she springs
To smoother flight, and shoots upon her wings.

LETTER XCV.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON,

SELBORNE, September 3, 1781.

I HAVE now read your Miscellanies through with much care
and satisfaction ; and am to return you my best thanks for the
honourable mention made in them of me as a naturalist, which
I wish I may deserve.

In some former letters, I expressed my suspicions that many
of the house-martens do not depart in the winter far from this
village. I therefore determined to make some search about
the south-east end of the hill, where I imagined they might
slumber out the uncomfortable months of winter. But suppo-
sing that the examination would be made to the best advantage
in the spring, and observing that no martens had appeared by
the llth of April last, on that day I employed some men to
explore the shrubs and cavities of the suspected spot. The
persons took pains, but without any success ; however, a
remarkable incident occurred in the midst of our pursuit, —
while the labourers were at work, a house-marten, the first
that had been seen this year, came down the village in the
sight of several people, and went at once into a nest, where it
staid a short time, and then flew over the houses ; for some
days after, no martens were observed, not till the 16th of
April, and then only a pair. Martens in general were remark-
ably late this year. *

* These early birds may be such as have hastened hither, by coming
within the range of a favouring gale of wind. — ED.

248 SWIFTS.

LETTER XCVI.
TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SELBORNE, September 9, 1781.

I HAVE just met with a circumstance respecting swifts, which
furnishes an exception to the whole tenor of my observations
ever since I have bestowed any attention on that species of
hirundines. Our swifts, in general, withdrew this year about
the first day of August, all save one pair, which in two or three
days was reduced to a single bird. The perseverance of this
individual made me suspect that the strongest of motives, that
of an attachment to her young, could alone occasion so late a
stay. I watched therefore till the twenty-fourth of August,
and then discovered that, under the eaves of the church, she
attended upon two young, which were fledged* and now put
out their white chins from a crevice. These remained till the
twenty-seventh, looking more alert every day, and seeming to
long to be on the wing. After this day, they were missing at
once ; nor could I ever observe them with their dam coursing
round the church in the act of learning to fly, as the first broods
evidently do. On the thirty-first, 1 caused the eaves to be
searched ; but we found in the nest only two callow, dead,
stinking swifts, on which a second nest had been formed.
This double nest was full of the black shining cases of the
hippoboscce hirundinis.

The following remarks on this'unusual incident are obvious :
The first is, that though it be disagreeable to swifts to remain
beyond the beginning of August, yet that they can subsist
longer is undeniable. The second is, that this uncommon
event, as it was owing to the loss of the first brood, so it cor-
roborates my former remark, that swifts breed regularly but
once ; since, was the contrary the case, the occurrence above
could neither be new nor rare.

P.S. One swift was seen at Lyndon, in the county of Rut-
land, in 1 782j so late as the 3d of September.

LETTER XCVII.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

As I have sometimes known you make inquiries about
several kinds of insects, I shall here send you an account of

coccus. 249

one sort which I little expected to have found in this kingdom.
I had often observed that one particular part of a vine, growing
on the walls of my house, was covered in the autumn with a
black, dust-like appearance, on which the flies fed eagerly ;
and that the shoots and leaves thus affected did not thrive,
nor did the fruit ripen. To this substance I applied my
glasses, but could not discover that it had any thing to do
with animal life, as I at first expected ; but upon a closer
examination behind the larger boughs, we were surprised to
find that they were coated over with husky shells, from whose
sides proceeded a cotton-like substance, surrounding a multi-
tude of eggs. This curious arid uncommon production put
me upon recollecting what I have heard and read concerning
the coccus vitis vinifercB of Linnaeus, which, in the south of
Europe, infests many vines, and is a horrid and loathsome
pest. As soon as I had turned to the accounts given of this
insect, I saw at once that it swarmed on my vine : and did
not appear to have been at all checked by the preceding
winter, which had been uncommonly severe.

Not being then at all aware that it had any thing to do
with England, I was much inclined to think that it came from
Gibraltar, among the many boxes and packages of plants and
birds which I had formerly received from thence ; and espe-
cially as the vine infested grew immediately under my study
window, where I usually kept my specimens.* True it is,
that I had received nothing from thence for some years : but
as insects, we know, are conveyed from one country to another
in a very unexpected manner, and have a wonderful power of
maintaining their existence till they fall into a nidus proper

* Most of the species of coccus, which are found in and infest the
green-houses and conservatories of Britain, have been introduced with
exotic plants. They are now very common in this country, and are a
very prolific race. The females fix themselves, and tenaciously and
immoveably adhere, to the branches of plants. Some of them lose entirely
the form of insects : their bodies swell, their skin stretches, and becomes
smooth, and they so closely resemble some of the galls, or excrescences,
found on plants, as to be taken for such by people unacquainted with
the subject. After this change, the abdomen serves only as a kind of
shell, or covering, under which the eggs are concealed. Others, although
they are also thus fixed, preserve their insect form till they have laid their
eggs, and then die. A kind of downy substance grows on their abdomeni
which serves for the formation of the nest in which they deposit their eg^s.

The males differ considerably from the females, being provided with
wings, and are small, but very active insects. It is from one of this tribe,
the coccus caete, or American cochineal, that the celebrated red dye called
cochineal is made. — ED.

250 coccus.

for their support and increase, I cannot but suspect still that
these cocci came to me originally from Andalusia. Yet, all
the while, candour obliges me to confess, that Mr Lightfoot
has written me word, that he once, and but once, saw these
insects on a vine at Weymouth, in Dorsetshire ; which, it is
here to be observed, is a seaport town to which the coccus
might be conveyed by shipping.

As many of my readers may possibly never have heard of
this strange and unusual insect, I shall here transcribe a passage
from a Natural History of Gibraltar, written by the Reverend
John White, late vicar of Blackburn, in Lancashire, but not
yet published : —

" In the year 1 770, a vine, which grew on the east side of
my house, and which had produced the finest crops of grapes
for years past, was suddenly overspread, on all the woody
branches, with large lumps of a white fibrous substance,
resembling spiders' webs, or rather raw cotton. It was of a
very clammy quality, sticking fast to every thing that touched
it, and capable of being spun into long threads. At first I
suspected it to be the product of spiders, but could find none.
Nothing was to be seen connected with it, but many brown
oval husky shells, which by no means looked like insects, but
rather resembled bits of the dry bark of the vine. The tree
had a plentiful crop of grapes set, when this pest appeared
upon it ; but the fruit was manifestly injured by this foul
encumbrance. It remained all the summer, still increasing,
and loaded the woody and bearing branches to a vast degree.
I often pulled off great quantities by handfuls ; but it was so
slimy and tenacious that it could by no means be cleared.
The grapes never filled to their natural perfection, but turned
watery and vapid. Upon perusing the works afterwards of
M. de Reaumur, I found this matter perfectly described and
accounted for. Those husky shells which I had observed,
were no other than the female coccus, from whose sides this
cotton-like substance exudes, and serves as a covering and
security for their eggs,"

To this account I think proper to add, that, though the
female cocci are stationary, and seldom remove from the place
to which they stick, yet the male is a winged insect ; and that
the black dust which I saw was undoubtedly the excrement
of the females, which is eaten by ants as well as flies. Though
the utmost severity of our winter did not destroy these insects.

SMOTHER'FLY. 251

yet the attention of the gardener, in a summer or two, has
entirely relieved my vine from this filthy annoyance.

As we have remarked above, that insects are often conveyed
from one country to another in a very unaccountable manner,
I shall here mention an emigration of small aphides, which
was observed in the village of Selborne, no longer ago than
August the 1st, 1785.

At about three o'clock in the afternoon of that day, which
was very hot, the people of this village were surprised by a
shower of aphides, or smother-flies, which fell in these parts. *
Those that were walking in the street at that juncture, found
themselves covered with these insects, which settled also on
the hedges and gardens, blackening all the vegetables where
they alighted. My annuals were discoloured with them, and
the stalks of a bed of onions were quite coated over for six
days after. These armies were then, no doubt, in a state of
emigration, and shifting their quarters ; and might have come,
as far as we know, from the great hop plantations of Kent or
Sussex, the wind being all that day in the easterly quarter.
They were observed, at the same time, in great clouds about
Farnham, and all along the vale from Farnham to Alton, f

LETTER XCVIII.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

DEAR SIR, — When I happen to visit a family where gold
and silver fishes J are kept in a glass bowl, I am always pleased

* There are several species of these troublesome, although minute,
animals ; the loftiest tree is as liable to their attacks as the most humble
plant. Their numbers are incalculably great. They prefer the young and
tender shoots, and frequently insinuate themselves into the very heart of
the plants, where they commit much havoc. Some feed indiscriminately
on every kind of plant, while others confine their ravages to one species
of plant only. The aphis of the rose tree too frequently despoil this
delightful flower. The aphides afford a very striking deviation from the
general laws of nature, — one impregnation of the female is sufficient for
nine generations. — ED.

f For various methods by which several insects shift their quarters,
see Derham's Physico - Theology.

| The gold and silver fishes are but one species, the cyprinus auratus
of Linnaeus. The young fry, when first produced, are perfectly black,
but they afterwards change to white, and then to gold colour ; the latter
colours appear first about the tail, and extend upwards. The smallest
fish are the most beautiful, being of a fine orange red, appearing as if
sprinkled over with gold dust ; some are silvery white, and others white,

252 GOLD AND SILVER FISHES.

with the occurrence, because it offers me an opportunity of
observing the actions and propensities of those beings with
whom we can be little acquainted in their natural state.
Not long since, I spent a fortnight at the house of a friend,
where there was such a mvary, to which I paid no small
attention, taking every occasion to remark what passed within
its narrow limits. It was here that I first observed the manner
in which fishes die. As soon as the creature sickens, the head
sinks lower and lower, and it stands, as it were, on its head ;
till, getting weaker, and losing all poise, the tail turns over,
and, at last, it floats on the surface of the water, with its belly
uppermost. The reason why fishes, when dead, swim in that
manner, is very obvious ; because, when the body is no longer
balanced by the fins of the belly, the broad muscular back
preponderates by its own gravity, and turns the belly upper-
most, as lighter, from its being a cavity, and because it contains
the swimming bladders, which contribute to render it buoyant.
Some that delight in gold and silver fishes, have adopted a
notion that they need no aliment. True it is, that they will
subsist for a long time without any apparent food but what
they can collect from pure water frequently changed ; yet they
must draw some support from animalcula, and other nourish-
ment, supplied by the water ; because* though they seem to
eat nothing, yet the consequences of eating often drop from
them. That they are best pleased with such jejune diet may
easily be confuted, since, if you toss them crumbs, they will
seize them with great readiness, not to say greediness : how-
ever, bread should be given sparingly* lest, turning sour, it
corrupt the water. They will also feed on the water plant
called lemna, (duck's meat,) and also on small fry.

When they want to move a little, they gently protrude
themselves with their pinnce pectorales ; but it is with their
strong muscular tails only that they, and all fishes, shoot along
with such inconceivable rapidity. It has been said, that the
eyes of fishes are immoveable ; but these apparently turn them
forward or backward, in their sockets, as their occasions
require. They take little notice of a lighted candle, though
applied close to their heads, but flounce, and seem much
frightened by a sudden stroke of the hand against the support
whereon the bowl is hung ; especially when they have been

spotted with red. When kept in ponds, they are frequently taught to
rise to the surface of the water, at the sound of a bell, to be fed. They
are said to have been first introduced into England in 1691. — ED.

HOUSE-MARTENS. 253

motionless, and perhaps asleep. As fishes have no eyelids, it
is not easy to discern when they are sleeping or not, because
their eyes are always open.

Nothing can be more amusing than a glass bowl containing
such fishes : the double refractions of the glass and water
represent them, when moving, in a shifting and changeable
variety of dimensions, shades, and colours ; while the two
mediums, assisted by the concavo-convex shape of the vessel,
magnify and distort them vastly ; not to mention that the
introduction of another element and its inhabitants into our
parlours engages the fancy in a very agreeable manner.

Gold and silver fishes, though originally natives of China
and Japan, yet are become so well reconciled to our climate,
as to thrive and multiply very fast in our ponds and stews.
Linnaeus ranks this species of fish under the genus of cyprinus,
or carp, and calls it cyprinus auratus.

Some people exhibit this sort of fish in a very fanciful way ;
for they cause a glass bowl to be blown with a large hollow
space within, that does not communicate with it. In thig
cavity they put a bird occasionally, so that you may see a
goldfinch or a linnet hopping, as it were, in the midst of the
water, and the fishes swimming in a circle round it. The simple
exhibition of the fishes is agreeable and pleasant ; but in so
complicated a way, becomes whimsical and unnatural, and
liable to the objection due to him,

Qui variare cupit rem prodigialit£r unam.

LETTER XCIX.
TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

October 10, 1781.

DEAR SIR, — I think I have observed before, that much the
most considerable part of the house-martens withdraw from
hence about the first week in October; but that some, the
latter broods, I am now convinced, linger on till towards the
middle of that month ; and that at times — once perhaps in
two or three years — a flight, for one day only, has shewn itself
in the first week in November.

Having taken notice, in October, 1 780, that the last flight
was numerous, amounting perhaps to one hundred and fifty,
and that the season was soft and still, I was resolved to pay
uncommon attention to these late birds, to find, if possible,
where they roosted, and to determine the precise time of their

254 MIGRATION.

retreat. The mode of life of these latter hirundines is very
favourable to such a design, for they spend the whole day in
the sheltered district between me and the Hanger, sailing about
in a placid easy manner, and feasting on those insects which
love to haunt a spot so secure from ruffling winds. As my
principal object was to discover the place of their roosting, I
took care to wait on them before they retired to rest, and was
much pleased to find that, for several evenings together, just
at a quarter past five in the afternoon, they all scudded away
in great haste towards the south-east, and darted down among
the low shrubs above the cottages at the end of the hill.* This

* Our author is most desirous to establish the opinion, that some of
the hirundines and their congeners live with us during the winter. In
addition to the mass of evidence which we have brought forward regarding
the migration of the swallow tribe, we shall conclude this subject with the
interesting observations of Audubon, the celebrated American ornithologist,
on the republican, or cliff-swallow. " Being extremely desirous of settling
the long-agitated question respecting the migration or supposed torpidity
of swallows, I embraced every opportunity of examining their habits,
carefully noted their arrival and disappearance, and recorded every fact
connected with their history. After some years' constant observation,
and reflection, I remarked, that, among all the species of migratory birds,
those that remove farthest from us depart sooner than those which retire
only to the confines of the United States ; and, by a parity of reasoning,
those that remain later return earlier in the spring. These remarks were
confirmed as I advanced towards the soutn-west on the approach of
winter, for I there found numbers of warblers, thrushes, &c. in full
feather and song. It was also remarked, that the hirundo viridis of
Wilson remained about the city of New Orleans later than any other
swallow. As immense numbers of them were seen during the month of
November, I kept a diary of the temperature of the third of that month,
until the arrival of the hirundo purpurea. The following notes an; taken
from my journal, and, as I had excellent opportunities, during a residence
of many years in the country, of visiting the lakes to which these swallows
were said to resort during transient frosts, I present them with con-
fidence : —

" November 11. — Weather very sharp, with a heavy white frost. Swal-
lows in abundance during the whole day. On inquiring of the inhabitants
if this was an unusual occurrence, I was answered in the aflirmative by
all the French and Spaniards. From this date to the twenty- second the
thermometer averaged sixty-five degrees, the weather generally a drizzly
fog. Swallows playing over the city in thousands.

" November 25. — Thermometer this morning at thirty degrees. Ice in
New Orleans a quarter of an inch thick. The swallows resorted to the
lee of the cypress swamp in the rear nf the city. Thousands were flying
in different flocks. Fourteen were killed at a single shot, all in perfect
plumage and very fat. The markets were abundantly supplied with these
tender, juicy, and delicious birds. Saw swallows every day, but remarked
them more plentiful the stronger the breeze blew from the sea.

MIGRATION. 255

spot in many respects seems to be well calculated for their
winter residence, for, in many parts, it is as steep as the roof
of any house, and therefore secure from the annoyances of
water ; and it is, moreover, clothed with beechen shrubs, which,
being stunted and bitten by sheep, make the thickest covert
imaginable, and are so entangled as to be impervious to the
smallest spaniel ; besides, it is the nature of underwood beech
never to cast its leaf all the winter, so that, with the leaves on
the ground and those on the twigs, no shelter can be more
complete. I watched them on to the thirteenth and fourteenth
of October, and found their evening retreat was exact and
uniform ; but after this they made no regular appearance. Now
and then a straggler was seen ; and, on the twenty-second of
October, I observed two, in the morning, over the village, and
with them my remarks for the season ended.

From all these circumstances put together, it is more than
probable that this lingering flight, at so late a season of the
year, never departed from the island. Had they indulged
me that autumn with a November visit, as I much desired, I
presume that, with proper assistants, I should have settled the
matter past all doubt ; but though the third of November was

" December 20. — The weather continues much the same. Foggy and
drizzly mist. Thermometer averaging sixty-three degrees.

" January 14. — Thermometer torty-two degrees. Weather continues
the same. My little favourites constantly in view.

"January 28. — Thermometer at forty degrees. Having seen the
hirundo viridis continually, and the kirundo purpurea, or purple marten,
beginning to appear, I discontinued my observations.

" During the whole winter, many ot them retired to the holes about the
houses, but the greater number resorted to the lakes, and spent the night
among the branches of myrica ccrifera, the drier, as it is termed
by the French settlers. At sunset they began to flock together, calling
to each other for that purpose, and, in a short time, presented the appear-
ance of clouds moving towards the lakes, or the mouth of the Mississippi,
as the weather and wind suited. Their aerial evolutions, before they
alight, are truly beautiful. They appear at first as if reconnoitering the
place, when, suddenly throwing themselves into a vortex of apparent
confusion, they descend spirally with astonishing quickness, and very
much resemble a trombe, or water spout. When within a few feet of the
driers, they disperse in all directions, and settle in a few moments.
Their twittering, and the motions of their wings, are, however, heard
during the whole night. As soon as the day begins to d.iwn, they rise,
flying low over the lakes, almost touching the water for some time, and
then rising, gradually move off in search of food, separating in different
directions. The hunters who resort to these places destroy great numbers
of them, by knocking them down with light paddles, used in propelling
their canoes."

256 INSTINCT.

a sweet day, and in appearance exactly suited to my wishes,
yet not a marten was to be seen, and so I was forced, reluc-
tantly, to give up the pursuit.

I have only to add, that were the bushes, which cover some
acres, and are not my own property, to be grubbed and care-
fully examined, probably those late broods, and perhaps the
whole aggregate body of the house-martens of this district,
might be found there in different secret dormitories ; and that,
so far from withdrawing into warmer climes, it would appear
that they never depart three hundred yards from the village.

LETTER C.

TO THE HON. DA1NES HARRINGTON.

THEY who write on natural history, cannot too frequently
advert to instinct, that wonderful limited faculty, which, in
some instances, raises the brute creation, as it were, above
reason, and in others, leaves them so far below it. Philosophers
have defined instinct to be that secret influence by which
every species is impelled naturally to pursue, at all times, the
same way, or track, without any teaching or example ; whereas
reason, without instruction, would often vary, and do that by
many methods which instinct effects by one alone. Now, this
maxim must be taken in a qualified sense, for there are instances
in which instinct does vary and conform to the circumstances
of place and convenience.

It has been remarked, that every species of bird has a mode
of nidification peculiar to itself, so that a schoolboy would at
once pronounce on the sort of nest before him. This is the
case among fields, and woods, and wilds ; but in the villages
round London, where mosses, and gossamer and cotton from
vegetables, are hardly to be found, the nest of the chaffinch
has not that elegant finished appearance, nor is it so beautifully
studded with lichens, as in a more rural district ; and the wren
is obliged to construct its house with straws and dry grasses,
which do not give it that rotundity and compactness so remark-
able in the edifices of that little architect. Again, the regular
nest of the house-marten is hemispheric ; but where a rafter,
or a joist, or a cornice, may happen to stand in the way, the
nest is so contrived as to conform to the obstruction, and
becomes flat, or oval, or compressed.

In the following instances, instinct is perfectly uniform
and consistent. There are three creatures, the squirrel, the

2

INSTINCT. 257

field-mouse, and the bird called the nut-hatch, (sitta europcsa^)
which live much on hazel-nuts, and yet they open them each
in a different way. The first, after rasping1 off the small end,
splits the shell into two with his long fore teeth, as a man does
with his knife ; the second nibbles a hole with his teeth, so
regular as if drilled with a wimble, and yet so small that one
would wonder how the kernel can be extracted through it ;
while the last picks an irregular ragged hole with its bill ; but
as this artist has no paws to hold the nut firm while he pierces
it, like an adroit workman, he fixes it as it were in a vice, in
some cleft of a tree, or in some crevice, when, standing over
it, he perforates the stubborn shell. We have often placed
nuts in the chink of a gate-post, where nut-hatches have been
known to haunt, and have always found that those birds have
readily penetrated them. While at work, they make a rapping
noise that may be heard at a considerable distance.*

You that understand both the theory and practical part of
music, may best inform us why harmony or melody should so

* Instinct is not invariably infallible, as Professor Rennie justly
observes, for we can discover many mistakes of this faculty. For
example, when Dr Arnold discovered that wonderful vegetable produc-
tion, the rafflesia Arnoldii, in Sumatra, which is said to smell like
tainted beef, he observed a swarm of flies gathered around it, for the
purpose, as he supposed, of depositing their eggs upon it, as they no
doubt imagined it to be tainted carrion.

The circumstance of insects mistaking the rafflesia for putrid meat, is
not a singular one, as we have similar mistakes happening in this country.
The common flesh fly (musca vomitorea) often lays its eggs in the fetid
sorts of phalli and agarici, apparently supposing them genuine flesh.

The earth-worm, which is instinctively afraid of moles, flies to the
surface of the earth whenever it finds the ground shaking, whether by
man or animals. Boys who wish to capture these poor animals, take
advantage of this natural dread of an enemy, and by sinking a spade or
stake into the ground, move it backwards and forwards, and the alarmed
worms ascend to the surface. It is mentioned by Dr Anderson, in his
Bee, that the lapwing (tringa vanellus} is aware of this instinctive
fear of the earth-worm, and when other food is scarce, it pats the ground
with its feet, till the earth-worms, mistaking it for a mole approaching,
ascend to the surface, when they are immediately devoured by the cunning
bird.

The flight of the cuckoo being very like that of a hawk, it is frequently
pursued by small birds, thinking it one of these fell destroyers.

Linnaeus mentions that at Tornea, there is a meadow, or bog, which
abounds with water hemlock, (cicuta virosa,} which the cattle eat, and
are poisoned ; from fifty to a hundred head of cattle die annually from this
cause.

258 EFFECT OF MUSIC.

strangely affect some men, as it were by recollection, for days
after a concert is over. What I mean, the following passage
will most readily explain : —

" Praehabebat porro vocibus humanis, instrumentisque har-
monicis, musicam illam avium : non quod alia quoque non
delectaretur ; sed quod ex musica humana relinqueretur in
animo continens quasdam, attentionemque et somnum contur-
bans agitatio : dum ascensus, exscensus, tenores, ac mutationes
illse sonorum et consonantiarum, euntque, redeuntque per
phantasiam : — cum nihil tale relinqui possit ex modulationibus
aivum, quse, quod non sunt perinde a nobis imitabiles, non pos-
sunt perinde internam facultatem commovere." — GASSENDUS,
in Vita Peireskii.*

This curious quotation strikes me much by so well repre-
senting my own case, and by describing what I have so often
felt, but never could so well express. When I hear fine
music, 1 am haunted with passages therefrom night and day,
and especially at first waking; which, by their importunity,
give me more uneasiness than pleasure : elegant lessons still
tease my imagination, and recur irresistibly to my recollection
at seasons, and even when I am desirous of thinking of more
serious matters, f

* As this striking passage can be only understood by the classical scholar,
we offer a translation' for the use of those who are not so : — " He
preferred, besides, the music of birds to the human voice, and to musical
instruments ; not because he derived no pleasure from the last, but because
after music from the human voice there was left in the mind a certain
continual agitation, disturbing attention and sleep, while the risings and
fallings, the tones and changes, of sound and concords, pass and repass
through the fancy ; whereas nothing of this kind can remain after the
warblings of birds, which, as they cannot be imitated by us, cannot
therefore affect the faculty of imagination within us." — ED.

•j- A similar impulse was felt by Alfieri, who, in his life, written by
himself, describes his sensations on hearing music, as of a very powerful
kind. He thus speaks of the first opera he witnessed when he was only
twelve years of age, — " This varied and enchanting music sank deep
into my soul, and made the most astonishing impression on my imagi-
nation: it agitated the inmost recesses of my heart to such a degree,
that for several weeks I experienced the most profound melancholy,
which was not, however, wholly unattended with pleasure. I became
tired and disgusted with my studies, while, at the same time, the most
wild and whimsical ideas took such possession of my mind as would
have led me to portray them in the most impassioned verses, had I not
been wholly unacquainted with my own feelings. It was the first time
music had produced such a powerful effect on my mind. I had never
experienced any thing similar, and it long remained engraven on my
memory. When I recollect the feelings excited by the representation of

PETTICHAPS. 359

LETTER CL

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

A RARE, and I think a new, little bird frequents my garden,
which I have great reason to think is the pettichaps : it is
common in some parts of the kingdom ; and I have received
formerly several dead specimens from Gibraltar. .This bird
much resembles the white-throat* but has a more white, or
rather silvery, breast and belly ; is restless and active, like the
willow-wrens, and hops from bough to bough, examining every
part for food ; it also runs up the stems of the crown-imperials,
and, putting its head into the bells of those flowers, sips the
liquor which stands in the nectarium of each petal. Sometimes
it feeds on the ground like the hedge-sparrow, by hopping
about on the grass-plots and mown walks.

One of my neighbours, an intelligent and observing mail)
informs me, that, in the beginning of May, and about ten
minutes before eight o'clock in the evening, he discovered a
great cluster of house-swallows, thirty at least, he supposes,
perching on a willow that hung over the verge of James

the grand operas, at which I was present, during several carnivals, and
compare them with those which I now experience, on returning from the
performance of a piece I have not witnessed for some time, I am fully
convinced that nothing acts so powerfully on my mind as all species of
music, and particularly the sound of female voices, and of contralto.
Nothing excites more various or terrific sensations in my mind. Thus
the plots of the greatest number of my tragedies were either formed while
listening to music, or a few hours afterwards." In a subsequent passage
he remarks, — "My greatest pleasure consisted in attending the opera
buffa, though the gay and lively music left a deep and melancholy impres-
sion on my mind. A thousand gloomy and mournful ideas assailed my
imagination, in which I delighted to indulge by wandering alone on the
shores of the Chiaja Portici."

Associations of ideas, awakened by music, have also a powerful effect

:rish patri .

being overpowered to such a degree, that it would have been truly alarming,
had not a flood of tears come to her relief. What is wonderful, so far from
having a fine musical ear, she had not even a common-place relish for music.
The same effect was produced on her by the ' Minstrel Bojr ' of Moore. A
young friend of the writer, who has no taste for music, is similarly
overpowered, even in a crowded theatre, when ' Home, sweet Home, ' is
sung. " — ED.

260 PEREGRINE FALCON.

Knight's upper pond. His attention was first drawn by the
twittering of these birds, which sat motionless in a row on the
bough, with their heads all one way, and, by their weight,
pressing down the twig, so that it nearly touched the water.
In this situation, he watched them till he could see no longer.
Repeated accounts of this sort, spring and fall, induce us
greatly to suspect, that house-swallows have some strong
attachment to water, independent of the matter of food ; and,
though they may not retire into that element, yet they may
conceal themselves in the banks of pools and rivers during the
uncomfortable months of winter.

One of the keepers of Wolmer Forest sent me a peregrine
falcon, which he shot on the verge of that district, as it was
devouring a wood-pigeon. The falco peregrinus, or haggard
falcon, is a noble species of hawk, seldom seen in the southern
counties. In winter 1767, one was killed in the neighbouring
parish of Faringdon, and sent by me to Mr Pennant into North
Wales.* Since that time, I have met with none till now.
The specimen mentioned above was in fine preservation, and
not injured by the shot : it measured forty -two inches from
wing to wing, and twenty-one from beak to tail, and weighed
two pounds and a half standing weight. This species is very
robust, and wonderfully formed for rapine ; its breast was plump
and muscular ; its thighs long, thick, and brawny ; and its legs
remarkably short and well set ; the feet were armed with most
formidable, sharp, long talons ; the eyelids and cere of the bill
were yellow; but the irides of the eyes dusky ; the beak was
thick and hooked, and of a dark colour, and had a jagged
process near the end of the upper mandible on each side ; its
tail, or train, was short in proportion to the bulk of its body ;
yet the wings, when closed, did not extend to the end of the
train. From its large and fair proportions, it might be sup-
posed to have been a female ; but I was not permitted to cut
open the specimen. For one of the birds of prey, which are
usually lean, this was in high case : in its craw were many
barley-corns, which probably came from the crop of the wood-
pigeon, on which it was feeding when shot : for voracious birds
do not eat grain ; but, when devouring their quarry, with
undistinguishing vehemence, swallow bones and feathers, and
all matters, indiscriminately, f This falcon was probably driven

* See Letters X. XI. to Thomas Pennant, Esq.

f The bones and feathers which are swallowed along with the flesh by
birds of prey, tend to assist digestion. — ED.

CHINESE DOGS. 261

from the mountains of North Wales or Scotland, where they
are known to breed, by rigorous weather and deep snows that
had lately fallen.

LETTER CIL

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

MY near neighbour, a young gentleman in the service of
the East India Company, has brought home a dog and a bitch
of the Chinese breed from Canton ; such as are fattened in
that country for the purpose of being eaten : they are about
the size of a moderate spaniel ; of a pale yellow colour, with
coarse bristling hair on their backs ; sharp, upright ears, and
peaked heads, which give them a very fox-like appearance.
Their hind legs are unusually straight, without any bend at
the hock, or ham, to such a degree as to give them an awkward
gait when they trot. When they are in motion, their tails
are curved high over their backs, like those of some hounds,
and have a bare place each on the outside, from the tip mid-
way, that does not seem to be matter of accident, but somewhat
singular. Their eyes are jet black, small, and piercing ; the
insides of their lips and mouths of the same colour, and their
tongues blue. The bitch has a dew-claw on each hind leg ;
the dog has none. When taken out into a field, the bitch
shewed some disposition for hunting, and dwelt on the scent
of a covey of partridges till she sprung them, giving her tongue
all the time. The dogs in South America are dumb ; * but
these bark much in a short, thick manner, like foxes ; and have
a surly, savage demeanour, like their ancestors, which are not
domesticated, but bred up in sties, where they are fed for the
table with rice-meal and other farinaceous food. These dogs,
having been taken on board as soon as weaned, could not learn
much from their dam ; yet they did not relish flesh when they
came to England. In the islands of the Pacific Ocean, the
dogs ate bred up on vegetables, and would not eat flesh when
offered them by our circumnavigators.

We believe that all dogs, in a state of nature, have sharp,
upright, fox-like ears ; and that hanging ears, which are
esteemed so graceful, are the effect of choice breeding and

* The dogs which Captain Franklin brought from the Arctic Regions
were dumb, and are never known to bark in their native country ; but a
young one, that was whelped here, has learnt to imitate his fellows. — ED.

262 DOGS.

cultivation. Thus in the Travels of Ysbiandt Ides from
Muscovy to China, the dogs which draw the Tartars on snow
sledges near the river Oby, are engraved with prick-ears, like
those from Canton. The Kamtschatdales also train the same
sort of sharp-eared, peak-nosed dogs to draw their sledges ; as
may be seen in an elegant print engraved for Captain Cook's
last voyage round the world.

Now we are upon the subject of dogs, it may not be
impertinent to add, that spaniels, as all sportsmen know,
though they hunt partridges and pheasants, as it were, by
instinct, and with much delight and alacrity, yet will hardly
touch their bones when offered as food ; nor will a mongrel
dog of my own, though he is remarkable for finding that sort
of game. But, when we came to offer the bones of partridges
to the two Chinese dogs, they devoured them with much
greediness, and licked the platter clean.

No sporting dogs will flush woodcocks till inured to the
scent, and trained to the sport, which they then pursue with
vehemence and transport ; but then they will not touch their
bones, but turn from them with abhorrence, even when they
are hungry. *

Now, that dogs should not be fond of the bones of such
birds as they are not disposed to hunt, is no wonder ; but why
they reject and do not care to eat their natural game, is not so
easily accounted for, since the end of hunting seems to be, that
the chase pursued should be eaten. Dogs, again, will not
devour the more rancid water-fowls ; nor indeed the bones of
any wild-fowls ; nor will they touch the fetid bodies of birds
that feed on offal and garbage ; and indeed there may be
somewhat of providential instinct in this circumstance of
dislike; for vultures, f and kites, and ravens, and crows, &c.
were intended to be messmates with dogs J over their carrion ;
and seem to be appointed by Nature as fellow-scavengers, to
remove all cadaverous nuisances from the face of the earth.

* Pointers are frequently known to set game the first time they are
taken into a field, and to preserve their point with the steadiness of an
old well-trained dog. — Er>.

f Hasselquist, in his Travels to the Levant, observes, that the dogs
and vultures at Grand Cairo maintain such a friendly intercourse, as to
bring up their young together in the same place.

| The Chinese word for a dog, to a European ear, sounds like quihloh.

STONE-CURLEW ROOKS. 263

LETTER CIII.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

THE fossil wood buried in the bogs of Wolmer Forest, is
not yet all exhausted ; for the peat-cutters now and then
stumble upon a log. I have just seen a piece which was sent
by a labourer of Oakhanger to a carpenter of this village : this
was the butt end of a small oak, about five feet long, and about
five inches in diameter. It had apparently been severed from
the ground by an ax, was very ponderous, and as black as
ebony. Upon asking the carpenter for what purpose he had
procured it, he told me that it was to be sent to his brother, a
joiner at Farnham, who was to make use of it in cabinet work,
by inlaying it along with whiter woods.

Those that are much abroad on evenings after it is dark, in
spring and summer, frequently hear a nocturnal bird passing
by on the wing, and repeating often a short quick note. This
bird I have remarked myself, but never could make out till
lately. I am assured now, that it is the stone-curlew, (chara-
drlus oedicnemusJ) Some of them pass over or near my house
almost every evening after it is dark, from the uplands of
the hill and Northfield, away down towards Dorton ; where,
among the streams and meadows, they find a greater plenty
of food. Birds that fly by night are obliged to be noisy ; their
notes, often repeated, become signals, or watch-words, to keep
them together, that they may not stray or lose each other in the
dark.

The evening proceedings and manoeuvres of the rooks are
curious and amusing in the autumn. Just before dusk, they
return in long strings from the foraging of the day, and
rendezvous by thousands over Selborne-down, where they
wheel round in the air, and sport and dive in a playful manner,
all the while exerting their voices, and making a loud cawing,
which, being blended and softened by the distance that we at
the village are below them, becomes a confused noise or chiding ;
or rather a pleasing murmur, very engaging to the imagination,
and not unlike the cry of a pack of hounds in hollow, echoing
woods, or the rushing of the wind in tall trees, or the tumbling
of the tide upon a pebbly shore. When this ceremony is
over, with the last gleam of day, they retire for the night to
the deep beechen woods of Tisted and Ropley. We remember
a little girl, who, as she was going to bed, used to remark on

264 RAIN.

such an occurrence, in the true spirit of physico-theology, that
the rooks were saying their prayers ; and yet this child was
much too young to be aware that the Scriptures have said
of the Deity — that " He feedeth the ravens who call upon
him."*

LETTER CIV.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

IN reading Dr Huxham's Observations de Aere, &c. written
at Plymouth, I find, by those curious and accurate remarks,
which contain an account of the weather from the year 1727
to the year 1 748, inclusive, that though there is frequent rain
in that district of Devonshire, yet the quantity falling is not
great; and that some years it has been very small; for in
1731, the rain measured only 17inch. — 266th™. ; and in 1741,
20 — 354; and again, in 1743, only 20 — 908. Places near
the sea have frequent scuds, that keep the atmosphere moist,
yet do not reach far up into the country ; making thus the
maritime situations appear wet, when the rain is not consider-
able. In the wettest years at Plymouth, the Doctor measured
only once 36 ; and again once, viz. 1734, 37— 1 14 ; a quantity
of rain that has twice been exceeded at Selborne in the short
period of my observations. Dr Huxham remarks, that frequent
small rains keep the air moist ; while heavy ones render it
more dry, by beating down the vapours.f He is also of opinion,

* Rooks have undoubtedly a language of their own, which is understood
by the whole community ; and a bird set to watch by them has a peculiar
note, by which it warns its fellows of approaching danger, and upon the
sound of which they all take flight, and always in a direction opposite to
where the danger is apprehended. — ED.

•j* Mr Spence remarks, on this subject, — " The superior dryness of the
air in Italy in summer, compared with that of England, and'many parts
of the north of Europe, is well known; but I was not aware that the
difference is equally striking even in the rainy part of winter, judging, for
want of a better hygrometer, from the condensation of moisture on the
inside of windows in rooms without a fire, which I have always observed
to be very considerable in winter, both in England, and in Brussels, during
a three years' residence there, whenever a cold night succeeds a rainy or
warm day, the condensed moisture often even running down to the floor ;
whereas at Florence, under precisely similar circumstances, I have never
but once observed more than a slight condensation in the middle of the
panes, as if breathed on, even in rooms with a north aspect, and only once
during the frost, any appearance, and that but slight, of that thick crust of
ice formed on the inside of the panes in England, and at Brussels, whenever

ECHOES BAROMETER. 265

that the dingy smoky appearance in the sky, in very dry
seasons, arises from the want of moisture sufficient to let the
light through, and render the atmosphere transparent ; because
he had observed several bodies more diaphanous when wet
than dry ; and did never recollect that the air had that look
in rainy seasons.

My friend, who lives just beyond the top of the Down,
brought his three swivel guns to try them in my outlet, with
their muzzles towards the Hanger, supposing that the report
would have had a great effect; but the experiment did not
answer his expectation. He then removed them to the alcove
on the Hanger ; when the sound, rushing along the Lythe and
Comb-wood, was very grand : but it was at the Hermitage
that the echoes and repercussions delighted the hearers ; not
only filling the Lythe with a roar, as if all the beeches were
tearing up by the roots, but, turning to the left, they pervaded
the vale above Comb-wood ponds ; and, after a pause, seemed
to take up the crash again, and to extend round Harteley
Hangers, and to die away at last among the coppices and
coverts of Ward-le-ham. It has been remarked before, that
this district is an Anathoth, a place of responses, or echoes* and
therefore proper for such experiments ; we may farther add,
that the pauses in echoes, when they cease and yet are taken
up again, like the pauses in music, surprise the hearers, and
have a fine effect on the imagination.

The gentleman above mentioned has just fixed a barometer
in his parlour at Newton Valence. The tube was first filled
here (at Selborne) twice with care, when the mercury agreed*
and stood exactly with my own ; but being filled again twice at
Newton, the mercury stood, on account of the great elevation
of that house, three-tenths of an inch lower than the baro-
meters at this village, and so continues to do, be the weight
of the atmosphere what it may. The plate of the barometer
at Newton is figured as low as twenty-seven ; because, in
stormy weather, the mercury there will sometimes descend
below twenty-eight. We have supposed Newton house to
stand two hundred feet higher than this house : but if the rule
holds good, which says that mercury in a barometer sinks

a hard frost sets in. Among many other proofs of the greater dryness
of the air in winter, one is afforded by the profusion in which grapes are
to be had, at less than twopence a pound, at the corners of every street,
up to the end of March, quite free from all mouldiness, though cut full
four months, and kept merely by being hung at the top of rooms without
a fire." — ED.

266 BAROMETERS — WEATHER.

one-tenth of an inch for every hundred feet elevation, then the
Newton barometer, by standing three-tenths lower than that
of Selborne, proves that Newton house must be three hundred
feet higher than that in which I am writing, instead of two
hundred.

It may not be impertinent to add, that the barometers at
Selborne stand three-tenths of an inch lower than the baro-
meters at South Lambeth ; whence we may conclude, that the
former place is about three hundred feet higher than the latter ;
and with good reason, because the streams that rise with us
run into the Thames at Weybridge, and so to London. Of
course, therefore, there must be lower ground all the way from
Selborne to South Lambeth ; the distance between which, all
the windings and indentings of the streams considered, cannot
be less than an hundred miles. *

LETTER CV.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

SINCE the weather of a district is undoubtedly part of its
natural history, I shall make no farther apology for the four
following letters, which will contain many particulars concern-
ing some of the great frosts, and a few respecting some very
hot summers, that have distinguished themselves from the rest
during the course of my observations.

As the frost in January, 1768, was, for the small time it
lasted, the most severe that we had then known for many years,
and was remarkably injurious to evergreens, some account of
its rigour, and reason of its ravages, may be useful, and not
unacceptable to persons that delight in planting and orna-
menting ; and may particularly become a work that professes
never to lose sight of utility.

For the last two or three days of the former year, there
were considerable falls of snow, which lay deep and uniform
on the ground without any drifting, wrapping up the more

* The best instrument now in use for determining the pressure of the
atmosphere, the altitude of any place above another, or above the level of
the sea, is the barometer invented and made by Mr Adie, 58, Princes
Street, Edinburgh, and named by him tlie sympiesometer. The great
simplicity of this instrument is a high recommendation, as it gives the
altitudes by a single process of subtraction and multiplication, whereas
to obtain the altitude with the common barometer, the use of the barome-
trical tables is indispensable. — ED.

SNOW SHRUBS. 267

humble vegetation in perfect security. From the first day to
the fifth of the new year, more snow succeeded ; but from that
day, the air became entirely clear, and the heat of the sun
about noon had a considerable influence in sheltered situations.

It was in such an aspect, that the snow on the author's
evergreens was melted every day, and frozen intensely every
night; so that the laurustines, bays, laurels, and arbutuses,
looked, in three or four days, as if they had been burnt in the
fire ; while a neighbour's plantation of the same kind, in a
high, cold situation, where the snow was never melted at all,
remained uninjured.*

From hence I would infer, that it is the repeated melting
and freezing of the snow that is so fatal to vegetation, rather
than the severity of the cold. Therefore, it highly behoves
every planter, who wishes to escape the cruel mortification of
losing in a few days the labour and hopes of years, to bestir
himself on such emergencies ; and, if his plantations are small,
to avail himself of mats, cloths, pease-haum, straw, reeds, or
any such covering, for a short time ; or if his shrubberies are
extensive, to see that his people go about with prongs and
forks, and carefully dislodge the snow from the boughs ; since
the naked foliage will shift much better for itself, than where
the snow is partly melted and frozen again.

It may perhaps appear at first like a paradox, but doubtless
the more tender trees and shrubs should never be planted in
hot aspects ; not only for the reason assigned above, but also
because, thus circumstanced, they are disposed to shoot earlier
in the spring, arid to grow on later in the autumn than they
would otherwise do, and so are sufferers by lagging or early
frosts. For this reason, also, plants from Siberia will hardly
endure our climate ; because, on the very first advances of
spring, they shoot away, and so are cut off by the severe nights
of March or April.

Dr Fothergill and others have experienced the same incon-
venience with respect to the more tender shrubs from North
America : which they therefore plant under north walls. There

c sccuiiu cum luugeM, irusi. YV nue an me rest 01 me surruuiiuing exposed.

grass looked bare and withered, that under a group of old evergreen oaks
had made a shoot of from one to two inches, and was of a fine vivid green,
distinguishable at a great distance. Groundsel, the daisy, shepherd's purse,
veronica arvensis, calendra arvensis, &c. were in flower the whole winter,
their blossoms expanding in bright warm days during the frost — ED.

268 BEES FROSTS.

should also, perhaps, be a wall to the east, to defend them
from the piercing blasts from that quarter.

This observation might, without any impropriety, be carried
into animal life ; for discerning bee-masters now find that
their hives should not, in the winter, be exposed to the hot
sun, because such unseasonable warmth awakens the inhabi-
tants too early from their slumbers ; and* by putting their
juices into motion too soon, subjects them afterwards to
inconveniencies when rigorous weather returns.

The coincidents attending this short but intense frost, were,
that the horses fell sick with an epidemic distemper, which
injured the winds of many, and killed some ; that colds and
coughs were general among the human species ; that it froze
under people's beds for several nights ; that meat was so hard
frozen that it could not be spitted, and could not be secured
but in cellars ;* that several redwings and thrushes were
killed by the frost ; and that the large titmouse continued to
pull straws lengthwise from the eaves of thatched houses and
barns in a most adroit manner, for a purpose that has been
explained already, -j*

On the third of January, Benjamin Martin's thermometer,
within doors, in a close parlour where there was no fire, fell
in the night to 20, and on the fourth to 18, and on the seventh
to 17J, a degree of cold which the owner never since saw in
the same situation ; and he regrets much that he was not able
at that juncture to attend his instrument abroad. All this time,
the wind continued north and north-east ; and yet on the
eighth, roost-cocks, which had been silent, began to sound
their clarions, and crows to clamour, as prognostic of milder
weather ; and, moreover, moles began to heave and work, and
a manifest thaw took place. From the latter circumstance, we
may conclude, that thaws often originate under ground from
warm vapours which arise, else how should subterraneous
animals receive such early intimations of their approach ?
Moreover, we have often observed that cold seems to descend
from above ; J for when a thermometer hangs abroad in a

* Meat thus frozen will keep any length of time. At St Petersburgh,
there is a market of frozen meat. A species of extinct elephant was
found in the ice of the North Seas, where it must have remained for many
centuries, and when discovered, part of the flesh was yet preserved, and
untainted. — ED.

f See Letter LXIII. to Thomas Pennant, Esq*

I This may be explained, on the principle that the radiation of caloric
proceeds more rapidly from the earth's surface, when the sky is clear, and
is interrupted by the intervention of a cloud. — ED.

THAWS. 269

frosty night, the intervention of a cloud shall immediately raise
the mercury ten degrees ; and a clear sky shall again compel
it to descend to its former gage.

And here it may be proper to observe, on what has been
said above, that though frosts advance to their utmost severity
by somewhat of a regular gradation, yet thaws do not usually
come on by as regular a declension of cold ; but often take
place immediately from intense freezing ; as men in sickness
often mend at once from a paroxysm. *

To the great credit of Portugal laurels and American
jumpers, be it remembered, that they remained untouched
amidst the general havock : hence men should learn to orna-
ment chiefly with such trees as are able to withstand accidental
severities, and not subject themselves to the vexation of a loss
which may befall them once perhaps in ten years, yet may
hardly be recovered through the whole course of their lives.

As it appeared afterwards, the ilexes were much injured,
the cypresses were half destroyed, the arbutuses lingered on,
but never recovered ; and the bays, laurustines, and laurels,
were killed to the ground ; and the very wild hollies, in hot
aspects, were so much aifected, that they cast all their leaves.f-

* About the middle of November, 1831, the winter set in at Edinburgh
with considerable severity, and was followed up by a fall of snow. It lay
on the ground for some days, and had been raked up in heaps along the
sides of the street. It continued freezing hard, on the evening of the
twenty -first, at six o'clock, when we were out of doors. We had occasion
to be out again a little after midnight, and, the moment we set our face
out of doors, we were astonished at the extreme warmth of the atmosphere,
which felt like a genial summer mid-day breeze, the wind blowing gently
from the south, and the whole snow had disappeared. So rapid was the
thaw, that the atmosphere seemed incapable of properly taking up the
moist vapour, and next day the walls of all the houses in Edinburgh
ran down with condensed vapour : those which were painted with size
appeared as wet as if they had been newly washed, and it was some days
before they were thoroughly dry. — ED.

f The winter of 1830-31, remarkable for the great quantity of snow
that fell in some parts of the kingdom, as well as for the severity of the
frost, caused very great devastation among the evergreens, particularly
in Ireland. At Headford, in the county of Galway, several very large
trees of the arbutus unedo, which had already flourished for many years,
and attained a diameter of nearly a foot, were destroyed down to the root.
In the vicinity of Clogher, in the county of Tyrone, most of the laurustines,
bays, and laurels, and many of the evergreens, were entirely destroyed ;
nor were the Portugal laurels entirely exempted. In one shrubbery, in
particular, the decay was so rapid as to produce an almost overpowering
smell. — ED.

270 WINTER OF 1776.

By the fourteenth of January, the snow was entirely gone ;
the turnips emerged, not damaged at all, save in sunny places ;
the wheat looked delicately ; and the garden plants were well
preserved; for snow is the most kindly mantle that infant
vegetation can be wrapped in : were it not for that friendly
meteor, no vegetable life could exist at all in northerly regions.
Yet in Sweden, the earth in April is not divested of snow for
more than a fortnight before the face of the country is covered
with flowers.

LETTER CVI.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

THERE were some circumstances attending the remarkable
frost in January, 1776, so singular and striking, that a short
detail of them may not be unacceptable.

The most certain way to be exact will be to copy the passages
from my journal, which were taken from time to time as things
occurred. But it may be proper previously to remark, that
the first week in January was uncommonly wet, and drowned
with vast rains from every quarter: from whence may be
inferred, as there is great reason to believe is the case, that
intense frosts seldom take place till the earth is perfectly
glutted and chilled with water ; and hence dry autumns are
seldom followed by rigorous winters. *

January 7th. — Snow driving all the day, which was fol-
lowed by'frost, sleet, and some snow, till the twelfth, when a
prodigious mass overwhelmed all the works of men, drifting
over the tops of the gates, and filling the hollow lanes.

On the fourteenth, the writer was obliged to be much
abroad ; and thinks he never before or since encountered such
rugged Siberian weather. Many of the narrow roads were
now filled above the tops of the hedges ; through which the
snow was driven into most romantic and grotesque shapes, so
striking to the imagination, as not to be seen without wonder
and pleasure. The poultry dared not to stir out of their
roosting places ; for cocks and hens are so dazzled and con-
founded by the glare of snow, that they would soon perish

* The autumn preceding January, 1 768, was very wet, and particularly
the month of September, during which there fell at Lyndon, in the
county of Rutland, six inches and a half of rain. And the terrible long
frost in 1739-40 set in after a rainy season, and when the springs were
very high.

WINTER OF 1776. 271

without assistance. The hares also lay sullenly in their seats,
and would not move till compelled by hunger ; being conscious,
poor animals, that the drifts and heaps treacherously betray
their footsteps, and prove fatal to numbers of them.

From the fourteenth, the snow continued to increase, and
began to stop the road-wagons and coaches, which could no
longer keep on their regular stages ; and especially on the
western roads, where the fall appears to have been deeper than
in the south. The company at Bath, that wanted to attend
the Queen's birth day, were strangely incommoded : many
carriages of persons who got, in their way to town from Bath,
as far as Maryborough, after strange embarrassments, here met
with a ne plus ultra. The ladies fretted, and offered large
rewards to labourers, if they would shovel them a road to
London ; but the relentless heaps of snow were too bulky to
be removed ; and so the eighteenth passed over, leaving the
company in very uncomfortable circumstances, at the Castle
and other inns.

On the twentieth, the sun shone out for the first time since
the frost began ; a circumstance, that has been remarked
before, much in favour of vegetation. All this time, the cold
was not very intense, for the thermometer stood at twenty-
nine, twenty-eight, twenty-five, and thereabout ; but on the
twenty-first it descended to twenty. The birds now began to
be in a very pitiable and starving condition. Tamed by the
season, sky-larks settled in the streets of towns, because they
saw the ground was bare ; rooks frequented dunghills close to
houses ; and crows watched horses as they passed, and greedily
devoured what dropped from them ; hares now came into
men's gardens, and, scraping away the snow, devoured such
plants as they could find.

On the twenty-second, the author had occasion to go to
London, through a sort of Laplandian scene, very wild and
grotesque indeed. But the metropolis itself exhibited a still
more singular appearance than the country ; for, being bedded
deep in snow, the pavement of the streets could not be touched
by the wheels or the horses' feet, so that the carriages ran
about without the least noise. Such an exemption from din
and clatter was strange, but not pleasant ; it seemed to convey
an uncomfortable idea of desolation :

Ipsa silentia terrent.

On the twenty-seventh, much snow fell all day, and in the
evening, the frost became very intense. At South Lambeth,

272 WINTER OF 1776.

for the four following nights, the thermometer fell to eleven,
seven, six, six ; and at Selborne, to seven, six, ten ; and on
the thirty-first of January, just before sunrise, with rime on the
trees, and on the tube of the glass, the quicksilver sank exactly
to zero, being thirty-two degrees below the freezing point ;
but by eleven in the morning, though in the shade, it sprang
up to sixteen and a half,* — a most unusual degree of cold this
for the south of England ! During these four nights, the cold
was so penetrating, that it occasioned ice in warm chambers,
and under beds ; and, in the day, the wind was so keen, that
persons of robust constitutions could scarcely endure to face
it. The Thames was at once so frozen over, both above and
below bridge, that crowds ran about on the ice. The streets
were now strangely encumbered with snow, which crumbled and
trode dusty ; and, turning gray, resembled bay salt : what had
fallen on the roofs was so perfectly dry, that, from first to
last, it lay twenty-six days on the houses in the city ; a longer
time than had been remembered by the oldest housekeepers
living. According to all appearances, we might now have
expected the continuance of this rigorous weather for weeks
to come, since every night increased in severity ; but behold,
without any apparent cause, on the first of February, a thaw
took place, and some rain followed before night ; making
good the observation above, that frosts often go off as it were,
at once, without any gradual declension of cold. On the second
of February, the thaw persisted; and on the third, swarms of
little insects were frisking and sporting in a court-yard at
South Lambeth, as if they had felt no frost. Why the juices
in the small bodies and smaller limbs of such minute beings,
are not frozen, is a matter of curious inquiry. •]*

* At Selborne, the cold was greater than at any other place that the
author could hear of with certainty ; though some reported at the time,
that, at a village in Kent, the thermometer fell two degrees below zero,
viz. thirty-four degrees below the freezing point. The thermometer used
at Selborne was graduated by Benjamin Martin.

f It is surprising the degree of cold which the eggs and chrisalids of
insects can endure, without destroying the vital principle ; nor is it less
astonishing the degree of heat they are capable of sustaining. Spallanzani,
and John Hunter," have made some curious experiments on these subjects.
"Intense cold," says Spallanzani, " does not destroy the eggs of insects."
The year 1709 was celebrated for the intensity of its cold, and its fatal
effects on animals and plants. Fahrenheit's thermometer fell to one
degree. ' Who can believe,' exclaims Boerhaave, ' that the severity of
this winter did not destroy the eggs of insects, especially those exposed
to its influence in open fields, on the bare earth, or on the exposed branches
2

WINTER OF 1776. 273

Severe frosts seem to be partial, or to run in currents ; for
at the same juncture, as the author was informed by accurate
correspondents, at Lyndon, in the county of Rutland, the
thermometer stood at nineteen; at Blackburn, in Lancashire,
at nineteen ; and at Manchester, at twenty-one, twenty, and
eighteen. Thus does some unknown circumstance strangely
overbalance latitude, and render the cold sometimes much
greater in the southern than the northern parts of this
kingdom.

The consequences of this severity were, that, in Hampshire,
at the melting of the snow, the wheat looked well, and the
turnips came forth little injured. The laurels and laurustines
were somewhat damaged, but only in hot aspects. No ever-
greens were quite destroyed ; and not half the damage
sustained that befell in January, 1768. Those laurels that
were a little scorched on the south sides, were perfectly
untouched on their north sides. The care taken to shake the
snow day by day from the branches, seemed greatly to avail
the author's evergreens. A neighbour's laurel hedge, in a
high situation, and facing to the north, was perfectly green
and vigorous ; and the Portugal laurels remained unhurt.

As to the birds, the thrushes and blackbirds were mostly
destroyed ; and the partridges, by the weather and poachers,
were so thinned, that few remained to breed the following-
year.

of trees ! Yet the genial warmth of spring having again tempered the
air, these eggs were hatched, and as numerously as in the mildest winters. '
Since that time, there have been winters still more severe, for, in France,
as well as in several other European states, in December, 1788, the ther-
mometer fell considerably beneath that of 1709.

" I subjected eggs of insects to a more severe trial than in the winter
of 1709. Among others were those of the silk -worm moth, and the elm
butterfly, which I enclosed in a glass vessel, and buried five hours in a
mixture of the ice and rock-salt, when the thermometer fell six degrees
below zero ; notwithstanding which, caterpillars were extruded from all
the eggs, and exactly at the same time with those which had not been
subjected to this experiment. In the succeeding year, I exposed them to
a still greater degree of cold. I prepared a mixture of rock-salt and
nitrate of ammonia, and reduced the thermometer to twenty-two degrees
below zero, which was twenty-three degrees lower than the cold of 1 709.

ve find
; same

time, it is possessed of a principle of vitality which prevents its destruc-
tion. — ED.

274 WINTER OF 1784-5.

LETTER CVII.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

As the frost in December, 1784, was very extraordinary,
you, I trust, will not be displeased to hear the particulars ; and
especially when I promise to say no more about the severities
of winter, after I have finished this letter.

The first week in December was very wet, with the
barometer very low. On the seventh, with the barometer
at twenty-eight five-tenths, came on a vast snow, which
continued all that day and the next, and most part of the
following night ; so that, by the morning of the ninth, the
works of men were quite overwhelmed, the lanes filled so as to
be impassable, and the ground covered twelve or fifteen inches
without any drifting. In the evening of the ninth, the air
began to be so very sharp, that we thought it would be curious
to attend to the motions of a thermometer ; we, therefore,
hung out two, one made by Martin, and one by Dolland, which
soon began to shew us what we were to expect ; for, by ten
o'clock, they fell to twenty-one, and at eleven to four, when we
went to bed. On the tenth, in the morning, the quicksilver of
Dolland's glass was down to half a degree below zero, and
that of Martin's, which was absurdly graduated only to four
degrees above zero, sunk quite into the brass guard of the
ball, so that, when the weather became most interesting, this
was useless. On the tenth, at eleven at night, though the air
was perfectly still, Dolland's glass went down to one degree
below zero ! This strange severity of the weather made me
very desirous to know what degree of cold there might be in
such an exalted and near situation as Newton. We had,

therefore, on the morning of the tenth, written to Mr ,

and entreated him to hang out his thermometer, made by
Adams, and to pay some attention to it, morning and evening,
expecting wonderful phenomena, in so elevated a region, at two
hundred feet or more above my house. But, behold ! on the
tenth, at eleven at night, it was down only to seventeen, and
the next morning at twenty-two, when mine was at ten ! We
were so disturbed at this unexpected reverse of comparative
local cold, that we sent one of my glasses up, thinking that of

Mr . must, somehow, be wrongly constructed. But,

when the instruments came to be confronted, they went

WINTER OF 1784-5. 275

exactly together, so that, for one night at least, the cold at
Newton was eighteen degrees less than at Selborne, and,
through the whole frost, ten or twelve degrees ;* and, indeed,
when we came to observe consequences, we could readily
credit this, for all my laurustines, bays, ilexes, arbutuses,
cypresses, and even my Portugal laurels, and, which occasions
more regret, my fine sloping laurel hedge, were scorched up,
while, at Newton, the same trees have not lost a leaf!

We had steady frost on the twenty-fifth, when the thermo-
meter, in the morning, was down to ten with us, and at Newton
only to twenty-one. Strong frost continued till the thirty-first,
when some tendency to thaw was observed, and by January
the third, 1 785, the thaw was confirmed, and some rain fell.

A circumstance that I must not omit, because it was new
to us, is, that on Friday, December the tenth, being bright
sunshine, the air was full of icy spicuUs^ floating in all direc-
tions, like atoms in a sunbeam let into a dark room. We
thought them, at first, particles of the rime falling from my
tall "hedges, but were soon convinced to the contrary, by
making our observations in open places where no rime could
reach us. Were they watery particles of the air frozen as

* The Rev. Mr Bree, of Allesly Rectory, made similar observations in
the years 1830 and 1831. He says, " I have elsewhere observed, in the
year 1830, that the effects of the frosty nights on trees seemed to diifer
according to the circumstances, and to be most destructive in the lower
situations. Several instances of the same kind presented themselves to
my notice this season, during the frosts which prevailed in the month of
May. The gooseberries and currants were in some cases much injured
in gardens which lay low, while those in more elevated situations escaped
unhurt. Many of our native plants were cut off, as equisetum arvense,
aspidiumfelix, mas., and aculeatum, scilla ?iutans, &c. all of them lovers
of low ground. But not only were the late frosts most destructive in low
situations, they seem also to have had a much more injurious effect on
vegetation within a few feet of the surface of the ground than they had
as many yards above it. And of this I was struck with a remarkable
instance in a wood in this neighbourhood, which consists chiefly of oak.
For the space of several acres, I observed the opening foliage of the under-
wood oak, about seven or eight feet from the ground, to be entirely cut off
by the frost, though the bushes were, of course, much sheltered by the
overshadowing boughs of the poles and trees above them ; while, contrary
to what might be expected, the foliage of the poles and trees themselves,
which were exposed to the atmosphere, but elevated some yards above the
underwood, remained unaffected. In the case, also, of single oak trees, in
other situations, I observed the foliage of the lower boughs to be cut
off by the frost, and the head of the higher branches to be unimpaired.'1
— Eo.

276 WINTER OF 1784-5.

they floated, or were they evaporations from the snow frozen
as they mounted ?*

We were much obliged to the thermometers for the early
information they gave us, and hurried our apples, pears, onions,
potatoes, &c. into the cellar and warm closets : while those
who had not, or neglected such warnings, lost all their stores of
roots and fruits, and had their very bread and cheese frozen,

I must not omit to tell you, that, during those two Siberian
days, my parlour cat was so electric, that had a person stroked
her, and been properly insulated, the shock might have been
given to a whole circle of people, f

* We can account for this phenomenon only by the supposition, that
these spiculse were formed by a thin stratum of vapour passing through
the higher regions of the atmosphere; and that they were not dense
enough to have the ordinary appearance of snow. We know that snow
itself is crystallized vapour, and the distinctness and forms of these crystals
will be in proportion to the intensity of the cold at the time. The
ordinary cold in this country is seldom such as to produce these, and the
snow has usually a flaky appearance. Captain Scoresby mentions having
frequently seen snow in a highly crystallized state in the Arctic Regions.
In this country there are occasional showers of highly crystallized snow.
On the 4th of February, 1880, a fall of this kind was noticed at Cam-
bridge, the thermometer then standing at about twenty-two degrees, and
the wind from the east-north-east. Nearly all the snow which fell was
of that beautiful stellated form called by Captain Scoresby the " lamellar
stelliform crystals." They consisted chiefly of six points, radiating from
a centre, forming with each other, at that centre, angles of sixty degrees,
and having commonly additional ramifications on the primary ones, in
the same plane with them, and forming angles of sixty degrees with the
primaries. These, however, consisted of great variety in their arrange-
ment. Some were regular in all their parts, while others were quite
eccentric. Some of these were fashioned by the obliteration of the
alternate rays, so as to form angles of one hundred and twenty, instead
of one hundred and sixty, degrees ; the additional ramifications still
forming angles of sixty degrees with the primaries. The size of these
crystals varied from one-eighth to one-third of an inch in diameter.
Scoresby says, that the time when the greatest quantity of crystals fell in
the Arctic Seas, was when the thermometer stood between sixteen and
twenty-two degrees, and the wind was north-east or north-north-east,
which corresponded with what was observed at Cambridge. — ED.

f Some animals have the voluntary power of communicating electricity,
The torpedo, and electric eel, may be mentioned as well known instances.
In the Magazine of Natural History, a correspondent mentions having
received several shocks from a caterpillar of the cerura vinula, or puss-
moth. These he found in a young poplar. He says, — " The cerura
shewed decided symptoms of irritation, which particularly drew my atten-
tion. It began to contract its body, drawing itself closely together, and,
by degrees, elevated and extended its bifurcated tail. There were slowly
protruded from out of the points bright red filaments, and irregularly
bent to one side. In a short time I felt a sudden tingle along my arms,

SUMMERS OF 1781 AND 1783. 277

I forgot to mention before, that, during the two severe days,
two men, who were tracing hares in the snow, had their feet
frozen ; and two men, who were much better employed, had
their fingers so affected by the frost, while they were thrashing
in a barn, that mortification followed, from which they did not
recover for many weeks.

This frost killed all the furze and most of the ivy, and in
many places stripped the hollies of all their leaves. It came
at a very early time of the year, before old November ended,
and may yet be allowed, from its effects, to have exceeded any
since 1739-40.*

LETTER CVIIL

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON,

As the effects of heat are seldom very remarkable in the
northerly climate of England, where the summers are often so
defective in warmth and sunshine, as not to ripen the fruits of
the earth so well as might be wished, I shall be more concise in
my account of the severity of a summer season, and so make a
little amends for the prolix account of the degrees of cold, and
the inconveniencies that we suffered from some late rigorous
winters.

The summers of 1781 and 1783, were unusually hot and
dry ; to them, therefore, I shall turn back in my journals,
without recurring to any more distant period. In the former
of these years, my peach and nectarine trees suffered so much
from the heat, that the rind on the bodies was scalded and
came off; since which, the trees have been in a decaying
state. This may prove a hint to assiduous gardeners to fence
arid shelter their wall-trees with mats or boards, as they may
easily do, because such annoyance is seldom of long continu-
ance. During that summer, also, I observed that my apples
were coddled, as it were, on the trees ; so that they had no
quickness of flavour, and would not keep in the winter. This

which made me stop with surprise. Suspecting, however, that this
might be imaginary, 1 again proceeded ; and shortly after I felt another
shock, which made me almost involuntarily throw the twig with the
creature upon the ground." — ED.

* Mr Miller, in his Gardener's Dictionary, says positively, that the
Portugal laurels remained untouched in the remarkable frost of 1739-40 :
so that either that accurate observer was much mistaken, or else the
frost of December, 1784, was much more severe and destructive than that
in the year above mentioned.

278 SUMMERS OF 1781 AND 1783.

circumstance put me in mind of what I have heard travellers
assert, that they never ate a good apple or apricot in the south
of Europe, where the heats were so great as to render the
juices vapid and insipid.

The great pests of a garden are wasps, which destroy all
the finer fruits just as they are coming into perfection. In
1781, we had none ; in 1783, there were myriads, which
would have devoured all the produce of my garden had we
not set the boys to take the nests, and caught thousands
with hazel-twigs tipped with bird-lime : we have since em-
ployed the boys to take and destroy the large breeding* wasps
in the spring. Such expedients have a great effect on these
marauders, and will keep them under. Though wasps do
not abound but in hot summers, yet they do not prevail
in every hot summer, as I have instanced in the two years
above mentioned.*

In the sultry season of 1 783, honey-dews were so frequent
as to deface and destroy the beauties of my garden. My
honeysuckles, which were one week the most sweet and lovely
objects that eye could behold, became the next the most loath-
some, being enveloped in a viscous substance, and loaded with
black aphides, or smother-flies. The occasion of this clammy

* There is a wonderful provision in the economy of Nature, by which
the numbers of these troublesome marauders are kept within moderate
bounds, and but for which they would soon overrun the face of the
earth. Every wasp's nest is peopled by several thousands of neuters, or
workers. But the neuters, which are first produced, are likewise the
first that perish : for not one of them survives the termination of even a
mild winter.

The female wasps are, however, stronger, and can bear the rigours of
winter better than either the males or neuters. But several hundreds
of the females of every nest perish before the end of the winter, and,
indeed, not more than ten or a dozen of each nest survive that season.
These females are destined for the continuation of the species, and each
of them becomes the founder of a new republic. It is quite uncertain
whether any male wasps survive. Every nest, about the beginning of
October, presents a strange scene of what appears anomalous cruelty.
The wasps then not only desist from bringing nourishment to their
young, but also drag them in the caterpillar state from their cells, and
expose them to the weather, where they either die for want of food, or
become a prey to birds, or, as is more generally the ca?e, the parent wasps
pinch them to death with their forceps. But instead of being cruel and
unnatural, this is perhaps an act of mercy, as wasps do not lay up a store
of food for the winter, and their progeny would consequently die a painful
and lingering death from starvation if "left in their cells. So that what
appears a transgression of the predominating love of animals for their
young is, in fact, a merciful effort of instinct. — ED.

SUMMER OF 1783. 279

appearance seems to be this, that in hot weather, the effluvia
of flowers in fields, and meadows, and gardens, are drawn up
in the day by a brisk evaporation, and then in the night fall
down again with the dews in which they are entangled ; that
the air is strongly scented, and therefore impregnated with the
particles of flowers in summer weather, our senses will inform
*us ; and that this clammy sweet substance is of the vegetable
kind, we may learn from bees, to whom it is very grateful ;
and we may be assured that it falls in the night, because it is
always first seen in warm still mornings. *

On chalky and sandy soils, and in the hot villages about
London, the thermometer has been often observed to mount
as high as eighty-three or eighty-four ; but with us, in this
hilly and woody district, I have hardly ever seen it exceed
eighty, nor does it often arrive at that pitch. The reason, I
conclude, is, that our dense clayey soil, so much shaded by
trees, is not so easily heated through as those above mentioned ;
and, besides, our mountains cause currents of air and breezes ;
and the vast effluvia from our woodlands temper and moderate
our heats.

LETTER CIX.

TO THE HON. DAINES HARRINGTON.

THE summer of the year 1783, was an amazing and portentous
one, and full of horrible phenomena ; for, besides the alarming
meteors and tremendous thunder-storms, that affrighted and
distressed the different counties of this kingdom, the peculiar
haze, or smoky fog, that prevailed for many weeks in this
island, and in every part of Europe, and even beyond its
limits, was a most extraordinary appearance, unlike any thing
known within the memory of man. By my journal, I find
that I had noticed this strange occurrence from June twenty-
third to July twentieth, inclusive, during which period the wind
varied to every quarter, without making any alteration in the
air. The sun, at noon, looked as blank as a clouded moon,
and shed a rust-coloured ferruginous light on the ground and
floors of rooms, but was particularly lurid and blood-coloured
at rising and setting. All the time, the heat was so intense
that butchers' meat could hardly be eaten the day after it was
killed ; and the flies swarmed so in the lanes and hedges, that
they rendered the horses half frantic, and riding irksome. The

* Honey dew is the excrement of the aphides. — ED.

280 EARTHQUAKES THUNDER-STORMS.

country people began to look with a superstitious awe at the
red lowering aspect of the sun ; and, indeed, there was reason
for the most enlightened person to be apprehensive, for all
the while, Calabria and part of the isle of Sicily were torn and
convulsed with earthquakes;* and about that juncture, a
volcano sprung out of the sea on the coast of Norway. On
this occasion, Milton's noble simile of the sun, in his first book
of Paradise Lost, frequently occurred to my mind ; and it is
indeed particularly applicable, because, towards the end, it
alludes to a superstitious kind of dread, with which the minds
of men are always impressed by such strange and unusual
phenomena : —

As when the sun, new risen,

Looks through the horizontal, misty air,
Shorn of his beams ; or, from behind the moon,
In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds
On half the nations, and with fear of change
Perplexes monarchs.

LETTER CX.

TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

WE are very seldom annoyed with thunder-storms ; and it
is no less remarkable than true, that those which arise in the
south have hardly been known to reach this village ; for, before
they get over us, they take a direction to the east or to the
west, or sometimes divide into two, and go in part to one of
those quarters, and in part to the other ; as was truly the case
in summer 1783, when, though the country round was con-
tinually harassed with tempests, and often from the south, yet
we escaped them all ; as appears by my journal of that summer.

* The shocks of the dreadful earthquakes here alluded to began on the
5th February, and continued, at different times, till the 1st of March,
1783; during which time, the face of the two Calabrias, lying between
the thirty- eighth and thirty-ninth degree, were entirely altered ; hills
had been swallowed up, others lowered ; huge mountains split asunder,
and parts of them driven to a considerable distance ; valleys filled up ; the
courses of rivers altered; springs dried, and new ones formed. At
Laureana, in Calabria Ultra, two tenements, with large plantations,
situated in a level valley, were detached by the earthquake, and trans-
planted, with their trees still remaining in their places, to the distance of
about a mile from their first situation ; and from the spot on which they
formerly stood, hot water, mixed with sand, sprang to a considerable
height. It would be difficult to asssign the reason why Europe generally
was much affected in the electrical condition of its atmosphere during
this remarkable summer. — ED.

THUNDER-STORMS. 281

The only way that I can at all account for this fact — for such
it is — is, that on that quarter, between us and the sea, there
are continual mountains, hill behind hill, such as Nore-hill, the
Barnet, Butser-hill, and Ports-down, which somehow divert
the storms, and give them a different direction. High pro-
montories, and elevated grounds, have always been observed
to attract clouds, and disarm them of their mischievous contents,
which are discharged into the trees and summits, as soon as
they come in contact with these turbulent meteors ; while the
humble vales escape, because they are so far beneath them.

But when I say I do not remember a thunder-storm from
the south, I do not mean that we never have suffered from
thunder-storms at all ; for on June 5th, 1 784, the thermometer
in the morning being at sixty-four, and at noon at seventy,
the barometer at twenty-nine, six-tenths one-half, and the
wind north, I observed a blue mist, smelling strongly of
sulphur, hang along our sloping woods, and seeming to indi-
cate that thunder was at hand. I was called in about two in
the afternoon, and so missed seeing the gathering of the clouds
in the north, which they who were abroad assured me had
something uncommon in its appearance. At about a quarter
after two, the storm began in the parish of Harteley, moving
slowly from north to south ; and from thence it came over
Norton-farm, and so to Grange-farm, both in this parish. It
began with vast drops of rain, which were soon succeeded by
round hail, and then by convex pieces of ice, which measured
three inches in girth. * Had it been as extensive as it was
violent, and of any continuance, (for it was very short,) it must
have ravaged all the neighbourhood. In the parish of Har-
teley, it did some damage to one farm ; but Norton, which lay

* On the 4tli January, 1829, a violent hail-storm passed over Edmonton,
near London ; during which, hailstones fell of an irregular shape, and
measuring three and four inches in circumference. Calamities from hail,
however, are but of rare occurrence in this country, compared with the
Continent. In France, hail-storms are frequent and formidable, and, in
many districts, have done great injuries to corn, as also to vines and olive
trees. In the years 1799, 1800, and 1801, the storms of hail in France
had been more than usually prevalent, and many families had, in conse-
quence, been reduced to ruin. This state of things suggested to M. Barrau,
of Toulouse, the establishment of a mutual indemnity insurance company
against hail, which has been continued ever since.

Some time ago, hailstones fell at Sterlitamak, in the government of
Oneaburg, which were found to contain in their centre a nucleus of small
stones. These were analyzed, and in one hundred, their component parts
consisted of red oxide of iron 70.00, of oxide of manganese 7.50, alum
3.75, silica 7.50, sulphur and waste 5,00.

282 THUNDER-STORMS — CONCLUSION".

in the centre of the storm, was greatly injured ; as was Grange,
which lay next to it. It did but just reach to the middle of
the village, where the hail broke my north windows, and all
my garden-lights and hand-glasses, and many of my neighbours'
windows. The extent of the storm was about two miles in
length, and one in breadth. We were just sitting down to
dinner; but were soon diverted from our repast by the clattering
of tiles, and the jingling of glass. There fell, at the same time,
prodigious torrents of rain on the farms above mentioned,
which occasioned a flood as violent as it was sudden ; doing
great damage to the meadows and fallows, by deluging the
one, and washing away the soil of the other. The hollow lane
towards Alton was so torn and disordered as not to be passable
till mended, rocks being removed that weighed two hundred
weight. Those that saw the effect which the great hail had
on ponds and pools, say that the dashing of the water made
an extraordinary appearance, the froth and spray standing up
in the air three feet above the surface. The rushing and
roaring of the hail, as it approached, was truly tremendous.

Though the clouds at South Lambeth, near London, were
at that juncture thin and light, and no storm was in sight, nor
within hearing, yet the air was strongly electric ; for the bells
of an electric machine at that place rang repeatedly, and fierce
sparks were discharged.

When I first took the present work in hand, I proposed to
have added an Annus-Historico-Naturatis, or the Natural His-
tory of the Twelve Months of the Year ; which would have
comprised many incidents and occurrences that have not fallen
into my way to be mentioned in my series of letters ; but,
as Mr Aikin of Warrington has lately published somewhat of
this sort, and as the length of my correspondence has sufficiently
put your patience to the test, I shall here take a respectful
leave of you and Natural History together. And am,

With all due deference and regard,
Your most obliged,

And most humble Servant,

GIL. WHITE.

SELBORNE, June 25, 1787.

OBSERVATIONS

ON

VARIOUS PARTS OF NATURE,

FROM MR WHITE'S MSS.

WITH

REMARKS BY MR MARKWICK AND THE EDITOR.

OBSERVATIONS ON QUADRUPEDS.

SHEEP. — The sheep on the downs this winter (1769) are
very ragged, and their coats much torn ; the shepherds say,
they tear their fleeces with their own mouths and horns, and
they are always in that way in mild wet winters, being teased
and tickled with a kind of lice.

After ewes and lambs are shorn, there is great confusion
and bleating, neither the dams nor the young being able to
distinguish one another as before. This embarrassment seems
not so much to arise from the loss of the fleece, which may
occasion an alteration in their appearance, as from the defect
of that notus odor, discriminating each individual personally ;
which also is confounded by the strong scent of the pitch and
tar wherewith they are newly marked ; for the brute creation
recognize each other more from the smell than the sight ; and
in matters of identity and diversity, appeal much more to their
noses than their eyes. After sheep have been washed, there
is the same confusion, from the reason given above.

RABBITS. — Rabbits make incomparably the finest turf, for
they not only bite closer than larger quadrupeds, but they
allow no bents to rise ; hence warrens produce much the most

284 OBSERVATIONS ON QUADRUPEDS.

delicate turf for gardens. Sheep never touch the stalks of
grasses.

CAT AND SQUIRRELS. — A boy has taken three little young
squirrels in their nest, or drey, as it is called in these parts.
These small creatures he put under the care of a cat who had
lately lost her kittens, and finds that she nurses and suckles
them with the same assiduity and affection as if they were her
own offspring. This circumstance corroborates my suspicion,
that the mention of exposed and deserted children being nur-
tured by female beasts of prey who had lost their young, may
not be so improbable an incident as many have supposed; and
therefore may be a justification of those authors who have
gravely mentioned, what some have deemed to be a wild and
improbable story.

So many people went to see the little squirrels suckled by a
cat, that the foster mother became jealous of her charge, and
in pain for their safety ; and therefore hid them over the ceiling,
where one died. This circumstance shews her affection for
these fondlings, and that she supposes the squirrels to be her
own young. Thus hens, when they have hatched ducklings,
are equally attached to them as if they were their own chickens.

HORSE. — An old hunting mare, which ran on the common,
being taken very ill, ran down into the village, as it were, to
implore the help of men, and died the night following in the
street.*

HOUNDS. — The king's stag hounds came down to Alton,
attended by a huntsman and six yeoman prickers, with horns,
to try for the stag that has haunted Harteley Wood for so
long a time. Many hundreds of people, horse and foot,
attended the dogs to see the deer unharboured ; but though
the huntsman drew Harteley Wood, and Long Coppice, and
Shrubwood, and Temple Hangers, and, in their way back,
Harteley and Ward-le-ham Hangers, yet no stag could be
found.

* The Rev. Mr Bree says, " Some years ago, a quantity of peat soil was
thrown down in a heap, in the corner of a small field adjoining my house,
for the purpose of being used in the garden as occasion required. A horse
that was turned out into the same field (which I may observe afforded a
good pasture) was in the frequent habit of going to this heap of peat
soil, and feeding upon it with as much apparent satisfaction as if it had
been a rick of good hay. A pointer dog, also, which was usually kept
tied up, on being let loose, would almost invariably go to the heap of soil,
and devour lumps of it with avidity." — ED.

OBSERVATIONS ON QUADRUPEDS. 285

The royal pack, accustomed to have the deer turned out
before them, never drew the coverts with any address and
spirit, as many people that were present observed ; and this
remark the event has proved to be a true one : for as a person
was lately pursuing a pheasant that was wing-broken, in
Harteley Wood, he stumbled upon the stag by accident, and
ran in upon him as he lay concealed amidst a thick brake of
brambles and bushes.

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS.
BIRDS IN GENERAL.

I.\ severe weather, fieldfares, redwings, skylarks, and titlarks,
resort to watered meadows for food ; the latter wades up to
its belly in pursuit of the pupse of insects, and runs along upon
the floating grass and weeds. Many gnats are on the snow
near the water : these support the birds in part.

Birds are much influenced in their choice of food by colour;
for though white currants are much sweeter fruit than red, yet
they seldom touch the former till they have devoured every
bunch of the latter.

Redstarts, fly-catchers, and black-caps, arrive early in April.
If these little delicate beings are birds of passage, (as we have
reason to suppose they are, because they are never seen in
winter,) how could they, feeble as they seem, bear up against
such storms of snow and rain, and make their way through
such meteorous turbulences, as one should suppose would
embarrass and retard the most hardy and resolute of the
winged nation ? Yet they keep their appointed times and
seasons ; and, in spite of frost and winds, return to their
stations periodically, as if they had met with nothing to
obstruct them. The withdrawing and appearance of the
short-winged summer birds, is a very puzzling circumstance
in natural history.

When the boys bring me wasps' nests, my bantam fowls
fare deliciously, and, when the combs are pulled to pieces,

286 OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS.

devour the young wasps in their maggot state, with the
highest glee and delight. Any insect-eating bird would do
the same ; and, therefore, I have often wondered that the
accurate Mr Ray should call one species of buzzard buteo
apivorus sive vespivorus, or the honey-buzzard, because some
combs of wasps happened to be found in one of their nests.
The combs were conveyed thither, doubtless, for the sake of
the maggots or nymphs, and not for their honey ; since none is
to be found in the combs of wasps. Birds of prey occasion-
ally feed on insects ; thus have I seen a tame kite picking up
the female ants full of eggs, with much satisfaction.*

* That redstarts, fly-catchers, black-caps, and other slender-billed
insectivorous small birds, particularly the swallow tribe, make their first
appearance very early in the spring, is a well known fact ; though the
fly-catcher is the latest of them all in its visit, (as this accurate naturalist
observes in another place,) for it is never seen before the month of May.
If these delicate creatures come to us from a distant country, they will
probably be exposed in their passage, as Mr White justly remarks, to much
greater difficulties from storms and tempests, than their feeble powers
appear to be able to surmount : * on the other hand, if we suppose them
to pass the winter in a dormant state, in this country, concealed in caverns,
or other hiding places, sufficiently guarded from the extreme cold of our
winter, to preserve their life, and that, at the approach of spring, they
revive from their torpid state, and reassume their usual powers of action,
it will entirely remove the first difficulty, arising from the storms and
tempests they are liable to meet with in their passage ; but how are we
to get over the still greater difficulty of their revivification from their
torpid state ? What degree of warmth in the temperature of the air is
necessary to produce that effect, and how it operates on the functions of
animal life, are questions not easily answered.

How could Mr White suppose that Ray named this species the honey-
buzzard, because it fed on honey, when he not only named it in Latin,
buteo apivorus et vespivorus, but expressly says, that " it feeds on
insects, and brings up its young with the maggots, or nymphs of
wasps. "

That birds of prey, when in want of their proper food, flesh, sometimes
feed on insects, I have little doubt, and think I have observed the common
buzzard, (falco buteo, ) to settle on the ground, and pick up insects of
some kind or other — MARK WICK.

Our author seems sceptical to the last regarding the migration of
birds generally, and especially the short-winged tribes. The following
observations were made by Mr Andrew Bloxam, of Glenfield, near
Leicester, in a voyage from England to South America, in the years

* M. Neumann has recorded a very extraordinary fact, of a fine specimen of the little
thrush, turdus minor of Bonaparte, being taken, on the 22d December, 1825, in a wood near
Kleinzererbst, in the Duchy of Anhalt-Ccethen, Germany. It would be difficult to account
for the appearance of this bird, supposed to be exclusively found in North America, a* it
exhibited no marks of confinement.— ED.

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 287

ROOKS. — Rooks are continually fighting, and pulling each
other's nests to pieces : these proceedings are inconsistent with

1824-5. They cannot fail to be highly interesting, as proving the
great excursions frequently, if not periodically, taken by land birds : —
" 1824, Oct. 11. A chaffinch flew on board; weather stormy; Bay of
Biscay, lat. 48 deg. 33 min. north, long. 7 deg. 50 min. west. Several
snipes were seen the same day. — Oct. 13. A skylark was caught ; weather

stormy; lat. 45 deg. 4 min. north, long. 10 deg. 10 min. west Oct. 14.

A goldfinch was caught in the rigging ; this and the two former soon died
from exhaustion ; at the same time, a small white owl flew round the vessel,
but did not settle on board; lat. 44 deg. 1 min. north, long. 11 deg. 19
min, west ; wind brisk ; our nearest distance from land, Cape Finisterre,
one hundred and twenty miles. — Oct. 27. A hawk was seen flying about
the ship, but did not settle; distance from the Canary Islands, the nearest
land, two hundred and fifty miles. — Oct. 29. In the morning, a single
swallow was seen flying about the vessel, and frequently settling ; it was
joined -soon afterwards by another, and both continued with us the whole

day; lat. 23 deg. 11 min. north, long. 23 deg. 13 min. west Oct. 30.

Swallows and martens in great numbers about the vessel ; they were
easily captured by the sailors, as they flew close to the deck, in search of
flies ; they appeared to be more in want of food than tired ; lat. 41 deg.
47 min. north, long. 25 deg. 58 min. west. — Oct. 31. Swallows and
martens still continue with us in great numbers, and were seen several
successive days, apparently on a south-west course; a hen redstart was
also observed about the ship ; it continued with us several days, and used
to come into the ports of the after gun-room to be fed, food being pur-
posely placed there for it; lat. 19 deg. 54 min. north, long. 25 deg. west.
— Mov. 3. Swallows still with us. — Nov. 4. The spotted gallinule was
caught on deck; lat. 8 deg. 2 min. north, long. 25 deg. 37 min. west. —
Nov. 7. A fine female kestrel hawk was captured in the rigging ; it was
preserved in a cage for some days, but afterwards contrived to escape,
and flew off; lat. 8 deg. 2 min. north, long. 24 deg. 40 min. west; four
hundred and twenty-four miles from land. It is remarkable, that all the
above named are British ; they were verified by a reference to Bewick's
Birds. — Nov. 21. A small bat, or large, dark-coloured moth, was seen
flying about the top of the rigging, but soon left us ; we were three
hundred miles from the nearest point of South America. — Nov. 23. A
Brazilian land bird, corvus dubius of Linn, settled on board ; lat. 22 deg.
46 min. south, long. 87 deg. 42 min. west ; about three hundred miles
from Rio Janeiro. — Dec. £0. Ihefringilla australis flew on board ; we
were, at the time, exactly thirty-seven miles south of Staten Land, with
a northerly breeze. — 1825, Sept. 28. A small humming-bird flew round
the vessel, but did not settle on board ; we were, at the time, about ten
miles from land, off the coast of Chili, opposite Conception.

" It may be remarked, that, though so many land birds were seen on
our passage out, not one was met with on the return. I found swallows
both at Rio Janeiro and Valparaiso ; at the latter place, rearing their
young. The marten I also found at Valparaiso, and other parts of
Chili."— ED.

288 OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS.

living in such close community. And yet, if a pair offer to
build on a single tree, the nest is plundered and demolished
at once. Some rooks roost on their nest-trees. The twigs
which the rooks drop in building, supply the poor with brush-
wood to light their fires. Some unhappy pairs are not per-
mitted to finish any nests till the rest have completed their
building. As soon as they get a few sticks together, a party
comes and demolishes the whole. As soon as rooks have
finished their nests, and before they lay, the cocks begin to
feed the hens, who receive their bounty with a fondling, tre-
mulous voice, and fluttering wings, and all the little blandish-
ments that are expressed by the young, while in a helpless
state. This gallant deportment of the male is continued
through the whole season of incubation. These birds do not
copulate on trees, nor in their nests, but on the ground in the
open fields. *

THRUSHES. — Thrushes, during long droughts, are of great
service in hunting out shell snails, which they pull in pieces
for their young, and are thereby very serviceable in gardens, -j-
Missel thrushes do not destroy the fruit in gardens like the
other species of turdi, but feed on the berries of misseltoe,

* After the first brood of rooks are sufficiently fledged, they all leave
their nest-trees in the day time, and resort to some distant place in search
of food, but return regularly every evening, in vast flights, to their
nest-trees, where, after flying round several times, with much noise
and clamour, till they are all assembled together, they take up their abode
for the night. — MARK WICK.

f We are aware that thrushes feed on snail shells, but think it more
likely that they will find them in moist than in dry weather, at which
time they generally conceal themselves in holes.

In the neighbourhood of Pitlessie, in Fife, a pair of thrushes built
their nest in a cart-shed, while four wheelwrights were engaged in it as
a work-shop. It was placed between one of the hulls of the harrow and
the adjoining tooth. The men were busily employed at the noiseful
work of joining wood all the day, yet these birds flew in and out at the
door of the shed, without fear or dread, and finished their nest with
mortar. On the second day, the hen laid an egg, on which she sat, and
was occasionally relieved by the cock. In thirteen days the birds came
out of the shells, which the old ones always carried off. They fed their
young with shell-snails, such as those of the helex nemoralis, H. arbus-
torum, and H. aspersa, as also butterflies and moths. The nest was
robbed one Sunday, in the absence of the millwrights.

Mr E. H. Greenhow, of North Shields, mentions a similar occurrence
which came under his own observation, at Whitby. This nest was also
built in a shed, at a public place. — ED.

3

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 289

and, in the spring, on ivy berries, which then begin to ripen.
In the summer, when their young become fledged, they leave
neighbourhoods, and retire to sheep-walks and wild commons.

The magpies, when they have young, destroy the broods
of missel thrushes, though the darns are fierce birds, and fight
boldly in defence of their nests. It is probably to avoid such
insults, that this species of thrush, though wild at other times,
delights to build near houses, and in frequented walks and
gardens. *

POULTRY. — Many creatures are endowed with a ready
discernment to see what will turn to their own advantage and
emolument ; and often discover more sagacity than could be
expected. Thus, my neighbour's poultry watch for wagons
loaded with wheat, and, running after them, pick up a number
of grains which are shaken from the sheaves by the agitation
of the carriages. Thus, when my brother used to take down
his gun to shoot sparrows, his cats would run out before him,
to be ready to catch up the birds as they fell.

The earnest and early propensity of the gallinte to roost
on high, is very observable ; and discovers a strong dread
impressed on their spirits respecting vermin that may annoy
them on the ground during the hours of darkness. Hence
poultry, if left to themselves and not housed, will perch the
winter through on yew trees and fir trees ; and turkeys and
guinea fowls, heavy as they are, get up into apple trees :
pheasants also, in woods, sleep on trees to avoid foxes ; while
pea-fowls climb to the tops of the highest trees round their
owner's house for security, let the weather be ever so cold or
blowing. Partridges, it is true, roost on the ground, not
having the faculty of perching ; but then the same fear prevails
in their minds ; for, through apprehensions from polecats and
stoats, they never trust themselves to coverts, but nestle

* Of the truth of this I have been an eye-witness, having seen the
common thrush feeding on the shell snail.

In the very early part of this spring, (1797,) a bird of this species used
to sit every morning on the top of some high elms close by my windows,
and delight me with its charming song, attracted thither, probably, by
some ripe ivy berries that grew near the place.

I have remarked something like the latter fact ; for I remember, many
years ago, seeing a pair of these birds fly up repeatedly, and attack some
larger bird, which I suppose disturbed their nest in my orchard, uttering,

at the same time, violent shrieks Since writing the above, I have seen,

more than once, a pair of these birds attack some magpies that had
disturbed their nest, with great violence, and loud shrieks.— MARK.WICK.

T

290 OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS.

together in the midst of large fields, far removed from hedges
and coppices, which they love to haunt in the day, and where,
at that season, they can skulk more secure from the ravages
of rapacious birds.

As to ducks and geese, their awkward, splay, web feet
forbid them to settle on trees ; they therefore, in the hours of
darkness and danger, betake themselves to their own element,
the water, where, amidst large lakes and pools, like ships
riding at anchor, they float the whole night long in peace and
security. *

* Guinea fowls not only roost on high, but in hard weather resort, even
in the day time, to the very tops of the highest trees.

Last winter, when the ground was covered with snow, I discovered all
iny guinea fowls, in the middle of the day, sitting on the highest boughs
of some very tall elms, chattering and making a great clamour : I ordered
them to be driven down, lest they should be frozen to death in so elevated
a situation ; but this was not effected without much difficulty, they being
very unwilling to quit their lofty abode, notwithstanding one of them had
its feet so much frozen, that we were obliged to kill it. I know not how
to account for this, unless it was occasioned by their aversion to the snow
on the ground, they being birds that come originally from a hot climate.

Notwithstanding the awkward, splay, web feet, as Mr White calls them,
of the duck genus, some of the foreign species have the power of settling
on the boughs ef > trees, apparently with great ease ; an instance of which
I have seen in the Earl of Ashburnham's menagerie, where the summer
duck (anus sponsa) flew up and settled on the branch of an oak tree, in
my presence ; but whether any of them roost on trees in the night, we
are not informed by any author that I am acquainted with. I suppose
not ; but that, like the rest of the genus, they sleep on the water, where
the birds of this genus are not always perfectly secure, as will appear from
the following circumstance, which happened in this neighbourhood a few
years since, as I was credibly informed : A female fox was found in the
morning, drowned in the same pond in which were several geese, and it
was supposed, that, in the night, the fox swam into the pond to devour
the geese, but was attacked by the gander, which, being most powerful in
its own element, buffeted the fox with its wings about the head, till it was
drowned. — MARK WICK.

In Aberdeenshire, in 1821, thirty geese deserted the pond where they
were bred, and were never more heard of. A gentleman saw them in
their flight eastward towards the sea, the wind blowing a gale from the
north-west.

A gentleman near Huddersfield had a flock of geese, which were
fed on high ground not visible from his house : they were brought
home at night ; and very frequently, on seeing the house from the top
of the hill, they would take wing, and fly homewards, making a circuit
of about a mile. On one occasion, they were nearly alighting at a
pond of water at the next farm-house, similar to one near their home ;
they soon, however, discovered their mistake, and raised themselves in the

A HYBRID PHEASANT.
JPhasianus Colckictu, Liftmen*.

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 291

HEN PARTRIDGE. — A hen partridge came out of a ditch>
and ran along shivering with her wings, and crying out as if
wounded and unable to get from us. While the darn acted this
distress, the boy who attended me saw her brood, that was
small and unable to fly, run for shelter into an old fox-earth
under the bank. So wonderful a power is instinct !*

air to nearly as great a height as before, alighted at their own pond, and
were at it long before their driver, notwithstanding the latter went in
a direct line. This was the more singular, because these geese were fat,
and heavy. At Tittenhanger Green, in 1828, there was a flock of from
fifteen to twenty geese, which used to indulge in aerial excursions like the
above.

A hen which had, for three successive seasons, been occupied in rearing
broods of ducks, became quite habituated to their taking the water. In the
middle of a pond to which the ducklings resorted, there was a large stone,
to which the hen would fly, and patiently await the brood, as they swam
around it. On the fourth year, she sat on her own eggs, and, expecting
her chickens to take to the water, as on former occasions, she flew to the
stone in the middle of the pond, and called them to her with much
earnestness, but they did not feel inclined to follow her dictates.

The following fact is related by Professor Scarpa : — A duck, accustomed
to feed out of its owner's hand, was once offered some perfumed bread,
which it at first refused to take. After several attempts, however, it at
length complied, took the bread in its bill, and, carrying it to a neighbour's
pond, moved it in various directions, as if to wash away the disagreeable
taste and smell, and then swallowed it.

A correspondent in London's Magazine of Natural History says, " I
have lately seen a preternaturally large, but perfect goose's egg, contain-
ing a smaller one within it, the inner one possessing its proper calcareous
shell. " This is certainly a very singular production. We have frequently
known shells to have two yolks, but this is the only instance we have
met with of one egg containing another entire one within it.

Our friend, Mr Andrew Shortrede, informs us, that he remembers, on
his father's farm of Monklaw, near Jedburgh, a duck, which in the spring
laid black eggs. As the season advanced, the blackness gradually went
off, till, at the end of autumn, the eggs were whiter than those of an
ordinary duck. This animal was of rather a longer shape than usual.

On the same farm, there was another duck which laid two eggs in a/lay.
The fact was proved by locking the bird up, when one egg was found
early in the morning, and another in the evening. This remarkable duck
was killed by a servant ignorant of its virtues. — ED.

* It is not uncommon to see an old partridge feign itself wounded, and
run along on the ground fluttering and crying, before either dog or man,
to draw them away from its helpless unfledged young ones. 1 have seen
it often, and once, in particular, I saw a remarkable instance of the old
bird's solicitude to save its brood. As I was hunting with a young pointer,
the dog ran on a brood of very small partridges ; the old bird cried, flut-
tered, and ran tumbling along, just before the dog's nose, till she had
drawn him to a considerable distance, when she took wing, and flew still

292 OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS.

A HYBRID PHEASANT. — Lord Stawell sent me, from the
great lodge in the Holt, a curious bird for my inspection. It
was found by the spaniels of one of his keepers in a coppice,
and shot on the wing. The shape, air, and habit of the bird,
and the scarlet ring round the eyes, agreed well with the
appearance of a cock pheasant ; but then the head and neck,
and breast and belly, were of a glossy black : and though it
weighed three pounds three ounces and a half, * the weight
of a large full-grown cock pheasant, yet there was no sign of
any spurs on the legs, as is usual with all grown cock pheasants,
who have long ones. The legs and feet were naked of feathers,
and therefore it could be nothing of the grouse kind. In the
tail were no long, bending feathers, such as cock pheasants
usually have, and are characteristic of the sex. The tail was
much shorter than the tail of a hen pheasant, and blunt and
square at the end. The back, wing-feathers, and tail, were all
of a pale russet, curiously streaked, somewhat like the upper
parts of a hen partridge. I returned it with my verdict, that
it was probably a spurious, or hybrid hen-bird, bred between
a cock pheasant and some domestic fowl. •)* When I came to
talk with the keeper who brought it, he told me that some
pea-hens had been known last summer to haunt the coppices
and coverts where this mule was found.

Mr Elmer, of Farnham, the famous game painter, was
employed to take an exact copy of this curious bird.

N.B. — It ought to be mentioned, that some good judges
have imagined this bird to have been a stray grouse or black-
cock ; it is, however, to be observed, that Mr W. remarks,
that its legs and feet were naked, whereas those of the grouse
are feathered to the toes. J

farther off, but not out of the field : on this the dog returned to me, near
the place the young ones lay concealed in the grass, which the old bird
no sooner perceived, than she flew back again to us, settled just before the
dog's nose again, and, by rolling and tumbling about, drew off his attention
from her young, and thus preserved her brood a second time. I have also
seen, when a kite has been hovering over a covey of young partridges, the
pld birds fly up at the bird of prey, screaming and fighting with all their
might, to preserve their brood. — MARKWICK.

* Hen pheasants usually weigh only two pounds ten ounces.

f This curious lusus nature is now in the collection of the Earl of
Egremont, at his seat at Petworth, and is allowed by naturalists to be a
mule betwixt the black-cock and common pheasant. — ED.

\ Mr Latham observes, that " pea-hens, after they have done laying,
sometimes assume the plumage of the male bird," and has given a figure

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 293

LAND-RAIL. — A man brought me a land-rail, or daker-hen,
a bird so rare in this district, that we seldom see more than
one or two in a season, and these only in autumn. This is
deemed a bird of passage by all the writers ; yet, from its
formation, seems to be poorly qualified for migration ; for its
wings are short, and placed so forward, and out of the centre
of gravity, that it flies in a very heavy and embarrassed manner,
with its legs hanging down ; and can hardly be sprung a second
time, as it runs very fast, and seerns to depend more on the
swiftness of its feet than on its flying*

of the male-feathered pea-hen how to be seen in the Leveriari Museum ;
and M. Salerne remarks, that " the hen pheasant, when she has done
laying and sitting, will get the plumage of the male." May not this
hyhrid pheasant, as Mr White calls it, be a bird of this kind ? that is, an
old hen pheasant, which had just begun to assume the plumage of the
cock. — MARK WICK.

We have already noticed this curious subject, in our note at page 9o.
The facts of the female bird assuming the plumage of the male, which
have been recorded by authors, are the following : pea-hen, by Hunter ;
turkey, by Bechstein ; common pheasant, by Hunter ; golden pheasant,
by Blumenbach ; the domestic hen, by Aristotle, Tucker, and Butter ; the
partridge, by Montagu ; the domestic pigeon, by Tiedmann ; the bustard,
by Tiedmann ; American pelican, by Catesby ; common wild duck, by
Tiedmann. Some years ago, a female golden pheasant, in the possession of
the Duke of Buccleugh, assumed the male plumage. Mr Falconer of
Carlowrie, member of the Wernerian Society, knew a domestic duck
assume the garb of the drake ; and a nobleman in Devonshire had a
female wild duck, which made a similar change. Lord Glenlee lately pre-
sented to the Edinburgh College Museum a pea-hen with the male attire.

Dr Butter, who has bestowed much attention to this subject, comes to
the three following conclusions: 1st, That in order to separate and
distinguish the sexes, Nature has affixed certain external characters,
proper to each. 2d, That in early life, the differences between the male
and female are scarcely observable, but that at a certain period, the male
assumes characteristic distinctions, denominated by Mr Hunter, " secon-
dary properties," which the female then wants. 3d, That the female
seldom makes an advance towards these secondary properties, until her
powers of procreation are gone, when an inclination to resemble the mas-
culine form takes place. And he considers, as this principle is common
to all females, it is not a monstrous occurrence, as some authors have
termed it.

It is not generally known, that pheasants are beneficial to the farmer.
This fact was. fully proved in 1821, at Whitney Court, where Tomkins
Day, Esq. shot a hen pheasant, that excited the notice of the sportsmen
present, from the immense size of its craw, which, on being opened, was
found to contain more than half a pint of that destructive insect, the wire
worm — ED.

294 OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS.

When we came to draw it. we found the entrails so soft
and tender, that in appearance, they might have been dressed
like the ropes of a woodcock. The craw, or crop, was small
and lank, containing a mucus ; the gizzard thick and strong,
and filled with small shell snails, some whole, and many ground
to pieces through the attrition which is occasioned by the
muscular force and motion of that intestine. We saw no gravels
among the food ; perhaps the shell snails might perform the
functions of gravels or pebbles, and might grind one another.
Land-rails used to abound formerly, I remember, in the low,
wet, bean fields of Christian Malford, in North Wilts, and in
the meadows near Paradise Gardens, at Oxford, where I have
often heard them cry, crex, crex. The bird mentioned above
weighed seven ounces and a half, was fat and tender, and in
flavour like the flesh of a woodcock. The liver was very
large and delicate.*

FOOD FOR THE RING-DOVE. — One of my neighbours shot
a ring-dove on an evening as it was returning from feed and
going to roost. When his wife had picked and drawn it, she
found its craw stuffed with the most nice and tender tops of
turnips. These she washed and boiled, and so sat down to a
choice and delicate plate of greens, culled and provided in
this extraordinary manner.

Hence we may see that graminivorous birds, when grain
fails, can subsist on the leaves of vegetables. There is reason
to suppose that they would not long be healthy without ; for

* Land-rails are more plentiful with us than in the neighbourhood of
Selborne. I have found four brace in an afternoon, and a friend of mine
lately shot nine in two adjoining fields ; but I never saw them in any
other season than the autumn.

That it is a bird of passage, there can be little doubt, though Mr White
thinks it poorly qualified for migration, on account of the wings being
short, and not placed in the exact centre of gravity : how that may be
I cannot say, but I know that its heavy sluggish flight is not owing to
its inability of flying faster, for I have seen it fly very swiftly; although in
general its actions are sluggish. Its unwillingness to rise proceeds, I
imagine, from its sluggish disposition, and its great timidity; for it will
sometimes squat so close to the ground, as to suffer itself to be taken up
by the hand, rather than rise ; and yet it will at times run very fast.

What Mr White remarks respecting the small shell snails found in its
gizzard, confirms my opinion, that it frequents corn fields, seed clover,
and brakes or fern, more for the sake of snails, slugs, and other insects
which abound in such places, than for the grain or seeds, and that it is
entirely an insectivorous bird. — MARKWICK.

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 295

turkeys, though corn-fed, delight in a variety of plants, such
as cabbage, lettuce, endive, &c. and poultry pick much grass ;
while geese live for months together on commons by grazing
alone.

Nought is useless made :

On the barren heath
The shepherd tends his flock, that daily crop
Their verdant dinner from the mossy turf
Sufficient : after them, the cackling goose,
Close grazer, finds wherewith to ease her want.

PHILIPS' Cyder.*

HEN-HARRIER. — A neighbouring gentleman sprung a phea-
sant in a wheat stubble, and shot at it ; when, notwithstanding
the report of the gun, it was immediately pursued by the blue
hawk, known by the name of the hen-harrier, but escaped into
some covert. He then sprung a second, and a third, in the
same field, that got away in the same manner ; the hawk hover-
ing round him all the while that he was beating the field,
conscious, no doubt, of the game that lurked in the stubble.
Hence we may conclude, that this bird of prey was rendered
very daring- and bold by hunger, and that hawks cannot always
seize their game when they please. We may farther observe,
that they cannot pounce their quarry on the ground, where it
might be able to make a stout resistance, since so large a fowl
as a pheasant could not but be visible to the piercing eye of a
hawk, when hovering over the field. Hence that propensity
of cowring and squatting, till they are almost trod on, which,
no doubt, was intended as a mode of security : though long
rendered destructive to the whole race of gallijuz by the inven-
tion of nets and guns. •(-

* That many graminivorous birds feed also on the herbage, or leaves of
plants, there can be no doubt : partridges and larks frequently feed on the
green leaves of turnips, which gives a peculiar flavour to their flesh, that
is, to me, very palatable : the flavour, also, of wild ducks and geese, greatly
depends on the nature of their food ; and their flesh frequently contracts a
rank, unpleasant taste, from their having lately fed on strong marshy
aquatic plants, as I suppose.

That the leaves of vegetables are wholesome, and conducive to the
health of birds, seems probable, for many people fat their ducks and
turkeys with the leaves of lettuce chopped small. — MARK WICK.

f Of the great boldness and rapacity of birds of prey, when urged on
by hunger, I have seen several instances ; particularly, when shooting in
the winter, in company with two friends, a woodcock flew across us.

296 OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS.

GREAT SPECKLED DIVER, OR LOON. — As one of my neigh-
bours was traversing Wolmer Forest, from Bramshot across
the moors, he found a large uncommon bird fluttering in the
heath, but not wounded, which he brought home alive. On
examination it proved to be colynibus glacialis, Linn, the great
speckled diver, or loon, which is most excellently described in
Willughby's Ornithology.

Every part and proportion of this bird is so incomparably
adapted to its mode of life, that in no instance do we see the
wisdom of God in the creation to more advantage. The head

closely pursued by a small hawk; we all three fired at the woodcock
instead of the hawk, which, notwithstanding the report of three guns
close by it, continued its pursuit of the woodcock, struck it down, and
carried it off, as we afterwards discovered.

At another time, when partridge-shooting with a friend, we saw a
ring-tail hawk rise out of a pit with some large bird in its claws ; though
at a great distance, we both fired, and obliged it to drop its prey, which
proved to be one of the partridges we were in pursuit of. And lastly, in an
evening, I shot at, and plainly saw that I had wounded a partridge, but,
it being late, was obliged to go home without finding it again. The next
morning, I walked round my land without any gun ; but a favourite old
spaniel followed my heels. When I came near the field where I wounded
the bird the evening before, I heard the partridges call, and they seemed
to be much disturbed. On my approaching the bar-way, they all rose,
some on my right and some on my left hand ; and just before and over
my head, I perceived ( though indistinctly, from the extreme velocity of
their motion) two birds fly directly against each other, when instantly, to
my great astonishment, down dropped a partridge at my feet : the dog
immediately seized it, and, on examination, I found the blood flow very
fast from a fresh wound in the head, but there was some dry clotted blood
on its wings and side ; whence I concluded, that a hawk had singled
out my wounded bird as the object of its prey, and had struck it down
the instant that my approach had obliged the birds to rise on the wing ;
but the space between the hedges was so small, and the motion of the
birds so instantaneous and quick, that I could not distinctly observe the
operation. — MARK WICK.

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 297

is sharp, and smaller than the part of the neck adjoining, in
order that it may pierce the water ; the wings are placed for-
ward, and out of the centre of gravity, for a purpose which
shall be noticed hereafter ; the thighs quite at the podex, in
order to facilitate diving ; and the legs are flat, and as sharp
backwards almost as the edge of a knife, that, in striking, they
may easily cut the water : while the feet are palmated and
broad for swimming, yet so folded up, when advanced forward
to take a fresh stroke, as to be full as narrow as the shank.
The two exterior toes of the feet are longest; the nails flat and
broad, resembling the human, which give strength, and increase
the power of swimming. The foot, when expanded, is not at
right angles to the leg or body of the bird ; but the exterior
part inclining towards the head, forms an acute angle with the
body ; the intention being, not to give motion in the line of the
legs themselves, but, by the combined impulse of both in an
intermediate line, the line of the body.

Most people know, that have observed at all, that the
swimming of birds is nothing more than a walking in the water,
where one foot succeeds the other as on the land ; yet no one,
as far as I am aware, has remarked that diving fowls, while
under water, impel and row themselves forward by a motion
of their wings, as well as by the impulse of their feet : but such
is really the case, as any person may easily be convinced, who
will observe ducks when hunted by dogs in a clear pond. Nor
do I know that any one has given a reason why the wings of
diving fowls are placed so forward : doubtless, not for the pur-
pose of promoting1 their speed in flying, since that position
certainly impedes it ; but probably for the increase of their
motion under water, by the use of four oars instead of two ;
yet were the wings and feet nearer together, as in land birds,
they would, when in action, rather hinder than assist one
another.

This colyinbus was of considerable bulk, weighing only three
drachms short of three pounds avoirdupois. It measured in
length from the bill to the tail (which was very short) two
feet, and to the extremities of the toes, four inches more ; and
the breadth of the wings expanded was forty-two inches. A
person attempted to eat the body, but found it very strong-
and rancid, as is the flesh of all birds living on fish. Divers, or
loons, though bred in the most northerly parts of Europe, yet
are seen with us in very severe winters ; and, on the Thames, are
called sprat loons, because they prey much on that sort of fish.

298 OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS.

The legs of the colymbi and mergi are placed so very back-
ward, and so out of all centre of gravity, that these birds cannot
walk at all. They are called by Linnseus compedes, because
they move on the ground as if shackled or fettered.*

STONE-CURLEW. — On the twenty-seventh of February,
1788, stone-curlews were heard to pipe ; and on March first,
after it was dark, some were passing over the village, as might
be perceived by their quick short note, which they use in their
nocturnal excursions by way of watch-word, that they may not
stray and lose their companions.

Thus we see, that retire whithersoever they may in the
winter, they return again early in the spring, and are, as it now
appears, the first summer birds that come back. Perhaps the
mildness of the season may have quickened the emigration of
the curlews this year.

They spend the day in high elevated fields and sheep-walks ;
but seem to descend in the night to streams and meadows,
perhaps for water, which their upland haunts do not afford
them.(f

* These accurate and ingenious observations, tending to set forth in a
proper light the wonderful works of God in the creation," and to point
out his wisdom in adapting the singular form and position of tlie limbs
of this bird to the particular mode in which it is destined to pass the
greatest part of its life, in an element much denser than the air, do Mr
White credit, not only as a naturalist, but as a man and as a philosopher,
in the truest sense of "the word, in my opinion ; for, were we enabled to
trace the works of Nature minutely and accurately, we should find, not
only that every bird, but every creature, is equally well adapted to the
purpose for which it was intended ; though this fitness and propriety of
form is more striking in such animals as are destined to any uncommon
mode of life.

I have had in my possession two birds, which, though of a different
genus, bear a great resemblance to Mr White's colymbus, in their manner
of life, which is spent chiefly in the water, where they swim and dive
with astonishing rapidity ; for which purpose, their fin-toed feet, placed
far behind, and very short wings, are particularly well adapted, and shew
the wisdom of God in the creation as conspicuously as the bird before
mentioned. These birds were the greater and lesser crested grebe,
(podiceps cristatus et auritus. ) What surprised me most was, that the
first of these birds was found alive on dry ground, about seven miles from
the sea, to which place there was no communication by water. How
did it get so far from the sea, its wings and legs being so ill adapted either
to flying or walking ? The lesser crested grebe was also found in a fresh
water pond, which had no communication with other water, at some miles
distance from the sea. — MARKWICK.

f On the thirty-first of January, 1792, I received a bird of this species,
which had been recently killed by a neighbouring farmer, who said that

?

fo

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 299

THE SMALLEST UNCRESTED WILLOW WREN. — The smallest
uncrested willow-wren, or chiff chaf, is the next early summer
bird which we have remarked ; it utters two sharp, piercing
notes, so loud, in hollow woods, as to occasion an echo ; and
is usually first heard about the 20th of March.*

FERN-OWL, OR GOAT-SUCKER. — The country people have
a notion that the fern-owl, or churn-owl, or eve-jarr, which
they also call a puckeridge, is very injurious to weanling
calves, by inflicting, as it strikes at them, the fatal distemper
known to cow-leeches by the name of puckeridge. Thus does
this harmless, ill-fated bird, fall under a double imputation,
which it by no means deserves, — in Italy, of sucking the
teats of goats, whence it is called caprimulgus ; and, with us,
of communicating a deadly disorder to cattle. But the truth
of the matter is, the malady above mentioned is occasioned
by the oestrus bovis, a dipterous insect, which lays its eggs
along the chines of kine, where the maggots, when hatched,
eat their way through the hide of the beast into the flesh, and
grow to a very large size. I have just talked with a man,
who says he has more than once stripped calves wrho have
died of the puckeridge : that the ail or complaint lay along
the chine, where the flesh was much swelled, and filled with
purulent matter. Once I myself saw a large, rough maggot
of this sort squeezed out of the back of a cow. These
maggots in Essex are called wornils.f

he had frequently seen it in his fields during the former part of the
winter ; this perhaps was an occasional straggler, which, by some accident,
was prevented from accompanying its companions in their migration. —
MARKWICK.

* This bird, which Mr White calls the smallest willow-wren, or chiff
chaf, makes its appearance very early in the spring, and is very common
with us ; but I cannot make out the three different species of willow
wrens, which he assures us he has discovered. Ever since the publication
of his History of Selborne, I have used my utmost endeavours to discover
his three birds, but hitherto without success. I have frequently shot the
bird which " haunts only the tops of trees, and makes a sibilous noise,"
even in the very act of uttering that sibilous note ; but it always proved
to be the common willow-wren, or his chiff chaf. In short, I never
could discover more than one species, unless my greater pettichaps,
(sylviahortensis of Latham,) is his greatest willow-wren. — MARKWICK.

The three species are the wood-wren, sylvia sibilatrix of Bechsteinj
the chiff chaf, sylvia hippolais of Latham, and the hay bird, motacilla
trochilus of Latham. — ED.

•|- This is the maggot of the breeze-fly,' oestrus bovis of Clark. They
prove extremely troublesome to cattle. During our residence in Fife,

300 OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS.

The least observation and attention would convince men,
that these birds neither injure the goatherd nor the grazier,
but are perfectly harmless, and subsist alone, being night birds,
on night insects, such as scarabcei, and phal&nce ; and, through
the month of July, mostly on the scarabceus solstitialis, which
in many districts abounds at that season. Those that we have
opened have always had their craws stuffed with large night
moths and their eggs, and pieces of chaffers ; nor does it any-
wise appear how they can, weak and unarmed as they seem,
inflict any harm upon kine, unless they possess the powers
of animal magnetism, and can affect them by fluttering over
them.

A fern-owl, this evening, (August 27,) shewed off in a very
unusual and entertaining manner, by hawking round and round
the circumference of my great spreading oak for twenty times
following, keeping mostly close to the grass, but occasionally
glancing up amidst the boughs of the tree. This amusing
bird was then in pursuit of a brood of some particular phalceiKE
belonging to the oak, of which there are several sorts ; and
exhibited on the occasion a command of wing superior, I think,
to that of the swallow itself.

When a person approaches the haunt of fern-owls in an
evening, they continue flying round the head of the obtruder ;
and, by striking their wings together above their backs, in the
manner that the pigeons called smiters are known to do, make
a smart snap : perhaps at that time they are jealous for their
young ; and their noise and gesture are intended by way of
menace.

Fern-owls have attachment to oaks, no doubt on account
of food ; for the next evening we saw one again several times
among the boughs of the same tree ; but it did not skim round

we frequently squeezed them out ef our cows. We endeavoured to feed
one on fresh killed beef, but it refused to eat, and died. In 1824, a cow
had three of these in her back, which we extracted ; and having put them
in a basin for examination, after we had finished the operation, one of our
tame jackdaws deprived us from carrying our intentions into effect, by
devouring them as a lunch. One of these was an inch long, and as thick
as our little finger; and the swelling which it produced in the animal's
back was of the size of the largest penny-piece. This was extracted by
a person pressing with a piece of wood against another piece which we
held opposite. The force required to press it through the aperture
(which was about an eighth of an inch in diameter) was such, that
the noise resembled that of a pop -gun, and the worm was projected to
a distance of twelve feet from me cow's back. — ED.

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 301

its stem over the grass, as on the evening before. In May,
these birds find the scarab&us melolontha on the oak ; and the
scarabcEus solstitial^ at midsummer. These peculiar birds can
only be watched and observed for two hours in the twenty-
four ; and then in a dubious twilight, an hour after sunset and
an hour before sunrise.

On this day, (July 14, 1789,) a woman brought me two
eggs of a fern-owl, or eve-jarr, which she found on the verge
of the hanger, to the left of the hermitage, under a beechen
shrub. This person, who lives just at the foot of the hanger,
seems well acquainted with these nocturnal swallows, and says
she has often found their eggs near that place, and that they
lay only two at a time on the bare ground. The eggs were
oblong, dusky, and streaked somewhat in the manner of the
plumage of the parent bird, and were equal in size at each end.
The dam was sitting on the eggs when found, which contained
the rudiments of young, and would have been hatched perhaps
in a week. From hence we may see the time of their breeding,
which corresponds pretty well with the swift, as does also the
period of their arrival. Each species is usually seen about
the beginning of May : each breeds but once in a summer :
each lays only two eggs.

July 4, 1 790. — The woman who brought me two fern-owl's
eggs last year, on July 14, on this day produced me two more,
one of which had been laid this morning, as appears plainly,
because there was only one in the nest the evening before.
They were found, as last July, on the verge of the down
above the hermitage, under a beechen shrub, on the naked
ground. Last year, those eggs were full of young, and just
ready to be hatched.

These circumstances point out the exact time when these
curious nocturnal migratory birds lay their eggs and hatch
their young. Fern-owls, like snipes, stone-curlews, and some
birds, make no nest. Birds that build on the ground do not
make much of nests. *

* No author that I am acquainted with has given so accurate and
pleasing an account of the manners and habits of the goat-sucker as M»
White, taken entirely from his own observations. Its being a nocturnal
bird, has prevented my having many opportunities of observing it. I
suspect that it passes the day in concealment amidst the dark and shady
gloom of deep-wooded dells, or, as they are called here, gills ; having
more than once seen it roused from such solitary places by my dogs,
when shooting in the day-time. I have also sometimes seen it in an

302 OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS*

SAND-MARTENS. — March 23, 1788. — A gentleman, who
was this week on a visit at Waverley, took the opportunity of
examining some of the holes in the sand banks with which
that district abounds. As these are undoubtedly bored by
bank-martens, and are the places where they avowedly breed,
he was in hopes they might have slept there also, and that he
might have surprised them just as they were awaking from
their winter slumbers. When he had dug for some time, he
found the holes were horizontal and serpentine, as I had
observed before ; and that the nests were deposited at the
inner end, and had been occupied by broods in former sum-
mers ; but no torpid birds were to be found. He opened and
examined about a dozen holes. Another gentleman made
the same search many years ago, with as little success. These
holes were in depth about two feet.

March 21, 1790. — A single bank or sand-marten was seen
hovering and playing round the sand pit at Short Heath, where
in the summer they abound.

April 9, 1 793. — A sober hind assures us, that this day, on
Wish-hanger common, between Hedleigh and Frinsham, he
saw several bank-martens playing in and out, and hanging
before some nest holes in a sand hill, where these birds usually
nestle.

This incident confirms my suspicions that this species of
hirundo is to be seen first of any ; and gives great reason to
suppose that they do not leave their wild haunts at all, but are
secreted amidst the clefts and caverns of those abrupt cliffs
where they usually spend their summers.

The late severe weather considered, it is not very probable
that these birds should have migrated so early from a tropical
region, through all these cutting winds and pinching frosts ; but
it is easy to suppose that they may, like bats and flies, have
been awakened by the influence of the sun, amidst their secret
latebrce, where they have spent the uncomfortable foodless
months in a torpid state, and the profoundest of slumbers.

There is a large pond at Wish-hanger, which induces these
sand-martens to frequent that district : for I have ever
remarked that they haunt near great waters, either rivers or
lakes. *

evening, but not long enough to take notice of its habits and manners. I
have never seen it but in the summer, between the months of May and
September. — MARK WICK.

* Here, and in many other passages of his writings, this very ingenious

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 303

SWALLOWS, CONGREGATING AND DISAPPEARANCE OF. — During
the severe winds that often prevail late in the spring, it is not
easy to say how the hirundines subsist ; for they withdraw them-
selves, and are hardly ever seen, nor do any insects appear for
their support. That they can retire to rest, and sleep away
these uncomfortable periods, as bats do, is a matter rather to
be suspected than proved : or do they not rather spend their
time in deep and sheltered vales near waters, where insects
are more likely to be found ? Certain it is, that hardly any
individuals of this genus have at such times been seen for
several days together.

September 13, 1791. — The congregating flocks of hirundines
on the church and tower are very beautiful and amusing ! When
they fly off together from the roof, on any alarm, they quite
swarm in the air. But they soon settle in heaps, and, preening
their feathers, and lifting up their wings to admit the sun, seem
highly to enjoy the warm situation. Thus they spend the heat
of the day, preparing for their emigration, and, as it were,
consulting when and where they are to go. The flight about
the church seems to consist chiefly of house-martens, above
four hundred in number ; but there are other places of
rendezvous about the village frequented at the same time.

naturalist favours the opinion, that part at least of the swallow tribe pass
their winter in a torpid state, in the same manner as bats and flies, and
revive again on the approach of spring.

I have frequently taken notice of all these circumstances, which induced
Mr White to suppose that some of the hirundines lie torpid during
winter. I have seen, so late as November, on a finer day than usual at
that season of the year, two or three swallows flying backwards and
forwards under a warm hedge, or on the sunny side of some old building ;
nay, I once saw, on the 8th of December, two martens flying about very
briskly, the weather being mild. I had not seen any considerable number,
either of swallows or martens, for a good while before : from whence,
then, could these few birds come, if not from some hole or cavern where
they had laid themselves up for the winter ? Surely it will not be
asserted that these birds migrate back again, from some distant tropical
region, merely on the appearance of a fine day or two at this late season
of the year. Again, very early in the spring, and sometimes immediately
after very cold, severe weather, on its growing a little warmer, a few o'f
these birds suddenly make their appearance, long before the generality of
them are seen. These appearances certainly favour the opinion of tneir
passing the winter in a torpid state, but do not absolutely prove the
fact ; for who ever saw them reviving of their own accord from their
torpid state, without being first brought to the fire, and, as it were, forced
into life again; soon after which revivification they constantly die. —
MARKWICK.

304 OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS.

It is remarkable, that though most of them sit on the battle-
ments and roofs, yet many hang or cling for some time by their
claws against the surface of the walls, in a manner not practised
by them at any other time of their remaining with us.

The Swallows seem to delight more in holding their assem-
blies on trees.

November 3, 1789. — Two swallow's were seen this morning
at Newton vicarage house, hovering and settling on the roofs
and out-buildings, None have been observed at Selborne
since October 11. It is very remarkable, that after the hirun-
dines have disappeared for some weeks, a few are occasionally
seen again ; sometimes, in the first week in November, and
that only for one day. Do they not withdraw and slumber in
some hiding-place during the interval ? for we cannot suppose
they had migrated to warmer climes, and so returned again for
one day. Is it not more probable that they are awakened
from sleep, and, like the bats, are come forth to collect a little
food ? Bats appear at all seasons through the autumn and
spring months, when the thermometer is at fifty, because then
phakence and moths are stirring. These swallows looked like
young ones. *

WAGTAILS. — While the cows are feeding in the moist low
pasture, broods of wagtails, white and gray, run round them,
close up to their noses, and under their very bellies, availing
themselves of the flies that settle on their legs, and probably
finding worms and larva? that are roused by the trampling of
their feet. Nature is such an economist, that the most

* Of their migration, the proofs are such as will scarcely admit of a
doubt. Sir Charles Wager and Captain Wright saw vast flocks of them
at sea, when on their passage from one country to another. Our author,
Mr White, saw what he deemed the actual migration of these birds, and
which he has described at p. 78 of his History of Selborne ; and of their
congregating together on the roofs of churches and other buildings, and
on trees, previous to their departure, many instances occur ; particularly,
I once observed a large flock of house-martens on the roof of the church
here at Catsfield, which acted exactly in the manner here described by
Mr White, sometimes preening their feathers, and spreading their wings
to the sun, and then flying of all together, but soon returning to their
former situation. The greatest part of these birds seemed to be young
ones. — MARKWICK.

Wilson, Audubon, and Richardson, all attest the migration of the
swallow and its congeners, in America ; and every author, ancient and
modern, of whatever country, describe these birds as changing their
residence during winter, — ED.

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 305

incongruous animals can avail themselves of each other!
Interest makes strange friendships. *

WRYNECKS. — These birds appear on the grass-plots and
walks ; they walk a little as well as hop, and thrust their bills
into the turf, in quest, I conclude, of ants, which are their food.
While they hold their bills in the grass, they draw out their
prey with their tongues, which are so long as to be coiled round
their heads.

GROSBEAK. — Mr B. shot a cock grosbeak, which he had
observed to haunt his garden for more than a fortnight. I
began to accuse this bird of making sad havock among the
buds of the cherries, gooseberries, and wall-fruit of all the
neighbouring orchards. Upon opening its crop, or craw, no
buds were to be seen ; but a mass of kernels of the stones of
fruits. Mr B. observed, that this bird frequented the spot
where plum trees grow ; and that he had seen it with some-
what hard in its mouth, which it broke with difficulty : these
were the stones of damsons. The Latin ornithologists call
this bird coccothraustes, i.e. berry-breaker, because, with its
large horny beak, it cracks and breaks the shells of stone
fruits for the sake of the seed or kernel. Birds of this sort
are rarely seen in England, and only in winter.-)'

* Birds continually avail themselves of particular and unusual circum-
stances to procure their food : thus wagtails keep playing about the noses
and legs of cattle as they feed, in quest of flies arid other insects which
abound near those animals ; and great numbers of them will follow close
to the plough to devour the worms, &c. that are turned up by that
instrument. The red- breast attends the gardener when digging his
borders; and will, with great familiarity and tameness, pick out the
worms almost close to his spade, as I have frequently seen. Starlings
and magpies very often sit on the backs of sheep and deer to pick out their
tick*. — MARKWICK.

f I have never seen this rare bird but during the severest cold of the
hardest winters ; at which season of the year, I have had in my possession
two or three that were killed in this neighbourhood in different years. —
MARKWICK.

On the second week of September, 1832, Mr Greenhow, surgeon of
North Shields, mentions that a flock of Egyptian geese was seen beside
the Tweed, at Carham, two of which, while nibbling grass on the margin
ef the river, were shot by Ralph Stephenson, gamekeeper. — ED.

306 OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS.

OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS AND VERMES.
INSECTS IN GENERAL.

THE day and night insects occupy the annuals alternately :
the papilios, muscce, and apes, are succeeded at the close of day
by phalfEna, earwigs,* woodlice, &c. In the dusk of the even-
ing, when beetles begin to buzz, partridges begin to call : these
two circumstances are exactly coincident.

Ivy is the last flower that supports the hymenopterous and
dipterous insects. On sunny days, quite on to November, they
swarm on trees covered with this plant ; and when they dis-
appear, probably retire under the shelter of its leaves, concealing
themselves between its fibres and the trees which it entwines.f

Spiders, woodlice, lepismce in cupboards and among sugar,
some empedes, gnats, flies of several species, some phalcence in
hedges, earth-worms, &c. are stirring at all times, when winters
are mild ; and are of great service to those soft-billed birds
that never leave us.

On every sunny day, the winter through, clouds of insects,
usually called gnats, (I suppose tipul<B and empedes,) appear
sporting and dancing over the tops of the evergreen trees in
the shrubbery, and frisking about as if the business of genera-
tion was still going on. Hence it appears that these diptera
(which by their sizes appear to be of different species) are not
subject to a torpid state in the winter, as most winged insects
are. At night, and in frosty weather, and when it rains and
blows, they seem to retire into those trees. They often are
out in a fog.J

* Earwigs, although it is not generally known, are capable of flying.
This is mentioned by Kirby and Spence ; and Mr Denson, of Baysvvater,
establishes this fact by experiment." He says, " Each, before taking flight,
aided, or effected the expansion of its snow-white membranous wings
with the forceps in its tail, which it turned over its back, and used with
admirable adroitness. They flew ably, and in curves of short diameters. "
— ED.

f This I have often observed, having seen bees and other winged
insects swarming about the flowers of the ivy very late in the autumn. —
MARKWICK.

\ This I have also seen, and have frequently observed swarms of little
winged insects playing up and down in the air in the middle of the winter,
even when the ground has been covered with snow. — MARK WICK.

OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS. 307

HUMMING IN THE AIR. — There is a natural occurrence to
be met with upon the highest part of our down in hot summer
days, which always amuses me much, without giving me any
satisfaction with respect to the cause of it ; and that is, a loud
audible humming of bees in the air, though not one insect is
to be seen.* This sound is to be heard distinctly the whole
common through, from the Money-dells, to Mr White's avenue
gate. Any person would suppose that a large swarm of bees
was in motion, and playing about over his head. This noise
was heard last week, on June twenty-eighth.
Resounds the living surface of the ground,
Nor undelightful is the ceaseless hum

To him who muses at noon.

Thick in yon stream of light, a thousand ways,
Upward and downward, thwarting and convolved,
The quivering nations sport.

THOMSON'S Seasons,

CHAFFERS. — Cock-chaffers seldom abound oftener than
once in three or four years ; when they swarm, they deface
the trees and hedges. Whole woods of oaks are stripped bare
by them.f

Chaffers are eaten by the turkey, the rook, and the house-
sparrow.

The scarab&us solstitialls first appears about June twenty-six :
they are very punctual in their coming out every year. They
are a small species, about half the size of the May-chaffer, and
are known in some parts by the name of the fern-chaffer, j

* This sound does not proceed from bees, as our author supposes, but
from the common gnat (culex pipiens. ) We particularly noticed this in
August, 1832, in a lane which leads from the back of Warriston Crescent,
to the Newhaven road. On the third, the air was very hot, and the
sound proceeded from the top of some high trees. Next day we passed
the same road ; the air was more cold and somewhat moist, when these
gnats were sporting in the sunbeams, close to the top of a hedge, which
was not more than four feet high. This mighty congregation of gnats
formed a lengthened column of two hundred yards, by about a yard in
breadth, and two yards in depth ; their numbers we believe to have been
greater than there have been human beings on our globe, from the creation
to the present time. — ED.

f Respect being had to the size of the cock-chaffer, it is six times stronger
than a horse ; and if the elephant, as Linnaeus observed, was strong in
proportion to the stag-beetle, it would be able to pull up rocks by the root,
and to level mountains ; were the lion and tiger as strong and as swift
for their magnitude, as the cicindela and the beetle, nothing could escape
them by precaution, or withstand them by strength. — ED.

f A singular circumstance relative to the cock-chaffer, or, as it is called
here, the May-bug, (scarabceus melolontha,) happened this year (1800.)

308 OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS.

PTINUS PECTINICORNIS. — Those maggots that make worm-
holes in tables, chairs, bed-posts, &c. and destroy wooden fur-
niture, especially where there is any sap, are the larvae of the
ptinus pectinicornis. This insect, it is probable, deposits its
eggs on the surface, and the worms eat their way in.

In their holes, they turn into their pupce state, and so come
forth winged in July : eating their way through the valances
or curtains of a bed, or any other furniture that happens to
obstruct their passage.

They seem to be most inclined to breed in beech ; hence
beech will not make lasting utensils or furniture. If their
eggs are deposited on the surface, frequent rubbing will
preserve wooden furniture. *

BLATTA ORIENTALIS, (COCKROACH.) — A neighbour com-
plained to me that her house was overrun with a kind of
black beetle, or, as she expressed herself, with a kind of black-
bob, which swarmed in her kitchen when they got up in the
morning before daybreak.

Soon after this account, I observed an unusual insect in
one of my dark chimney closets, and find since, that in the
night, they swarm also in my kitchen. On examination, I
soon ascertained the species to be the blatta orientalis of
Linnaeus, and the blatta molendinaria of MoufFet. The male is
winged ; the female is not, but shews somewhat like the
rudiments of wings, as if in the pupa state.

These insects belonged originally to the warmer parts of
America, and were conveyed from thence by shipping to the

My gardener, in digging some ground, found, about six inches under
the surface, two of these insects alive, and perfectly formed, so early as
the twenty-fourth of March. When he brought them to me, they
appeared to be as perfect and as much alive as in the midst of summer,
crawling about as briskly as ever ; yet I saw no more of this insect till
the twenty-second of May, when it began to make its appearance. How
comes it, that though it was perfectly formed so early as the twenty-
fourth of March, it did not shew itself above ground till nearly two
months afterwards? — MARKWICK.

* Naturalists have observed, that the male broods of insects invariably
appear earlier than the female broods. Professor Rennie notices, that
upon the leaf of a poplar tree, of three eggs of the puss moth, (cerura
rinuftz,) which he found, two were hatched about a fortnight before
the other. The first were males, and the last a female ; thus dis-
tinctly proving, that eggs from which females are produced are longer
of hatching. As they were found on the same leaf, they were of course
presumed to be laid by the same parent ; at the same time, the difference
in the time of hatching could not depend upon any atmospherical cause.
— ED.

OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS. 309

East Indies ; and, by means of commerce, begin to prevail in
the more northern parts of Europe, as Russia, Sweden, &c.
How long they have abounded in England, I cannot say^ but
have never observed them in my house till lately.

They love warmth, and haunt chimney closets, and the
backs of ovens. Poda says, that these and house-crickets will
not associate together ; but he is mistaken in that assertion,
as Linnaeus suspected he was. They are altogether night
insects, ludfugce, never coming forth fill the rooms are dark
and still, and escaping away nimbly at the approach of a
candle.* Their antennae are remarkably long, slender, and
flexile.

October, 1790. — After the servants are gone to bed, the
kitchen hearth swarms with young crickets, and young blattce
molendinaricB of all sizes, from the most minute growth to their
full proportions. They seem to live in a friendly manner
together, and not to prey the one on the other.

August, 1792. — After the destruction of many thousands of
Uattce molendinarice, we find that at intervals a fresh detach-
ment of old ones arrives, and particularly during this hot
season ; for the windows being left open in the evenings, the
males come flying in at the casements from the neighbouring
houses, which swarm with them. How the females, that
seem to have no perfect wings that they can use, can contrive
to get from house to house, does not so readily appear. These,
like many insects, when they find their present abodes over-
stocked, have powers of migrating to fresh quarters. Since
the blatta? have been so much kept under, the crickets have
greatly increased in number.

GRYLLUS DOMESTICUS, (HOUSE-CRICKET.) — November. —
After the servants are gone to bed, the kitchen hearth swarms
with minute crickets not so large as fleas, which must have
been lately hatched. So that these domestic insects, cherished
by the influence of a constant large fire, regard not the season
of the year, but produce their young at a time when their

* Although the cockroach is generally to be seen only on leaving its
retreat after sunset, yet they occasionally do appear through the day.
Our friend, Sir Patrick Walker, who is an excellent practical naturalist,
and well skilled in entomology, informed us, that the captain of a vessel
from the Mauritius told him, that during their passage from thence to
Leith, cockroaches used simultaneously to come on deck, from the hold,
which was infested with them, and take to their wings in myriads, fly
several times round the vessel like a dense cloud, alight on the deck, ancl
instantly retreat below. — ED.

310 OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS.

congeners are either dead, or laid up for the winter, to pass
away the uncomfortable months in the profoundest slumbers,
and a state of torpidity.

When house-crickets are out and running about a room in
the night, if surprised by a candle, -jthey give two or three
shrill notes, as it were for a signal to their fellows, that they
may escape to their crannies and lurking holes, to avoid
danger.

CIMEX LINEARIS. — August 12, 1775. — Cimices lincares are
now in high copulation on ponds and pools. The females,
who vastly exceed the males in bulk, dart and shoot along
on the surface of the water with the males on their backs.
When a female chooses to be disengaged, she rears, and jumps,
and plunges, like an unruly colt ; the lover, thus dismounted,
soon finds a new mate. The females, as fast as their curiosities
are satisfied, retire to another part of the lake, perhaps to
deposit their fetus in quiet : hence the sexes are found separate,
except where generation is going on. From the multitude of
minute young of all gradations of sizes, these insects seem,
without doubt, to be viviparous.

PHAL^NA QUERCUS. — Most of our oaks are naked of leaves,
and even the Holt in general, having been ravaged by the
caterpillars of a small phalcena, wrhich is of a pale yellow colour.
These insects, though a feeble race, yet, from their infinite
numbers, are of wonderful effect, being able to destroy the
foliage of whole forests and districts. At this season, they
leave their aurelia, and issue forth in their fly state, swarming
and covering the trees and hedges.

In a field near Greatham, I saw a flight of swifts busied in
catching their prey near the ground ; and found they were
hawking after these phalcence. The aurelia of this moth is
shining, and as black as jet ; and lies wrapped up in a leaf of

OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS. 311

the tree, which is rolled round it, and secured at the ends by
a web, to prevent the maggot from falling out. *

EPHEMERA CAUDA BISETA, (MAY FLY.) — June 10, 1771. —
Myriads of May flies appeared, for the first time, on the Aires-
ford stream. The air was crowded with them, and the surface
of the water covered. Large tiouts sucked them in as they
lay struggling on the surface of the stream, unable to rise till
their wings were dried.

This appearance reconciled me, in some measure, to the
wonderful account that Scopoli gives of the quantities emerging
from the rivers of Carniola. Their motions are very peculiar,
up and down for many yards almost in a perpendicular line.f

SPHYNX OCELLATA.— A vast insect appears after it is dusk,
flying with a humming noise, and inserting its tongue into the

I suspect that the insect here meant, is not the phalana quercus,
but the phalcena viridata, concerning which, I find the following note in
my Naturalist's Calendar for the year 1785:

About this time, and for a few days last past, I observed the leaves of
almost all the oak trees in Denn copse, to be eaten and destroyed, and, on
examining more narrowly, saw an infinite number of small beautiful pale
green moths flying about the trees ; the leaves of which, that were not
quite destroyed, were curled up, and withinside were the exuvia, or
remains, of the chrysalis, from whence I suppose the moths had issued,
and whose caterpillar had eaten the leaves. — MARKWICK.

f I once saw a swarm of these insects playing up and down over the
surface of a pond in Denn Park, exactly in the manner described by thig
accurate naturalist. It was late in the evening of a warm summer day
when I observed them. — MARKWJCK.

312 OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS.

bloom of the honeysuckle ; it scarcely settles upon the plants,
but feeds on the wing, in the manner of humming birds.*

WILD BEE. — There is a sort of wild bee frequenting the
garden-campion for the sake of its tomentum, which probably
it turns to some purpose in the business of nidification. It is
very pleasant to see with what address it strips off the pubes,
running from the top to the bottom of a branch, and shaving
it bare with all the dexterity of a hoop shaver. When it has
got a vast bundle, almost as large as itself, it flies away, holding
it secure between its chin and its fore legs.

There is a remarkable hill on the downs near Lewes, in
Sussex, known by the name of Mount Carburn, which over-
looks that town, and affords a most engaging prospect of all
the country round, besides several views of the sea. On the
very summit of this exalted promontory, and amidst the trenches
of its Danish camp, there haunts a species of wild bee, making
its nest in the chalky soil. When people approach the place,
these insects begin to be alarmed, and, with a sharp and hostile
sound, dash and strike round the heads and faces of intruders.
I have often been interrupted myself while contemplating the
grandeur of the scenery around me, and have thought myself
in danger of being stung.

WASPS. — Wasps abound in woody wild districts, far from
neighbourhoods : they feed on flowers, and catch flies and
caterpillars to carry to their young. Wasps make their nests
with the raspings of sound timber; hornets, with what they

* I have frequently seen the large bee moth, (sphinx stettatarum,)
inserting its long tongue, or proboscis, into the centre of flowers, and
feeding on their nectar, without settling on them, but keeping constantly
on the wing — MARK WICK.

OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS, 313

gnaw from decayed : these particles of wood are kneaded up
with a mixture of saliva from their bodies, and moulded into
combs.

When there is no fruit in the gardens, wasps eat flies, and
suck the honey from flowers, from ivy blossoms, and umbellated
plants : they carry off also flesh from butchers' shambles. *

OESTRUS "CURVICAUDA. — This insect lays its nits, or eggs,
on horses' legs, flanks, &c. each on a single hair. The maggots,
when hatched, do not enter the horses' skins, but fall to the
ground. It seems to abound most in moist, moorish places,
though sometimes seen in the uplands, f

NOSE FLY. — About the beginning of July, a species of fly
(jnusca) obtains, which proves very tormenting to horses, trying
still to enter their nostrils and ears, and actually laying their
eggs in the latter of those organs, or perhaps in both. When
these abound, horses in woodland districts become very
impatient at their work, continually tossing their heads, and
rubbing their noses on each other, regardless of the driver ; so
that accidents often ensue. In the heat of the day, men are
often obliged to desist from ploughing. Saddle-horses are
also very troublesome at such seasons. Country people call
this insect the nose fly. J

ICHNEUMON FLY. — I saw lately a small ichneumon fly
attack a spider much larger than itself, on a grass walk. When
the spider made any resistance, the ichneumon applied her
tail to him, and stung him with great vehemence, so that he
soon became dead and motionless. The ichneumon then
running backward, drew her prey very nimbly over the walk
into the standing grass. This spider would be deposited in
some hole, where the ichneumon would lay some eggs ; and as

* In the year 1775, wasps abounded so prodigiously in this neighbour-
hood, that, in the month of August, no less than seven or eight of their
nests were ploughed up in one field j of which there were several instances,
as I was informed.

In the spring, about the beginning of April, a single wasp is sometimes
seen, which is of a larger size than usual : this, I imagine, is the queen,
or female wasp, the mother of the future swarm. — MARKWICK.

•j-jfcThe CEstrus hominis, or human gadfly, is a native of the West India
Islands, and deposits its eggs in the human skin, where they change to
the maggot state, and occasion great pain ; so many as two hundred and
thirty-five have been known to be propagated in the flesh of an individual.
Professor Jameson's Journal for April, 1830, records some curious cases
of this kind. — ED.

| Is not this insect the oestrus nasalis of Linnaeus, so well described
by Mr Clark, in the third volume of the Linn&an Transactions, under
the name of cestrus veterinus ? — MARKWICK.

314

OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS.

soon as the eggs were hatched, the carcass would afford ready-
food for the maggots. *

* The eggs of insects are liable to great variety of forms, and
external markings : they are seldom oval, like those of birds. Some are
figured on one side, and plain on the other. The following are example*
of a few of these forms : —

No. 1. is an egg of the speckled wood butterfly, (hipparchia ccqeria. )
2. the small tortoise-shell butterfly. —3. the larg'e tortoise-shell butterfly.

4. Angle shades moth. — 5. Lackey moth. — 6. Cabbage butterfly.

Nature is no less fanciful in the strange freaks which she exhibits, in
many of the caterpillars of insects ; among these may b-1 noticed the
following figure, the lobster caterpillar, (stauropus fagi, of Germar.)

OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS.

315

Perhaps some eggs mio-ht be injected into the body of the
spider, in the act of stinging. Some ichneumons deposit their
eggs in the aurelia of moths and butterflies.*

This singular animal is of a rich orange colour ; and lias frequently
caused great alarm amongst the ignorant and superstitious, from the
preying attitude which it assumes. The habitations of some moths
display great ingenuity : and in the preparation of these, the animals
manifest much intuitive foresight. The goat moth (cossus ligniperda)
excavates for itself a hollow in a tree, fit for its reception. The following
is a figure of a winter nest of one of these, formed of a fabric, consisting
of the raspings of a tree, united with strong silk :

Many of the insect tribe are subject to great diversity of shape in the
male and female ; and in some instances are so unlike, that they might
well pass for distinct species. We offer the following as not much
diversified examples of this : —

1. Female vapourer moth. 2. The male ditto r— En.

* In my Naturalist's Calendar for 1795, July 21st, 1 find the follow-
ing note : —

the chrysalis ot a butterfly into a box, and covered it with gauze, to
discover what species of butterfly they would produce ; but instead of a
butterfly, one of them produced a number of small ichneumon flies.

There are many instances of the great service these little insects are of
to mankind in reducing the number of noxious insects, by depositing their
eggs in the soft bodies of their larvce ; but none more remarkable than
that of the ichneumon tipula, \vhich pierces the tender body, and deposits

316 OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS.

BOMBYLIUS MEDIUS. — The bombylius mediusis much about
in March and the beginning of April, and soon seems to retire.
It is a hairy insect, like a humble-bee, but with only two wings,
and a long, straight beak, with which it sucks the early flowers.
The female seems to lay its eggs as it poises on its wings, by
striking its tail on the ground, and against the grass that stands
in its way, in a quick manner, for several times together. *

MUSCLE, (FLIES.) — In the decline of the year, when the
mornings and evenings become chilly, many species of flies
(inmscci) retire into houses, and swarm in the windows.

At first they are very brisk and alert ; but, as they grow
more torpid, one cannot help observing that they move with
difficulty, and are scarce able to lift their legs, which seem as
ff glued to the glass ; and by degrees, many do actually stick
on till they die in the place.

It has been observed that divers flies, besides their sharp,
hooked nails, have also skinny palms, or flaps to their feet,
whereby they are enabled to stick on glass and other smooth
bodies, and to walk on ceilings with their backs downward, by
means of the pressure of the atmosphere on those flaps ; the
weight of which they easily overcome in warm weather, when
they are brisk and alert. But, in the decline of the year, this
resistance becomes too mighty for their diminished strength ;
and we see flies labouring along, and lugging their feet in
windows, as if they stuck fast to the glass, and it is with the
utmost difficulty they can draw one foot after another, and
disengage their hollow caps from the slippery surface.

Upon the same principle that flies stick and support them-
selves, do boys, by way of play, carry heavy weights by only
a piece of wet leather, at the end of a string, clapped close on
the surface of a stone.

TiPUL^E, OR EMPEDES. — May. — Millions of empedes, or
tipulce, come forth at the close of day, and swarm to such a
degree as to fill the air. At this juncture they sport and
copulate ; as it grows more dark they retire. All day they
hide in the hedges. As they rise in a cloud they appear like
smoke.

its eggs in the larva of the tipula tritici, an insect which, when it abounds
greatly, is very prejudicial to the grains of wheat. This operation I have
frequently seen it perform with wonder and delight. — MARK WICK.

* I have often seen this insect fly with great velocity, stop on a sudden,
hang in the air in a stationary position for some time, and then fly off
again ; but do not recollect having ever seen it strike its tail against the
ground, or any other substance. — MARKWICK.

OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS. 317

I do not ever remember to have seen such swarms, except
in the fens of the Isle of Ely. They appear most over grass
grounds.

APHIDES. — On the first of August, about half an hour after
three in the afternoon, the people of Selborne were surprised
by a shower of aphides which fell in these parts. They who
were walking the streets at that time found themselves covered
with these insects, which settled also on the trees and gardens,
and blackened all the vegetables where they alighted. These
armies, no doubt, were then in a state of emigration, and
shifting their quarters ; and might perhaps come from the
great hop plantations of Kent or Sussex, the wind being that
day at north. They were observed at the same time at Farn-
ham, and all along the vale at Alton.

ANTS. — August 23. — Every ant-hill about this time is in a
strange hurry and confusion ; and all the winged ants, agitated
by some violent impulse, are leaving their homes, and, bent on
emigration, swarm by myriads in the air, to the great emolument
of the hirundines, which fare luxuriously.* Those that escape
the swallows return no more to their nests, but, looking out for
fresh settlements, lay a foundation for future colonies. All
the females at this time are pregnant ; the males that escape
being eaten, wander away and die.

October 2. — Flying ants, male and female, usually swarm
and migrate on hot sunny days in August and September ;
but this day a vast emigration took place in my garden, and
myriads came forth, in appearance from the drain which goes
under the fruit wall ; filling the air and the adjoining trees and
shrubs with their numbers. The females were full of eggs.
This late swarming is probably owing to the backward wet
season. The day following, not one flying ant was to be seen.

Horse ants travel home to their nests laden with flies, which
they have caught, and the aurelice of smaller ants, which they
seize by violence, f

* While the ants are a prey to swallows, they, in their turn, prey upon
other insects ; that troublesome vermin, the aphides, are devoured in
millions by ants, whose hills are near the bushes on which the aphides
feed. Ants eat all kinds of animal food. — ED.

f In my Naturalist's Calendar for the year 1777, on September 6th,
I find the following note to the article, Flying Ants : —

I saw a prodigious swarm of these ants flying about the top of some tall
elm trees close by my house : some were continually dropping to the ground
as if from the trees, and others rising up from the ground : many of them
were joined together in copulation ; and I imagine their life is but short ;
for as soon as produced from the egg by the heat of the sun, they propagate

318 OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS.

GLOW-WORMS — By observing two glow-worms which were
brought from the field to the bank in the garden, it appeared
to us, that these little creatures put out their lamps between
eleven and twelve, and shone no more for the rest of the
night. *

Male glow-worms, attracted by the light of the candles,
come into the parlour.

EARTH-WORMS. — Earth-worms make their casts most in
mild weather, about March and April ; they do not lie torpid
in winter, but come forth when there is no frost. They travel
about in rainy nights, as appears from their sinuous tracks on
the soft muddy soil, perhaps in search of food.

When earth-worms lie out a-nights on the turf, though they
extend their bodies a great way, they do not quite leave their
holes, but keep the ends of their tails fixed therein, so that, on
the least alarm, they can retire with precipitation under the
earth. Whatever food falls within their reach when thus
extended, they seem to be content with, — such as, blades of
grass, straws, fallen leaves, the ends of which they often draw
into their holes ; even in copulation their hinder parts never
quit their holes : so that no two, except they lie within reach
of each other's bodies, can have any commerce of that kind ;
but, as every individual is a hermaphrodite, there is no
difficulty in meeting with a mate, as would be the case were
they of different sexes.

SNAILS AND SLUGS. — The shelless snails called slugs are
in motion all the winter, in mild weather, and commit great
depredations on garden plants, and much injure the green
wheat, the loss of which is imputed to earth-worms ; while
the shelled snail, the <pgggo//cog, does not come forth at all till
about April 10th, and not only lays itself up pretty early in

their species, and soon after perish. They were black, somewhat like
the small black ant, and had four wings. I saw also, at another place,
a large sort which were yellowish. On the 8th of September, 1785, I
again observed the same circumstance of a vast number of these insects
flying near the tops of the elms, and dropping to the ground.

On the 2d of March, 1777, I saw great numbers of ants come out of
the ground. — MARKWICK.

* The male glow-worm yields light as well as the female, but much
fainter. The eggs are also, in some degree, luminous. The light, which
the worm has power to extinguish at pleasure, proceeds from brilliant spots
on the three last rings of the body, and on the tail ; the luminous matter
is a yellow substance contained in the vesicles ; and when these vesicles
are removed entire, they shine for some time afterwards ; but if lacerated,
they are extinguished. — ED.

OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS. 319

autumn, in places secure from frost, but also throws out round
the mouth of its shell a thick operculum formed from its own
saliva; so that it is perfectly secured, and corked up, as it
were, from all inclemencies. The cause why the slugs are
able to endure the cold so much better than shell-snails is,
that their bodies are covered with slime, as whales are with
blubber. *

Snails copulate about midsummer ; and soon after deposit
their eggs in the mould, by running their heads and bodies
under ground. Hence, the way to be rid of them is, to kill as
many as possible before they begin to breed.

Large, gray, shelless cellar snails, lay themselves up about
the same time with those that live abroad : hence, it is plain,
that a defect of warmth is not the only cause that influences
their retreat.

SNAKE'S SLOUGH.

There the snake throws her enamel'd skin.

SHAKESPEARE'S Mids. Night's Dream.

About the middle of this month (September) we found, in
a field near a hedge, the slough of a large snake, which seemed
to have been newly cast. From circumstances, it appeared as
if turned wrong side outward, and as drawn off backward, like
a stocking, or woman's glove. Not only the whole skin, but
scales from the very eyes, are peeled off, and appear in the
head of the slough like a pair of spectacles. The reptile, at
the time of changing his coat, had entangled himself intricately
in the grass and weeds, so that the friction of the stalks and
blades might promote this curious shifting of his exuvice.

Lubrica serpens

Exuit in spinis vestem. — LUCRET.

It would be a most entertaining sight, could a person be
an eye-witness to such a feat, and see the snake in the act of
changing his garment. As the convexity of the scales of the
eyes in the slough is now inward, that circumstance alone is a
proof that the skin has been turned : not to mention that now
the present inside is much darker than the outer. If you look
through the scales of the snake's eyes from the concave side,
viz. as the reptile used them, they lessen objects much. Thus
it appears, from what has been said, that snakes crawl out of

* Slugs have the property of spinning a slimy thread, whereby they
can let themselves down from a height in the manner of spiders. — ED.

320 OBSERVATIONS ON VEGETABLES.

the mouth of their own sloughs, and quit the tail part last, just
as eels are skinned by a cook maid. While the scales of the
eyes are growing" loose, and a new skin is forming, the
creature, in appearance, must be blind, and feel itself in an
awkward, uneasy situation. *

OBSERVATIONS ON VEGETABLES.
TREES, ORDER OF LOSING THEIR LEAVES.

ONE of the first trees that become naked is the walnut ; the
mulberry, the ash, especially if it bears many keys, and the
horse-chestnut come next. All lopped trees, while their heads
are young, carry their leaves a long while. Apple trees and
peaches remain green very late, often till the end of November ;
young beeches never cast their leaves till spring, till the new
leaves sprout and push them off : in the autumn, the beechen
leaves turn of a deep chestnut colour. Tall beeches cast their
leaves about the end of October.

SIZE AND GROWTH. — Mr Marsham of Stratton, near Nor-
wich, informs me by letter thus : — "I became a planter
early ; so that an oak which I planted in 1 720 is become
now, at one foot from the earth, twelve feet six inches in
circumference, and, at fourteen feet, (the half of the timber

* I have seen many sloughs, or skins of snakes, entire, after they have
cast them off; and, once in particular, I remember to have found one of
these sloughs so intricately interwoven amongst some brakes, that it was
with difficulty removed without being broken : this undoubtedly was done
by the creature to assist in getting rid of its encumbrance.

I have great reason to suppose that the eft, or common lizard, also casts
its skin, or slough, but not entire like the snake ; for, on the 30th of
March, 1777, I saw one with something ragged hanging to it, which
appeared to be part of its old skin. — MARKWICK.

It has been found by Pallas, that, after leeches have been used for
medicinal purposes, they are most reproductive. He puts them into a
box with argillaceous earth, six inches deep, at any time from the middle
of August till the end of September. In five months, cocoons will be
found, each containing twelve individuals. The cocoons are, on the out-
side, light, porous, and wooly, to keep out moisture and regulate the tem-
perature. On the inside they are fibrous and dense, enclosing a thin
multilocular pellicle, which contains germs. — ED.

OBSERVATIONS ON VEGETABLES. 321

length,) is eight feet two inches. So, if the bark were to be
measured as timber, the tree gives one hundred and sixteen
and a half feet, buyer's measure. Perhaps you never heard
of a larger oak, while the planter was living. I flatter myself
that I increased the growth by washing the stem, and digging
a circle, as far as I supposed the roots to extend, and by
spreading sawdust, &c. as related in the Phil. Trans. I wish
I had begun with beeches, (my favourite trees, as well as
yours ;) 1 might then have seen very large trees of my own
raising. But I did not begin with beech till 1741, and then
by seed ; so that my largest is now at five feet from the ground,
six feet three inches in girth, and, with its head, spreads a
circle of twenty yards diameter. This tree was also dug
round, washed, &c. Stratton, 24tf/ July, 1790."

The circumference of trees planted by myself, at one foot
from the ground, (1790 :)

Feet. Inches.

Oak in . . . 1730 ... 4 5

Ash . . . 1730 . . . 4 6K

Great fir . . . 1751 ... 5 0

Greatest beech . 1751 . . . 4 0

Elm .... 1750 ... 5 3

Lime . . . 1756 ... 5 5

The great oak in the Holt, which is deemed by Mr Marsham
to be the biggest in this island, at seven feet from the ground,
measures, in circumference, thirty-four feet. It has, in old
times, lost several of its boughs, and is tending to decay. Mr
Marsham computes, that, at fourteen feet length, this oak
contains one thousand feet of timber.

It has been the received opinion, that trees grow in height
only by their annual upper shoot. But my neighbour, over
the way, whose occupation confines him to one spot, assures
me, that trees are expanded and raised in the lower parts also.
The reason that he gives is this : the point of one of my firs
began, for the first time, to peer over an opposite roof at the
beginning of summer ; but, before the growing season was
over, the whole shoot of the year, and three or four joints of
the body beside, became visible to him, as he sits on his form
in his shop. According to this supposition, a tree may advance
in height considerably, though the summer shoot should be
destroyed every year.

FLOWING OF SAP. — If the bough of a vine is cut late in
the spring, just before the shoots push out, it will bleed
considerably ; but, after the leaf is out, any part may be taken

3'2'2 OBSERVATIONS ON VEGETABLES.

off without the least inconvenience. So oaks may be barked
while the leaf is budding ; but, as soon as they are expanded,
the bark will no longer part from the wood, because the sap
that lubricates the bark, and makes it part, is evaporated off
through the leaves.*

RENOVATION OF LEAVES. — When oaks are quite stripped of
their leaves by chaffers, they are clothed again, soon after
midsummer, with a beautiful foliage ; but beeches, horse-
chestnuts, and maples, once defaced by those insects, never
recover their beauty again for the whole season.

ASH TREES. — Many ash trees bear loads of keys every
year ; others never seem to bear any at all. The prolific ones
are naked of leaves, and unsightly ; those that are steril abound
in foliage, and carry their verdure a long while, and are
pleasing objects, -j*

BEECH. — Beeches love to grow in crowded situations, and
will insinuate themselves through the thickest covert, so as to
surmount it all : are therefore proper to mend thin places in
tall hedges.

SYCAMORE. — May 12. — The sycamore, or great maple, is
in bloom, and, at this season, makes a beautiful appearance,
and affords much pabulum for bees, smelling strongly like
honey. The foliage of this tree is very fine, and very orna-
mental to outlets. All the maples have saccharine juices.

GALLS OF LOMBARDY POPLAR. — The stalks and ribs of the
leaves of the Lombardy poplar are embossed with large
tumours of an oblong shape, which, by incurious observers,
have been taken for the fruit of the tree. These galls are full
of small insects, some of which are winged, and some not.

* A correspondent, in Loudon's Magazine, proposes a theory of the
ascent of sap. " The theory which I wish to prove," says lie, " is the
following : — The sap, in its descent in the stem, becomes deprived of
some of its constituents, more especially of its aqueous part : this depriva-
tion is effected by the vital principle of the plant decomposing the aqueous
parts, and assimilating the resulting gases to its own constituents. As
the assimilation takes place, a partial vacuum is formed by the change
of gas to a solid form ; and this vacuum is immediately tilled with sap
rushing into it, according to the well-known law of the tendency of fluids
to rush into any cavity deprived of the presence of air«" — ED.

f Great irregularity exists in the fall of the leaf in ash trees. Many
trees will already have cast their foliage, when others in the same hedge-row
•eem scarcely to have at all suffered from the chilling influence of autumnal
winds. This cannot be attributed to difference of exposure, as we have
observed them almost alternately with each other, in full leaf and
denuded, for miles along a road side. — ED.

OBSERVATIONS ON VEGETABLES. 323

The parent insect is of the genus of cynips. Some poplars in
the garden are quite loaded with these excrescences. *

CHESTNUT TIMBER. — John Carpenter brings home some
old chestnut trees, which are very long ; in several places, the
woodpeckers had begun to bore them. The timber and bark
of these trees are so very like oak, as might easily deceive an
indifferent observer ; but the wood is very shakey, and, towards
the heart, cup-shakey, (that is to say, apt to separate in round
pieces like cups,) so that the inward parts are of no use. They
are bought for the purpose of cooperage, but must make but
ordinary barrels, buckets, &c. Chestnut sells for half the
price of oak ; but has sometimes been sent into the king's dock,
and passed off instead of oak.

LIME BLOSSOMS. — Dr Chandler tells, that, in the south of
France, an infusion of the blossoms of the lime tree, (tilia^) is
in much esteem as a remedy for coughs, hoarsenesses, fevers,
&c. ; and that, at Nismes, he saw an avenue of limes that was
quite ravaged and torn in pieces by people greedily gathering
the bloom, which they dried and kept for these purposes.

Upon the strength of this information, we made some tea
of lime blossoms, and found it a very soft, well flavoured,
pleasant, saccharine julep, in taste much resembling the juice
of liquorice.

BLACKTHORN. — This tree usually blossoms while cold
north-east winds blow ; so that the harsh rugged weather
obtaining at this season is called, by the country people, black-
thorn winter.

IVY BERRIES. — Ivy berries afford a noble and providential
supply for birds in winter and spring ; for the first severe frost
freezes and spoils all the haws, sometimes by the middle of
November. Ivy berries do not seem to freeze.

HOPS. — The culture of Virgil's vines corresponded very
exactly with the modem management of hops. I might
instance in the perpetual diggings and hoeings, in the tying to
the stakes and poles, in pruning the superfluous shoots, &c. ;
but lately, I have observed a new circumstance, which was, a
neighbouring farmer's harrowing between the rows of hops

* Mr David Don, a botanist of distinguished talents, has discovered,
that, on detaching the spiral vessels from vigorous young shoots of herba-
ceous plants, they frequently become violently agitated ; the motion con-
tinues for some seconds, and may be somewhat similar to that of the
heart of animals under similar circumstances. These vessels abound m
the stems of the urtica nivca, of centaur ea, atro -purpurea, and of the
malvaccs. — ED.

324 OBSERVATIONS ON VEGETABLES.

with a small triangular harrow, drawn by one horse, and
guided by two handles. This occurrence brought to my mind
the following passage : —

ipsa

Flectere luctantes inter vineta juvencos.

Georgic II.

Hops are "diecious plants : hence perhaps it might be
proper, though not practised, to leave purposely some male
plants in every garden, that their farina might impregnate the
blossoms. The female plants, without their male attendants,
are not in their natural state : hence we may suppose the
frequent failure of crop so incident to hop-grounds.* No
other growth, cultivated by man, has such frequent and general
Failures as hops.

Two hop gardens much injured by a hail storm, (June 5,)
shew now (September 2) a prodigious crop, and larger and
fairer hops than any in the parish. The owners seem now to
be convinced that the hail, by beating off the tops of the binds,
has increased the side shoots, and improved the crop. Query,
Therefore, should not the tops of hops be pinched off whe'n
the binds are very gross and strong ?

* The various mechanical contrivances by which Nature has enabled
plants to diffuse their seeds, are matters of common observation, and that
of the violet is not the least remarkable. The seeds of this natural order
of plants are contained in a capsule of a single loculament, consisting,
however, of three valves. To the inner part of each of these three valves
the seeds are attached, and remain so for some time after the valves, in
the process of ripening, have separated and stood open. The influence
of the sun's heat, however, causes the sides of each valve to shrink and
collapse ; and, in this state, the edges press firmly upon tjie seed, which,
from being before apparently irregular in its arrangement, comes into a,
straight line. The seeds, it may be remarked, are not only extremely
smooth, polished, and shining, but regularly egg-shaped ; so that, when
pressed upon by the collapsing edge of the valve, it slides gradually down
the sloping part of the seed, and throws it, with a jerk, to a considerable
distance.

There is another beautiful contrivance in the violets, (violacece,) well
worthy our cidmiration. Before the seed is ripe, the capsule hangs in a
drooping position, with the persisting calyx spread over it, like an umbrella,
to guard it from the rain and dews, which would retard the progress of
ripening; but no sooner is the ripening completed, than the capsule
becomes upright, with the calyx for a support. This upright position
appears to be intended by Nature to give more effect to the valvular
mechanism for scattering the seeds, as it thus gains a higher elevation (in
some cases more than an inch) from which to project them ; and will give
it, according to the laws of projectiles, a very considerable increase of
horizontal extent. —Eii.

OBSERVATIONS ON VEGETABLES. 325

SEED LYING DORMANT. — The naked part of the Hanger is
HOW covered with thistles of various kinds. The seeds of these
thistles may have lain probably under the thick shade of the
beeches for many years, but could not vegetate till the sun
and air were admitted. When old beech trees are cleared
away, the naked ground in a year or two becomes covered
with strawberry plants, the seeds of which must have lain in
the ground for an age at least. One of the slidders, or trenches,
down the middle of the Hanger, close covered over with lofty
beeches near a century old, is still called strawberry-slidder,
though no strawberries have grown there in the memory of
man. That sort of fruit did once, no doubt, abound there,
and will again, when the obstruction is removed. *

* Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, Bart, well known for liis zeal for science,
made some very curious and interesting experiments, in 1817, on the
germination of seeds, which we shall give in his own words : — "A friend
of mine possesses an estate in this county, a great part of which lying
along the Moray Firth, was, at some period not very well ascertained,
but certainly not less than sixty years ago, covered with sand, which had
been blown from the westward, and overwhelmed the cultivated fields,
so that the agriculturist was forced to abandon them altogether. My
friend, soon after his purchase of the estate, began the arduous, but judi-
cious operation of trenching down the sand, and bringing to the surface
the original black mould. These operations of improvement were so
productive, as to induce the very intelligent and enterprising proprietor
to undertake, lately, a still more laborious task, viz. to trench down the
superincumbent sand, on a part of the property where it was no less than
eight feet deep.

" Conceiving this to be a favourable opportunity for trying some experi-
ments relative to the length of time which seeds preserve their power of
vegetation, even when immersed in the soil, I procured from my friend a
quantity of tlie mould, taken fresh from under the sand, and carefully
avoiding any mixture of the latter. This was instantly put into a jar,
which was stopped up close, by means of a piece of bladder tied tightly
over its mouth. Having prepared a couple of flower-pot flats, by drilling
small holes in the bottom of them, so as to admit of the ascent of water,
I filled the flats with some of the mould, and placing them in a very wide
and shallow tub, made on purpose, I covered each of them with a large
glass receiver. Each receiver, however, was provided with a brass rim,
having little brass knobs on it, so as to raise its edge from the bottom of
the tub, and leave a small opening for the admission of air. The whole
apparatus was placed in my library, of which the door and windows were
kept constantly shut.

'* This was done on the 17th of February last. It is now the 6th of
May; and, on examining the flats, I find about forty-six plants in them,
apparently of four different kinds; but, as they are yet very young, I
cannot determine their species with any degree of accuracy."

Sir Thomas has just informed us, that the seeds which germinated were
all highly oleagaceous, and the plants produced were the mouse-ear,

326 OBSERVATIONS ON VEGETABLES.

BEANS SOWN BY BIRDS. — Many horse-beans sprang up in
my field-walks in the autumn, and are now grown to a con-
siderable height. As the Ewel was in beans last summer, it is
most likely that these seeds came from thence ; but then the
distance is too considerable for them to have been conveyed
by mice. It is most probable, therefore, that they were
brought by birds, and, in particular, by jays and pies, who
seem to have hid them among the grass and moss, and then
to have forgotten where they had stowed them. Some peas
are growing also in the same situation, and probably under
the same circumstances.

CUCUMBERS SET BY BEES. — If bees, who are much the
best setters of cucumbers, do not happen to take kindly to the
frames, the best way is to tempt them by a little honey, put
on the male and female bloom. When they are once induced
to haunt the frames, they set all the fruit, and will hover with
impatience round the lights in a morning, till the glasses are
opened. Probatum est.

WHEAT. — A notion has always obtained, that, in England,
hot summers are productive of fine crops of wheat ; yet in the
years 1780 and 1781, though the heat was intense, the wheat
was much mildewed, and the crop light. Does not severe
heat, while the straw is milky, occasion its juices to exude,
which being extravasated, occasion spots, discolour the stems
and blades, and injure the health of the plants ?

TRUFFLES. — August. — A truffle-hunter called on us, having
in his pocket several large truffles found in this neighbourhood.
He says, these roots are not to be found in deep woods, but in
narrow hedge-rows and the skirts of coppices. Some truffles,
he informed us, lie two feet within the earth, and some quite
on the surface ; the latter, he added, have little or no smell, and
are not so easily discovered by the dogs as those that lie
deeper. Half-a-crown a pound was the price which he asked
for this commodity.

Truffles never abound in wet winters and springs. They
are in season, in different situations, at least nine months in the
rear. *

(mi/osotis scorpioides,) the scorpion's grass, (jaminivm purpureum, ) and
the corn spurrey, (spergula arvensis.) The earth thus experimented

upon was taken from the lands of Colbin EC.

* This singular vegetable belongs to the class of cryptogamic plants,
the tuber cibarum genus of Linnaeus : it grows entirely under ground*
having neither root, stem, nor leaf, and of a black colour, strongly
scented, of a globular shape, growing to the size of a large duck's egg,

OBSERVATIONS ON VEGETABLES. 327

TREMELLA NOSTOC. — Though the weather may have been
ever so dry and burning, yet, after two or three wet days, this
jelly-like substance abounds on the walks.

FAIRY RINGS. — The cause, occasion, call it what you will,
of fairy rings, subsists in the turf, and is convey able with it ;
for the turf of my garden-walks, brought from the down above,
abounds with those appearances, which vary their shape, and
shift situation continually, discovering themselves now in
circles, now in segments, and sometimes in irregular patches,
and spots. Wherever they obtain, puff-balls abound ; the seeds
of which were doubtless brought in the turf. *

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS.

BAROMETER. — November 22, 1768. — A remarkable fall of
the barometer all over the kingdom. At Selborne, we had no
wind, and not much rain ; only vast, swagging, rock-like clouds
appeared at a distance.

PARTIAL FROST. — The country people, who are abroad in
winter mornings long before sun-rise, talk much of hard frost
in some spots, and none in others. The reason of these par-
tial frosts is obvious, for there are at such times partial fogs
about : where the fog obtains, little or no frost appears ; but

with, a rugged surface-like work. It is held in high estimation by
epicures, being used in various dishes, stuffing of turkeys, and sometimes
it is boiled in port wine and eaten with salt, and purchased, when scarce, at
two guineas per pound weight. Truffles are produced in various parts of
the Continent, where they are searched for with swine. In England, they
are found in the southern counties growing in woods, chiefly in Sussex,
Harts, and Berks, where they are discovered by dogs, the sagacity of these
animals pointing out the places by the scent. The season for truffles
commences in September. — ED.

* The true cause of this phenomenon is not yet properly understood.
Mr Dovanston is of opinion that they are occasioned by electricity, and
that the fungi which are seen on these rings are the effect rather than
the cause, of these appearances. Mr Johnson, of Wetherby, in a paper
in the fourth volume of the Philosophical Journal, attributes them to th«
droppings of starlings, which, when in large flights, frequently alight on
the ground in circles, and sometimes are known to sit a considerable time
is these annular congregations. — ED»

328 , METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS.

where the air is clear, there it freezes hard. So the frost takes
place either on hill or in dale, wherever the air happens to be
clearest and freest from vapour.

THAW. — Thaws are sometimes surprisingly quick, consider-
ing the small quantity of rain. Does not the warmth at such
times come from below ? The cold in still, severe seasons,
seems to come down from above : for the coming over of a
cloud in severe nights raises the thermometer abroad at once
full ten degrees. The first notices of thaws often seem to
appear in vaults, cellars, &c.

If a frost happens, even when the ground is considerably
dry, as soon as a thaw takes place, the paths and fields are
all in a batter. Country people say that the frost draws mois-
ture. But the true philosophy is, that the steam and vapours
continually ascending from the earth, are bound in by the
frost, and not suffered to escape, till released by the thaw. No
wonder, then, that the surface is all in a float; since the
quantity of moisture by evaporation that arises daily from
every acre of ground is astonishing.

FROZEN SLEET. — January 20. Mr H/s man says, that he
caught this day, in a lane near Hackwood-park, many rooks,
which, attempting" to fly, fell from the trees with their wings
frozen together by the sleet, that froze as it fell. There were,
he affirms, many dozen so disabled.

MIST, CALLED LONDON SMOKE. — This is a blue mist, which
has somewhat the smell of coal smoke, and as it always comes
to us with a north-east wind, is supposed to come from London.
It has a strong smell, and is supposed to occasion blights.
When such mists appear, they are usually followed by dry
weather.*

* Fogs happen every where, caused by the upper regions of the
atmosphere being colder than the lower, by which the ascent of aqueous
vapour is checked, and kept arrested near the surface of the earth. But
fogs are more dense about London, and probably all other great cities,
than elsewhere : the reason is, because the vast quantity of fuliginous
matter floating over such places mingles with the vapour, and renders the
whole so thick, that darkness is sometimes produced at noonday, rendering
candles and gas lights necessary for the transaction of ordinary business
in the shops and public offices. Such circumstances happen frequently
during winter ; but on some occasions, (as about two o'clock P. M. on the
27th December, 1831, ) this foggy darkness is truly awful. This extraordi-
nary appearance is, however, caused by a very ordinary accident, namely,
a change of wind. The west wind carries the smoke of the city to the
westward in a long train, extending to the distance of twenty or thirty
miles, as may be seen in a clear day by any person on an eminence five
or six miles from the city, — ED.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 329

REFLECTION ON FOG. — When people walk in a deep white
tog- by night with a lanthorn, if they will turn their backs to
the light, they will see their shades impressed on the fog in
rude gigantic proportions. This phenomenon seems not to
have been attended to, but implies the great density of the
meteor at that juncture.

HONEY DEW. — June 4, 1 783. — Vast honey dews this week.
The reason of these seems to be, that, in hot days, the effluvia
of flowers are drawn up by a brisk evaporation, and then, in
the night, fall down with the dews, with which they are
entangled.

This clammy substance is very grateful to bees, who gather
it with great assiduity ; but it is injurious to the trees on which
it happens to fall, by stopping the pores of the leaves. The
greatest quantity falls in still, close weather; because winds
disperse it, and copious dews dilute it, and prevent its ill effects.
It falls mostly in hazy, warm weather. *

MORNING CLOUDS. — After a bright night and vast dews,
the sky usually becomes cloudy by eleven or twelve o'clock in
the forenoon, and clear again towards the decline of the day.
The reason seems to be, that the dew drawn up by evaporation
occasions the clouds ; which, towards evening, being no longer
rendered buoyant by the warmth of the sun, melt away, and
fall down again in dews. If clouds are watched in a still,
warm evening, they will be seen to melt away, and disappear, f

DRIPPING WEATHER AFTER DROUGHT. — No one that has
not attended to such matters, and taken down remarks, can
be aware how much ten days dripping weather will influence
the growth of grass or corn after a severe dry season. This
present summer, 1776, yielded a remarkable instance ; for, till

* Mr William Curtis has discovered honey dew to be the excrement
of the aphides ; and justly remarks, that it is not to be found on any plant
where these insects do not accompany it. These aphides bring forth
ninety young, according to the observations of Reaumur, so that, in five
generations, the produce from a single one would be five thousand nin«
hundred and four millions, nine hundred thousand. — ED.

•f* It may be useful to agriculturists to observe this small cloud, which
is rapid in its formation and dispersion. It appears in the mild weather
of spring, summer, and autumn. It is a small, delicately soft, thin, white,
curved cloud, formed upon the summit of those fine, heaped clouds,
termed comuli, which seem to tower up to a prodigious height. When
this little " storm cap " is seen, it is closely over the rounded summit,
like a white silken web. It disappears in a few seconds, and generally
reappears, and again suddenly sinks. When this happens, foul weather
is certain within twenty-four hours. — ED.

330 METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS.

the thirtieth of May, the fields were burnt up and naked, and
the barley not half out of the ground ; but now, June the tenth,
there is an agreeable prospect of plenty. *

AURORA BOREALIS. — November 1, 1787. — The north aurora
made a particular appearance, forming itself into a broad, red,
fiery belt, which extended from east to west across the welkin ;
but the moon rising at about ten o'clock, in unclouded majesty,
in the east, put an end to this grand, but awful meteorous
phenomenon, f

BLACK SPRING, 1771. — Dr Johnson says, that, " in 1771,
the season was so severe in the Island of Skye, that it is
remembered by the name of the black spring. The snow,
which seldom lies at all, covered the ground for eight weeks ;
many cattle died, and those that survived were so emaciated,
that they did not require the male at the usual season." The
case was just the same with us here in the south ; never was
so many barren cows known as in the spring following that
dreadful period. Whole dairies missed being in calf together.

At the end of March, the face of the earth was naked to a
surprising degree : wheat hardly to be seen, and no signs of
any grass ; turnips all gone, and sheep in a starving way ; all
provisions rising in price. Farmers cannot sow for want of
rain.

.. * The annual average quantity of dew deposited in this country is
estimated at a depth of about five inches, being about one-seventh of the
mean quantity of moisture supposed to be received from the atmosphere,
over all Great Britain, during the year; or about 22,161,337,355 tons,
taking the ton at two hundred and fifty-two imperial gallons. — ED.

f At what time this meteor was first observed, is not known ; none are
recorded in the English annals till the remarkahle one, which happened
on the 3()th January, 1560 ; another very brilliant one appeared in 1760.
M. Libos attributes the aurora to the decomposition of the two air*
which compose the atmosphere, oxygen and nitrogen, in the polar regions,
by an accumulation of the electric fluid there. This explanation is sup-
ported by a very accurate attention to the chemical phenomena produced
on the atmosphere by electricity, which decomposes it, and forms nitrous
gas. — ED.

SUMMARY OF THE WEATHER.

331

SUMMARY OF THE WEATHER.

Measure of Rain in Inches and Hundreds.

Year.

Jan. Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

Sep.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Total.

1782.

4.64

1.98

6.54 I 4,57

6.34

1.75

7.09

8.28

3.72 |l.93

2.51

0.91

50.26

178:3.

4.43

5.51

2.16 0.88

2.84

2.82

1.45

2.24

5.52 1.71

3.01

1.10

33.71 ,

1784

318

0.77

3.82

3.92

1.52

3.65

2.40

3.88

2.51 10.39

4.70

3.06

33.80 '

1785.

2.84

1.80

0.30

0.17

0.60

1.39

3.80

3.21

5.94

5.21

2.27

4. 2

31.55

1786.

6.91

1.42

1.62

1.81

2.40

1.20

1.99

4.34

4.79

5. 4

4.38

1787.

0.88

3.67

4.28

0.74

2.60

1.50

6.53

0.83

1.56

5. 4

4. 9

5. 6

36.24

1788.

1.60

3.37 1 1.31

0.61

0.76

1.27

3.58

3.22

5.71

0. 0

0.86

0.23

22.50

1789.
1790.

4.48 4.11
1.99 10.49

2.47
0.45

1.81
3.64

4. 5

4,38

4.i>4
0.13

3.69
3.24

0.99
2.30

2.82
0.66

5. 4

2.10

3.67
6.95

4.62
5.94

42 —
32.27

1791.

6.73 ! 4.64

1.59

1.13

1.33

0.91

5.56

1.73

1.73

6.49

8.16

4-93

44.93

1792.

6. 7

1.68

6.70

4.08

3.00

2.78

5.16

4,25

5.53

5.55

1.65

2.11

48.56

1793

3.71

2.32

3-33

3.19

1.21

1 768. Begins with a fortnight's frost and snow ; rainy during
February. Cold and wet spring ; wet season from the beginning
of June to the end of harvest. Latter end of September, foggy,
without rain. All October and the first part of November,
rainy ; and thence to the end of the year alternate rains and
frosts.

1769. January and February, frosty and rainy, with gleams
of fine weather in the intervals. To the middle of March, wind
and rain. To the end of March, dry and windy. To the middle
of April, stormy, with rain. To the end of June, fine weather,
with rain. To the beginning of August, warm, dry weather.
To the end of September, rainy, with short intervals of fine
weather. To the latter end of October, frosty mornings, with
fine days. The next fortnight, rainy ; thence to the end of
November, dry and frosty. December, windy, with rain and
intervals of frost, and the first fortnight very foggy.

1770. Frost for the first fortnight; during the 14th and
15th, all the snow melted. To the end of February, mild,
hazy weather. The whole of March, frosty, with bright weather.
April, cloudy, with rain and snow. May began with summer
showers, and ended with dark cold rains. June, rainy, chequered
with gleams of sunshine. The first fortnight in July, dark and
sultry ; the latter part of the month, heavy rain. August,
September, and the first fortnight in October, in general fine
weather, though with frequent interruptions of rain ; from the

332 SUMMARY OF THE WEATHER.

middle of October to the end of the year, almost incessant
rains.

1771. Severe frosts till the last week in January. To the
first week in February, rain and snow ; to the end of February,
spring weather. To the end of the third week in April, frosty
weather. To the end of the first fortnight in May, spring
weather, with copious showers. To the end of June, dry, warm
weather. The first fortnight in July, warm, rainy weather. To
the end of September, warm weather, but in general cloudy,
with showers. October, rainy. November, frost, with intervals
of fog and rain. December, in general bright, mild weather,
with hoar frosts.

1772. To the end of the first week in February, frost and
snow. To the end of the first fortnight in March, frost, sleet,
rain, and snow. To the middle of April, cold rains. To the
middle of May, dry weather, with cold piercing winds. To
the end of the first week in June, cool showers. To the middle
of August, hot, dry summer weather. To the end of September,
rain, with storms and thunder. To December 22, rain, with
mild weather. December 23, the first ice. 'To the end of the
month, cold, foggy weather.

1 773. The first week in January, frost ; thence to the end
of the month, dark, rainy weather. The first fortnight in
February, hard frost. To the end of the first week in March,
misty, showery weather. Bright spring days to the close of
the month. Frequent showers to the latter end of April. To
the end of June, warm showers, with intervals of sunshine.
To the end of August, dry weather, with a few days of rain.
To the end of the first fortnight in November, rainy. The next
four weeks, frost ; and thence to the end of the year, rainy.

1774. Frost and rain to the end of the first fortnight in
March : thence to the end of the month, dry weather. To the
15th of April, showers: thence to the end of April, fine spring
days. During May, showers and sunshine in about an equal
proportion. Dark, rainy weather to the end of the third week
in July : thence to the 24th of August, sultry, with thunder
and occasional showers. To the end of the third week in
November, rain, with frequent intervals of sunny weather.
To the end of December, dark, dripping fogs.

1775. To the end of the first fortnight in March, rain almost
every day. To the first week in April, cold winds, with
showers of rain and snow. To the end of June, warm, bright
weather, with frequent showers. The first fortnight in July,
almost incessant rains. To the 26th August, sultry weather,
with frequent showers. To the end of the third week in

SUMMARY OF THE WEATHER. 33*3

September, rain, with a few intervals of fine weather. To
the end of the year, rain, with intervals of hoar frost and
sunshine.

1776. To January 24, dark, frosty weather, with much
snow. March 24, to the end of the month, foggy, with hoar
frost. To the 30th of May, dark, dry, harsh weather, with
cold winds. To the end of the first fortnight in July, warm,
with much rain. To the end of the first week in August, hot
and dry, with intervals of thunder showers. To the end of
October, in general fine seasonable weather, with a considerable
proportion of rain. To the end of the year, dry, frosty
weather, with some days of hard rain.

1777. To the 10th of January, hard frost. To the 20th of
January, foggy, with frequent showers. To the 18th of
February, hard, dry frost, with snow. To the end of May,
heavy showers, with intervals of warm, dry spring days. To
the 8th July, dark, with heavy rain. To the 18th July, dry,
warm weather. To the end of July, very heavy rains. To
the 12th October, remarkably fine, warm weather. To the
end of the year, gray, mild weather, with but little rain, and
still less frost.

1778. To the 13th of January, frost, with a little snow : to
the 24th January, rain : to the 30th, hard frost. To the 23d
February, dark, harsh, foggy weather, with rain. To the end
of the month, hard frost, with snow. To the end of the
first fortnight in March, dark, harsh weather. From the
1st, to the end of the first fortnight in April, spring weather.
To the end of the month, snow and ice. To the llth of
June, cool, with \ heavy showers. To the 19th July, hot,
sultry, parching weather. To the end of the month, heavy
showers. To the end of September, dry, warm weather. To
the end of the year, wet, with considerable intervals of
sunshine.

1779. Frost and showers to the end of January. To 21st
April, warm, dry weather. To 8th May, rainy. To the 7th
June, dry and warm. To the 6th July, hot weather, with
frequent rain. To the 18th July, dry, hot weather. To
August 8, hot weather, with frequent rains. To the end of
August, fine dry harvest weather. To the end of November,
fine autumnal weather, with intervals of rain. To the end of
the year, rain, with frost and snow.

1780. To the end of January, frost. To the end of
February, dark, harsh weather, with frequent intervals of
frost. To the end of March, warm, showery, spring weather.
To the end of April, dark, harsh weather, with rain and frost,

334 SUMMARY OF THE WEATHER.

To the end of the first fortnight in May, mild, with rain. To
the end of August, rain and fair weather in pretty equal
proportions. To the end of October, fine autumnal weather,
with intervals of rain. To the 24th November, frost. To
December 16th, mild, dry, foggy weather. To the end of the
year, frost and snow.

1781. To January 25, frost and snow. T.o the end of
February, harsh and windy, with rain and snow. To April
5th, cold, drying winds. To the end of May, mild spring
weather, with a few light showers. June began with heavy
rain, but thence to the end of October, dry weather, with a
few flying showers. To the end of the year, open weather,
with frequent rains.

1 782. To February 4, open, mild weather. To February
22, hard frost. To the end of March, cold, blowing weather,
with frost, and snow, and rain. To May 7, cold, dark rains.
To the end of May, mild, with incessant rains. To the end of
June, warm and dry. To the end of August, warm, with
almost perpetual rains. The first fortnight in September,
mild and dry ; thence to the end of the mouth, rain. To the
end of October, mild, with frequent showers. November
began with hard frost, and continued throughout, with alternate
frost and thaw. The first part of December, frosty : the latter
part, mild.

1783. To January 16, rainy, with heavy winds. To the
24th, hard frost. To the end of the first fortnight in February,
blowing, with much rain. To the end of February, stormy,
dripping weather. To the 9th of May, cold, harsh winds,
(thick ice on the 5th of May.) To the end of August, hot
weather, with frequent showers. To the 23d September, mild,
with heavy driving rains. To November 12, dry, mild
weather. To the 18th December, gray, soft weather, with a
few showers. To the end of the year, hard frost.

1 784. To February 1 9, hard frost, with two thaws : one the
14th January, the other 5th February. To February 28,
mild, wet fogs. To the 3d March, frost, with ice. To March
10, sleet and snow. To April 2, snow and hard frost. To
April 27, mild weather, with much rain. To May 12, cold,
drying winds. To May 20, hot, cloudless weather. To June
27, warm, with frequent showers. To July 18, hot and dry.
To the end of August, warm, with heavy rains. To November
6, clear, mild, autumnal weather, except a few days of rain at
the latter end of September. To the end of the year, fog,
rain, and hard frost, (on December 10, the thermometer one
degree below 0.)

SUMMARY OF THE WEATHER. 335

1 785. A. thaw began on the 2d January, and rainy weather,
with wind, continued to January 28. To 15th March, very
hard frost. To 21st March, mild, with sprinkling showers.
To April 7, hard frost. To May 17, mild, windy weather,
without a drop of rain. To the end of May, cold, with a few
showers. To June 9, mild weather, with frequent soft showers.
To July 13, hot, dry weather, with a few showery intervals.
To July 22, heavy rain. To the end of September, warm,
with frequent showers. To the end of October, frequent
rain. To 18th of November, dry, mild weather. (Haymaking
finished, November 9, and the wheat harvest, November 14.)
To December 23, rain. To the end of the year, hard frost.

1786. To the 7th January, frost and snow. To January 13,
mild, with much rain. To the 21st January, deep snow. To
February 11, mild, with frequent rains. 21st February, dry,
with high winds. To 10th March, hard frost. To 13th
April, wet, with intervals of frost. To the end of April, dry,
mild weather. On the 1st and 2d May, thick ice. To 10th
May, heavy rain. To June 14, line, warm, dry weather.
From the 8th to the llth July, heavy showers. To October
1 3, warm, with frequent showers. To October 19, ice. To
October 24, mild, pleasant weather. To November 3, frost,
To December 16, rain, with a few detached days of frost. To
the end of the year, frost and snow.

1787. To January 24, dark, moist, mild weather. To
January 28, frost and snow. To February 16, mild, showery
weather. To February 28, dry, cool weather. To March 1 0,
stormy, with driving rain. To March 24, bright, frosty
weather. To the end of April, mild, with frequent rain. To
May 22, fine, bright weather. To the end of June, mostly
warm, with frequent showers, (on June 7, ice as thick as a
crown piece.) To the end of July, hot and sultry, with copious
rain. To the end of September, hot, dry weather, with occa-
sional showers. To November 23, mild, with light frosts and
rain. To the end of November, hard frost. To December
21, still and mild, with rain. To the end of the year, frost.

1788. To January 13, mild and wet. To January 18, frost.
To the end of the month, dry, windy weather. To the end
of February, frosty, with frequent showers. To March 14,
hard frost. To the end of March, dark, harsh weather, with
frequent showers. To April 4, windy, with showers. To the
end of May, bright, dry, warm weather, with a few occasional
showers. From June 28 to July 1 7, heavy rains. To August
12, hot, dry weather. To the end of September, alternate

336 SUMMARY OF THE WEATHER.

showers and sunshine. To November 22, dry, cool weather,
To the end of the year, hard frost.

1789. To January 13, hard frost. To the end of the month,
mild, with showers. To the end of February, frequent rain,
with snow showers, and heavy gales of wind. To 13th March,
hard frost, with snow. To April 1 8, heavy rain with frost, and
snow, and sleet. To the end of April, dark, cold weather,
with frequent rains. To June 9, warm spring weather, with
brisk winds, and frequent showers. From June 4, to the end
of July, warm, with much rain. To August 29, hot, dry, sultry
weather. To September 11, mild, with frequent showers.
To the end of September, fine autumnal weather, with occa-
sional showers. To November 17, heavy rain, with violent
gales of wind. To December 18, mild, dry weather, with a
few showers. To the end of the year, rain and wind.

1790. To January 16, mild, foggy weather, with occasional
rains. To January 21, frost. To January 28, dark, with
driving rains. To February 14, mild, dry weather. To
February 22, hard frost. To April 5, bright, cold weather,
with a few showers. To April 15, dark and harsh, with a
deep snow. To April 21, cold, cloudy weather, with ice. To
June 6, mild, spring weather, with much rain. From July 3
to July 14, cool, with heavy rain. To the end of July, warm,
dry weather. To August 6, cold, with wind and rain. To
August 24, fine harvest weather. To September 5, strong
gales, with driving showers. To November 26, mild autumnal
weather, with frequent showers. To December 1, hard frost
and snow. To the end of the year, rain and snow, and a few
days of frost.

1791. To the end of January, mild, with heavy rains. To
the end of February, windy, with much rain and snow. From
March to the end of June, mostly dry, especially June. March
and April, rather cold and frosty. May and June, hot. July,
rainy. Fine harvest weather, and pretty dry, to the end of
September. Wet, October, and cold towards the end. Very
wet and stormy in November. Much frost in December.

1 792. Some hard frost in January, but mostly wet and mild.
February, some hard frost, and a little snow. March, wet and
cold. April, great storms on the 13th, then some very warm
weather. May and June, cold and dry. July, wet and cold ;
indifferent harvest, rather late and wet. September, windy
and wet. October, showery and mild. November, dry and
fine. December, mild,

3

A COMPARATIVE VIEW

NATURALIST'S CALENDAR,

AS KEPT AT SELBORNE, IN HAMPSHIRE, BY THE LATE
REV. GILBERT WHITE, M. A.

AND AT CATSFIELD, NEAR BATTLE, IN SUSSEX, BY
WILLIAM MA11KWICK, ESQ. F. L. S.

FROM THE YEAR 1768, TO THE YEAR 1793.

N. B. — The dates in the following calendars, when more than one, express the earliest and thi
latest times in which the circumstance noted was observed.

Of the abbreviations used, fl. signifies flowering ; 1. leafing ; and ap. the first appearance.

Redbreast (sylvia rubecula) sings

Larks (alauda arvensis) congregate
Nuthatch (sitta europaea) heard
Winter aconite (lielleborus hiemalis) fl.
Shelless snail or slug (Umax) ap.
Gray &7 wn/>.4.nil C (mot acilla boarula) ap.
White jwa§t{ul i(motacillaalba)ap.
Missel thrush (turdus viscivorus) sings
Bearsfoot (lielleborus fcetidus) fl.
Polyanthus (primula polyantha) fl.
Double daisy (bellis perennis plena) fl.
Mezereon (daphne mezereum) fl.
Pansie (viola tricolor) fl.
Red dead-nettle (laniium purpureum) fl.
Groundsel (senecio vulgaris) fl.
Hazel (corylus avellana) fl.
Hepatica (anemone hcpatica) fl.
Hedge sparrow (sylvia modularis) sings
Common flies (nausea domestica) seen in

numbers

Greater titmouse (parus major) sings
Thrush (turdus musicus) sings
Insects swarm under sunny hedges
Primrose (primula vulgaris) fl.
Bees (apis meliifica) ap.

Gnats play about

Chaffinches, male and female, (fringilla

ccelebs) seen in equal numbers
Furze or gorse (ulex enropaeus) fl.

Y

WHITE.

MARKWICK.

Jan. 1 — 12

Jan. 3 — 31, and

again Oct. 6

Jan. 1 — 18

Oct. 16, Feb. 9

Jan. 1 — 14

March 3, April 10

Jan. 1, Feb. 18

Feb. 28, April 17

Jan. 2
'•]jan.2-ll

Jan. 16, May 31
CJan. 21, March 2(5
[.Dec. 12, Feb. 23

Jan. 2—14

Feb. 19, April 1-1

Jan. 2, Feb. 14

March 1, May 5

Jan. 2, April 12
Jan. 2, Feb. 1

Jan. 1, April 9
Mar. 17, April 29

Jan. 3, Feb. 16

Jan. 2, April 4

Jan. 3

Jan-. 1, May 10

Jan. 3 — 21

Jan. 1, April 5

Jan. 3— 15

Jan. 1, April 9

Jan. 3, Feb. 28

Jan. 21, March 11

Jan. 4, Feb. 18

Jan. 17, April 9

Jan. 5—12

Jan. 16, March 13

Jan. 5, Feb. 3

May 15

Jan. 6, Feb. 6

Feb. 17, March 17

Jan. 6 — 22

Jan. 15, April 4

Jan. 6

Jan. 6, April 7

Jan. 3, March 9.2

Jan. 6, Mar. 19

Jan. 31, April 11;
last seen Dec, oO

Jan. 6, Feb. 3

Jan. 6— 11

Dec. 2, Feb. 3

Jan. 8, Feb. 1

Jan. 1, March 21

338

NATURALIST S CALENDAR.

MARK WICK.

Wall-flower (cheiranthus cheiri j seu fru-

ticulosus of Smith) fl.

Jan. 8, April 1

Feb. 21, May 9

Stock (cheiranthus incanus) fl.
Emberiza alba (bunting) in great flocks
Linnets (fringilla linota) congregate

Jan. 8— 12
Jan. 9
Jan. 9

Feb. 1, June 3
Jan. 11

Lambs begin to fall

Jan. 9— 11

Jan. 6, Feb. 21

Rooks (corvus frugilegus) resort to their

nest trees

Jan. 10, Feb. 11

Jan. 23

Black hellebore (helleborus niger) fl.

Jan. 10

April 27

Snow-drop (galanthus nivalis) fl.

Jan. 10, Feb. 5

Jan. 18, March J

White dead-nettle (lamium album) fl.

Jan. 13

March 23, May 10

Trumpet honey-suckle, fl.

Jan. 13

Common creeping crow-foot (ranunculus

repens) fl.

Jan. 13

April 10, May 12

House-sparrow (fringilla domestica) chirps
Dandelion (leontodon taraxacum) fl.

Jan. 14
Jan. 16, Mar. 11

Feb. 17, May 9
Feb. 1, April 17

Bat (vespertilio) ap.

Jan. 16, Mar. 24

Feb. 6, June 1 ,

last seen Nov. 20

Spiders shoot their webs

Jan. 16

Butterfly, ap.

Jan. 10

Feb. 21, May 8;

last seen Dec. 22

Brambling (fringilla montifringilla) ap.
Blackbird (turdus merula) whistles

Jan. 16

Jan. 17

Jan. 10—31
Feb. 15, May 13

Wren (sylvia troglodytes) sings

Jan. 17

Feb. 7, June 12

Earth-worms lie out

Jan. 18, Feb. 8

Crocus (ci'ocus vernus) fl.

Jan. 13, Mar. 13

Jan. 20, March 19

Skylark (alauda arvensis) sings

Jan. 21

Jan. 12, Feb. 27;
sings till Nov. 13

Ivy casts its leaves

Jan. 22

Helleborus hiemalis, fl.

Jan. 22—24

Feb. 28, April 17

Common dor, or clock (scarabaeus ster-

corarius)

Jan. 23

Feb. 12, April 19;

last seen Nov. 24

Peziza acetabulum, ap.

Jan. 23

Helleborus virid, fl.

Jan. 23, Mar. 5

Hazel (corylus avellana) fl.

Jan. 23, Feb. 1

Jan. 27, March 11

Woodlark (alauda arborea) sings

Jan. 24, Feb. 21

Jan. 28, June 5

Chaffinch (fringilla coelebs) sings
Jack-daws begin to come to churches
Yellow wagtail (motacilla flava) ap.

Jan. 24, Feb. 15
Jan. 25, Mar. 4
Jan. 25, Apr. 14

Jan. 21, Feb. 26
April 13, July 3 ;

last seen Sept. 8

Honeysuckle (lonicera pericrymenum) 1.

Jan. 25

Jan. 1, April 9

Field or procumbent speedwell (veronica

agrestis) fl.

Jan. 27, Mar. 15

Feb. 12, March 29

Nettle butterfly (papilio urticae) ap.

Jan. 27, April 2

Mar. 5, April 24 ;

last seen June 6

White wagtail (motacilla alba) chirps
Shell-snail (helix nemoralis) ap.
Earth-worms engender

Jan. 28
Jan. 28, Feb. 24
Jan. 30

March 16
April 2, June 11

Barren strawberry (fragaria sterilis) fl.
Blue titmouse (parus eaeruleus) chirps

Feb. 1, Mar. 26
Feb. 1

Jan. 13, March 26
April 27

Brown wood-owls hoot

Feb. 2

Hen (phasianus gallus) sits

Feb. 3

March 8, hatches

Marsh titmouse begins his two harsh sharp

notes

Feb. 3

Gossamer floats

Feb. 4, April 1

Musca tenax, ap.

Feb. 4, April 8

Larustine (viburnum tinis) fl.

Feb. 5

Jan. 1, April 5

Butcher's broom (ruscus aculeatus) fl.
Fox (canis vulpes) smells rank

Feb. 5
Feb. 7

Jan. 1, May 10
May 19, young

brought forth

Turkey-cocks strut and gobble

Feb. 10

Yellow-hammer (emberizacitrinella) sings
Brimstone butterfly (papilio rhamni) ap.

Feb. 12
Feb. 13, April 2

Feb. 18, April 28
Feb. 13, March 8 ;

lust seen Dec. 24

NATURALISTS CALENDAR.

339

Green woodpecker (picus viridis) makes a

loud cry
Raven (cor v us cor ax) builds

Yew-tree (taxus baccata) fl.

Coltsfoot (tussilago farfara) fl.

Rooks (corvus frugilegus) build

Partridges (perdix cinerea) pair

Peas (pisum sativura) sown

House pigeon (columba domestica) has

young ones

Field crickets open their holes
Common flea (pulex irritans) ap.
Pilewort (ficaria verna) fl.
Goldfinch (fringilla carduelis) sings
Vipar (coluber Iberus) ap.

Wood-louse (oniscus asellus) ap.

Missel thrushes pair

Daffodil (narcissus pseudonarcissus) fi.

Willow (salix alba) fl.

Frogs <(rana temporaria) croak

Sweet violet (viola odorata) fl.

Phalsena tinea vestianella, ap.

Stone-curlew (otis oedicnemus) clamours

Filbert (corylus sativus) fl.

King-dove coos

Apricot-tree (prunus armeniaca) fl.

Toad (rana bufo) ap.

Frogs (rana temporaria) spawn

Ivy-leaved speedwell (veronica hcderi-

folia) fl.

Peach (amygdalus persica) fl.
Frog (rana temporaria) ap.
Shepherd's purse (thlaspi bursa pasto-

ris) fl.

Pheasant (phasianus colchicus) crows
Land tortoise comes forth
Lungwort (pulmonaria officinalis) fl.
Podura fimetaria ap.
Aranea scenica saliens, ap.
Scolopendra forficata, ap.
Wryneck ( jynx torquilla) ap.

Goose (anas anser) sits on its eggs
Duck (anas boschas) lays
Dog's violet (viola canina) fl.
Peacock butterfly (papilio io) ap.

Trouts begin to rise
Field beans (vicia faba) planted
Blood- worms appear in the water
Crow (corvus corone) builds

Oats (avena sativa) sown
Golden crowned wren (sylvia regulus)
sings

WHITE.

MARKWICK.

Asp (populus tremula) fl.
Common elder (sambucus nigra) 1.
Laurel (prunus laurocerasus) fl.
Chrysoinela Gotting, ap.
Black ants (formica nigra) ap.

Feb. 13, Mar. 23 Jan. 1, April 17

Feb. 14 — 17 Ap. 1, has young

ones June I

Feb. 14, Mar. 27 Feb. 2, April 11

Feb. 15, Mar. 23 Feb. 18, April 13

Feb. 16', Mar. 6 Feb. 28, March 5

Feb. 17 Feb. 16, March 20

Feb. 17, Mar. 8 'Feb. 8, March 31

Feb. 18

Feb. 8

Feb. 20, Mar. 30

Feb. 21 —2(5

Feb. 21, April 13

Jan. 25, March 26

Feb. 21, April 5

Feb. 28, May 5

Feb. 22, Mar. 26

Feb. 23, May 6;

last seen Oct 28

Feb. 23, April 1

April 27, June 17

Feb. 24

Feb. 24, April 7
Feb. 24, April 2

Feb. 26, April 18
Feb. 27, April 11

Feb. 25
Feb. 26, Mar. 31

March 9, April 20
Feb. 7, April 5

Feb. 26

Feb. a7, A p. 24

June 17

Feb. 27

Jan. 25, March 26

Feb. 27, April 5
Feb.

March 2, Aug. 10
Feb. 28, April 5

Feb. 28, Mar. 24
Feb. 28, Mar. 22

March 15, July I
Feb. 9, April 10;

tadpoles Mar. 19

Mar. 1, April 2

Feb. 16, April 10

Mar. 2, April 17

Mar, 4, April 29

Mar. 2, April 6

March 9

March 3

Jan. 2, April lf>

March 3—29

March 1, May 22

March 4, May 8

Mar. 4, April 16

March 2, May 19

March 4

March 4

March 5— 16

Mar. 5, April 25
March 5

Mar. 26, April 23;
last seen Sept 1 4
March 21

March 5

.March 28

Mar. 6, April 18
March 6

Feb. 28, April 22 ;
Feb. 13, April 20 ;

last seen Dec. 25

March 7— 14

March 8

Apr. 29, emerge

March 8

March 10

July 1, has young

ones

March 10—18

Mar. 16, April 13

Mar. 12, April 30 April 15, May 2? ;
seen Dec. 23,
Jan. 26

March 12 Feb. 26, March 23

March 13 — 20 Jan. 24, April 22
Mar. 15, May 21 April 2, May 27
March 15
Mar. 15, April 22 March 2, May 18

340

NATURALIST S CALENDAR.

Ephemeraebisetae ap.

WHITE.

March 16

MARKWICK.

Gooseberry (ribes grossularia) 1.

Mar. 17, A p. 11

Feb. 26, April 9

Common stitchwort (stellaria holostea) fl.
Wood anemone (anemone nemorosu) n.
Blackbird (turd us merula) lays

Mar. 17, May 19
Mar. 17, Ap. 22
March 17

March 8, May 7
Feb. 27, April 10
April 14, young

ones May 19

Raven (corvus corax) sits

March 17

April 1, builds

Wheatear (sylvia oenanthe) ap.

March 18— 30

Mar. 13, May 23 ;

last seen Oct. 26

Musk wood crowfoot (adoxa moschatel-

lina) fl.

Mar. 18, A p. 13

Feb. 23, April 28

Willow wren (sylvia trochilus) ap.

Mar. 19, A p. 13

Mar. 30, May 16 ;

sits May *7 ; last

seen Oct. 23

Fumaria bulbosa, fl.

March 19

Elm (ulmus campestris) fl.
Turkey (meleagris gallopavo) lays

Mar. 19, April 4
Mar. 19, April 7

Feb. 17, April 25
Mar. 18—25, sits

April 4, young

ones April 30

House pigeons (columba domestica) sit

March 20

March 20, young

hatched

Marsh marigold (caltha palustris) fl.
Buzz-fly (bombyhus medius) ap.
Sand marten (hirundo riparia) ap.

Mar. 20, Ap. 14
Mar. 21, A p. 28
Mar. 21, Ap. 12

March 22, May 8
March 15, Ap. 30
April 8, May 16;

last seen Sept. 8

Snake (coluber natrix) ap.

Mar. 22 — 30

Mar. 3, April 29;

last seen Oct. 2

Horse ant (formica herculeana) ap.

Mar. 22, Ap. 18

Feb. 4, March 26;

last seen Nov. 12

Greenfinch (loxia chloris) sings
Ivy (hedera helix) berries ripe
Periwinkle (vinca minor) fl.

Mar. 22, Ap. 22
Mar. 23, Ap. 14
March 25

March 6, April 26
Feb. 16, May 19
Feb. 6, May 7

Spurge laurel (daphne laureola) fl.
Swallow (hirundo rustica) ap.

Mar. 25, April 1
Mar. 26, A p. 20

April 12—22
April 7—27; last

seen Nov. 16

Black-cap (sylvia atricapilla) heard

Mar. 26, May 4

April 14, May 18;

been April 14,

May 20 ; last

seen Sept. 19

Young ducks hatched

March 27

April 6, May 16

Golden saxifrage (chrysosplenium opposi-
tifolium) fl.

Mar. 27, A p. 9

Feb. 7, March 27

Marten (hirundo urbica) ap.

Mar. 28, May 1

April 14 May 8;

last seen Dec. 8

Double hyacinth (hyacinthus orientalis) fl.
Youn-g geese (anas anser)
Wood sorrel (oxalis acetosella) fl.
Ringousel (turdus torquatus) seen

Mar. 29, Ap. 22
March 29
Mar. SO, Ap. 22
Mar. 30, A p. 17

Mar. 13, April 24
Mar. 29, April 19
Feb. 26, April 26
October 11

Barley (hordeum sativum) sown
Nightingale (sylvia luscinia) sings

Mar. 31, A p. 30
April 1, May 1

April 12, May 20
April 5, July 4;

last seen Aug. 29

Ash (fraxinus excelsior) fl.

April 1, May 4

March 16, May 8

Spiders' webs on the surface of the ground
Chequered daffodil (fritillaria meleagris) fl.

April 1
April 2 — 24

April 15, May 1

Julus terrestris, ap.

April 2

Cowslip (primula veris) fl.
Ground-ivy (glecoma hederacea) fl.

Aprils— 24
Aprils— 15

March 3, May 17
Mar. 2, April 16

Snipe pipes

Aprils

Box-tree (buxus semperviren?) fl.
Elm (ulmus campestris) 1.

April 3
Aprils

March 27, May 8
April 2, May 19

Gooseberry (ribes grossularia) fl.
Currant (ribes hortense) fl.
Pear-tree (pyrus communis) fl.

Aprils— 14
Aprils— 5
April 3, May 29

March 21, May 1
Mar. 24, April 28
Mar. 30, April 30

Lacerta vulgaris (newt, or eft) ap.

April 4

Feb. 17, April 15 j

last seen Oct. 9

NATURALIST S CALENDAR.

341

WHITE.

Dog's mercury (mercurialis pereunis) fl. April 5 — 19
Wych elm (ulmus glabra seu montana of

Smith) fl. April 5

Ladysmock (cardamine pratensis) fl. April 6 — 20

Cuckoo (euculus canorus) heard April 7 — 26

Black-thorn (prunus spinosa) fl. April 7, May 10

Death-watch (termes pulsatorius) beats April 7

Gudgeon spawns April 7

Red-start (sylvia phsenicurus) ap. April 8 — 28

Crown imperial (fritillaria imperialis) fl. April 8 — 24

Tit-lark (aluuda pratensis) sings April 9 — 19

Beech (fagus sylvatica) 1. April 10, May 8
Shell-snail (helix neuioralis) comes out in

troops April 11, May 9

Middle yellow wren, ap. April 11

Swift (hirundo apus) ap. April 13, May 7

Stinging-fly (conops calcitrans) ap. April 14, May 17

Whitlow grass (draba verna) fl. April 14

Larch-tree (pinus larix rubra) 1. April 14

Whitethroat (sylvia cinerea) ap. April 14, May 14

Red ant (formica rubra) ap. April 14

Mole cricket (gryllus gryllotalpa) churs April 14

Second willow, or laughing wren ap. Ap. 14 — 19 — 23

Red rattle (pedicularis sylvatica) fl. April 15 — 19

Common flesh-fly (musca c.irnaria) ap. April 15

Lady cow (coccinella bipunctata) ap. April 16

Grasshopper-lark (alaudalocustae voce) ap. April 16 — 30

Willow wren, its shivering note heard April 17, May 7
Middle willow wren (regulus non cristatus

medius) ap.

Wild cherry (prunus cerasus) fl.
Garden cherry (prunus cerasus) fl.
Plum (prunus domestica) fl.
Hare-bell (hyacinthus non scriptus seu

scilla nutans of Smith) fl. April 19 — 25

Turtle (columba turtur) coos April 20— 27

Hawthorn (crataegus seu mespilus oxy-

cantha of Smith) fl. A p. 20, June 11

Male fool's orchis (orchis mascula) fl. April 21

Blue flesh fly (musca vomitoria) ap. Ap. 21, May 23

Black snail, or slug (limax ater) abounds April 22

Apple-tree (pyrus mains sativus) fl. • Ap. 22, May 25

Large bat, ap. Ap. 22, June 11
Strawberry, wild wood (fragaria vesca

sylvia) fl. April 23— 29

Sauce alone (erysimum alliaria) fl. April 23

Wild or bird cherry (prunus avium) fl. April 24

Apis hypnorum, ap. April 24

Musca meridiana, ap. Ap. 24, May 28

Wolf-fly (asilus) ap. April 25

Cabbage butterfly (papilio brassicie) ap. Ap. 28, May 20

Dragon-fly (libellula) ap. Ap. 30, May 21

Sycamore (acer pseudoplatanus) fl. Ap. 30, June 6

Boinbylius minor, ap. May 1

Glow-worm (lampyris nocliluca) shines May 1, June 11
Fern-owl, or goatsucker (capriinulgus

europaeus) ap. May 1 — 26

MARKWICK.

Jan 20, April 16

April 19, May 10
Feb. 21, April 26
April 15, May 3 ;
1 ast heard June 28
March 16, May 8
March 28, May 28

April 5, sings Apr.

25 ; last seen

Sept. 30

April 1, May 13
April 14— 29, site

June 16, 17
April 24, May 25

May 17, June 11 ap.
April 28, May 19

Jan. 15, March 24
April 1, May 9
April 14, May 5,
sings May 3—10,
last seen Sept. 23
April 9, June 26

April 10, June 4

April 28, May 14

April 17 — 27

A p. 18, May 12 March 30, May 10

Ap. 18, May 1 1 March 25, May 6

April 18, May 5 March 24, May 6

March 27, May 8
May 14, Aug. 10,
seen

April 19, May 26
March 29, May 13

Feb. 1, Oct. 24, ap.
April 11, May 26

April 8, 9
March 31, May 8
March 30, May 10

April 29, June 15
April 18, May 13,
last seen Nov. 10
April 20, June 4

June 19, Sept. 28
May 16, Sept. M

342

NATURALIST S CALENDAR.

Common bugle (ajuga reptans) fl.

Field crickets (gryllus carnpestris) crink

Chaffer, or May-bug (scarabaeus melolon
tha) ap.

Honeysuckle (lonicera periclymenum) fl.

Toothwort (lathraea squamana) fl.

Shell-snails copulate

Sedge warbler (sylvia salicaria) sings

Mealy tree (viburnum lantana) fl.

Fly-catcher (stoparola, muscicapa gris. ) ap.

Apis longicornis, ap.

Sedge warbler (sylvia salicaria) ap.

Oak (quercus robur) fl.

Admiral butterfly (papilio atalanta) ap.

Orange-tip (papilio cardamines) ap.

Beech (fagus sylvatica) fl.

Common maple (acer campestre) fl.

Barberry-tree (berberis vulgaris) fl.

Wood argus butterfly (papilio segeria) ap.

Orange lily (lilium bulbiferum) fl.

Burnet moth (sphinx filipendulae) ap.

Walnut (juglans regia) 1.

Laburnum (cytisus laburnum) fl.

Forest fly fhippobosca equina) ap.

Saintfoin (hedysarum onobrychis) fl.

Peony (paeonia officinalis) fl.

Horse chestnut (aesculus hippocastanum) fl.

Lilac (syringa vulgaris) fl.

Columbine (aquilegia vulgaris) fl.

Medlar (mespilus germanica) fi.

Tormentil (tormentilla erecta seu officina-
lis of Smith) fl.

Lily of the valley (convallaria majalis) fl.

Bees (apis mellifica) swarm

Woodroof (asperula odorata) fl.

Wasp, female (vespa vulgaris) ap.

Mountain ash (sorbus seu pyrus auouparia

of Smith) fl.

Birds-nest orchis (ophrys nidus avis) fl.
White-beam tree (crataegus seu pyrus aria

of Smith) 1.

Milkwort (polygala vulgaris) fl.
Dwarf cistus (cistus helianthemum) fl.
Gelder rose (viburnum opulus) fl.
Common elder (sambucus nigra) fl.
Cantharis noctiluca, ap.
Apis longicornis bores holes in walks
Mulberry-tree (morus nigra) 1.
Wild service tree (crataegus seu pyrus

torminalis of Smith) fl.
Sanicle (sanicula europaea) fl.
Avens (geum urbanum) fl.
Female fool's orchis (orchis morip) fl.
Ragged Robin (lychnis flos cuculi) fl.
Burnet (poterium sanguisorba) fl.
Foxglove (digitalis purpurea) fl.
Corn-flag (gladiolus cotnmunis) fl.
Serapias longifolium fl.
Raspberry (rubus idaeus) fl.
Herb Robert (geranium Robertianum) fl.
Figwort (scrophularia nodoso) fl.
Gromwell (lithosperrnum officinale) fl.
Wood spurge (euphorbia amygdaloides) ft.
Ramsons (allium ursinum) fl.

WHITE.

May 1
May 2— 24

May 2—26
May 3 — 30
May 4— 12
May 4, June 17
May 4
May 5 — 17
May 10—30
May 10, June 9
May 11 — 13
May 13 — 15
May 13
May 14
May 15—26
May 16
May 17—26
May 17

May 18, June 11
May 18, June 13
May 18

May 18, June 5
May 18, June 9
May 19, June 8
May 20, June 15
May 21, June 9
May 21
May 21— 27
May 21, June 20

May 21
May 22

May 22, July 22
May 22 — 25
May 23

MARK WICK.

March 27, May 10

May 2, July 7
April 24, June 21

May 23, June 8
May 24, June 11

June 2—30
April 25, May 22
April 29, May 21

Aug. 2

April 29, June 4

March 30, May 19
April 23, May 28
April 24, May 27
April 28, June 4

June 14, July 22
May 24, June 26
April 10, June 1
May 1, June 23

May 21, July 28
April 18, May 26
April 19, June 7
April 15, May 30
May 6, June 13
April 8, June 19

April 17, June 11
April 27, June 13
May 12, June 23
April 14, June 4
April 2, June 4 ;
last seen Nov. 2

April 20, June 8
May 18, June 12

May 24, June 4

May 24, June 7

May 25

May 26

May 26, June 25

May 26

May 27, June 9

May 27, June 13 May 20, June 11

May3

April 13, June 2
May 4, Aug. 8
May 10, June 8
May 6, June 17

May 27

May 27, June 13

May 28

May 28

May 29, June 1

May 29

May 30, June 22

May 30, June 20

May 30, June 13

May 30, June 21

May 30

May 31

May 31

June 1

June 1

May 13, June 19
April 23, June 4
May 9, June 11
April 17, May 20
May 12, June 8
April 30, Aug. 7
May 23, June 15
June 9, July 8 .

May 10, June 16
March 7, May 16
May 12, June 20
May 10—24
March 23, May 13
April 21, June 4

Mouse-ear scorpion grass (myosotis scor-

pioides) fl.
Grasshopper (gryllus grossus) ap.

Rose (rosa hortensis) fl.

Mouse-ear hawkweed (hieracium pilo-

sella) fl.

Buckbean (menyanthes trifoliata) fl.
Rose chaffer (scarabaeus auratus) ap.
Sheep (ovis aries) shorn
Water-flag (iris pseudo-acorus) fl.
Cultivated rye (secale cereale) fl.
Hounds tongue (cynoglossum officinale) fl.
Helleborine (serapias latifolia) fl.

Green-gold fly (musca caesar) ap.
Argus butterfly (papilio moera) ap.
Spearwort (ranunculus flammula) fl.
Birdsfoot trefoil (lotus corniculatus) fl.
Fraxinella or white ditany (dictamnus

albus) fl.

Phryganea nigra, ap.
Angler's May-fly (ephemera vulgaris) ap.
Ladies' finger (anthyllis vulneraria) fl.
Bee-orchis (ophrys apifera) fl.
Pink (dianthus deltoides) fl.
Mock orange (philadelphus coronarius) fl.
Libellula Virgo, ap.
Vine (vitis vmifera) fl.
Portugal laurel (prunus lusitanicus) fl.
Purple-spotted martagon (lilium marta-

gon) fl.

Meadow cranes-bill (geranium pratense) fl.
Black bryony (tamus communis) fl.
Field pea (pisum sativum arvense) fl.
Bladder . campion (cucubalus behen seu

silene inflata of Smith) fl.
Bryony (bryonia alba) fl.
Hedge-nettle (stachys sylvatica) fl.
Bittersweet (solanum dulcamara) fl.
Walnut (juglans regia) fl.
Phallus impudicus, ap.
Rosebay willow-herb (epilobium angusti-

folium) tt.

Wheat (triticum hybernum) fl.
Camfrey (syinphytum officinale) fl.
Yellow pimpernel (lysimachian emorum) fl.
Tremella nostoc, ap.
Buckthorn (rhamnus catharticus) 1.
Cuckow-spit insect (cicada spumaria) ap.
Dog-rose (rosa canina) fl.
Puff-ball (lycoperdon bovista) ap.
Mullein (verbascum thapsus) fl.
Viper's bugloss (echium anglicum seu

vulgare of Smith) fl.
Meadow hay cut
Stag beetle (lucanus cervus) ap.
Borage (borago officinalis) fl.
Spindle-tree (evonymus europaeus) 11.
Musk thistle (carduus nutans) fl.
Dogwood (cornus sanguinea) fl.
Field scabious (scabiosa arvensis) fl.
Marsh thistle (carduus palustris) fl.
Dropwort (spirae filipendula) fl.
Great wild valerian (valerianaofficinalis) fl.
Quail (perdix coturnix) calls

CALENDAR.

343

WHITE.

MARKWICK.

June 1

April 11, June 1

June 1 — 14

March 25, July 6,

last seen Nov. 3

June 1—21

June 7, July 1

June 1, July 1C

April 19, June 12

June 1
June 2 — 8

April 20, June 8
April 18, Aug. 4

June 2—23

May 23, June 17

June 2
June 2

May 8, June 9
May 27

June 2

May 11, June 7

June 2, Aug. 6

July 22, Sept, 6

June 2

June 2

June 3

April 25, June 13

June3

April 10, June 3

JuneS— 11

June 9, July 24

JuneS

June 3— 14

June 4

June 1, Aug. 16

June 4, July 4

JuneS— 19
June 5

May 26, July 6
May 16, June 23

JuneS— 20

June 7, July 30
June 8, July 1

June 18, Jnl v 29
June 3, July" 16

June 8—25

June 18, July 19

June 8, Aug. 1

June 8

May 15, June 21

June 9

May 15, June 21

June 9

May 4, July 13

June 9
June 10
June 11
June 12
June 12, July 23

May 13, Aug. 17
May 28, June 24
May 15, June 20
April 18, June 1

June 12 June 4, July 28

June 13, July 22 June 4—30

June 13 May 4, June 23

June 13— 30 April 10, June 12
June 15, Aug. 24

June 16 May 25

June 16 June 2— 21

June 17, 18 May 24, June 21

June 17, Sept. 3 May 6, Aug. 15)

June 18 June 10, July 22

June 19

June 19, July 20
June 19
June 20
June 20

June 20, July 4
June 21
June 21
June 21 — 27
June 22, July 9
June 22, July 7
June 22, July 4

May 27, July 3
June 13, July 1
June 14—21
April 22, July 26
May 11, June 25
June 4, July 25
May 28, J une *7
June 16, Aug. 14
May 15, June 19
May 8, Sept. 3
May 22, July 21
July 23, seen Sent
li-18

344

NATURALIST S CALENDAR.

Mountain willow-herb (epilobium monta-

num) fl.

Tliistle upon thistle (carduus crispus) fl.
Cow-parsnep (heracleum sphondylium) fl.
Earth-nut (bunium bulboeastauum ecu

flexuosum of Smith) fl.
Young frogs migrate
Oestrus curvicauda ap.
Vervain (verbena officinalis) fl.
Corn poppy (papaver rhoeas) fl.
Self-heal (prunella vulgaris) fl.
Agrimony (agrimouia eupatoria) fl.
Great horse-fly (tabanus bovinus) ap.
Greater knapweed (centaurea scabiosa) fl.
Mushroom (agaricus campestris) ap.
Common mallow (malva sylvestris) fl.
Dwarf mallow (malva rotundifolia) fl.
St John's wort (bypericum perforatum) fl.
Broom-rape (orobanche major) fl.
Henbane (hyoscyamus niger) fl.
Goats-beard (tragopogon pratense) fl.
Deadly nightshade (atropa belladonna) fl.
Truffles begin to be found
Young partridges fly
Lime-tree (tilia europea) fl.
Spear thistle (carduus lanceolatus) fl.
Meadow sweet (spiraea ulmaria) fl.
Greenweed (genista tinctoria) fl.
Wild thyme (thymus serpyllum) fl.
Stachys germanic, fl.
Day-lily (hemerocallis flava) fl.
Jasmine (jasminum oflicinale) fl.
Holly-oak (alcea rosea) fl.
Monotropa hypopithys, fl.
Ladies' bedstraw (galium varum) fl.
Galium palustre, fl.
Nipplewort (lapsana communie) fl.
Welted tbistle (carduus acanthoides) 11.
Sneezewort (achillea ptarmica) fl.
Musk mallow (malva moschata) fl
Pimpernel fanagallis arvensis) fl.
Hoary beetle (scarabseus solsit) ap.
Corn saw-wort (serratula arvensis seu

carduus arvensis of Smith) fl,
Pheasant's eye (adonis annua seu aututn-

nalis of Smith) fl.
Redeyebright(euphrasiaseu bartsia odon-

iites of Smith) fl.
Thorough wax (bupleurum rotundifol.) fl.

Cockle (agrostemma githago) fl.
vy-leaved wil
lis) fl.

.
Ivy-leaved wild lettuce (pjrenanthes mura-

.
Feverfew (matricaria seu pyrethrum par-

tbenium of Smith) fl.
Wall pepper (sedum acre) fl.
Privet (ligustrum vulgare) fl.
Common toadflax (antirrhinum linaria) fl.
Perennial wild flax (linum perenne) fl.
Wbortleberries ripe (vaccinium ulig.)
Yellow base rocket (reseda lutea) fl.
Blue-bottle (centaurea cyanus) fl.
Dwarf carline thistle (carduus acaulis) fl.
Bull-rush, or cats-tail (typha latifolia) fl.
Spiked willow-herb (lythrurn salicaria) fl.
Black mullein (verbascnm niger) fl,

June 22
June 23—29
June 23

June 23

June 23, Aug. 2

June 24

June 24

June 24

June 24

June 24— 29

June 24, Aug. 2

June 25

June 26, Aug. 30

June 26

June 26

June 26

June 27, July 4

June 27

June 27

June 27

June 28, July 29

June 28, July 31

June 28, July 31

June 28, July 12

June 28

June 28

June 28

June 29, July 20

June 29, July 4

June 29, July 30

June 29, Aug. 4

June 29, July 23

June 29

June 29

June 29

June 29

June 30

June 30

June 30

June 30, July 17

Julyl
July 1

July 2
July 2
July 2

JulyS

July 2
July 3
JulyS
July 3

July 4
July 4 — 24
July 5
July 5
JulyS — 12
July 6
July 0
July 6

MARKW1CK.

June 5 — 21
May 22, July 22
May 27, July 12

May 4— 31

June 10, July 17
April 30, July 15
June 7 — 23
June 7, July 9

June 7, Aug. 14
April 16, Aug. 16
May 27, July 13
May 12, July 30
June 15, July 12
May 9, July 25
May 13, June 19
June 5—14
May 22, Aug. 14

July 8 — 28
June 12, July 30
June 27, July 18
June 16, July 24
June 4, July 24
June 6, July 19

May 29, June 9
June 27. July 21
July 4, Sept. 7

June 22, Aug. 3
May 30, July 24

June 22, Aug. 3
June 9, July 14
May 4, June 22

June 15, July 15
April 11, July 15
June_20, Aug. 10
May 14, July 25
June^2, July 25

June 19, July 24
June 8, July 12
JuneS, July 13
June 21, Aug. 3
April 21, July 6

July 19

May 15, Oct. 14
June 30, Aug. 4
June 29, July 21
June 24, Aiig. 17

NATURALIST S CALENDAR.

345

WHITE.

Chrysanthemum coronarium, fl. July 6

Marigolds (calendula officinalis) fl. July 6—9

.Little field madder (sherardia arvensis) fl. July 7
Culamint (melissa seu thymus calamiutha

of Smith) fl. July 7

lilack horehound (ballota nigra) fl. July 7

Wood betony (betonica officinalis) fl. July 8'— 19

Round-leaved bell-flower (campanula ro-

tundifolia) fl. July 8

All-good (chenopodium bonus henricus) fl. July 8
Wild-carrot (daucus carota) fl. July 8

Indian cress (epopaeolum majus) fl. July 8—20

Cat-mint (nepeta cataria) fl. July 9

Cow-wheat fmelampyrum sylvaticum seu

pratense or Smith) fl. July 9

Cross\yort (valantia cruciata seu galium

cruciatum of Smith) fl. July 9

Cranberries ripe July 9 — 27

Tufted vetch (yicia cracca) fl. July 10

Wood vetch (vicia sylvatica) fl. July 10

Little throat-wort (campanula glume.

rata) fl. July 11

Sheep's scabious (jasione montana) fl. July 11

Pastinaca sylvatica, fl. July 12

White lily (lilium candidum) fl. July 12

Hemlock (conium maculatum) ft. July 13

Caucalis anthriscus, fl. July 13

Flying ants, ap. July 13— Aug. 11

Moneywort (lysimachia nummnlaria) fl. July 13
Scarlet martagon (lilium chalcedonieum) fl. July 14 — Aug. 4
Lesser stitch wort (stellaria graminea) fl. July 14
Fool's parsley (aethusa cynapium ) fl. July 14

Dwarf elder (sambucus ebulus) fl. July 14 — 29

July 14, Aug. 29

July 14

July 15

July 15 — 25

July 15

July 15

July 16

July 16

July 17, Aug. 14

July 17

July 17, Aug. 21

July 17

MARK WICK.
May 28, July 28
April 20, July 1G
Jan. 11, Juue 6

July 21

June 16, Sept/ 12

June 10, July 15

June 12, July 29
April 21, June 15
June 7, July 14
June 11, July 2a

May 2, June 22
April 10, May 28
May 31, July 8

July 28, Aug. 18
June 10, July 25

June 21, July 22
June 4, July 20

Aug. 20, Sept. 19
June 14, Aug. 16
June 21, Aug. 6
May 8, June 23
June 9, Aug. 9

Aug. 12, Sept. 8
June 3, July 12

June 22, July 13
July 7, Aug. 29
July 16, Aug. 16
June 12, July 18
July 13, Aug. 15

July 5, Aug. 16
June 12, July 14

Swallows and martens congregate
Potato (solanum tuberosum) fl.
Angelica sylvestris, fl.
Digitalis ferruginqsus, fl.
Ragwort (senecio jacobaea) fl.
Golden rod (solidego virgaurea) fl.
Star thistle (centaurea calcitrapa) fl.
Tree primrose (oenothera biennis) fl.
Peas (pisum sativum) cut
Galega officinalis, fl.
Apricots (prunus armeniaca) ripe
Clown's allheal (stachys palustris) fl.
Branching willow-herb (epilobium ramo-

sum) fl. July 17

Rye harvest begins July 17, Aug. 7

Yellow centaury (chlora perfoliata) fl. July 18, Aug. 15 June 15, Aug. 13

Yellow vetchling (lathyrus aphaca) fl. July 18

Enchanter's nightshade (circaea luteti-

ana) fl. July 18 June 20, July 27

Water hemp agrimony (eupatorium can-

nabinum) fl. July 18 July 4, Aug. 6

Giant throatwort (campanula trache-

lium) fl. July 19 July 13, Aug. 14

Eyebright (euphrasia officinalis) fl. July 19 May 28, July 19

Hops (humulus lupulus) fl. July 19, Aug. 10 July 20, Aug. 17

Poultry moult July 19

Dodder (cuscuta europsea seu epithymum

of Smith) fl. July 20 July 9, Aug. 7

Lesser centaury (gentiana seu chiroiiia

•centarium of Smith) fl. July 20 June 3, July 19

Creeping water parsnep (shim nodiflorum) fl. July 20 July 10, Sept, 11

Common spurroy (spergula arvensis) fl. July 21 ' April 10, July l(i

Z

346

NATURALIST S CALENDAR.

Wild clover (trifolium pratense) fl.

Buckwheat (polygonum fagopyrum) fl.

Wheat harvest begins

Great bur-reed (spargam'um erectum) fl.

Marsh St John's-wort (hypericum elodes) fl.

Sun-dew (drosera rotundifolia) fl.

Marsh cinquefoil (comarum palustre) fl.

Wild cherries ripe

Lancashire asphodel (anthericum ossi-
fragum) fl.

Hooded willow-herb (scutellaria galeri-
culata) fl.

Water dropwort (ceiianthe fistulosa) fl,

Horehound (marrubium vulgare) fl.

Seseli carnifolia, fl

Water plantain (alisma plantago) fl.

Alopecurus myosuroides, fl.

Virgin's bower (clematis vitalba) fl.

Bees kill the drones

Teasel (dipsacus sylvestris) fl.

Wild marjoram (origanum vulgare) fl.

Swifts (hirundo apus) begin to depart

Small wild teasel (dipsacus pilosus) fl.

Wood sage (teucrium scorodonia) fl.

Everlasting pea (lathyrus latifolius) fl.

Trailing St John's-wort (hypericum humi-
fusum) fl.

White hellebore (veratrurn album) fl.

Camomile (anthemis nobilis) fl.

Lesser field scabious (scabiosa colum-
baria) fl.

Sun-flower (helianthus multiflorus) fl.

Yellow loosestrife (lysimachia vulgaris) fl.

Swift (hirundo apus) last seen

Oats (avena sativa) cut

Barley (hordeum sativum) cut

Lesser hooded willow-herb (scutellaria
minor) fl.

Middle fleabane (inula dysenterica) fl.

Apis manicata ap.

Swallow-tailed butterfly (papilio ma-
chaon) ap.

Whame or burrel-fly (oestrus bovis) lays

eggs on horses

Sow thistle (sonchus arvensis) fl.
Plantain fritillary (papilio cinxia) ap.
Yellow succory (picris hieracioides) fl.
Musca mystacea, ap.

Canterbury bells (campanula medium) fl.
Mentha longifolia, fl.
Carline thistle (carlina vulgaris) fl.
Venetian sumach (rhus cotinus) fl.
Ptinus pectinicornis, ap.
Burdock (arctium lappa) fl.
Fell-wort (gentiana amarella) fl.
Wormwood (artemisia absinthium) fl.
Mugwort (artemisia vulgaris) fl.
St Barnaby 's thistle (centaurea solstitialis)fl.
Meadow saftron (colchicum autumnale) fl.
Michaelmas daisy (aster tradescanti) fl.
Meadow rue (thalictrum flavum) fl.
Sea holly (eryngium maritimum) fl.
China aster (aster chinensis) fl.
Boletus albus, ap.

WHITE.

July 21

July 21

July 21, Aug. 23

July 22

July 22-

July 22

July 22

July 22

31

MARKWICJC.
May 2, June 7
June 27, July 10
July 11, Aug. 26
June 10, July 23
June 16, Aug- 10
Aug. 1
May 27, July 12

July 22

June 21, July 29

July 23

June 2, July 31

July 23

July 23

July 24

July 24

May 31, July 21

July 25

July 25, Aug. 9

July 13, Aug. 14

July 25

July 26

July 16, Aug. 3

July 26
July 27— 29

July 17, Aug. 29
Aug. 5

July 28, 29

July 28

June 17, July 24

July 28

June 20, July 30

July 29
July 30

May 20, June 22
July 18- 22

July 30

June 21, Aug. 20

July 30

July 13, Aug. 9

July 31, Aug. 6

July 4, Aug. 22

July 31
JulvSl, Aug. 27
Aug. 1 — 16

Julv 2, Aug. 7
Aug. 11
July 26, Aug. 19

Aug. 1-26

July 27, Sept 4

Aug. 1

Aug. 8, Sept. 7

Aug. 2

July 7, Aug. 3

Aug. 2

Aug. 2

April 20, June 7,
last seen Aug. 26

Aug. 3—19
Aug. 3
Aug. 3
Aug. 4

Aug. 5

Aug. 5

Aug. 7

Aug. 7

Aug. 7

Aug. 8

Aug. 8, Sept. 3

Aug. 8

Aug. 8

Aug. 10

Aug. 10, Sept. 13

Aug. 12, Sept 27

Aug. 14

Aug. 14

Aug. 14, Sept 28

Aug. 14

June 17, July 21
June 6— 25
June 5, Aug. 11

July 21, Aug. 18
June 5, July 20

June 17, Aug. 4

July 22, Aug. 21
July 9, Aug. 10

Aug. 15, Sept 29
Aug. 11, Oct. 8

Aug. 6. Oct. 2
May 10

NATURALIST S CALENDAR.

347

Less Venus looking1. glass (campanula
hybrida) it.

Carthamus tinctor, fl.

Goldfinch (fringilla carduelis) young-
broods ap.

Lapwing-s (tringa vanellus) congregate

Black-eyed marble butterfly (papilio
semele) ap.

Birds reasume their spring notes

Devil's bit (scabiosa succisa) fl.

Thistle down floats

Ploughman's spikenard (conyza squar-
rosa) fl.

Autumnal dandelion (leontodon autum-
nale) fl.

Flies abound in windows

Linnets (fringilla linpta) congregate

Bulls make their shrill autumnal noise

Aster amellus, fl.

Balsam (impatiens balsamina) fl.

Milk thistle (carduus marianus) fl.

Hop-picking begins

Beech (fagus sylvatica) turns yellow

Soapwort (saponaria officinalis) fl.

Ladies' traces (ophrys spiralis) fl.

Small golden black-spotted butterfly (papi-
lio phlaeas) ap.

Swallow (hirundo rustica) sings

Althaea frutex (hibiscus syriacus) fl.

Great fritillary (papilio paphia) ap.

Willow red under-wing moth (phalaena
pacta) ap.

Stone curlew (otis oedicnemus) clamours

Phalaena russula, ap.

Grapes ripen

Wood owls hoot

Saffron butterfly (papilio hyale) ap.

Ringousel appears on its autumnal visit

Flycatcher (rauscicapa grisola) last seen

Beans (vicia faba) cut

Ivy (hedera helix) fl.

Stares congregate

Wild honeysuckles fl. a second time

Woodlark sings

Woodcock (scolopax rusticola) returns

Strawberry-tree (arbutus unedo) fl.

Wheat sown

Swallows last seen. (N.B. The house

marten the latest)
Redwing- (turdus iliacus) comes

Fieldfare (turdus pilaris) returns

Gossamer fills the air

Chinese holly-oak (alcea rosea) fl.

Hen chaffinches congregate

Wood pigeons come

Royston crow (corvus cornix) returns

Snipe (scolopax gallinago) returns

MARKWICK.

Aug. 15
Aug. 15

May 14

Aug. 15 June 15

Aug. 15, Sept. 12 Sept 25, Feb. 4

Aug. 15
Aug. 16
Aug. 17
Aug. 17, Sept. 10

Aug. 18

Aug. 18

Aug. 18

Aug. 18, Nov. 1

Aug. 20

Aug. 22

Aug. 23

Aug. 24

Aug. 24, Sept. 17

Aug. 24, Sept. 22

Aug. 25

Aug. 27, Sept. 12

June 22, Aug. 23

July 25

Aug. 22, Nov. 8

May 22, July 26
April 21, July 18
Sept. 1 — 15
Sept. 5 — 29
July 19, Aug. 23
Aug. 18, Sept 18

Aug. 29

Aug. 29 April 11, Anig. 20

Aug. 30, Sept 2 July 20, Sept. 28
Aug. 30

Aug. 31

Sept. 1, Nov. 7

June 17

Sept. 1

Sept. 4, Oct. 24

Aug. 31, Nov. 4

Sept 4, Nov. 9

Sept 4

Aug. 5, Sept 26

Sept. 4—30

Sept 6—29

Sept 4—30

Sept. 11 '

Aug. 9, Oct. 14

Sept. 12,' Oct. 2

Sept. 18, Oct. 28

Sept 12, Nov. 1

June 4, March 21

Sept. 25

Sept. 28, Oct. 24

Sept. 29, Nov. 11

Oct. 1, Nov. 1;

young ones Ap.28j

last seen A p. 11

Oct. 1

May 21, Dec. 10

Oct. 3, Nov. 9

Sept. 23, Oct. 19

Oct. 4, Nov. 5

Nov. 16

Oct. 10, Nov. 10

Oct. 1, Dec. 18;

sings Feb. 10,

March 21; last
seen April 13

Oct. 12, Nov. 23

Oct. 13, Nov. 18 ;

last seen May 1

Oct. 15 — 27

Oct. 19

July 7, Aug. 21

Oct. 20, Dec. 31

Oct. 23, Dec. 27

Oct. 23, Nov. 29
Oct. 25, Nov. 20

Oct. 13, Nov. 17,
last seen April 15
Sept. 29, Nov. 11 ;

last seen A prill 4

348

NATURALIST S CALENDAR*

Tortoise begins to bury himself

Rooks (corvus frugilegus) return to their

nest trees
Bucks grunt

Primrose (primula vulgaris) fl.
Green whistling plover, ap.
Helvella mitra, ap.
Greenfinches flock
Hepatica, fl.

Furze (ulex europaeus) fl.
Polyanthus (primula ponyantha) fl.
Young lambs dropped
Moles work in throwing up hillocks
Helleborus foetidus, fl.
Daisy (bellis perennis) fl.
Wall-flower (cheiranthus cheiri seu fruti-

culosus of Smith) fl,
Mezeroon, fl.
Snowdrop, fl.

WHITE.

MARKWICH.

Oct. 27, Nov. 26

Oct. 31, Dec. 25

June 29, Oct. ?O

Nov. 1

Nov. 10

Oct. 7, Dec. 30

Nov. 13, 14

Nov. 16

Nov. 27

Nov. 30, Dec, 29

Feb. 19

Dec. 4-- 21

Dec. 16—31

Dec. 7—16

Dec. 31

Dec. 11—27

Dec. 12, Feb. 21

Dec. 12—23

Dec. 14—30

Dec. 15

Dec. 26—31

Dec. 15

Nor. &

Dec. 15

Dec. 29

IN 8ESB VEBTITUR ANNUS.

INDEX.

ADDERS, with two heads, 201.

Affection of birds, 127.

Air, dryness of, in Italy, 264.

Anne, Queen, came to Wolmer
Forest to see the red deer, 14.

Anomaly in the law of Nature, 130.

Antenna, supposed organs of hear-
ing in insects, 214.

Ants, particulars respecting, 317.

Aphides, great shower of them in
August, 317.

April, 1770, the remarkable incle-
mency of the weather, 91.

Aquatic salamander, its age before
it procreates, 46.

Arctic dogs do not bark, 261.

Arum, the cuckoo-plant eaten in
hard weather by the thrush, 37.

Ascent of sap, theory of, 322.

Ash-tree, a ruptured one, what, 194.

August the most mute month re-
specting the singing of birds, 164.

Aurora Borealis, 330.

Ayles Holt, alias Alice Holt, the
forest of, 20.

Barometer, remarkable fall of, 2d

November, 1768, 329.
Barometers, Selborne and Newton

compared, 265 ; South Lambeth,

366.
Barragon, a genteel corded stuff,

where manufactured, 12.
Bat, a tame one, 28 ; drink on the

wing, 28 ; seen in frost, 28 ; great,

or noctula, 77 and 119.
Bats, number of species in Britain,

27 ; gregarious, 120.
Bats, a curious sense in, 120.
Beans sown by birds, 325.
Bee-eater, 108«

Bee, wild, account of, 312.

Beech trees, loveliest of the forest,
1 ; love to grow in crowded situa-
tions, 322.

Beetles buzz, at the time that par-
tridges call, 306.

Bin's Pondj for what remarkable, 1 7.

Birch wine, 195.

Birds, common, that have no Eng-
lish name, 23 ; influenced in colour
by food, 37 ; summer, of passage,
a list of, 40 — 64 ; winter, of
passage, a, list of, 66 ; that con-
tinue in full song till after mid-
summer, 69 ; why fatten in mode-
rate frosts, 86 ; living ones shewn
here, when from distant regions,
why usually of the thickbilled
genera, 95 ; are pulveratrices, 97 ;
seen spring and autumn at Gib-
raltar, 102 ; what occasions their
congregating, 122 ; number of
British species, 167; during nidi-
fication tame, 6 and 175; soft-
billed that winter with us, how
supported, 176 ; flight of, 221 ;
language of, 223 ; that fly by
night obliged to be noisy, 225 ;
general observations on, 285 ;
seen at seia on a passage to South
America, 287 ; of prey, their
boldness and rapacity, 295.

Blackbird, which crew like a cock,
70.

Black-cap, an elegant songster, 166.

Black-game seen at Selborne, 13;
in what counties of England they
are now met with, 1 4.

Black-thorn usually blossoms while
cold winds blow, 323.

Black spring, 1771, account of, 330.

350 INDEX.

Blow-flies, destructive and prolific,
113.

Bohemian chatterer, 29.

Bonibylius medius, account of, 316.

Botany of Selborne, 218.

Boy, an idiot, his strange propensi-
ties, 190.

Brimstone Lodge, account of, 17.

Brooks at Selborne, fishes they pro-
duce, 26.

Broad-leaved elm, planted ones,
their growth, 4.

Bug, harvest, account of, 113.

Bullfinch, turns black, 37 ; remarks
on its song,72 ; female, a songster,
72.

Bunting, very rare at Selborne, 33.

Bustard, 103.

Butcher-bird, red-backed, 50.

Butter's account of female birds as-
suming the male plumage, 96, 293.

Buzzards, honey, account of, 243.

Canary bird, query respecting, 30.

Cane, a Suffolk name for the weasel,
36.

Caprimutgus, or fern-owl, 57, 120 ;
superstitions concerning, 343.

Castration, its strange effects, 201.

Carp, called river fox, why, 165;
lives to a great age, 166.

Cats catch fish, 88 ; suckle young
squirrels, 284.

Cockatrice accounted for, 94.

Congregation of birds, 122.

Cowthorpe oak, largest in Britain, 5.

Chaffinches, vast flocks of hens, 32
and 104.

Chalk-hills, why peculiarly beauti-
ful, 145.

Charadrius himantopus, 238.

Chestnut timber, very like oak, 323.

Chiff-chaff, or willow-wren, 150
and 299.

Chinese dog and bitch, 261 ; Arctic
dog, 261.

Cimex linearis, 310.

Climate of Britain, supposed change
of, accounted for, 196.

Clouds, morning, occasion of, 329.

Cobwebs, shower of, 180.
Coccus vitis viniferce, a curious in-
sect, 249.

Cock-chaffers, particulars relative
to, 307.

Cockroach, monography of, 308.

Cock of the woods, reintroduced
lately into Scotland, 14.

Coins, copper found at Selborne, 19.

Cornua ammonis, where found, 7.

Cricket, field, monography of, 232 ;
hearth cricket, 235 ; mole mono-
graphy of, 237 ; more particulars
concerning, 309.

Crossbills, 14, 26, 147 ; different
species, 98.

Crocus, spring and saffron, same
species bloom at different seasons,
220.

Craterina hirundines, 134.

Cuckoo, incubation of, 80, 81, and
86 ; seen skimming over a pond,
98; a young one in a titlark's
nest, 98 ; sing on different keys,
116; eggs, size of, 186; food of,
199 ; sing at night, 224.

Cucumbers set by bees, 326.

Cumberland, William, Duke of,
removes r^d-deer from Wolmer
Forest, 14.

Cunnemara, in Ireland, rare plants
found in, 178.

Cypress tree of immense size, 5.

Daws breed in unlikely places, and

why, 53.
Deer, red, formerly in Wolmer

Forest, 14; fallow in Holt Forest,

20 ; breathing spiracula of, 35 ;

stealing, 15.

j Dew, honey, remarks on, 329.
Dispersion of birds, pretty equal,

216 ; of the seeds of plants, 324.
I Diving birds, how their wings and

feet are placed, 297.
Dipper, European, a song bird, 99.
I Ducks betake themselves to water

at night, 290 ; ducks, foreign,

roost on trees, 290.

'

Eagle and vulture tribe, their geo-
graphical range, 109 ; eagle

drowned by a pike, 136.
Earthquakes, 280.
Echo, general remarks on, 212 ; a

polysyllabical one, 213; why since

INDEX. 351

mute, 215; echoes, a charming
description of, from Lucretius,
215 ; curious effect of, occasioned
by the discharge of a swivel-gun,
265.

Eels, the propagation of, 42, 163.

Edible frog, Mr Don asserts, is
found in Forfarshire, 45.

Eggs of insects, can bear much cold,
272; eggs of insects, 314; which
contain male insects before the
females hatched, 308.

Electricity, animals charged with,
proved, 276.

Elm, wych, great size of a trans-
planted one, 4. v

Elms, planted ones, their growth, 4.

Empedes, or tipulce, swarms of, 306.

Erica Mediterranea discovered in
Cunnemara, Ireland, 178.

European dipper, or water-ousel,
an elegant songster, 99.

Fairy rings, occasion of, 327.

Falcon, peregrine, of, 260.

Familiarity of redbreasts and wrens
during snow storms, 176.

Female birds when old frequently
assume the male plumage, 96.

Fieldfares, do not breed in England
nor Highlands of Scotland, 74;
anecdote of, 74 ; food of, 104 ;
roost on the ground, 83.

Fishes, gold and silver, 251.

Flies, many species retire to houses
in the fall of the year, 316.

Flight of birds, 92, 22] ; of ear-
wigs described, 306.

Fly, bacon, injurious to the house-
wife, 113; whame, or burrel,
oestrus curvicauda, 115, 315;
May, swarms of, in June, 1771,
31 1 ; nose, very tormenting to
horses, 313 ; ichneumon, destruc-
tive to spiders, 313.

Fly-catcher, some account of, 166."

Fogs, 198 ; reflection in, a singular
phenomenon, 328.

Food and climate, their influence on
animals, 37.

Fossil wood, luminous appearance
of, in bogs, 12.

Fountain tree, account of, 1 95.

Freestone analagous to chalk, 2.

Frogs, metamorphosis of, 46; dif-
ferent showers of, 44.

Frost, that of January, 1768, descri-
bed, 266 ; of January, 1776, 270;
December, 1784, 274; partial,
cause of, 327 ; gentle, fattens
animals, &c. 86 ; dependent on
wet, 266 ; curious phenomenon
of, described, 275.

Galls of Lombardy poplar, 322.

Gassendus, curious passage quoted
from, 258.

German silk-tail, garrulus bohemi-
CMS, shot, 29 ; flocks of, 29 ; boar»
turned out in Wolmer, 21.

Gipsies, some particulars about, 185.

Glowworm, account of, 318.

Golden oriole, oriolus galbulay an
occasional visitant, 109.

Goose, singular presentiment in
one, 184.

Gossamer, wonderful shower of, 180.

Goatsucker, 59 ; use of its serrated
claw, 121.

Golden crested wren, 42.

Greatham, the manor of, its privi-
leges in Wolroer Forest, 16.

Grasshopper-lark, 39.

Grosbeak, account of, 305.

Hail storm at Selborne in the sum-
mer of 1784, 281 ; calamities from
in France, 281.

Hanger, Selborne, 1.

Harvest mouse, 34 ; bug, 113.

Harmony of design in the works of
creation, 143.

Hampden, John, disinterment of, at
Hampton, 205.

Hare, the alpine, or white, 75.

Hawfinch, account of, 26.

Hawkley-hanger, the fall of, 230.

Hawk-sparrow, the dread of the
housewives, 243 : blue, or hen-
harrier, boldness of, when urged
by hunger, 295.

Haze, or smoky fog, the peculiar
one which prevailed in summer,
1783,270.

Hearing in insects, organs of, 214.

Heath-fires, why lighted up, 16.

352 • INDEX.

Hedgehogs feed on flesh, 82 ; anec-
dote of, 83 ; cannot contract when

young, S3.

Heliastron, or solar compass, 227.
Heliotropes, summer and winter,

how to make them, 227.
Hellebores, order of blowing, 219.
Hen, bold during incubation, 127 ;

with cock plumage, 291.
Heronry, an account of, 57.
Highlands of Scotland, their south-
ern boundary, 179.
Hind, her courage in defence of her

young, 16.
Hirundines, British, arrival in three

distant counties, 174.
Hogs would live, if suffered to a very

great age, 202; very prolific, 203.
Honey buzzard, 243 ; dew, 329.
Hoopoes seen at Selborne, 25 and

109 ; (upupa eops. )
Hops, soil suited to, 3 ; observation

on, 323.
Horns, stags', longer informer times,

21 ; room containing many at

Lord Pembroke's, 95.
Hornets' nests, how made, 312.
Horse and hen, curious instance of

affection between, 184.
Horse hairs, in water, supposed to

produce eels, 163.
Hounds, royal, do not draw coverts

with address, and why, 285.
House-cricket, 235.
Howe, General, turns out wild boars

in Holt Forest, 21.
Humming in the air, 307.
H uxham,Doctor, his account of rain

at Plymouth, 264.

Jackdaws, 148.
Jar-bird, what, 40.

Incongruous associations, 184, 203.
Incubation, its effects in taming

birds, 6, 175.

Indoor nest of a thrush, 288.
Insects, organs of hearing in, 21 4.

in general, 306.
Instinct, sometimes varies, 256 ;

mistakes in, 257. ;
Ireland worthy the attention of a

naturalist, 178; once inhabited
by the elk, 84.
Ivy-berries, do not freeze, 323.

Lakes, American, diminution of,

accounted for, 197.
Lanes, hollow, rocky, 10.
Land-rails, insectivorous, 294; birds

of passage, and appear ill qualified

'for migration, 293.
Language of birds, 233 ; of fowls,

225.
Lapwing, account of a domesticated

one, 183; gregarious, 123.
Larks, white, 36; grasshopper,

curious account of, S9.
Larch, does not thrive on sand-
stone, 3.

Leeches, reproduction of, 320.
Leper, miserable one at Selborne,

208.
Leprosy, less common than of old,

from change of food, 208.
Leveret suckled by a cat, 203.
Linnets, congregate and chirp, 32.
Loaches from Ambresbury, 48.
Lobster caterpillar, 314.
Long-legged plover, 240.
Loon, or speckled diver, 296.
Losel's Wood, its taper oaks, 5 ;

ravenstree, 5.

Malm, what sort of soil, 3.
Male insects hatched first, 308.
Magpies, cream-coloured ones, 37;

voracious habits of, 175.
March, two wonderful hot days in

1777, and effects of that heat, 206.
Mare, instance of singular sagacity

relating to, 284.
Marcley hill, removal of, 229.
Marten, house, seen very late, 53 ;

monography of, 139 ; builds her

nest only in the morning, 140 ;

peculiar situation of a nest, 143 ;

sand or bank, monography of,

157, 302 ; additional observations

on, 247, 253.
May-fly, 62 ; great swarms of in

1771, 311.
Mezzotinto, who supposed to have

been inventor of, 20.

INDEX. 353

Migration, actual, 60 ; ;ifc Gibraltar,
ocular demonstration of, 110;
Audubon's remarks on, 254.

Missel-thrush, the largest singing-
bird, 73 ; pugnacious, 175.

Mist, called London smoke, usually
followed by dry weather, 328.

Moisture of climate, influenced by
trees, 196.

Mole- cricket, 237.

Moose- deer, female, size of, 84.

Mount Rusfi, fall of, 231.

Mouse, harvest, 24, 29, 34.

Museum, countryman's, 25.

Music, of birds, on what it depends,
78; its powerful effect on some
minds, 258.

Mytilus crista-galli, a curious fossil
shell, 7.

Naturalist's summer evening walk,

62.

Naturalist's Calendar, 337.
Nests of Nicobar swallow, eaten in

India and China, 158; their

great price, ib.
Newt, water, or eft, 45-49.
Nightingale, its geographical range

in Britain, 111.
Norehill, 2.
Northern birds, seen in the south

of England, 50.
Notes of birds, whether innate or

acquired, 89.
Noxious insects, 115.
Nuthatch, peculiarity of its bill,

41.

Oak, picturesque beauty of, 1 ;
Temple and Blackmore, 3 ; Shire,
5 ; Cowthorpe, 5 ; large one
planted in the Plestor, 4 ; the
great one in the Holt, 321 ; size
and growth of, 320.

Oiling feathers, how performed by
birds, 170.

Oriole, golden, 109.

Osprey, mode of taking its prey,
135.

Otter, where one killed, 90.

Owl, brown, tame one, 27 ; feed
on fish, 89; hoot on different
keys, 1 16 ; several particulars con-

cerning, ib. ; live without water,

133.
Owls, white, young difficult to

breed up, 27 ; do hoot, 131.
Owls, burrowing, 52.

Page, John, devoured by maggots,

114.

Pairing of birds, 89.
Partridges, solicitude for their

brood, 291.
Passenger pigeon, its rapidity of

flight, 93.
Passeres, order of, contains all the

singing birds, 72.

Peacocks, their train not a tail, 16.
Peacock-hens, when aged, assume

the male plumage, 116.
Pettychaps, rare at Selborne, 259.
Petrifaction, three states of, 7.
Phalcena quercus, destructive to

oaks, 310.
Pheasant, hybrid, described, 291 ;

hen, sometimes assumes the male

plumage, 116.
Pheasants, cause of their cowering

and squatting, 295.
Pigeons, drink like quadrupeds, 165.
Plants, catalogue of the more rare

in Selborne, 218.
Plestor, account of, 5.
Plover, the stilt, a curious bird, and

rare in Britain, 240.
Ponds on elevations, why seldom

dry, 197.
Poultry, endowed with discernment

to turn things to their own

advantage, 289.
Predatory birds, can long sustain

want of food, 133.
Prints of animals' feet on sand-
stone, 8.

Ptarmigan, on its change of plu-
mage, 76.

Ptinus pectinicornis, 308.
Puffins breed in holes on the flat

ground, 53.

Quadrupeds, observations on, 283.
Queen's Bank, why so called, 1 4.

Rabbits make the finest turf, 283.
Rain, mean of, not to be ascertained
at any place for many years, 11 ;

354 INDEX.

what has fallen at Selborne of late
years, 1 1 ; prodigious fall of, at
Joyeuse, 58 ; average quantity in
different parts of Britain, 107;
compared with that of Plymouth,
264.

Raven-tree, 6.

Raven's nest, 6.

Rat, whether two kinds of, 24 ;
water, a curious anecdote con-
cerning one, 77.

Ray, Mr, why a superior writer,
118.

Red-backed butcher-bird, 50.

Red-breast, remarkable proof of love
of offspring, 128; why supposed
to sing in autumn only. 165.

Redstart, moves its tail horizontally,
164 ; its singularities, 166.

Redwing, first bird that suffers by
frost ; its nest found in Harris,
106.

Reptiles, number of British, 47.

Return of birds, 90.

Ringousel, 30, 51, 54, 61, 67, 158;
breed in Dartmoor Park, Derby,
95.

Ringdove, familiarity during incu-
bation, 175; food of, 294.

Rooks, perfectly white, 36 ; quick-
ness in detecting the resort of
grubs, 122 ; strong attachment to
places, 148 ; language of, 264 ;
are continually fighting, 287;
have their wings frozen by sleet,
328.

Root weevil, 113.

Royston crow, 112.

Ruperta, whose daughter and wife
she was, 20.

Rupert, Prince, a great mechanic,
in what he excelled, 20.

Rushes instead of candles, 188;
ropes of, 188.

Rutland, county of, what rain fell
there, 107.

Salicaria, 61, 68.

Sand-martens, 158; American iden-
tical with European, 162; seen
before any of its congeners, 302.

Scallops, or pectines, where found, 8.

Scopoli, account of his works, 97.

Scotland, in what its maps are
defective, 179.

Sedge-bird, 68, 138; a delicate
polyglot, 79 ; variety of its notes,
139.

Seeds lying dormant, 325.

Selborne parish, its situation and
abutments, 1 ; village, how circum-
stanced, 2 ; the manor of, abounds
with game, 10 ; parish of, of vast
extent, 1 1 ; population, ib. ; quan-
tity of rain at, ib.

Serpent kind eat periodically, 46.

Sexes, of birds and beasts, when
they separate, 104.

Shade, its effects in neutralizing
terrestrial radiation, 267.

Shells, fossil, found at great depths
under ground, 8.

Sheep, Sussex breeds, 145 ; varieties
of, 146 ; observations on, 283.

Short-winged birds, on their mi-
gration, 33.

Showers of frogs, various, 44.

Singing birds, 69, 73.

Skunk, or stinking weasel, 68.

Slugs, very injurious to young
wheat, 318.

Snails, remarks on, 318.

Snakes, on their time of eating, 46 ;
take the water, 47 ; stink se
defendendo, 68; curious parti-
culars concerning, 319.

Snipes, their piping and humming
during incubation, 41.

Snowfleck, seen at Selborne, 75.

Sociality in the brute creation, 183.

Soft-billed birds, where resident in
winter, 66.

Solar compass, or heliastron, 227.

Song of birds, 78.

Sow, great fecundity of, 203.

Sparrow and canary, anecdote of,
164; pulls straws out of stacks,
177.

Spells used against the effects of
withcraft, 192.

Sphynx ocellata, account of, 311.

Squirrels, three young ones suckled
by a cat, 284.

Starlings, immense congregations
of, 123.

INDEX. 355

Stencil of the skunk, its effects on
a female, 68.

Sticklebacks, very pugnacious, 26.

Stock-dove, bird or passage ; often
confounded with the ring-dove,
distinctions, 244 ; and with rock-
dove, 112.

Stone-curlew, 38,- 52, 102; addi-
tional particulars regarding, 298.

Srogy f\ of animals, several instances

ot; 127.

Submersion of swallows, reasons
against its probability, 30.

Summary of the weather, 331.

Summer and winter clothing of
animals, 75, 76.

Summer-birds noticed by Mr Hoy
in Suffolk in 1830, 91.

Summers 1781 and 1783, unusually
sultry, 277.

Superstitions, 192.

Swallow, seen at sea by C. L. Bona-
parte, 23 ; anecdote of, 88 ; mi-
grates in all countries, 107 ; on
the wanton destruction of, 133 ;
louse, 134; monography of, 149,
259; Sir H. Davy's remarks
on, 149; migrations, 150; cliff,
changing their habits, ib.; attach-
ment to places, 152 ; intrepidity
of, 153; paternal solicitude, 155;
edible nests of, 157 ; congregating
and disappearance of, 303.

Sweden produces '>21 birds, 167.

Swift, or black marten, latest time
seen in England, 23; swift and
large bat feed in the same high
region of air, 77 ; young com-
pletely fledged before taking wing,
127 ; monography of, 167 ; velo-
city of, on the wing, 169 ; same
number seems to return to the
same place, 216.

Sycamore tree forms a beautiful ap-
pearance, 322.

Sympiesometer, description of, 266.

Table, immense one at Dudley

Castle, 6.

Teal, where bred, 130.
Tender plants, in what aspect to be

placed, 267.

Tench make a croaking sound, 244.

Thaws, remarkably quick ones, 269,
328.

Thrush, missel, very fierce and pug-
nacious, 1 75 ; very serviceable m
gardens, 288; frequently builds
its nest near houses, ib.

Timber, large felling of, in Holt
Forest, 21.

Titmice, mode of life and food, 177.

Toads, manner of procreating, 43 ;
tame, 55 ; living for ages in stone,
Dr Buckland's experiments on,
ib.

Tortoise, a family one, 100, 124,
147, 240, 242; attacked by rats,
125 ; eaten in Hungary, 241.

Totanus hypoleucus, 50.

Trees, fossil, how discovered, 12;
generate moisture, 195 ; why
perfect alembics, ib. ; order of
losing their leaves, 320 ; size and
growth of, 320 ; flowing of sap,
321 ; renovation of leaves, 322.

Tremella nostoc, remark concern-
ing, 327.

Truffles, observations on, 326.

Turtle-doves migratory, 40.

Vitrified forts, probable origin of, 9.

Vine, disease of, 249.

Viper, blind -worm, and snake, 46 ;

pregnant one, 200.
Virginian horn-owl, its dismal cry,

anecdote concerning, 132.

Wagtails, are gregarious, 83;
smallest birds that walk, 66;
British species of, 137; run
round cows feeding on moist
pasture, 304.

Wagtails, their incubation inter-
rupted by a cuckoo, 81; their
migrations, 137.

Waldon-lodge, what, and by whom
kept, 17.

Waltham Blacks, much infested
Wolmer Forest, and by their
enormities occasioned the Black
Act, 14, 15.

Warner, his account of the arrival
of wootl cocks, 105.

356 INDEX.

Wasps, wonderful provision in na-
ture for restricting their increase,
278 ; observations on, 312.

Water, hardness of, the cause, 3.

Weasel, anecdote of, 163.

Weather, dripping after drought,
influence of, 329 ; summary of
from 1768 to 1792, 331.

Well-head, a fine perennial spring, 2.

Well, depth of at Selborne, 3 ; curi-
ous particulars respecting making
wells at Modena, 197.

Wheat, mistaken notion concern-
ing, 326.

Wheatear, account of, 43, 147 ;
Sussex bird so called, 174.

Whip-poor-will, of the Americans,
what, 59.

White lusus natures of different
species, 36.

White-throat, particulars of, 166.

Wild pigeons, three different kinds
in Britain, 246.

Willow-wrens, three kinds, 38;
lark, 49.

Winchester, Hoadley, bishop of, his
humane objection to the restock-
ing Waltham Chase with deer, 15.

Winter-cut timber, its superiority
over that cut in summer, 21 ,

Wolmer, Forest of, 20 ; how abutted,
9 ; has abounded with fossil trees,
12 ; haunt of many kinds of wild

i fowl, 12 ; once well stocked with
black game, ib. ; with red-deer,
13; pond, its measurement, fowls,
&c. 19.

Woodcocks, food of, 80 ; Scopoli's
assertion about, 96 ; hen with
eggs before she leaves England,
104; nest, 106; sluggish and
sleepy at times, 110; extensive
physical distribution of, 118.

Wood, fossil, where found, 263.

Worms, earth, no inconsiderable
link in the chain of nature, 205,
318; Reaumur's conjecture re-
specting their numbers, 205 ;
worm of corruption, ib. ; glow,
put out their lamp between eleven
and twelve, 318 ; males attracted
by light, come into parlours, ib.

Wren, strong instance of maternal
solicitude of, 129.

Wrens, willow, three species, 49 ;
smallest uncrested, the second of
early summer birds, 299.

Wrens and martens, contest be-
twixt, 128.

Wryneck, walks a little, 305.

Yellow-hammer, sings later in the
year than any other bird, 85.

Yeoman-prickers, their agility as
horsemen, 14.

EDINBURGH:
Printed by ANDREW SHORTREDE, Thistle Lane-

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