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diff --git a/old/1408-0.txt b/old/1408-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 303fe83..0000000 --- a/old/1408-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10567 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Natural History of Selborne, by Gilbert White - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Natural History of Selborne - -Author: Gilbert White - -Release Date: July, 1998 [eBook #1408] -[Most recently updated: October 24, 2021] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Tokuya Matsumoto - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE *** - - - - -The Natural History of Selborne - -by Gilbert White - - - - -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 ornaments supplied ?— -Unpleasing, tasteless, impotent expense, -Compared with Nature’s rude magnificenee. - -Arise, my stranger, to these wild scenes haste; -The unfinish’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, -Emerging gently from the leafy dell, -By fancy plann’d; as once th’ inventive maid -Met the hoar sage amid the secret shade: -Romantic spot ! from whence in prospect lies -Whate’er 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 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 and priest -Pour’d forth their minions 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. -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 belong -Where round the blooming village orchards grow; -There, like a picture, lies my 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 beech 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. -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’ enliven’d 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. - -_Nov_. 1, 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’ levell’d sun opposed: -Lovely refraction ! while 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, -“Maker omnipotent, and thou the bow; -“And by that covenant graciously hast sworn -“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. - - - - -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 -Gossamer floats, or, stretch’d from blade to blade, -The wavy net-work 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 woodlark 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 globe, 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 NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE - - -In a series of letters addressed to -THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ. -and -The Hon. DAINES BARRINGTON - - - - -ADVERTISEMENT - - -The Author of the following Letters takes the liberty, with all proper -deference, of laying before the public his idea of parochial history, -which, he thinks, ought to consist of natural productions and -occurrences as well as antiquities. He is also of opinion that if -stationary men would pay some attention to the districts on which they -reside, and would publish their thoughts respecting the objects that -surround them, from such materials might be drawn the most complete -county-histories, which are still wanting in several parts of this -kingdom, and in particular in the county of Southampton. - -And here he seizes the first opportunity, though a late one, of -returning his most grateful acknowledgments to the reverend the -President and the reverend and worthy the Fellows of Magdalen College -in the University of Oxford, for their liberal behaviour in permitting -their archives to be searched by a member of their own society, so far -as the evidences therein contained might respect the parish and priory -of Selborne. To that gentleman also, and his assistant, whose labours -and attention could only be equalled by the very kind manner in which -they were bestowed, many and great obligations are also due. - -Of the authenticity of the documents above-mentioned there can be no -doubt, since they consist of the identical deeds and records that were -removed to the College from the Priory at the time of its dissolution; -and, being carefully copied on the spot, may be depended on as genuine; -and, never having been made public before, may gratify the curiosity of -the antiquary, as well as establish the credit of the history. - -If the writer should at all appear to have induced any of his readers -to pay a more ready attention to the wonders of the Creation, too -frequently overlooked as common occurrences; or if he should by any -means, through his researches, have lent an helping hand towards the -enlargement of the boundaries of historical and topographical -knowledge; or if he should have thrown some small light upon ancient -customs and manners, and especially on those that were monastic, his -purpose will be fully answered. But if he should not have been -successful in any of these his intentions, yet there remains this -consolation behind—that these his pursuits, by keeping the body and -mind employed, have, under Providence, contributed to much health and -cheerfulness of spirits, even to old age:—and, what still adds to his -happiness, have led him to the knowledge of a circle of gentlemen whose -intelligent communications, as they have afforded him much pleasing -information, so, could he flatter himself with a continuation of them, -would they ever be deemed a matter of singular satisfaction and -improvement. - -GIL. WHITE. - - -Selborne, -January 1st, 1788. - - - - -THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE - - -LETTERS to THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ. - - - - -Letter I - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -The 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 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, wood-lands, heath, and water. -The prospect is bounded to the south-east and east by the vast range of -mountains called the Susses-downs, by Guild-down near Guildford, and by -the Downs round Dorking, 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 wood 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 Well-head.* This breaks out of some high grounds -joining to Core Hill, a noble chalk promontory, remarkable for sending -forth two streams into two different seas. The one to the south becomes -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 Tilford-bridge, 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. - -* This spring produced, September 14, 1781, after a severe hot summer, -and a preceding dry spring and winter, nine 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-four hours, or one natural day. At this time many of the wells -failed, and all the ponds in the vales were dry. - - -Our wells, at an average, run 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.* - -* This soil produces good wheat and clover. - - -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 estimation 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. 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. - - - - -Letter II - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -In the court of Norton-farmhouse, a manor farm to the north-west of the -village, on the white maims, 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 1703, equal to a moderate tree, yet, when felled, -contained eight loads of timber; and, being too bulky for a carriage, -was sawn off at seven feet above the butt, where it measured near eight -feet in the diameter. This elm I mention to show to what a bulk planted -elms may attain; as this tree must certainly have been such from its -situation. - -In the centre of the village, and near the church, is a square piece of -ground surrounded by houses, and vulgarly called the Plestor. In the -midst of this spot stood, in old times, a vast oak, with a short 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 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 -show to what a bulk planted oaks also may arrive: and planted this tree -must certainly have been, as will appear from what will be said farther -concerning this area, when we enter on the antiquities of Selborne. - -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 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 apiece. - -In the centre of this grove there stood an oak, which, though shapely -and tall on the whole, bulged out into a large excrescence 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 butt, 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. - - - - -Letter III - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -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 long, the cardo -passing for an head and mouth. It is in reality a bivalve of the -Linnaean genus of Mytilus, and the species of Crista Galli; called by -Lister, Rastellum; by Rumphius, Ostreum plicatum minus; by -D’Argenville, Auris Porci, s. Crista Galli, and by those who make -collections cock’s comb. Though I applied to several such in London, I -could never 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. The -curious foldings of the suture, the one into the other, the alternate -flutings or grooves, and the curved form of my specimen being much -easier expressed by the pencil than by words, I have caused it to be -drawn and engraved. - -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 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 considerable -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 wholly composed of, the stone of the -quarry. - - - - -Letter IV - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -As in a former 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 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 chiseled -smooth, it makes elegant fronts for houses, equal in colour and grain -to the Bath stone; and superior in one respect, that, when seasoned, it -does not scale. Decent chimney-pieces 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 as -it grows in the quarry.** On the ground abroad this firestone will not -succeed for pavements, because, probably, some degree of saltness -prevailing within it, the rain tears the slabs to pieces.*** Though -this stone is too hard to be acted on by vinegar, yet both the white -part, and even the blue rag, ferments strongly in mineral acids. Though -the white stone will 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. - -* 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. - - -** To surbed stone is to set it edgewise, contrary to the posture it -had in the quarry, says Dr. Plot, Oxfordsh., 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. - - -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 very hard and heavy, and -of a firm, compact texture, and composed 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, Esquire - - -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 -water-courses 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 frost-work. 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, was it strictly looked after, with its kindly -aspects, and all its sloping coverts, would swarm 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 landrails 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 Jan. 1, 1780, to Jan. 1, 1781, there fell 27 32 -From Jan. 1, 1781, to Jan. 1, 1782, there fell 30 71 -From Jan. 1, 1782, to Jan. 1, 1783, there fell 50 26! -From Jan. 1, 1783, to Jan. 1, 1784, there fell 33 71 -From Jan. 1, 1784, to Jan. 1, 1785, there fell 33 80 -From Jan. 1, 1785, to Jan. 1, 1786, there fell 31 55 -From Jan. 1, 1786, to Jan. 1, 1787, there fell 39 57 - -* A very intelligent gentleman assures me (and he speaks from upwards -of forty years’ experience) that the mean rain of any plate 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 16 and a -half inches for the year, if from 1740 to 1750, 18 and a half inches. -The mean rain before 1763 was 20 and a quarter, from 1763 and since, 25 -and a half; from 1770 to 1780, 26. If only 1773, 1774 and 1775 had been -measured, Lyndon mean rain would have been called 32 inches.’ - - -The village of Selborne, and large hamlet of Oak-hanger, 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 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: but from circumstances this -trade is at an end.** The inhabitants enjoy a good share of health and -longevity: and the parish swarms with children. - -* A state of the parish of Selborne, taken October 4, 1783. - - -The number of tenements or families, 136. -The number of inhabitants in the street is … 313 -In the rest of the parish … 363 -Total, 676; near five inhabitants to each tenement. -In the time of the Rev. Gilbert White, vicar, who died in 1727–8, the -number of inhabitants was computed at about 500.) - - -Average of baptisms for 60 years. - - -From 1720 to 1729, both years inclusive Males 6,9 Females -6,0 12,9 -From 1730 to 1739, both years inclusive Males 8,2 Females -7,1 15,3 -From 1740 to 1749, inclusive Males 9,2 Females 6,6 15,8 -From 1750 to 1759, inclusive Males 7,6 Females 8,1 15,7 -From 1760 to 1769, inclusive Males 9,1 Females 8,9 18,0 -From 1770 to 1779, inclusive Males 10,5 Females 9,8 20 -3 - -Total baptisms of Males 515 -Females 465 980 -Total of baptisms from 1720 to 1779, both inclusive, 60 years -980. - -Average of burials for 60 years. - - -From 1720 to 1729, both years inclusive Males 4,8 Females -5,1 9,9 -From 1730 to 1739, both years inclusive Males 4,8 Females -5,8 10,6 -From 1740 to 1749, inclusive Males 4,6 Females 3,8 8,4 -From 1750 to 1759, inclusive Males 4,9 Females 5,1 10,0 -From 1760 to 1769, inclusive Males 6,9 Females 6,5 13,4 -From 1770 to 1779, inclusive Males 5,5 Females 6,2 11,7 - -Total of burials of Males 315 -Females 325 640 - -Total of burials from 1720 to 1779 both inclusive, 60 years 640. - -Baptisms exceed burials by more them one-third. - -Baptisms of Males exceed Females by one-tenth, or one in ten. - -Burials of Females exceed Males by one in thirty. - -It appears that a child, born and bred in this parish, has an equal -chance to live above forty years. - -Twins thirteen times, many of whom dying young have lessened the chance -for life. - -Chances for life in men and women appear to be equal. - - -A TABLE of the Baptisms, Burials, and Marriages, from January 2, 1761, -to December 25, 1780, in the Parish of Selborne. - -Baptisms. - -1761 Males 8 Females 10 Total 18 1762 7 8 - 15 1763 8 10 18 1764 11 9 20 1765 12 6 - 18 1766 9 13 22 1767 14 5 19 1768 7 6 - 13 1769 9 14 23 1770 10 13 23 1771 10 6 - 16 1772 11 10 21 1773 8 5 13 1774 6 13 - 19 1775 20 7 27 1776 11 10 21 1777 8 13 - 21 1778 7 13 20 1779 14 8 22 1780 8 9 -17 198 188 386 - -Burials. - -1761 Males 2 Females 4 Total 6 1762 10 10 - 20 1763 3 4 7 1764 10 8 18 1765 9 7 - 16 1766 10 6 16 1767 6 5 11 1768 2 5 -7 1769 6 5 11 1770 4 7 11 1771 3 4 7 -1772 6 10 16 1773 7 5 12 1774 2 8 10 -1775 13 8 21 1776 4 6 10 1777 7 2 -9 1778 3 9 12 1779 5 6 11 1780 11 4 -15 123 123 246 - -Marriages. - -1761 3 1762 6 1763 7 1764 6 1765 6 1766 4 1767 - 2 1768 6 1769 2 1770 3 1771 4 1772 3 1773 3 -1774 1 1775 6 1776 6 1777 4 1778 5 1779 0 1780 - 3 83 - -During this period of twenty years the births of Males exceeded those -of Females 10. - -The burials of each sex were equal. - -And the births exceeded the deaths 140. - -** Since the passage above was written, I am happy in being able to say -that the spinning employment is a little revived, to the no small -comfort of the industrious housewife. - - - - -Letter VI - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -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 royal forest 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.** -Besides the oak, I have also been shown 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. - -* See his Hist. of Staffordshire. - - -** 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 -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 -manifest, from this observation, viz. Nov. 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 -Haemastatics, p. 360. Quaere.— 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? - - -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 -excursions: 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, black-game, or grouse. -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 greyhen was sprung -by some beagles in beating for a hare. The sportsmen cried out, ‘A hen -pheasant’; but a gentleman present, who had often seen grouse in the -north of England, assured me that it was a greyhen. - -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 succession for 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 further 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 yeoman-prickers, in scarlet jackets laced with gold, -attended by the stag-hounds; ordering them to take every deer in this -forest alive, and convey them in carts to Windsor. In the course of the -summer they caught every stag, some of which showed extraordinary -diversion; but, in the following winter, when the hinds were also -carried off, such fine chases were exhibited as served the country -people for matter of talk and wonder for years afterwards. I saw myself -one of the yeoman-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 anything in Mr. Astley’s riding-school. The exertions made -by the horse and deer much exceeded all my expectations; 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, Esquire - - -Though large herds of deer do much harm to the neighbourhood, 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 committed 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 -Winchester, when urged to re-stock Waltham-chase,** refused, from a -motive worthy of a prelate, replying that ‘it had done mischief enough -already.’ - -* Statute 9 Geo. I. c. 22. - - -** This chase remains unstocked to this day; the bishop was Dr. Hoadly. - - -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 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 irregularities are -removed, are of considerable service to neighbourhoods 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 exceptis.* The -reason, I presume, why sheep** are excluded, is, because, being such -close grazers, they would pick out all the finest grasses, and hinder -the deer from thriving. - -* For the privilege the owner of that estate used to pay to the king -annually seven bushels of oats. - - -** In the Holt, where a full stock of fallow-deer has been kept up till -lately, no sheep are admitted to this day. - - -Though (by statute 4 and 5 W. 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 underwoods, woods, and coppices, -where great damage has ensued. The plea for these burnings is, that, -when the old coat of heath, etc., 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 brush-wood 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, Esquire - - -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 sportsman. For, being crowded at the -upper end with willows, and with the carex cespitosa,* it affords such -a safe and pleasing shelter to wild-ducks, teals, snipes, etc., that -they breed there. In the winter this covert is also frequented by -foxes, and sometimes by pheasants; and the bogs produce many curious -plants. [For which consult Letter XLI to Mr. Barrington.] - -* 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 set down by government. - - -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 on 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; comprehending also -Short-heath, 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 mentioned 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 Halt; 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 well, 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 from this -contingency. Thus nature, who is a great economist, converts the -recreation of one animal to the support of another! Thomson, who was a -nice observer of natural 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, -2,646 yards, or very near a mile and a half. The length of the -north-west and opposite side is about 704 yards, and the breadth of the -south-west end about 456 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. But, as such discoveries more -properly belong to the antiquities of this place, I shall suppress all -particulars for the present, till I enter professedly on my series of -letters respecting the more remote history of this village and -district. - - - - -Letter IX - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -By way of supplement, I shall trouble you once more on this subject, to -inform you that Wolmer, with her sister 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. - -* In ‘Rot. Inquisit. de statu forest. in Scaccar.,’ 36, Ed. 3, it is -called Aisholt. In the same, ‘Tit. Woolmer and Aisholt Hantisc. Dominus -Rex habet unam capellam in haia sua de Kingesle.’ ‘Haia, sepes, -sepimentum, parcus: a Gall. haie and haye.’—Spelman’s Glossary. - - -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,** 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. - -** This prince was the inventor of mezzotinto. - - -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 -well-stocked with fallow-deer, unrestrained by any pales or fences more -than a common hedge, yet they were never seen within the limits of -Wolmer; nor were the red deer of 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 imprisonment 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., 1784) 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 Binsted and -Frinsham, Bentley and Kingsley, 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. 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. - - - - -Letter X - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -August 4, 1767. - -It has been my misfortune never to have had any neighbours 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 (hirundines rusticae) 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 -toward 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 -eleventh, and young martins (hirundines urbicae) were then fledged in -their nests. Both species will breed again once. For I see by my Fauna -of last year, that young broods come forth so late as September the -eighteenth. Are not these late hatchings more in favour of hiding than -migration? Nay, some young martins remained in their nests last year so -late as September the twenty-ninth; and yet they totally disappeared -with us by the fifth of October. - -How strange is it that the swift, which seems to live exactly the same -life with the swallow and house-martin, 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-martins on the -seventh of November. The martins and red-wing fieldfares were flying in -sight together; an uncommon assemblage of summer and winter birds. - -A little bird (it is either a species of the alauda trivialis, or -rather perhaps of the motacilla trochilus) 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, -that 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. - -I perceive there are more than one species of the motacilla trochilus: -Mr. Derham supposes, in Ray’s Philos. 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 very first fine weather, they come trooping, -all at once, into these parts, but are never seen in the winter. 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 in fossis et urinator.’ 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 the falco, 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 religuiae!’ - -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 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 XI - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -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, etc., 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 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 frightened and persecuted by idle boys, who would -never let them be at rest. - -Three gross-beaks (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 cross-bill (loxia curvirostra) was killed last year in this -neighbourhood. - -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 fluviatilis), the eel (anguilla), the -lampern (lampaetra parka et fluviatilis), and the stickle-back -(pisciculus aculeatus). - -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-martins have eggs still, and squab young. The last swift I -observed was about the twenty-first of August; it was a straggler. - -Red-starts, fly-catchers, 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-martin -flying about, and settling on the parapet, so late as the twentieth of -November. - -At present I know only two species of bats, the common vespertilio -murinus and the vespertilio auritus. - -I was much entertained last summer with a tame bat, which would take -flies out of a person’s hand. If you gave it anything 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 showed -in shearing off the wings of the flies, which were always rejected, was -worthy of observation, and pleased me much. Insects seem 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 dispatch 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 Richmond 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XII - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -November 4, 1767. - -Sir, - -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. - -* This hawk proved to be the falco peregrinus; a variety. - - -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 moreover 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 end of five of the short remiges. It -cannot, I suppose, with any propriety, be called an English bird: and -yet I see, by Ray’s Philosoph. Letters, that great flocks of them, -feeding upon haws, appeared in this kingdom in the winter of 1685. - -The mention of haws put 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 missal-thrushes, and feeding on the -berries of the yew-tree, which answered to the description of the -merula torquata, or ring-ousel, were lately seen in this neighbourhood. -I employed some people to procure me a specimen, but without success. -See Letter XX. - -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 goldfinches, greenfinches, etc. ? 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 -osier-beds 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 water. -A Swedish naturalist is so much persuaded of that fact, that he talks, -in his calendar of Flora, as familiarly of the swallows going under -water in the beginning of September, as he would of his poultry going -to roost a little before sunset. - -An observing gentleman in London writes me word that he saw a -house-martin, on the twenty-third of last October, flying in and out of -its nest in the Borough. And I myself, on the twenty-ninth 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?* - -* See Adamson’s Voyage to Senegal. - - -I acquiesce entirely in your opinion—that, though most of the swallow -kind may migrate, yet that 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, Esquire - - -Selborne, Jan. 22, 1768. - -Sir, - -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 compliment, 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 neighbourhood. But, when I came to -observe them more narrowly, I was amazed to find that they seemed 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 Linnaeus; -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 -departure. - -You may depend on it that the bunting, emberiza miliaria, does not -leave this country in the winter. In January 1767 I saw several dozen -of them, in the midst of a severe frost, among the bushes on the downs -near Andover: in our woodland enclosed district it is a rare bird. - -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 (oenanthe) -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. -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 that subject is remarkable: there were little -short-winged birds frequently coming on board his 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. - -* See Ray’s Travels, p. 466. - - -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 merulae torquatae. - -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 an 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 a -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 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. - -I am, etc., etc. - - - - -Letter XIV - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -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, beside the nostrils; probably analogous to the puncta -lachrymalia in the human head. When the 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 inconvenience, they can open two vents, one -at the inner corner of each eye, having a communication 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.* 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 serve them when they travelled or laboured in that hot -climate. And we know that grooms, and gentlemen of the turf, think -large nostrils necessary, and a perfection, in hunters and running -horses. - -* 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 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.’ - - -Oppian, the Greek poet, by the following line, seems to have had some -notion that stags have four spiracula: - -Τετράδυμοι ῥινὲς, πίσυρες πνοίῃσι δίαυλοι. -Quadrifidæ nares, quadruplices ad respirationem canales. -Opp. _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:—Ἀλκμαίων -γὰρ οὐκ ἀληθῆ λέγει, φάμενος ἀναπνεῖν τὰς αἶγας κατὰ τὰ ὠτά. ‘Alcmaeon -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, Esquire - - -Selborne, Mark 30, 1768. - -Dear Sir, - -Some intelligent country people have a notion that we have, in these -parts, a species of the genus mustelinum, 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 emberiza nivalis, the snow-flake -of the Brit. Zool.? No doubt they were. - -A few years ago I saw a cock bullfinch in a cage, which had been caught -in the fields after it had come to its full colours. In about a year it -began to look dingy; and, blackening every succeeding year, it became -coal-black at the end of four. Its chief food was hemp-seed. 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 eaten 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 downwards, but never continuing one moment in the same place. I -shot at it, but it was so desultory that I missed my aim. - -I wonder that the stone curlew, charadrius 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 I cannot say. Worms are their usual food, but they also -eat toads and frogs. - -I can show you some good specimens of my new mice. Linnaeus, perhaps, -would call the species mus minimus. - - - - -Letter XVI - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -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, etc., and are withdrawn to some flinty -field by their 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 and 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 show -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 procure the third. No two -birds can differ more in their notes, and that constancy, 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 drams and a half; -while the latter weighs but two: so the songster is one-fifth heavier -than the chirper. The chirper (being the first summer-bird of passage -that is heard, the wryneck sometimes 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 scarce 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 a 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. -Johnson, 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 (stoparola) has not yet appeared: it usually breeds in -my vine. The redstart begins to sing: its note is 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, etc., and are so tame that a gun will not scare -them. - -A List of the summer birds of passage discovered in this neighbourhood, -ranged somewhat in the order in which they appear: - - Linnæi Nomina -Smallest willow-wren, _Motacilla trochilus._ -Wryneck, _Lynx torquilla._ -House-swallow, _Hirundo rustica._ -Martin, _Hirundo urbica._ -Sand-martin, _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?_ -Turtle-dove,? _Turtur aldrovandi?_ -Grasshopper-lark, _Alauda trivialis._ -Landrail, _Rallus crex._ -Largest willow-wren, _Motacilla trochilus._ -Redstart, _Motacilla phœnicurus._ -Goat-sucker, or fern-owl, _Caprimulgus europæus._ -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 -europaea (the nut-hatch). Mr. Ray says 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 a turkey? Some suspect it is made by their wings. - -This morning I saw the golden-crowned wren, whose crown glitters like -burnished gold. It often hangs lice a titmouse, with its back -downwards. - -Yours, etc., etc. - - - - -Letter XVII - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -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, sometimes analogous to that of the cryptogamia in the sexual -system of plants: and the case is the same as regards some of the -fishes: as the eel, etc. - -The method in which toads procreate and bring forth seems to me 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 ἔσω μὲν -ὠοτὸκοι, ἔξω δε ζωοτόκοι, 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 -everybody: because we see them sticking upon each other’s backs for a -month together in spring: and 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 yet been 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 an 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; showing 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 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 these -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 oeconomy of -Providence with regard to the limbs of so vile a reptile! While it is -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 5th, 1766, in his account of the mud inguana, -an amphibious bides, 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 covering to the gills of the -mud inguana, he proceeds to say that ‘The forms of these pennated -coverings approach 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 become land -animals, as I have observed, by keeping them alive for some time -myself:’ - -Linnaeus, in his Systema Naturae, 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 twenty-seventh 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. Country people talk much of a water-snake, but I am pretty -sure, without any reason; for the common snake (coluber natrix) -delights much 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 an -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, Esquire - - -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 pungitius: he found the gasterosteus aculeatus -in plenty. 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’s heads; but I could -produce no minnows. This basket will be in Fleet-street by eight this -evening; so I hope Mazel will have them fresh and fair 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 reasonable -distance of Ambresbury, I sent a servant over to that town, and -procured several diving specimens of loaches, which he brought, safe -and brisk, in a glass decanter. They were taken in the gullies 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 lateralis, 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 intelligent persons, both gentry and clergy, -do, I find, give a great deal of credit to what was asserted in the -papers: and I myself 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 chat 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 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 appearance 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 larvae: for the larvae of insects are full -of eggs, which they exclude the instant they enter their last state. -The water-eft is continually climbing over the brims 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, up -the dry banks. There are varieties of them, differing colour; and some -have fins up their tail and back, and some have not. - - - - -Letter XIX - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, Aug. 17, 1768. - -Dear Sir, - -I have now, past dispute, made out three distinct species of the -willow-wrens (motacillae 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 -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, 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 stridula locustae.’ Yet -this great ornithologist never suspected that there were three species. - -* Brit. Zool. edit. 1776, octavo, p. 381. - - - - -Letter XX - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, October 8, 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. - -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. - -The next rare birds (which were procured for me last week) were some -ring-ousels, turdi torquati. - -This week twelve months 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, paid but small regard to what I 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 Lady-day, 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 the 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. - -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 63 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 extraordinary 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 oedicnemus, 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. - - - - -Letter XXI - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, Nov. 28, 1768. - -Dear Sir, - -With regard to the oedicnemus, or stone curlew, I intend to write very -soon to my friend near Chichester, in whose neighbourhood these birds -seem most to abound; and shall urge him to take particular notice when -they begin to congregate, and afterwards to watch them most narrowly -whether they do not withdraw themselves during the dead of 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 -Naturalist’s Journal (with which he is much delighted), I 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 monedulae) 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 that -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, saw a martin 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 ring-ousel, 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 ring-ousels -leave your rocks in the autumn. What puzzles me 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXII - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, July 2, 1769. - -Dear Sir, - -As to the peculiarity of jackdaws 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 dovecots. When I first saw -Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire 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 well remarked that ‘Every -kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the -sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed, of mankind.’* - -* James, chap. iii. 7. - - -It is a satisfaction to me to find that a green lizard has actually -been procured for you in Devonshire; because it corroborates my -discovery, which I made many years ago, of the same sort, on a sunny -sandbank 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 ring-ousels 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 worth your pains to endeavour to trace from -whence they come, and to inquire why they make so very 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 could never 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 gentlemen, furnished with a good -strength of water-spaniels, were to beat them over for a week, they -would certainly find more species. - -* Cressi-hall is near Spalding, in Lincolnshire. - - -There is no bird, I believe, whose manners I have studied more than -that of the caplimulgus (the goat-sucker), as it is a wonderful and -curious creature: but I 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 I have for many an 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 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 tell 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 way -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 -silkworm.’ - -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 rains 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 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. - - - - -Letter XXIII - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, February 28, 1769. - -Dear Sir, - -It is not improbable that the Guernsey lizard and our green lizard 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 University of Oxford, they lived a great while, and seemed to enjoy -themselves very well, but never bred. Whether this circumstance will -prove anything 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 I 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 grove or wood, or only of a few trees. - -It gave me satisfaction to find that we accorded so well about the -caprimulgus: 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. - -If ever I saw anything like actual migration, it was last -Michaelmas-day. I was travelling, and out early in the morning: 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 rusticae) clustering on the stinted 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 -martins 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 do not actually migrate at all. - -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, Esquire - - -Selborne, May 29, 1769. - -Dear Sir, - -The scarabaeus 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 thirteenth of April I went to the sheep-down, where the -ring-ousels 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 those dark spots of the -grasshopper-lark; over each eye is a milk-white stroke; the chin and -throat are white, and the under parts of a yellowish white; 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 -further inquiry. For my part, I suspect it is a second sort of -locustella, hinted at by Dr. Derham in Ray’s Letters: see p. 108. He -also procured me a grasshopper-lark. - -* For this salicaria see letter August 30, 1769. - - -The question that you put with regard to those genera of animals that -are peculiar to America, viz. 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 arguments 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 illis -Ingenium. - - -VIRG. GEORG. - - -When day declining sheds a milder gleam, -What time the may-fly[1] haunts the pool or stream; -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[2] cuckoo’s tale, -To hear the clamorous[3] curlew call his mate, -Or the soft quail his tender pain relate; -To see the swallow sweep the dark’ning plain -Belated, to support her infant train; -To mark the swift in rapid giddy ring -Dash round the steeple, unsubdu’d 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 dor come brushing by -With buzzing wing, or the shrill[4] cricket cry; -To see the feeding bat glance through the wood; -To catch the distant falling of the flood; -While o’er the cliff th’ awakened churn-owl hung -Through the still gloom protracts his chattering song; -While high in air, and pois’d upon his wings, -Unseen, the soft enamour’d woodlark[5] 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; -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![6] -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.[7] - -I am, etc. - -[1] 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 about eleven at night, determining the date of its -fly state in 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, Derham, Scopoli, etc. - - -[2] Vagrant cuckoo; so called because, being tied down by no incubation -or attendance about the nutrition of its young, it wanders without -control. - - -[3] Charadrius aedicnemus. - - -[4] Gryllus campetris. - - -[5] In hot summer nights woodlarks soar to a prodigious height, and -hang singing in the air - - -[6] 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 scarabaeus. - - -[7] See the story of Hero and Leander.) - - - - -Letter XXV - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, Aug. 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? Was not candour and -openness the very life of natural history, I should pass over this -query just as the 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 ring-ousels 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 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 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 nor 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 picis affines. It ought no -doubt to have gone among his aviculae 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 incessantly -night and day during the breeding-time, imitating the note of a -sparrow, a swallow, a sky-lark; 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 & pedes in hac avicula -multo majores sunt quam pro corporis ratione.’ See letter May 29, 1769. - -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 se defendendo. I knew -a gentleman who kept a tame snake, which was in its person as sweet as -any animal while in a 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. Ouadr. is an innocuous and -sweet animal; but, when pressed hard by dogs and men, it can eject such -a pestilent and fetid smell and excrement, that nothing can be more -horrible. - -A gentleman sent me lately a fine specimen of the lanius minor -cinerascens cum macula in scapulis alba Raii; 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 Edwards’s -drawing. - - - - -Letter XXVI - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, December 8, 1769. - -Dear Sir, - -I was much gratified by your communicative letter on your return from -Scotland, where you spent, I find, some 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 dispatch, 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. - -It has always been matter of wonder to me that field-fares, 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 ring-ousel, 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 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. - -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 that 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: but still I am -pleased to find you have discovered it in Lincolnshire, for the reason -I have given in the article on 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 hirundo apus, or swift, -so many weeks before its congeners; and that not only with us, but also -in Andalusia, where they also 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 and -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 hirundines, and the larger bats, are supported by some sorts -of high-flying gnats, scarabs, or phalaenae, that are of short -continuance; and that the short stay of these strangers is regulated by -the defect of their food. - -* 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. - - -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 XXVII - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, Feb. 22, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -Hedge-hogs abound in my gardens and fields. The manner in which they -eat their 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 waffles 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. In -June last I procured a 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 sides 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 into 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 field-fare (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 all 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. - -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 XXVIII - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, March, 1770. - -On Michaelmas-day 1768 I managed to get a sight of the female moose -belonging to the Duke of Richmond, at Goodwood; 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, understanding that it was not stripped, I proceeded to -examine this rare quadruped: I found it in an old green-house, 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 birds of the grallae order. I measured it, as -they do an 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. 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 leg and great lip must contribute much. I -have read somewhere that it delights in eating the nymphaea, 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 an 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, etc., minutely; but the putrefaction -precluded all further curiosity. This animal, the keeper told me, -seemed to enjoy itself best in the extreme frost of the former winter. -In the house they showed 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. - -I am, - -With the greatest esteem. etc. - - - - -Letter XXIX - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, May 12, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -Last month we had such a series of cold turbulent 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 show 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-martins, 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 martins 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. - -I have known a dove-house infested by a pair of white owls, which made -great havoc 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; 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 is the otter, which -by nature is so well formed for diving, that it makes great havoc among -the inhabitants of the waters. Not supposing that we had any of those -beasts in our shadow 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 XXX - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, Aug. 1, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -The French, I think, in general, are strangely prolix in their natural -history. What Linnaeus says with respect to insects holds good in every -other branch: ‘Verbositas praesentis saeculi, 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 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, an horn room -furnished with more than thirty different pairs; but I have not seen -that house lately. - -Mr. Barrington showed 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, etc., -were thick-billed birds of the loxia and fringilla genera; and no -motacillae, or muscicapae, 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXXI - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, Sept. 14, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -You saw, I find, the ring-ousels again among their native crags; and -are farther assured that they continue resident in those cold regions -the whole year. From whence, then, do our ring-ousels 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 tor-ousels; -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 Tirol and Carniola. Monographers, -come from whence they may, have, I think, fair presence 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 their 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 urbica that ‘pullos extra nidum -non nutrit.’ This assertion I know to be wrong from repeated -observations this summer, for house-martins 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 rostra -portat 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. - - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXXII - - -T Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, October 29, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -After an ineffectual search in Linnaeus, Brisson, etc., I begin to -suspect that I discern my brother’s hirundo hyberna in Scopoli’s new -discovered hirundo rupestris, p. 167. His description of ‘Supra murina, -subtus albida; rectrices macula ovali alba in latere inferno; pedes -nudi, nigri; rostrum nigrum; remiges obscuriores quam plumae dorsales; -rectrices remigibus concolores; cauda emarginata, nec forcipata,’ -agrees very well with the bird in question; but when he comes to -advance that it is ‘statura hirundinis urbicae,’ and that ‘definitio -hirundinis ripariae Linnaei huic quoque convenit,’ he in some measure -invalidates all he has said; at least he shows 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 Linnaeus. 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.* - -* See his Elenchus vegerabilium et animalium per Austriam inferiorem, -etc. - - -I am pleased to see that my description of the moose corresponds so -well with yours. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXXIII - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, Nov. 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 hirundo melba, the great -Gibraltar swift, in Tirol, without knowing it. For what is his hirundo -alpina but the afore-mentioned bird in other words? Says he, ‘Omnia -prioris’ (meaning the swift); ‘sed pectus album; paulo major priore.’ 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 seventeenth and eighteenth, 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 hazard, as I have 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 3rd of September. - -When the oedicnemus flies it stretches out its legs straight behind, -like an heron. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXXIV - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -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 intolerably. 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 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 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 the -farm-kitchens on the bacon-racks and about the mantelpieces, 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 posficis -crassissimis.’ In very 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 ploughboy; 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 chamaeleon: see Geoffrey, 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 improvements would soon follow of course. A knowledge -of the properties, oeconomy, 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 entomology 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 that can be conveyed at first by words alone. - - - - -Letter XXXV - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -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 -uropygium, but all up their backs. A range of short brown stiff -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 those 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 aegogropila, -taken out of the stomach of a fat ox; it is perfectly round, and about -the size of a large Seville orange; such are, I think, usually flat. - - - - -Letter XXXVI - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Sept. 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 my 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 not understand perfectly; -but refer it to the observation of the curious anatomist. These -creatures send forth a vary rancid and offensive smell. - - - - -Letter XXXVII - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -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 scarabaei solstitiales, or fern-chafers. -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 while 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 chafers, 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 twenty-second, they -rendezvoused in a neighbour’s walnut-tree, where it seemed probable -they had taken up their lodging for the night. At the dawn of the day, -which was foggy, they arose all together 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 twenty-second of August —a rare -instance! for they usually withdraw within the first week.* - -* See Letter LIII to Mr. Barrington. - - -On September the twenty-fourth three or four ring-ousels appeared in my -fields for the first time this season: how punctual are these visitors -in their autumns and spring migrations! - - - - -Letter XXXVIII - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, March 15, 1773. - -Dear Sir, - -By my journal for last autumn it appears that the house-martins bred -very late, and staid very late in these parts; for, on the first of -October, I saw young martins in their nests nearly fledged; and again, -on the twenty-first of October, we had at the next house a nest full of -young martins 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 third; when twenty, or perhaps -thirty, house-martins 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 sandbank, lake or pool (as a more northern -naturalist would say), may become their hybernaculum, and afford them a -ready and obvious retreat? - -We now begin to expect our vernal migration of ring-ousels 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 show for men or guns, that they have been -little accustomed to places of much resort. Navigators 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 ring-ousels 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXXIX - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, Nov. 9, 1773. - -Dear Sir, - -As you desire me to send you such observations 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 Frinshampond, 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. - -A great ash-coloured butcher-bird was shot last winter in Tisted-park, -and a red-backed butcher-bird at Selborne: they are rarae aves in this -country. - -Crows go in pairs the whole year round. - -Cornish choughs abound, and breed on Beachy-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 together 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 the storm-cock, -because it sings early in the spring in blowing showery weather; its -song often commences with the year: with us it builds much in orchards. - -A gentleman assures me that he has taken the nests of ring-ousels on -Dartmoor: they build in banks on the sides of streams. - -Titlarks 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. - -Adamson’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-martin, and -about ten or twelve days before the swift. - -In 1772 there were young house-martins in their nest till October the -twenty-third. - -The swift appears about ten or twelve days later than the -house-swallow: viz., about the twenty-fourth or twenty-sixth of April. - -Whin-chats and stone-chattel stay with us the whole year. - -Some wheat-ears continue with us the winter through. - -Wagtails, all sorts, remain with us all the winter. - -Bullfinches, when fed on hempseed, often become wholly black. - -We have vast flocks of female chaffinches all the winter, with hardly -any males among them. - -When you say that in breeding-time the cock-snipes make a bleating -noise, and I a drumming (perhaps I should have rather said an 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 congregate, 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 taken alive in the ponds of Wolmerforest 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 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. 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. - - - - -Letter XL - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, Sept. 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 observations, 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. - -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 sometimes 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 mysterious. - -Hen-harriers breed on the ground, and seem never to settle on trees. - -When red-starts shake their tails they move them horizontally, as dogs -do when they fawn: the tail of a 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, woodlark, willow-wren, -etc.; 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. - -As my neighbour was housing 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 ate 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 drowned and lost in the general chorus; in the -latter their song becomes distinguishable. Many songsters of the autumn -seem to be the young cock red-breasts of that year: notwithstanding the -prejudices in their favour, they do much mischief in gardens to the -summer-fruits.* - -* They eat also the berries of the ivy, the honeysuckle, and the -euonymus europaeus, or spindle-tree. - - -The titmouse, which early in February begins to make two quaint notes, -like the whetting of a saw, is the marsh titmouse: the great titmouse -sings with three cheerful joyous notes, and begins about the same time. - -Wrens sing all the winter through, frost excepted. - -House-martins 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 grey crows were -ever known to breed on Dartmoor: it was my mistake. - -The appearance and flying of the scarabaeus solstitialis, or -fern-chafer, 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, 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 a pugnacious disposition; for they sing with an -erected crest and attitudes of rivalry and defiance; are shy and wild -in breeding-time, avoiding 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 red-start 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 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 and the most -familiar: it also appears the last of any. It builds in a vine, or a -sweetbriar, against the wall of an 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 shown near half the species -that were ever known in Great Britain.* - -* Sweden, 221; Great Britain, 252 species. - - -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, I hope you will pardon the -didactic manner for the sake of the information it may happen to -contain. - - - - -Letter XLI - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -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 -wryneck (so much resembling the hardy race of wood-peckers) 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 this 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 of Phryganeae,* etc. - -* See Derham’s Physico-theology, p. 235. - - -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. Red-breasts 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. But 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 -Linnaean 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 caeruleus), -the cole-mouse (parus ater), the great black-headed titmouse -(fringillago), and the marsh titmouse (parus palustris), all resort, at -times, to buildings; and in hard weather particularly. 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 straw -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. - -The blue titmouse, or nun, is a great frequenter of houses, and a -general devourer. Beside insects, it is very fond of flesh; for it -frequently picks bones on dung-hills: it is a vast admirer of suet, and -haunts butchers’ shops. When a boy, I have known twenty in a morning -caught with snap mousetraps, 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 wheat-ear 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 -probably it is that their maintenance arises from the aureliae of the -lepidoptera ordo, which furnish them with a plentiful table in the -wilderness. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XLII - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -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 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 extensive -and picturesque lakes and water-falls, 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 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; but 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. Mall -takes notice of Hamilton and Drumlanrig, and such capital houses; but a -new survey, no doubt, should represent every seat and castle remarkable -for any great event, or celebrated for its paintings, etc. 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XLIII - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Dear Sir, - -A pair of honey-buzzards, buteo opivorus, sive vespivorus Raii, 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 1780. 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 embrio 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 grey 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 -martin, all clean picked, and some half devoured. The old birds had -been observed to make sad havoc for some days among the new-flown -swallows and martins, 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 XLIV - - -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - - -Selborne, Nov. 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, 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 an 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 county. 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 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, these two remarkable black -spots on the remiges of each wing of the stock-dove, which are so -characteristic 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 an 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 furcâ, 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 wildfowl 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 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 be 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 evening, 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 round, 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…. - - -* Some old sportsmen say that the main part of these flocks used to -withdraw as soon as the heavy Christmas frosts were over. - - -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 John Dryden has rendered it so -happily in our language, that without farther excuse I shall add his -translation also. - -Qualis speluncâ subitò commota Columba, -Cui domus, et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi, -Fertur in arva volans, plausumque exterrita pennis -Dat tecto ingentem—mox aere lapse quieto, -Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas. - - -As when a dove her rocky hold forsakes, -Rous’d, in her fright her sounding wings she shakes; -The cavern rings with clattering:—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. - - -I am, &c. - - - - -LETTERS to DAINES BARRINGTON - - - - -Letter I - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, June 30, 1769. - -Dear Sir, - -When I was in town last month I partly engaged that I would sometime do -myself the honour to write to you on the subject of natural history: -and I am the more ready to fulfil my promise, because I see you are a -gentleman of great candour, and one that will make allowances; -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 Birds of Passage which I have -discovered in this neighbourhood, ranged somewhat in the order in which -they appear. - -Usually appears about: - -1. Wry-neck, Raii nomina: Jynx, sive torquilla: The middle of March: -harsh note. - -2. Smallest willow-wren, Regulus non cristatus: March 23: chirps till -September. - -3. Swallow, Hirundo domestica: April 13. - -4. Martin, Hirundo rustica: Ditto. - -5. Sand-martin, Hirundo riparia: Ditto. - -6. Black-cap, Atricapilla: Ditto: a sweet wild note. - -7. Nightingale, Luscinia: Beginning of April. - -8. Cuckoo, Cuculus: Middle of April. - -9. Middle willow-wren, Regulus non cristatus: Ditto, a sweet plaintive -note. - -10. White-throat, Ficedulae affinis: Middle of April: mean note; sings -on till September. - -11. Red-start, Ruticilla: Ditto: more agreeable song. - -12. Stone curlew, OEdicnemus: End of March; loud nocturnal whistle. - -13. Turtle-dove, Turtur: - -14. Grasshopper-lark, Alauda minima locustae voce: Middle of April: a -small sibilous note, till the end of July. - -15. Swift, Hirundo apus: About April 27. - -16. Less reed-sparrow, Passer arundinaceus minor: A sweet polyglot, but -hurrying: it has the notes of many birds. - -17. Land-rail, Ortygometra: A loud harsh note, crex, crex. - -18. Largest willow-wren, Regulus non cristatus: Cantat voce stridula -locustae; end of April, on the tops of high beeches. - -19. Goat-sucker, or fern-owl, Caprimulgus: Beginning of May; chatters -by night with a singular noise. - -20. Fly-catcher, Stoparola: May 12. A very mute bird: this is the -latest summer bird of passage. - -This assemblage of curious and amusing birds belongs to ten several -genera of the Linnaean system; and are all of the ordo of passeres, -save the jynx and cuculus, which are picae, and the charadrius -(oedicnemus) and rallus (ortygometra) which are grallae. - -These birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the following -Linnaean genera: - -1. Jynx. - -2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18. Motacilla. - -3, 4, 5, 15. Hirundo. - -8. Cuculus. - -12. Charadrius. - -13. Columba. - -17. Rallus. - -19. Caprimulgus. - -14. Alauda. - -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: - -Red-breast, Raii nomina: Rubecula: - -Wren, Passer troglodytes: These frequent houses; and haunt outbuildings -in the winter; eat spiders. - -Hedge-sparrow, Curruca: Haunt sinks for crumbs and other sweepings. - -White-wagtail, Motacilla alba: - -Yellow-wagtail, Motacilla flava: - -Grey-wagtail, Motacilla cinerea: These frequent shallow rivulets near -the spring heads, where they never freeze: eat the aureliae of -Phryganea. The smallest birds that walk. - -Wheat-ear, Oenanthe: Some of these are to be seen with us the winter -through. - -Whin-chat, OEnanthe secunda: - -Stone-chatter, OEnanthe tertia: - -Golden-crowned wren, Regulus cristatus: This is the smallest British -bird: haunts the tops of tall trees; stays the winter through. - -A List of the Winter Birds of Passage round this neighbourhood, ranged -somewhat in the order in which they appear: - -1. Ring-ousel, Raii nomina: Merula torquata: This is a new migration -which I have lately discovered about Michaelmas week, and again about -the fourteenth of March. - -2. Redwing, Turdus iliacus: About Michaelmas. - -3. Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris, Though a percher by day, roosts on the -ground. - -4. Royston-crew, Cornix cinerea: Most frequent on downs. - -5. Wood-cock, Scolopax: Appears about old Michaelmas. - -6. Snipe, Gallinago minor: Some snipes constantly breed with us. - -7. Jack-snipe, Gallinago minima: - -8. Wood-pigeon, OEnas: Seldom appears till late: not in such plenty as -formerly. - -9. Wild-swan, Cygnus ferus: On some large waters. - -10. Wild-goose, Anser ferus: - -11. Wild-duck, Anas torquata minor: - -12. Pochard, Anas fera fusca: - -13. Widgeon, Penelope: - -14. Teal, breeds with us in Wolmer-forest, Querquedula: On our lakes -and streams. - -15. Gross-beak, Coccothraustes: - -16. Cross-bill, Loxia: - -17. Silk-tail, Garrulus bohemicus: These are only wanderers that appear -occasionally, and are not observant of any regular migration. - -These birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the following -Linnaean genera: - -1, 2, 3. Turdus. - -4. Corvus. - -5, 6, 7. Scolopax. - -8. Columba. - -9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. Anas. - -15, 16. Loxia. - -17. Ampelis. - -Birds that sing in the night are but few: - -Nightingale, Luscinia: ‘In shadiest covert hid.’—MILTON. - -Woodlark, Alauda arborea: Suspended in mid air. - -Less reed-sparrow, Passer arundinaceus minor: Among reeds and willows. - -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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter II - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Nov. 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. - -1. Woodlark, Raii nomina: Alauda arborea: In January, and continues to -sing through all the summer and autumn. - -2. Song-thrush, Turdus simpliciter dictus: In February and on to -August, reassume their song in autumn. - -3. Wren, Passer troglodytes: All the year, hard frost excepted. - -4. Red-breast, Rubecula: Ditto. - -5. Hedge-sparrow, Curruca: Early in February to July the 10th. - -6. Yellow-hammer, Emberiza flava: Early in February, and on through -July to August the 21st. - -7. Skylark, Alauda vulgaris: In February, and on to October. - -8. Swallow, Hirundo domestica: From April to September. - -9. Black-cap, Atricapilla: Beginning of April to July 13. - -10. Titlark, Alauda pratorum: From middle of April to July the 16th. - -11. Blackbird, Merula vulgaris: Sometimes in February and March, and so -on to July the twenty third; reassumes in autumn. - -12. White-throat, Ficedulcae affinis: In April and on to July 23. - -13. Goldfinch, Carduelis: April and through to September 16. - -14. Greenfinch, Chloris: On to July and August 2. - -15. Less reed-sparrow, Passer arundinaceus minor: May, on to beginning -of July. - -16. Common linnet, Linaria vulgaris: Breeds and whistles on till -August; reassumes its note when they begin to congregate in October, -and again early before the flock separate. - -Birds that cease to be in full song, and are usually silent at or -before Midsurnmer: - -17. Middle willow-wren, Regulus non cristatus: Middle of June: begins -in April. - -18. Red-start, Ruticilla: Middle of June: begins in May. - -19. Chaffinch, Fringilla: Beginning of June: sings first in February. - -20. Nightingale, Luscinia: Middle of June: sings first in April. - -Birds that sing for a short tune, and very early in the spring: - -21. Missel-bird, Turdus viscivorus: January the 2nd, 1770, in February. -Is called in Hampshire and Sussex the storm-cock, because its song is -supposed to forebode windy wet weather: is the largest singing bird we -have. - -22. Great tit-mouse, or ox-eye, Fringillago: In February, March, April: -reassumes for a short time in September. - -Birds that have somewhat of a note or song, and yet are hardly to be -called singing birds: - -23. Golden-crowned wren, Regulus cristatus: Its note as minute as its -person; frequents the tops of high oaks and firs; the smallest British -bird. - -24. Marsh titmouse, Parus palustris: Haunts great woods; two harsh -sharp notes. - -25. Small willow-wren, Regulus non cristatus: Sings in March and on to -September. - -26. Largest ditto, Ditto: Cantat voce stridula locustae: from end of -April to August. - -27. Grasshopper-lark, Alauda minima voce locustae: Chirps all night, -from the middle of April to the end of July - -28. Martin, Hirundo agrestis: All the breeding time; from May to -September. - -29. Bullfinch, Pyrrhula: - -30. Bunting, Emberiza alba: 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 -ordo of passeres. - -The above-mentioned birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the -following Linnaean genera. - -1, 7, 10, 27. Alauda. - -2, 11, 21. Turdus. - -3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 15, 17, 18, 20, 23, 25, 26. Motacilla. - -6, 30. Emberiza. - -8, 28. Hirundo. - -13, 16, 19. Pringilla. - -22, 24. Parus. - -14, 29. Loxia. - -Birds that sing as they fly are but few: - -Skylark, Raii nomina. Alauda vulgaris: Rising, suspended, and falling. - -Titlark, Alauda pratorum: In its descent; also sitting on trees, and -walking on the ground. - -Woodlark, Alauda arborea: Suspended; in hot summer nights all night -long. - -Blackbird, Merula: Sometimes from bush to bush. - -White-throat, Ficedulae affinis: Uses when singing on the wing odd -jerks and gesticulations. - -Swallow, Hirundo domestica: In soft sunny weather. - -Wren, Passer troglodytes: Sometimes from bush to bush. - -Birds that breed most early in these parts: - -Raven, Corvus: Hatches in February and March. - -Song-thrush, Turdus: In March. - -Blackbird, Merula: In March. - -Rook, Cornix frugilega: Builds the beginning of March. - -Woodlark, Alauda arborea: Hatches in April. - -Ring-dove, Palurnbus torquatus: Lays the beginning of April. - -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 somewhat 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 an human figure, -that they would stand still to be taken; as is the case with boobies, -etc. 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter III - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Jan. 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 punctually. 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 on my last letter, you will find that many species -continued to warble after the beginning of July. - -The titlark and yellowhammer 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 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 undoubtedly, and -the last, as far as I can yet see, a summer bird of passage, they would -require more nice and curious management in a cage than I should be -able to give them; they are 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.—Shakespeare. - - -The latter has a surprising variety of notes resembling the song of -several other birds; but then it also has an 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; perhaps 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 -meadows. 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter IV - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Feb. 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 perfectly new to me; and struck me so forcibly, -that I naturally fell into a train of thought that led me to consider -whether the fact was 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 excellent 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 the natural στοργὴ 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-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. - -What was said by a very ancient and sublime writer concerning 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.’* - - -* Job xxxix. 16, 17. - - -Query.—Does each female cuckoo lay but one egg in a season, or does she -drop several in different nests according as opportunity offers? - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter V - - -To The Honourable 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 yellowhammer no doubt persists with -more steadiness than any other; but the woodlark, the wren, the -red-breast, the swallow, the white-throat, the goldfinch, the common -linnet, are all undoubted instances of the truth of what I advance. - -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 -birdcatcher; 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. 16? - -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 -case is just the same with blackbirds, etc.; and farmers and warreners -observe, the first, that their hogs fat more kindly at such times, and -the latter that the 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 overbalances 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 redwing-fieldfares, and then the song-thrushes. - -You wonder, with good reason, that the hedge-sparrows, etc., can be -induced to sit at all 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. For the 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 was 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 to examine. - -Your supposition that there may be some natural obstruction in singing -birds while they are mute, 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,’ etc., have fallen -in my way, and gave me great satisfaction: they have removed the -objections that always rose 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. - - - - -Letter VI - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, May 21, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -The severity and turbulence of last month so interrupted the regular -progress of summer migration, that some of the birds do but just begin -to show themselves, and others are apparently thinner than usual; as -the white-throat, the black-cap, the red-start, 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 blowed the 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;* there is room to expect great things from -the hands of that man, who is a good naturalist: and one would think -that an 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. - -* This work he calls his Annus Primus Historico-Naturalis. - - -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.** - -** See Letter XXV to Mr. Pennant. - - -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 about it at present.* - -* See Letter XLIII to Mr. Barrington. - - -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, etc., etc., -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: - -Quem si puellarum insereres choro, -Mire sagaces falleret hospites -Discrimen obscurum, solutis -Crinibus, ambiguoque vultu.—HOR. - - - - -Letter VII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Ringmer, near Lewes, Oct. 8, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -I am glad to hear that Kuckalm is to furnish you with the birds of -Jamaica; a sight of the hirundines of that hot and distant island would -be 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 possibly -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 naturalist 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 Entomology: and -his characters of his Ordines and Genera are many of them new, -expressive, and masterly. He has ventured to alter some of the Linnaean -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 observations of those birds, I -never could discover the least degree of rivalry or hostility between -the species. - -Ray remarks that birds of the gallinae order, as cocks and hens, -partridges, and pheasants, etc., 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 frequency seen -grovelling and wallowing in dusty roads; and yet they are great -washers. Does not the skylark dust? - -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 - -… in tenui re -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 libellulae, 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 cross-beaks (loxiae -curvirostrae) have appeared this summer in the pine-groves belonging to -this house; the water-ousel is 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 ring-ousels (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 auspicious 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 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 lookout 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 red-start, white-throat, black-cap, uncrested wren, -fly-catcher, etc. 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, -whin-chats, buntings, linnets, some few wheatears, titlarks, etc. -Swallows and house-martins 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 now am 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! - - - - -Letter VIII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Dec. 20, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -The birds that I took for aberdavines were reed-sparrows (passeres -torquati). - -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 was there a due proportion of each sex, it should seem -very improbable that any one district should produce such numbers of -these little birds; and much more when only half of the species -appears: therefore we may conclude that the fringillae caelebes, 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 Systema Naturae, 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 fieldfares leave us -in the spring, in order to cross the seas, and to retire to some -districts more suitable to the purpose of breeding. That the former -pair before they retire, and that the hens are forward with egg, I -myself, when I was a sportsman, have often experienced. It cannot -indeed be denied but that now and then we hear of a woodcock’s nest, or -young 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 fieldfares, 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. 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 remember, after that dreadful winter of 1739-40, that cold -north-east 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 nidificat’; and of the redwing he says, in the -same place, that ‘nidificat in mediis arbusculis, sive sepibus: ova sex -caeruleo-viridia maculis 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 aequinoctium -vernale’; meaning in Tirol, 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 woodcocks breed at all in Austria: but he says -‘Avis haec septentrionalium provinciarum aestivo tempore incola est; -ubi plerumque nidificat. Appropinquante hyeme australiores provincias -petit: hinc circa plenilunium mensis Octobris plerumque Austriam -transmigrat. Tunc rursus circa plenilunium potissimum mensis Martii per -Austriam matrimonio juncta ad septentrionales provincias redit.’ For -the whole passage (which I have abridged) see Elenchus, etc., p. 351. -This seems to be a full proof of the migration of woodcocks; though -little is proved concerning the place of breeding. - -P.S. There fell in the county of Rutland, in three weeks of this -present very wet weather, seven inches and an 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 one year is -twenty inches and an half. - - - - -Letter IX - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Fyfield, near Andover, Feb. 12, 1771. - -Dear Sir, - -You are, I know, no great friend to migration; and the well attested -accounts from various parts of the kingdom 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, to 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, and from south to north, according to the season. -And these vast migrations consist not only of hirundines but of -bee-birds, hoopoes, oro pendolos or golden thrushes, etc., etc., and -also 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. - -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, etc.; because, if we reflect, a bird may travel -from England to the equator without launching 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 - -… rang’d 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 moon-shiny 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 -some people were shooting in the parish of Trotton, in the county of -Sussex, they killed a duck in that dreadful winter 1708-9, 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. - -* I have read a like anecdote of a swan. - - -At present I do not know anybody near the sea-side 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 woodcocks 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. - -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 ring-ousel for Mr. -Tunstal during their autumnal visit; but I will endeavour to get him -one when they call on us again in April. I am glad that you and that -gentleman saw my Andalusian birds; I hope they answered your -expectation. Royston, or grey 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? did he not find a -missel-thrush’s nest, and take it for the nest of a fieldfare? - -The stock-dove, or wood-pigeon, oenas 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 are much decreased in number. The ring-dove, palumbus -Raii, stays with us the whole year, and breeds several times through -the summer. - -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 chafers, 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-pipe, set at -concert-pitch, and finds they all hoot in B flat. He will examine the -nightingales next spring. - -I am, etc., etc. - - - - -Letter X - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Aug. 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 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, the other in D sharp, who 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 they retreat -from Scandinavian winters: and much more the ordo of grallae, who, all -to a bird, forsake the northern parts of Europe at the approach of -winter. ‘Grallae tanquam conjugatae unanimiter in fugam se conjiciunt; -ne earum unicam quidem inter nos habitantem invenire possimus; ut enim -aestate in australibus degere nequeunt ob defectum lumbricorum, -terramque siccam; ita nec in frigidis ob eandem causam,’ says Eckmarck -the 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 Amoenitates Academicae, vol. iv, p. 565. - -Birds may be so circumstanced as to be obliged to migrate in one -country and not in another: but the grallae (which procure their food -from marshes and boggy grounds) must in winter forsake the more -northerly parts of Europe, or perish for want of food. - -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 systematics 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 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. - -I am, etc., etc. - - - - -Letter XI - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Feb. 8, 1772. - -Dear Sir, - -When I ride about in the winter, and see such prodigious flocks of -various kinds of birds, I cannot help 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 sustenance 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 dews, yet it is strange that the former should so frequently -have a flight of starlings for their satellites. Is it because rooks -have a more 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 yelpings of jackals. Lapwings and starlings sometimes -associate. - - - - -Letter XII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -March 9, 1772. - -Dear Sir, - -As a gentleman and myself were walking on the fourth of last November -round the sea-banks at Newhaven, 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 than retire -again to their latebrae. 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 invigorating. And I am the more -of this opinion from what I have remarked during some of our late -springs, that though some swallows did make their appearance about the -usual time, viz., the thirteenth or fourteenth of April, yet meeting -with an harsh reception, and blustering cold north-east winds, they -immediately withdrew, absconding for several days, till the weather -gave them better encouragement. - - - - -Letter XIII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -April 12, 1772. - -Dear Sir, - -While I was in Sussex last autumn my residence was at the village near -Lewes, from whence I had formerly the pleasure of writing to you. On -the first of November I remarked that the old tortoise, formerly -mentioned, began first to dig the ground in order to the forming its -hybernaculum, which it had fixed on just beside a great tuft of -hepaticas. It scrapes out the ground with its fore-feet, and throws it -up over its back with its hind; but the 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 -unusually 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 thirteenth 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 were -on tiptoe, feeding with great earnestness 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 knoweth his owner, and the ass has -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! - -* Isaiah i. 3. - - -I am, etc., etc. - -P.S. In about three days after I left Sussex the tortoise retired into -the ground under the hepatica. - - - - -Letter XIV - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, March 26, 1773. - -Dear Sir, - -The more I reflect on the στοργὴ 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. - -This affection sublimes the passions, quickens the invention, and -sharpens the sagacity of the brute creation. Thus an hen, just become a -mother, is no longer that placid bird she used to be, but with feathers -standing on end, wings hovering, and clocking 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 an hawk, whom they will persecute till he leaves -that district. A very 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 kestril, -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 repetition for the sake of -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 an 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 impertinent intruder. - -A still more remarkable mixture of sagacity and instinct occurred to me -one day as my people were pulling off the lining of an hotbed, in order -to add some fresh dung. From out of the side of this bed leaped an -animal with great agility 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 perversion of the στοργὴ, 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. 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XV - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, July 8, 1773. - -Dear Sir, - -Some young men went down lately to a pond on the verge of Wolmer-forest -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 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 unacceptable: — 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 -nests, 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 regards the well-being of itself and offspring. But a -piece of address, which they show 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: 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 -whole village up in arms on such an occasion, imagining the church-yard -to be full of goblins and spectres. White owls also often scream -horribly as they fly along; from this screaming probably arose the -common people’s imaginary species of screech-owl, 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 examination, he found 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 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 an 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 owls 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 presume are -necessary to collect every ray of light, and large concave ears to -command the smallest degree of sound or noise. - -I am, etc. - -The hirundines 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 themselves to our houses; amuse us -with their migrations, songs, and marvellous agility; and clear our -outlets from the annoyances of gnats and other troublesome insects. -Some districts in the south seas, near Guiaquil,* 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 hirundines is found in those 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 was it not for the friendly -interposition of the swallow tribe. - -* See Ulloa’s Travels. - - -Many species of birds have their particular 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 truly irksome and injurious to them. These are the hippoboscae -hirundinis 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 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 pupae, of -these flies as big as the flies themselves, which he hatched in his own -bosom. Any person that will take the troupe to examine the old nests of -either species of swallows may find in them the black shining cases of -the pupae of these insects: but for other particulars, too long for -this place, we refer the reader to L’Histoire d’Insectes of that -admirable entomologist. Tom. iv. pi. ii. - - - - -Letter XVI - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Nov. 20, 1773. - -Dear Sir, - -In obedience to your injunctions I sit down to give you some account of -the house-martin, 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 -hirundines — the swallow, the swift, and the bank-martin. - -A few house-martins begin to appear about the sixteenth 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 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 martin begins to think in earnest of providing 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 and tenacious. As this bird often builds against a -perpendicular wall without any projecting ledge under, 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 lithe -bird) raise but a moderate layer at a time, and then desist; lest the -work should become top-heavy, and so be ruined by is 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 is own, to eject the owner, and to -line it after is own manner. - -After so much labour is bestowed in erecting a mansion, as nature -seldom works in vain, martins win 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 shed 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. Was 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 a particular -provision, that the dung of nestlings is enveloped into 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 young 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 ἡλικία 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 -imperceptible 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 mobs of -churches and houses. These congregations 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 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 than 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 frequency as swallows. It has been observed that -martins 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 -an 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 an -house without eaves in an exposed district, where some martins build -year by year in the corners of the windows. But, as the corners of -these windows (which face to the south-east and south-west) are too -shallow, the 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 wonderful unequal faculty; in some -instances so much above reason, in other respects so far below it! -Martins 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. Martins 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. -Accordingly they make use of a placid easy motion in a middle region of -the air, seldom mounting to any great height, and never sweeping long -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 the twenty-first, and are never without -unfledged young as late as Michaelmas. - -As the summer declines the congregating docks 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 eight 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 ate very short-lived indeed, -or unless they do not return to the district where they are bred, they -must undergo vast devastations somehow, sad somewhere; for the birds -that return yearly bear no manner of proportion to the birds that -retire. - -House-martins ate distinguished from that congeners by having that legs -coveted 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 breeding they are often greatly molested with fleas. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XVII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Ringmer, near Lewes, Dec. 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 monography 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 ought 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 win 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 hereafter 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 Sussex-downs upwards of thirty years, -yet I still investigate that chain of majestic mountains with fresh -admiration year by year; and 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 -command a noble view of the wild, or weald, on one hand, and the broad -downs and sea on the other. Mr. Ray used to visit a family* just at the -foot of these hips, and was so ravished with the prospect from -Plumpton-plain near Lewes, that he mentions those scopes in his Wisdom -of God in the Works of the Creation with the utmost satisfaction, and -thinks them equal to anything he had seen in the finest parts of -Europe. - -* Mr. Courthope, of Danny. - - -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 smooch fungus-like protuberances, their fluted sides, and -regular hollows and slopes, that carry at once the air of vegetative -dilation and expansion…. Or was there ever a time when these immense -masses of calcareous matter were drown 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 au 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 the 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 foreheads, -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 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 hirundines, 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, etc., etc., 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 wheat-ear, though they abound 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 plowed 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 -Brighthelmstone 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 wheat-ears 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 -ring-ousels; 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 whin-chats, some rooks, and -several kites and buzzards. - -About Midsummer a flight of cross-bills comes to the pine-groves about -this house, but never makes any long stay. - -The old tortoise, that I have mentioned in a former letter, still -continues in this garden; and retired under ground about the twentieth -of November, and came out again for one day on the thirtieth: 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 harbingers. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XVIII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Jan. 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 immediately 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 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 Virgil’s 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. - -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 consists, like that of -the house-martin, 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 martin 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 shows 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 -day 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 flyers, 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 -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-martins; 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 are too quick for the eye. - -The swallow, probably the male bird, is the excubitor to house-martins, -and other little birds, announcing the approach of birds of prey. For -as soon as an hawk appears, with a shrill alarming note he calls all -the swallows and martins 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 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-martins and bank-martins 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 flyer, ranging to distant downs and -commons even in windy weather, which the other species seem much to -dislike; nay, even frequenting exposed sea-port 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. - -Some few pairs haunt the new and open streets of London next the -fields, but do not enter, like the house-martin, the close and crowded -parts of the city. - -Both male and female are distinguished from their congeners 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 στοργὴ 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. - -The owl and the conch make a strange grotesque appearance, and are not -the least curious specimens in that wonderful collection of art and -nature.* - -* Sir Ashton Lever’s Museum. - - -Thus is instinct in animals, taken the least out of its way, an -undistinguishing, limited faculty; and blind to every circumstance that -does not immediately respect self-preservation, or lead at once to the -propagation or support of their species. - -I am, - -With all respect, etc., etc. - - - - -Letter XIX - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Feb. 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 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 -hirundo 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; but not the martin, 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 -martin; 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 martin is milk-white, its -back and wings blue, and all its under part white as snow. Nor can the -clumsy motions (comparatively clumsy) of the martin 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 -Aeneas. The verb sonat also seems to imply a bird that is somewhat -loquacious.* - -* Nigra velut magnas domini cum divitis ædes -Pervolat, et pennis alta atria lustrat hirundo, -Pabula parva legens, nidisque loquacibus escas: -Et nunc porticibus vacuis, nunc humida circum -Stagna sonat … - - -We have had a very wet autumn and winter, so as to raise the springs to -a pitch beyond any thing since 1764; which was a remarkable year for -floods and high waters. The land-springs, which we call lavants, break -out much on the downs of Sussex, Hampshire, and Wiltshire. The country -people say when the lavants 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 vicissitudes from fierce frost to -pouring rains, looks poorly; and the turnips rot very fast. - - - - -Letter XX - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Feb. 26, 1774. - -Dear Sir, - -The sand-martin, or bank-martin, 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. - -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 is fera natura, at least in this part of the kingdom, -disclaiming all domestic attachments, and haunting wild heaths and -commons where there are large lakes; while the other species, -especially the swallow and house-martin, 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 lakes 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-martins 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. 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-martin discover the greatest address in raising and securely -fixing crusts or shells of loam as cunabula for their young, the -bank-martin terebrates a round and regular hole in the sand or earth, -which is serpentine, 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 anything: 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 dispatch: 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 -intentionally 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 latebrae 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 flounder, and -threatening to overwhelm them and their labours ? - -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 untenable. 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 upon 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-martin arrives much about the same time with the swallow, and -lays, as she does, from four to six white eggs. But as the species is -cryptogame, carrying on the business of nidification, incubation, and -the support of its young in the dark, it would not be so 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 libellulae (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-martins 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-martins. - -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 congregating with their -congeners in the autumn. Undoubtedly they breed a second time, like the -house-martin and swallow; and withdraw about Michaelmas. - -Though in some particular districts they may happen to abound, yet in -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-martins; 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-martins, 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 group of insects -affords the principal food of each respective species of swallow. - -Notwithstanding what has been advanced above, some few sand-martins, I -see, haunt the skirts of London, frequenting the dirty pools in Saint -George’s-Fields, and about White-Chapel. 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-martin and swallow. - -Sand-martins differ from their congeners in the diminutiveness of their -size, and in their colour, which is what is usually called a -mouse-colour. Near Valencia in Spain, they are taken, says Willughby, -and sold in the markets for the table; and are called by the country -people, probably from their desultory jerking manner of flight, -Papilion de montagna. - - - - -Letter XXI - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Sept. 28, 1774. - -Dear Sir, - -As the swift or black-martin is the largest of the British hirundines, -so is it 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-martin, 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 -usurp upon the house-sparrows, and expel them, as sparrows do the house -and sand-martin; 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-martins, carry on the business of nidification 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 ninth 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, was 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, at 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 thundry weather, when it expresses great -alacrity, and calls forth all its powers. In hot mornings several, -getting together in 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. 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 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 phryganeae, ephemerae, and libellulae -(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 an 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 martins, 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 in 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. -Windy, and particularly windy weather with heavy showers, they dislike; -and on such days withdraw, and are scarce 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 before their congeners bring out their second brood. 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 most southerly parts of Andalusia, where they can -be no ways 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 searches, 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 hippoboscae -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 -British hirundines; and indeed from all other known birds, the hirundo -melba, 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 constitute a genus per -se. - -* John Antony Scopoli, of Carniola, M.D. - - -In London a party of swifts frequents 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-martin, into the close crowded part of the town. - -The Swedes have bestowed a very pertinent name on this swallow, calling -it ring swala, form 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, over-run with hippoboscae, are -sometimes found, under their nests, fallen to the ground: the number of -vermin rendering 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 fifth 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 -affected by natural στοργὴ 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, permitting 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 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 -inconceivable 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 ἡλικία or state of -perfection; while the progressive growth of men and large quadrupeds is -slow and tedious! - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Sept. 13, 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 pleasure, in contemplating the address with which -this feat was performed to a consideraable depth in the chimney, was -somewhat interrupted by apprehensions lest my eyes might undergo the -same fate with those of Tobit.* - -* Tobit ii. 10. - - -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-martin on April -the 12th, and the house-martin 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-martins not till the middle of May. -At Blackburn, in Lancashire, swifts were seen April the 28th, swallows -April the 29th, house-martins May the 1st. Do these different dates, in -such distant districts, prove anything 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 afternoon. 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. - -Linnaeus says that hawks ‘paciscuntur inducias cum avibus, quamdiu -cuculus cuculat’ but it appears to me that, during 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 -Welch 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 successful 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 aris & focis; but numbers at last -prevailed, they tore the nest to pieces, and swallowed the young alive. - -In the season of notification the wildest birds are comparatively tame. -Thus the ring-dove breeds in my fields, though they are continually -frequented; 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 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, -etc., 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 XXIII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, June 8, 1775. - -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 plentifully 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 incumbrances 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 France -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 inch broad, and five or six long, -which fell with a degree of velocity which showed they were -considerably heavier than the atmosphere. - -On every side as the observer turned his eyes might he 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 a 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, 300 feet above his -fields, he found the webs in appearance still as much above him as -before; still descending into sight in a 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 appearances, 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 -rapturous 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 region 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 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 my breath. So that these little crawlers seem to -have, while mounting, some loco-motive power without the use of wings, -and to move in the air, faster then the air itself. - - - - -Letter XXIV - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Aug. 15, 1775. - -Dear Sir, - -There is a wonderful spirit of sociality in the brute creation, -independent of sexual attachment: the congregating 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 endeavouring 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. - -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 longings 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 circumspection, 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 following 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. - - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXV - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Oct. 2, 1775. - -Dear Sir, - -We have two gangs or hordes of gypsies 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 spread by degrees over Europe, may not this name, -a little corrupted, be the very name they brought with them 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, etc. 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 gypsies, 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 gypsy-girl lie-in in the midst of one of our hop-gardens, on -the cold ground, with nothing over her but a piece of 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 those -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.* - -* See Bell’s Travels in China. - - -Gypsies are called in French, Bohemians; in Italian and modern Greek, -Zingari. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXVI - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Nov. 1, 1775. - -Dear Sir, - -Hic … taedae pingues, hic 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 am 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 -effusus, 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 dispatch, and seldom failing to -strip them with the nicest 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 scumrnings 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 four pence; 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 an half, -being minuted, burnt only three minutes short of an hour: and a rush -still of 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 1/33 of a farthing, and 1/11 -afterwards. Thus a poor family will enjoy 5&1/2 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 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 an -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 oeconomy, it may not be improper to -mention a pretty implement of housewifery that we have seen no where -else; that is, little neat besoms which our foresters make from the -stalk 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, etc. If -these besoms were known to the brushmakers in town, it is probable they -might come much in use for the purpose above-mentioned.* - -* A besom of this sort is to be seen in Sir Ashton Lever’s Museum. - - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXVII - - -To The Honourable 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, showed 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 dosed away -his time, within his father’s house, by the fireside, 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. Honeybees, 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 his skin with a number of these -captives; and sometimes would confine them 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 exhibitor of bees; and we may justly say of him now, - -… Thou, -Had thy presiding star propitious shone, -Should’st 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXVIII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Jan. 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 a 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 -ourselves 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 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 show 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 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, would 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. - -We have several persons now living in the village, who, in their -childhood, were supposed to be healed by this superstitious ceremony, -derived down perhaps from our Saxon ancestors, who practiced it before -their conversion to Christianity. - -At the south corner 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 -fore-fathers 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. - -* For a similar practice, see Plot’s Staffordshire. - - -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 -by-standers, who interceded in vain for its preservation, urging its -power and efficacy, and alleging that it had been - -Religione patrum multos servata per annos. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXIX - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Feb. 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 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. - -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 -evergreens imbibe very little. These facts may furnish the intelligent -with hints concerning what trees they should plant round small ponds -that they would wish to be perennial; and show 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 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. - -* Vide Kalm’s Travels to North America. - - -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. - -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 containing perhaps not more than two or -three hundred hogsheads 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 beside. This pond, it is true, is over-hung -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 overflowing 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 in 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 a -surface of water than there does on an equal surface of moist earth.’ -Hence we see that water, by its coolness, is enabled to assimilate 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, etc., 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXX - - -To The Honourable 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 gallinae columbae, etc., but -immediately behind it, on and over the bowels, so as to make a large -protuberance in the belly.* - -* Histoire de l’Academie Royale, 1752. - - -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, cranberries, or some such fruit; so -that these birds apparently subsist on insects and fruits: nor was -there the least appearance of bones, feathers, or fur to support the -idle notion of their being birds of prey. - -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 backbone. - -It must be allowed, as this anatomist observes, that the crop placed -just upon 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. This inquiry I proposed to myself to -make with a fern-owl, or goat-sucker, as soon as opportunity offered: -because, if their information 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 habit 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 phalaenae, moths of several sorts, and -their eggs, which no doubt had been forced out of those insects by the -action of swallowing. - -Now as it appears that this bird, which is so well known to practice -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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXXI - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -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 earthworms. This little fry -issued into the world with the true viper-spirit about them, showing -great alertness as soon as disengaged from the belly of the dam: they -twisted and wriggled about, and set themselves up, and gaped very wide -when touched with a stick, showing 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. - -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 a 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 scissors. - -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 XXXII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -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. - -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 then 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 XXXIII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -The natural term of an 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 an 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 showed 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 hundred pigs: a -prodigious instance of fecundity in so large a quadruped! She was -killed in spring 1775. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXXIV - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, May 9, 1776. - -Dear Sir, - -… admorunt ubera tigres. - -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 dispatched 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! - -Why so cruel and sanguinary a beast as a cat, of the ferocious genus of -Feles, the murium leo, as 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 complacency and ease she derived to -herself from the 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 fœtam 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. - - - - -Letter XXXV - - -To The Honourable 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 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 and twigs into it; and, most of all, by throwing up -such infinite numbers of lumps of earth called worm-casts, 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 sterile: -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 tipulae (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.* - -* Farmer Young, of Norton-farm, says that this spring (1777) about 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. - - -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 entertainment 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXXVI - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Nov. 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 everybody complained and -were restless under those sensations to which they had not been -reconciled by gradual approaches. - -This 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 and came forth; some bees swarmed in -this neighbourhood; the old tortoise, near Lewes in Sussex, 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-martins 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 -November, more than twenty house-martins, which, in appearance, 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 1/2 ; 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 death-like stupor as a defect of heat. And farther, -it is reasonable to suppose that two whole species, or at least many -individuals of those 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-martins 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXXVII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Jan. 8, 1778. - -Dear Sir, - -There was in this village several years ago a miserable pauper, who, -from his birth, was addicted 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 or 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 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 which 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 peculiar 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. - -* See Leviticus, chap. xiii. and xiv. - - -Some centuries ago this horrible distemper prevailed all Europe over; -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 an 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 now is 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. Three or -four centuries ago, before there were any enclosures, sown-grasses, -field-turnips, or field-carrots, or hay, all the cattle which 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; 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** t 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 -is now arrived at such a pitch of perfection, that our best and fattest -meats are killed in the winter; and no man need eat salted flesh, -unless he prefers it, that has money to buy fresh. - -** Viz. Six hundred bacons, eighty carcasses of beef, and six hundred -muttons. - - -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 and -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 Welch, 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 correcting 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, peas, 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. - -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 that had gardens and fruit-trees in any -perfection, within the walls of their abbies* and priories. The barons -neglected every pursuit that did not lead to war or tend to the -pleasure of the chase. - -* ‘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. - - -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 Beaconsfield, 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. - -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 sallets, which are not yet or have not been but lately used -in England, viz., selleri (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 further he adds -‘curled endive blanched is much used beyond seas; and, for a raw -sallet, seemed to excel lettuce itself.’ Now this journey was -undertaken no longer ago than in the year 1663. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XXXVIII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Fortè puer, comitum seductus ab agmine fido, -Dixerat, ecquis adest ? et, adest, responderat echo. -Hic stupet; utque aciem partes divisit in omnes; -Voce, veni, clamat magna. Vocat illa vocantem. - - -Selborne, Feb. 12, 1778. - -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 patulæ 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. - -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 wood 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 experiments, is -the stone-built, tiled hop-kiln in Galleylane, which measures in front -40 feet, and from the ground to the eaves 12 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 Oxfordshire, allows 120 -feet for the return of each syllable distinctly: hence this echo, which -gives ten distinct syllables, ought to measure 400 yards, or 120 feet -to each syllable; whereas our distance is only 258 yards, or near 75 -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 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 phenomenon, 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 image. - - -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 hearing 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 showing the least sensibility or resentment. - -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 an 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 purpose 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 needful to erect this building on the -gentle declivity of an 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 - -… quæ nec reticere loquenti, -Nec prior ipsa loqui didicit resonabilis echo. - - -I am, etc. - -P.S. — The classic reader will, I trust, pardon the following lovely -quotation, so finely describing echoes, and so poetically accounting -for their causes from popular superstition: - -Quæ bene quom videas, rationem reddere possis -Tute tibi atque alus, quo pacto per loca sola -Saxa pareis formas verborum ex ordine reddant, -Palanteis comites quom monteis inter opacos -Quaerimus, et magna dispersos voce ciemus. -Sex etiam, aut septem loca vidi reddere voces -Unam quom jaceres: ita colles collibus ipsis -Verba repulsantes iterabant dicta referre. -Haec loca capripedes 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 saepe labro calamos percurrit hianteis, -Fistula silvestrem ne cesset fundere musam. - - -Lucretius, lib. iv. 1. 576. - - - - -Letter XXXIX - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -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 martins 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 -reoccupy their ancient haunts ? - -Ever since I have attended to the subject of ornithology, I have always -supposed that that sudden reverse of affection, that strange -ἀντιστοργὴ, 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 inhabitants, 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-martins return in the same -exact number annually is not easy to say, for reasons given above: but -it is apparent, as I have remarked before in my Monographies, that the -numbers returning bear no manner of proportion to the numbers retiring. - - - - -Letter XL - - -To The Honourable 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 system 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, etc., what not only strengthens our -hearts, and exhilarates our spirits, but what secures 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 on his own species.* - -* See the late Voyages to the South-seas. - - -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, -paper, etc. 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 -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 distinguish the annual from -the 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 an 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.’ - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter XLI - - -To The Honourable Daines 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 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 be neither -unacceptable nor unentertaining: - -Helleborus foetidus, stinking hellebore, bear’s foot, or setterworth, — -all over the High-wood and Coney-croft-hanger: this continues a great -branching plant the winter through, blossoming 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. - -Vaccinium oxycoccos, creeping bilberries or cranberries, — in the bogs -of Bin’s-pond. - -Vaccinium myrtillus, whortle, or bleaberries, — on the dry hillocks of -Wolmer-forest. - -Drosera rotundifolia, round-leaved sun-dew. Drosera longifolia, -long-leaved ditto. In the bogs of Bin’s-pond. - -Comarum palustre, purple comarum, or marsh cinquefoil, — in the bogs of -Bin’s-pond. - -Hypericon androsaemum, tutsan, St. John’s wort, — in the stony, hollow -lanes. - -Vinca minor, less periwinkle, — in Selborne Hanger and Shrubwood. - -Monotropa 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-won, — 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 amarella, autumnal gentian or fellwort, — on the Zig-zag and -Hanger; - -Lathraea squamaria, tooth-wort, — in the Church Litten 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, birds’ 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 High-wood 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 foetidus 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 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 structure. -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 -phaenomenon in nature. - -Say, what impels, amidst surrounding snow, -Congealed, the crocus’ flamy bud to grow? -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 XLII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Omnibus animalibus reliquis certus et uniusmodi, et in suo cuique -genere incessus est: aves solae vario meatu feruntur, et in terra, et -in äere.—PLIN. Hist. Nat. lib. x. cap. 38. - - -Selborne, Aug. 7, 1778. - -Dear Sir, - -A good ornithologist should be able to distinguish birds by their air -as well as by 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 moron - -… Et verâ 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 wind-hover, 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; wood-peckers -fly volatu undoso, opening and closing their wings at every stroke, and -so are always rising or 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 hook-clawed birds, walk awkwardly, and make use -of their bill as a third foot, climbing and ascending with ridiculous -caution. All the gallinae 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 -dispatch; herons seem incumbered 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 the 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 wind-hover; and the -green-finch 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 -dusk over the tops of trees like a meteor; starlings as it were swim -along, while missal-thrushes use a wild and desultory flight; swallows -sweep over the surface of the ground and water, and distinguish -themselves by rapid turns and quick evolutions; swifts dash round in -circles; and the bank-martin 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 alternately. Skylarks rise and fall perpendicularly as they -sing: woodlarks hang poised in the air; and titlarks rise and fall in -large cubes, 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 if fettered, and stand erect -on their tails: these are the compedes of Linnaeus. Geese and cranes, -and most wild-fowls, move in figured flights, often changing their -position. The secondary rerniges of tringae, wild-ducks, and some -others, are very long, and give their wings, when in motion, an hooked -appearance. Dab-chicks, moor-hens, and coots, fly erect, with their -legs hanging down, and hardly make any dispatch; 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 XLIII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Sept. 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 of the -_Spectator_, who, by the recital of a conversation which passed between -two owls, reclaimed a sultan,* 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 kind, is -quite mute, though some are rather silent. The language of birds is -very ancient, and, like other ancient modes of speech, very elliptical: -little is said, but much is meant and understood. - -* See Spectator, Vol. VII., No. 512. - - -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, beside 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 -breeding 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 wood-pecker sets up a sort of loud and hearty laugh; the -fern-owl, or goat-sucker, from the dusk till day-break, serenades his -mate with the clattering of castanets. All the tuneful passeres express -their 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 quarters 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 therefore confine the -remainder of this letter to the few domestic fowls of our yards, which -are most known, and therefore best understood. At 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 distinction of voice is remarkable; for, while the -quack of the female is loud and sonorous, the voice of the drake is -inward and 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 -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 expressive 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 or larum, 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 faggot-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 matrons upbraided, they execrated, they insulted, they -triumphed. In a word, they never desisted from buffeting their -adversary till they had torn him in an hundred pieces. - - - - -Letter XLIV - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne. - -… monstrent. -* * * * * -Quid tantum Oceano properent se tingere soles -Hyberni; vel quae 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 an 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 northward -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 -heliotrope to the north of it. - -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 north 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. - - - - -Letter XLV - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne. - -… Mugire videbis -Sub pedibus terram, et descendere 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 -Forsaken, to thy neighbour’s bounds transfer -Thy 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 that far, yet 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 and -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. - -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 lavants, 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 engulfed, going down in a -perpendicular 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 unincumbered; 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 tremendous 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 day-light 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 barn 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, some thrown down, and some fallen into the heads of -neighbouring 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. - -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 or safe for pasturage, till -considerable labour and expense had been bestowed in levelling the -surface and filling in the gaping fissures. - - - - -Letter XLVI - - -To The Honourable 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 oeconomy 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 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 show 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: -hut 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 upon any that were obtruded upon them with a vast row of -serrated fangs. With their strong jaws, 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 stiller 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 themselves. 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 everything that is -rural, verdurous, and joyous. - -About the tenth 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. - -* We have observed that they cast these skins in April, which are then -seen lying at the mouths of their holes. - - -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 stayed 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 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 XLVII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne. - -Far from all resort of mirth -Save the cricket on the hearth. -MILTON’S _Il 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. - -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, from -the burning atmosphere which they inhabit, they are a thirsty race, and -show 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 prognostic sometimes, she thinks, of in -or good luck; of the death of a near relation, or the approach of an -absent lover. By being the constant companions 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 seem 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 wood-packers, -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 became 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.’ * Their shrilling noise is occasioned by a -brisk attrition of their wings. Cats catch hearth-crickets, and, -playing with them as they do with mice, devour them. Crickets may be -destroyed, like wasps, by phials half fined 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. - -* Exod. viii. 3. - - - - -Letter XLVIII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne. - -How diversified are the modes of life not only of incongruous 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. - -About the beginning of May they lay their eggs, as I was once an -eye-witness: for a gardener at an 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 oeconomy: - -… 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 this secret nursery were deposited near an hundred -eggs of a dirty yellow colour, and enveloped in a tough skin, but too -lately excluded to contain 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 XLIX - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, May 7, 1779. - -It is now more than forty years that I have paid some attention 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 himantopus, were -shot upon the verge of Frinsham-pond, 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 caricature; 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 l’echasse. My specimen, when drawn and -stuffed with pepper, weighed only four ounces and a quarter, though the -naked part of the thigh measured three inches and an half, and the legs -four inches and an half. Hence we may safely assert that these birds -exhibit, weight for inches, incomparably 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 fraction 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 support its steps it -must be liable, in speculation, to perpetual vacillations, and seldom -able to preserve 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 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 L - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, April 21, 1780. - -Dear Sir, - -The old Sussex tortoise, that I have mentioned to you so often, is -become my property. I 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 propensities; 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 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 troupe 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 amusing occurrence! to see such a similarity of -feelings between the two φερέοικοι! for so the Greeks call both the -shell-snail and the tortoise. - -Summer birds are, this cold and backward spring, unusually late: I have -seen but one swallow yet. This conformity with the weather convinces me -more and more that they sleep in the winter. - - - - -Letter LI - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Sept. 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-martins 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 supposing that the examination would be made to -the best advantage in the spring, and observing that no martins had -appeared by the 11th 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-martin, 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 stayed a short time, and then flew over the houses; for some -days after no martins were observed, not till the 16th of April, and -then only a pair. Martins in general were remarkably late this year. - - - - -Letter LII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Selborne, Sept. 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 I 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 hippoboscae hirundinis. - -The following remarks on this unusual incident are obvious. The first -is, that though it may 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 corroborates 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 Rutland, in 1782, -so late as the third of September. - - - - -Letter LIII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -As I have sometimes known you make inquiries about several kinds of -insects, I shall here send you an account of 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 anything 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 multitude of eggs. This curious and uncommon production put me upon -recollecting what I have heard and read concerning the coccus vitis -viniferae of Linnaeus, which, in the South of Europe, infests many -vines, and is an 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 be at all checked by the preceding winter, -which had been uncommonly severe. - -Not being then at all aware that it had anything 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 especially 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 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 1770 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 everything 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 incumbrance. 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, 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.* - -* For various methods by which several insects shift their quarters, -see Derham’s Physico-Theology. - - - - -Letter LIV - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Dear Sir, - -When I happen to visit a family where gold and silver fishes are kept -in a glass bowl, I am always pleased 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 vivary, 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 uppermost, 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 -nourishment 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: however, 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 pinnae 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 motionless, and are -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 this 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 prodigialiter unam. - - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter LV - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -October 10, 1781. - -Dear Sir, - -I think I have observed before that much the most considerable part of -the house-martins 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 shown itself in the -first week of November. - -Having taken notice, in October 1780, 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 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 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 a sweet day, and in appearance exactly suited -to my wishes, yet not a martin was to be seen; and so I was forced, -reluctantly, 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 carefully examined, probably -those late broods, and perhaps the whole aggregate body of the -house-martins 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 LVI - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -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 chat -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 -chat 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 chat 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 -remarkable in the edifices of the little architect. Again, the regular -nest of the house-martin 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 field-mouse, -and the bird called the nut-hatch (sitta Europaea), which live much on -hazel nuts; and yet they open them each in a different way. The first, -after rasping off the small end, splits the shell in 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 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 harmonicis musicam -illam avium: non quad alia quoque non delectaretur; sed quod ex musica -humana relinqueretur in animo continens qaemdam, attentionemque et -somnum conturbans agitatio; dum ascensus, exscensus, tenores, ac -mutationes illae sonorum et consonantiarum euntque redeuntque per -phantasiam: — cum nihil tale relinqui possit ex modulationibus avium, -quae, quod non sunt perinde a nobis imitabiles, non possunt perinde -internam facultatem commovere.’ — GASSENDUS in Vita Peireskii. - -This curious quotation strikes me much by so well representing my own -case, and by describing what I have so often felt, but never could so -well express. When I hear fine music I 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. - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter LVII - - -To The Honourable 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 man, 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 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 measured 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 an 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 supposed 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. This -falcon was probably driven from the mountains of North Wales or -Scotland, where they are known to breed, by rigorous weather and deep -snows that had lately fallen. - -* See my tenth and eleventh letter to that gentleman. - - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter LVIII - - -To The Honourable 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 the country for the purpose of being -eaten: they are about the size of a moderate spaniel; of a pale yellow -colour, with coarse bristling hairs 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 midway, 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 showed 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 are 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 cultivation. Thus, in the Travels -of Ysbrandt 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 Kamschatdales 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 ending 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 foetid 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,* -and kites, and ravens, and crows, etc., were intended to be messmates -with dogs** over their carrion; and seem to be appointed by nature as -fellow-scavengers to remove all cadaverous nuisances from the face of -the earth. - -* 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 an European ear sounds like quihloh. - - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter LIX - - -To The Honourable 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 axe, 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 (charadrius oedicnemus). Some of them pass over or near my -house almost every evening after it is dark, from the uplands of the -hill and North field, 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 watchwords to keep them together, that they may not stray or -lose each the 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 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.’ - -I am, etc. - - - - -Letter LX - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -In reading Dr. Huxham’s Observationes de Aere, etc., 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 1748, -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 17.266 in. -and in 1741, 20.354 in.; and again in 1743 only 20.908 in. 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 considerable. In the wettest years at -Plymouth the Doctor measured only once 36 in.; and again once, viz., -1734, 37.114 in.: 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. He is also of opinion that -the dingy, smoky appearance of 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 -Combwood, was very grand: but it was at the Hermitage that the echoes -and repercussions delighted the hearers; not only filling the Lythe -with the roar, as if all the beeches were tearing up by the roots; but, -turning to the left, they pervaded the vale above Combwood-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 further 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 barometers 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 27; because in stormy weather the mercury there will -sometimes descend below 28. 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 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 barometers 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 Sough Lambeth; the distance between which, all the windings -and indentings of the streams considered, cannot be less than an -hundred miles. I am, etc. - - - - -Letter LXI - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -Since the weather of a district is undoubtedly part of its natural -history, I shall make no further apology for the four following -letters, which will contain many particulars concerning 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 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 ornamenting; 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 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 behaves 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, and -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 inconvenience with -respect to the more tender shrubs from North America; which they -therefore plant under north walls. There 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 inhabitants too early from their slumbers; and, by -putting their juices into motion too soon, subjects them afterwards to -inconveniences 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 -straw lengthwise from the eaves of thatched houses and barns in a most -adroit manner, for a purpose that has been explained already.* - -* See Letter XLI to Mr. Pennant. - - -On the 3d 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 4th to 18, and the 7th to 17.5, 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; for, when a -thermometer hangs abroad in a 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 gauge. - -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 junipers, be it -remembered that they remained untouched amidst the general havoc: hence -men should learn to ornament 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 affected that they -cast all their leaves. - -By the 14th 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 LXII - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -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. - -* The autumn preceding January 1768 was very wet, and particularly the -month of September, during which there fell at Lyndon, in the county of -Rutland, six inches and an half of rain. And the terrible long frost of -1739-40 set in after a rainy season, and when the springs were very -high. - - -January 7th. — Snow driving all the day, which was followed by frost, -sleet, and some snow, till the 12th, when a prodigious mass overwhelmed -all the works of men, drifting over the tops of the gates and filling -the hollow lanes. - -On the 14th the writer was obliged to be much abroad; and thinks he -never before or since has 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 confounded by -the glare of snow that they would soon perish without assistance. The -hares also lay sullenly in their seats, and would not move until -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 14th the snow continued to increase, and began to stop the -road waggons 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 -Marlborough, 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 track to London; but the relentless heaps of -snow were too bulky to be removed; and so the 18th passed over, leaving -the company in very uncomfortable circumstances at the Castle and other -inns. - -On the 20th 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 29, 28, 25, and thereabout; but on the 21st it -descended to 20. The birds now began to be in a very pitiable and -starving condition. Tamed by the season, skylarks 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 22nd 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 exception from din and clatter -was strange, but not pleasant; it seemed to convey an uncomfortable -idea of desolation: - -… ipsa silentia terrent. - - -On the 27th much snow fell all day, and in the evening the frost became -very intense. At South Lambeth, for the four following nights, the -thermometer fell to 11, 7, 6, 6; and at Selborne to 7, 6, 10; and on -the 31st January, just before sunrise, with rime on the trees and on -the tube of the glass, the quicksilver sunk exactly to zero, being 32 -degrees below the freezing point; but by eleven in the morning, though -in the shade, it sprung up to 16.5 * — 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 incumbered with snow, which crumbled and -trod dusty; and, turning grey, 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 1st 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 3d 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., 34 degrees below the freezing point. The thermometer used at -Selborne was graduated by Benjamin Martin. - - -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 19: at -Blackburn, in Lancashire, at 19: and at Manchester at 21, 20, and 18. -Thus does some unknown circumstance strangely overbalance latitude, and -render the cold sometimes much greater in the southern than in 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 evergreens 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. - - - - -Letter LXIII - - -To The Honourable 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 7th, with the barometer at 28-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 9th 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 9th 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 Dollond, which -soon began to show us what we were to expect; for, by ten o’clock, they -fell to 21, and at eleven to 4, when we went to bed. On the 10th, in -the morning, the quicksilver of Dollond’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 10th, at eleven at night, though the air was perfectly -still, Dollond’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 10th, 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 -phaenomena, in so elevated a region, at two hundred feet or more above -my house. But, behold! on the 10th, at eleven at night, it was down -only to 17, and the next morning at 22, when mine was at 10. 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 exactly together: so that, for one night at least, the cold -at Newton was 18 degrees less than at Selborne; and, through the whole -frost, 10 or 12 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! - -* 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. - - -We had steady frost on to the 25th, when the thermometer in the morning -was down to 10 with us, and at Newton only to 21. Strong frost -continued till the 31st, when some tendency to thaw was observed, and, -by January the 3rd, 1785, 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 10th, being bright sun-shine, the air was full -of icy spiculae, floating in all directions, like atoms in a sun-beam -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 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, etc., 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. - -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 a 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 yet it may be allowed from -its effects to have exceeded any since 1739–40. - - - - -Letter LXIV - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -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 inconveniences that we suffered from 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 -and shelter their wall-trees with mats or boards, as they may easily -do, because such annoyance is seldom of long continuance. 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 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 beats 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 not we set the boys to take the nests, and caught -thousands with hazel twigs tipped with bird-lime: we have since -employed 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 1783 honey-dews were so frequent as to deface -and destroy the beauties of my garden. My honey-suckles, which were one -week the most sweet and lovely objects that the eye could behold, -became the next the most loathsome; being enveloped in a viscous -substance, and loaded with black aphides, or smother-flies. The -occasion of this clammy 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 seen first 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 83 or 84; but -with us, in this hilly and woody district, I have hardly ever seen it -exceed 80; 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 LXV - - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - - -The summer of the year 1783 was an amazing and portentous one, and full -of horrible phaenomena; for besides the alarming meteors and tremendous -thunder-storms that affrighted and distressed the different counties of -this kingdom, the peculiar haze, or smokey 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 anything known -within the memory of man. By my journal I find that I had noticed this -strange occurrence from June 23 to July 20 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 on 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 country people began to look with a -superstitious awe, at the red, louring 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, frequency -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 -phaenomena. - -… 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 LXVI - - -To The Honourable 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 -continually harassed with tempests and often from the south, yet we -escaped them all; as appears by my journal of that summer. 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 promontories, 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 those 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, 1784, the thermometer in the morning being at 64, and at noon -at 70, the barometer at 29, six-tenths one-half, and the wind north, I -observed a blue mist, smelling strongly of sulphur, hanging along our -sloping woods, and seeming to indicate 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 Hartley, 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 Hartley it did -some damage to one farm; but Norton, which lay 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 200 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-naturalis, or the Natural History of the Twelve Months -of the Year; which would have comprised many incidents and occurrences -that have not fallen in 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. - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Natural History of Selborne</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Gilbert White</div> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July, 1998 [eBook #1408]<br /> -[Most recently updated: October 24, 2021]</div> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Tokuya Matsumoto</div> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE ***</div> - -<h1>The Natural History of Selborne</h1> - -<h2 class="no-break">by Gilbert White</h2> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>INVITATION TO SELBORNE.</h2> - -<p class="noindent"> -See, Selborne spreads her boldest beauties round<br/> -The varied valley, and the mountain ground,<br/> -Wildly majestic ! What is all the pride,<br/> -Of flats, with loads of ornaments supplied ?—<br/> -Unpleasing, tasteless, impotent expense,<br/> -Compared with Nature’s rude magnificenee. -</p> - -<p> -Arise, my stranger, to these wild scenes haste;<br/> -The unfinish’d farm awaits your forming taste:<br/> -Plan the pavilion, airy, light, and true;<br/> -Through the high arch call in the length’ning view;<br/> -Expand the forest sloping up the hill;<br/> -Swell to a lake the scant, penurious rill;<br/> -Extend the vista; raise the castle mound<br/> -In antique taste, with turrets ivy-crown’d:<br/> -O’er the gay lawn the flow’ry shrub dispread,<br/> -Or with the blending garden mix the mead;<br/> -Bid China’s pale, fantastic fence delight;<br/> -Or with the mimic statue trap the sight. -</p> - -<p> -Oft on some evening, sunny, soft, and still,<br/> -The Muse shall lead thee to the beech-grown hill,<br/> -To spend in tea the cool, refreshing hour,<br/> -Where nods in air the pensile, nest-like bower;<br/> -Or where the hermit hangs the straw-clad cell,<br/> -Emerging gently from the leafy dell,<br/> -By fancy plann’d; as once th’ inventive maid<br/> -Met the hoar sage amid the secret shade:<br/> -Romantic spot ! from whence in prospect lies<br/> -Whate’er of landscape charms our feasting eyes’—<br/> -The pointed spire, the hall, the pasture plain,<br/> -The russet fallow, or the golden grain,<br/> -The breezy lake that sheds a gleaming light,<br/> -Till all the fading picture fail the sight. -</p> - -<p> -Each to his task; all different ways retire:<br/> -Cull the dry stick; call forth the seeds of fire;<br/> -Deep fix the kettle’s props, a forky row,<br/> -Or give with fanning hat the breeze to blow. -</p> - -<p> -Whence is this taste, the furnish’d hall forgot,<br/> -To feast in gardens, or th’ unhandy grot ?<br/> -Or novelty with some new charms surprises,<br/> -Or from our very shifts some joy arises.<br/> -Hark, while below the village bells ring round,<br/> -Echo, sweet nymph, returns the soften’d sound;<br/> -But if gusts rise, the rushing forests roar,<br/> -Like the tide tumbling on the pebbly shore. -</p> - -<p> -Adown the vale, in lone, sequester’d nook,<br/> -Where skirting woods imbrown the dimpling brook,<br/> -The ruin’d convent lies: here wont to dwell<br/> -The lazy canon midst his cloister’d cell,<br/> -While Papal darkness brooded o’er the land,<br/> -Ere Reformation made her glorious stand:<br/> -Still oft at eve belated shepherd swains<br/> -See the cowl’d spectre skim the folded plains. -</p> - -<p> -To the high Temple would my stranger go,<br/> -The mountain-brow commands the woods below:<br/> -In Jewry first this order found a name,<br/> -When madding Croisades set the world in flame;<br/> -When western climes, urged on by pope and priest<br/> -Pour’d forth their minions o’er the deluged East:<br/> -Luxurious knights, ill suited to defy<br/> -To mortal fight Turcestan chivalry. -</p> - -<p> -Nor be the parsonage by the Muse forgot —<br/> -The partial bard admires his native spot;<br/> -Smit with its beauties, loved, as yet a child,<br/> -Unconscious why, its capes, grotesque and wild.<br/> -High on a mound th’ exalted gardens stand,<br/> -Beneath, deep valleys, scoop’d by Nature’s hand.<br/> -A Cobham here, exulting in his art,<br/> -Might blend the general’s with the gardener’s part;<br/> -Might fortify with all the martial trade<br/> -Of rampart, bastion, fosse, and palisade;<br/> -Might plant the mortar with wide threat’ning bore,<br/> -Or bid the mimic cannon seem to roar: -</p> - -<p> -Now climb the steep, drop now your eye belong<br/> -Where round the blooming village orchards grow;<br/> -There, like a picture, lies my lowly seat,<br/> -A rural, shelter’d, unobserved retreat. -</p> - -<p> -Me far above the rest Selbornian scenes,<br/> -The pendent forests, and the mountain greens,<br/> -Strike with delight; there spreads the distant view,<br/> -That gradual fades till sunk in misty blue:<br/> -Here Nature hangs her slopy woods to sight,<br/> -Rills purl between and dart a quivering light. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>SELBORNE HANGER.</h2> - -<p class="center"> -A WINTER PIECE, TO THE MISS B*****S -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -The bard, who sang so late in blithest strain<br/> -Selbornian prospects, and the rural reign,<br/> -Now suits his plaintive pipe to sadden’d tone,<br/> -While the blank swains the changeful year bemoan. -</p> - -<p> -How fallen the glories of these fading scenes !<br/> -The dusky beech resigns his vernal greens;<br/> -The yellow maple mourns in sickly hue,<br/> -And russet woodlands crowd the dark’ning view. -</p> - -<p> -Dim, clust’ring fogs involve the country round,<br/> -The valley and the blended mountain ground<br/> -Sink in confusion; but with tempest-wing<br/> -Should Boreas from his northern barrier spring,<br/> -The rushing woods with deaf’ning clamour roar,<br/> -Like the sea tumbling on the pebbly shore.<br/> -When spouting rains descend in torrent tides,<br/> -See the torn zigzag weep its channel’d sides:<br/> -Winter exerts its rage; heavy and slow,<br/> -From the keen east rolls on the treasured snow;<br/> -Sunk with its weight the bending boughs are seen,<br/> -And one bright deluge whelms the works of men.<br/> -Amidst this savage landscape, bleak and bare,<br/> -Hangs the chill hermitage in middle air;<br/> -Its haunts forsaken, and its feasts forgot,<br/> -A leaf-strown, lonely, desolated cot !<br/> -Is this the scene that late with rapture rang,<br/> -Where Delphy danced, and gentle Anna sang ?<br/> -With fairy step where Harriet tripp’d so late,<br/> -And, on her stump reclined, the musing Kitty sate ? -</p> - -<p> -Return, dear nymphs; prevent the purple spring,<br/> -Ere the soft nightingale essays to sing;<br/> -Ere the first swallow sweeps the fresh’ning plain,<br/> -Ere love-sick turtles breathe their amorous pain;<br/> -Let festive glee th’ enliven’d village raise,<br/> -Pan’s blameless reign, and patriarchal days;<br/> -With pastoral dance the smitten swain surprise,<br/> -And bring all Arcady before our eyes. -</p> - -<p> -Return, blithe maidens; with you bring along<br/> -Free, native humour; all the charms of song;<br/> -The feeling heart, and unaffected ease;<br/> -Each nameless grace, and ev’ry power to please. -</p> - -<p class="letter"> -<i>Nov</i>. 1, 1763. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>ON THE RAINBOW.</h2> - -<p class="footnote"> -“Look upon the Rainbow, and praise him that made it: very beautiful is it -in the brightness thereof.”—<i>Eccles</i>., xliii. 11. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -On morning or on evening cloud impress’d,<br/> -Bent in vast curve, the watery meteor shines<br/> -Delightfully, to th’ levell’d sun opposed:<br/> -Lovely refraction ! while the vivid brede<br/> -In listed colours glows, th’ unconscious swain,<br/> -With vacant eye, gazes on the divine<br/> -Phenomenon, gleaming o’er the illumined fields,<br/> -Or runs to catch the treasures which it sheds. -</p> - -<p> -Not so the sage: inspired with pious awe,<br/> -He hails the federal arch ; and looking up,<br/> -Adores that God, whose fingers form’d this bow<br/> -Magnificent, compassing heaven about<br/> -With a resplendent verge, “Thou mad’st the cloud,<br/> -“Maker omnipotent, and thou the bow;<br/> -“And by that covenant graciously hast sworn<br/> -“Never to drown the world again: henceforth,<br/> -“Till time shall be no more, in ceaseless round,<br/> -“Season shall follow season: day to night,<br/> -“Summer to winter, harvest to seed time,<br/> -“Heat shall to cold in regular array<br/> -“Succeed.”—Heav’n taught, so sang the Hebrew bard. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>A HARVEST SCENE.</h2> - -<p class="noindent"> -Waked by the gentle gleamings of the morn,<br/> -Soon clad, the reaper, provident of want,<br/> -Hies cheerful-hearted to the ripen’d field:<br/> -Nor hastes alone: attendant by his side<br/> -His faithful wife, sole partner of his cares,<br/> -Bears on her breast the sleeping babe; behind,<br/> -With steps unequal, trips her infant train;<br/> -Thrice happy pair, in love and labour join’d ! -</p> - -<p> -All day they ply their task; with mutual chat,<br/> -Beguiling each the sultry, tedious hours.<br/> -Around them falls in rows the sever’d corn,<br/> -Or the shocks rise in regular array. -</p> - -<p> -But when high noon invites to short repast,<br/> -Beneath the shade of sheltering thorn they sit,<br/> -Divide the simple meal, and drain the cask:<br/> -The swinging cradle lulls the whimpering babe<br/> -Meantime; while growling round, if at the tread<br/> -Of hasty passenger alarm’d, as of their store<br/> -Protective, stalks the cur with bristling back,<br/> -To guard the scanty scrip and russet frock. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>ON THE DARK, STILL, DRY, WARM WEATHER.</h2> - -<p class="center"> -OCCASIONALLY HAPPENING IN THE WINTER MONTHS. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -Th’ imprison’d winds slumber within their caves,<br/> -Fast bound: the fickle vane, emblem of change,<br/> -Wavers no more, long settling to a point. -</p> - -<p> -All Nature nodding seems composed: thick steams,<br/> -From land, from flood up-drawn, dimming the day,<br/> -“Like a dark ceiling stand:” slow through the air<br/> -Gossamer floats, or, stretch’d from blade to blade,<br/> -The wavy net-work whitens all the field. -</p> - -<p> -Push’d by the weightier atmosphere, up springs<br/> -The ponderous mercury, from scale to scale<br/> -Mounting, amidst the Torricellian tube. -</p> - -<p> -While high in air, and poised upon his wings,<br/> -Unseen, the soft, enamour’d woodlark runs<br/> -Through all his maze of melody; the brake,<br/> -Loud with the blackbird’s bolder note, resounds. -</p> - -<p> -Sooth’d by the genial warmth, the cawing rook<br/> -Anticipates the spring, selects her mate,<br/> -Haunts her tall nest-trees, and with sedulous care<br/> -Repairs her wicker eyrie, tempest-torn. -</p> - -<p> -The ploughman inly smiles to see upturn<br/> -His mellow globe, best pledge of future crop:<br/> -With glee the gardener eyes his smoking beds;<br/> -E’en pining sickness feels a short relief -</p> - -<p> -The happy schoolboy brings transported forth<br/> -His long-forgotten scourge, and giddy gig:<br/> -O’er the white paths he whirls the rolling hoop,<br/> -Or triumphs in the dusty fields of taw. -</p> - -<p> -Not so the museful sage:—abroad he walks<br/> -Contemplative, if haply he may find<br/> -What cause controls the tempest’s rage, or whence,<br/> -Amidst the savage season, Winter smiles. -</p> - -<p> -For days, for weeks, prevails the placid calm.<br/> -At length some drops prelude a change: the sun<br/> -With ray refracted, bursts the parting gloom,<br/> -When all the chequer’d sky is one bright glare. -</p> - -<p> -Mutters the wind at eve; th’ horizon round<br/> -With angry aspect scowls: down rush the showers,<br/> -And float the deluged paths, and miry fields. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE</h2> - -<p class="center"> -In a series of letters addressed to<br/> -THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.<br/> -and<br/> -The Hon. DAINES BARRINGTON -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>ADVERTISEMENT</h2> - -<p> -The Author of the following Letters takes the liberty, with all proper -deference, of laying before the public his idea of parochial history, which, he -thinks, ought to consist of natural productions and occurrences as well as -antiquities. He is also of opinion that if stationary men would pay some -attention to the districts on which they reside, and would publish their -thoughts respecting the objects that surround them, from such materials might -be drawn the most complete county-histories, which are still wanting in several -parts of this kingdom, and in particular in the county of Southampton. -</p> - -<p> -And here he seizes the first opportunity, though a late one, of returning his -most grateful acknowledgments to the reverend the President and the reverend -and worthy the Fellows of Magdalen College in the University of Oxford, for -their liberal behaviour in permitting their archives to be searched by a member -of their own society, so far as the evidences therein contained might respect -the parish and priory of Selborne. To that gentleman also, and his assistant, -whose labours and attention could only be equalled by the very kind manner in -which they were bestowed, many and great obligations are also due. -</p> - -<p> -Of the authenticity of the documents above-mentioned there can be no doubt, -since they consist of the identical deeds and records that were removed to the -College from the Priory at the time of its dissolution; and, being carefully -copied on the spot, may be depended on as genuine; and, never having been made -public before, may gratify the curiosity of the antiquary, as well as establish -the credit of the history. -</p> - -<p> -If the writer should at all appear to have induced any of his readers to pay a -more ready attention to the wonders of the Creation, too frequently overlooked -as common occurrences; or if he should by any means, through his researches, -have lent an helping hand towards the enlargement of the boundaries of -historical and topographical knowledge; or if he should have thrown some small -light upon ancient customs and manners, and especially on those that were -monastic, his purpose will be fully answered. But if he should not have been -successful in any of these his intentions, yet there remains this consolation -behind—that these his pursuits, by keeping the body and mind employed, -have, under Providence, contributed to much health and cheerfulness of spirits, -even to old age:—and, what still adds to his happiness, have led him to -the knowledge of a circle of gentlemen whose intelligent communications, as -they have afforded him much pleasing information, so, could he flatter himself -with a continuation of them, would they ever be deemed a matter of singular -satisfaction and improvement. -</p> - -<p class="right"> -GIL. WHITE. -</p> - -<p class="letter"> -Selborne,<br/> -January 1st, 1788. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE</h2> - -<p> -LETTERS to THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter I</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -The 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 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, wood-lands, heath, and -water. The prospect is bounded to the south-east and east by the vast range of -mountains called the Susses-downs, by Guild-down near Guildford, and by the -Downs round Dorking, and Ryegate in Surrey, to the north-east, which -altogether, with the country beyond Alton and Farnham, form a noble and -extensive outline. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 wood and coverts -might extend down to the opposite bank. -</p> - -<p> -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 -Well-head.* This breaks out of some high grounds joining to Core Hill, a noble -chalk promontory, remarkable for sending forth two streams into two different -seas. The one to the south becomes 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 Tilford-bridge, 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* This spring produced, September 14, 1781, after a severe hot summer, and a -preceding dry spring and winter, nine 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-four hours, or one natural day. -At this time many of the wells failed, and all the ponds in the vales were dry. -</p> - -<p> -Our wells, at an average, run 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. -</p> - -<p> -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.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* This soil produces good wheat and clover. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 -estimation 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. 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter II</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -In the court of Norton-farmhouse, a manor farm to the north-west of the -village, on the white maims, 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 1703, equal to -a moderate tree, yet, when felled, contained eight loads of timber; and, being -too bulky for a carriage, was sawn off at seven feet above the butt, where it -measured near eight feet in the diameter. This elm I mention to show to what a -bulk planted elms may attain; as this tree must certainly have been such from -its situation. -</p> - -<p> -In the centre of the village, and near the church, is a square piece of ground -surrounded by houses, and vulgarly called the Plestor. In the midst of this -spot stood, in old times, a vast oak, with a short 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 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 show to -what a bulk planted oaks also may arrive: and planted this tree must certainly -have been, as will appear from what will be said farther concerning this area, -when we enter on the antiquities of Selborne. -</p> - -<p> -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 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 -apiece. -</p> - -<p> -In the centre of this grove there stood an oak, which, though shapely and tall -on the whole, bulged out into a large excrescence 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 butt, 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter III</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -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 long, the cardo passing for an head and mouth. It is in reality a -bivalve of the Linnaean genus of Mytilus, and the species of Crista Galli; -called by Lister, Rastellum; by Rumphius, Ostreum plicatum minus; by -D’Argenville, Auris Porci, s. Crista Galli, and by those who make -collections cock’s comb. Though I applied to several such in London, I -could never 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. The curious foldings of the suture, the one into the other, the -alternate flutings or grooves, and the curved form of my specimen being much -easier expressed by the pencil than by words, I have caused it to be drawn and -engraved. -</p> - -<p> -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 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. -</p> - -<p> -In the very thickest strata of our freestone, and at considerable 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 wholly composed of, the stone of the quarry. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter IV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -As in a former letter the freestone of this place has been only mentioned -incidentally, I shall here become more particular. -</p> - -<p> -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 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 chiseled smooth, it makes elegant fronts for houses, equal -in colour and grain to the Bath stone; and superior in one respect, that, when -seasoned, it does not scale. Decent chimney-pieces 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 as it grows in -the quarry.** On the ground abroad this firestone will not succeed for -pavements, because, probably, some degree of saltness prevailing within it, the -rain tears the slabs to pieces.*** Though this stone is too hard to be acted on -by vinegar, yet both the white part, and even the blue rag, ferments strongly -in mineral acids. Though the white stone will 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -** To surbed stone is to set it edgewise, contrary to the posture it had in the -quarry, says Dr. Plot, Oxfordsh., 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -*** ‘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. -</p> - -<p> -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 very hard and heavy, and of a firm, compact texture, -and composed 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. -</p> - -<p> -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.’ -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter V</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -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 water-courses 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 frost-work. 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. -</p> - -<p> -The manor of Selborne, was it strictly looked after, with its kindly aspects, -and all its sloping coverts, would swarm 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 landrails are seen. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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: -</p> - -<table summary="" style=""> - -<tr> -<td></td><td>Inch. </td><td>Hund.</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>From May 1, 1779, to the end of the year, there fell</td><td>28</td><td>37!</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>From Jan. 1, 1780, to Jan. 1, 1781, there fell </td><td>27</td><td>32</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>From Jan. 1, 1781, to Jan. 1, 1782, there fell</td><td>30</td><td>71</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>From Jan. 1, 1782, to Jan. 1, 1783, there fell</td><td>50</td><td>26!</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>From Jan. 1, 1783, to Jan. 1, 1784, there fell</td><td>33</td><td>71</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>From Jan. 1, 1784, to Jan. 1, 1785, there fell </td><td>33</td><td>80</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>From Jan. 1, 1785, to Jan. 1, 1786, there fell</td><td>31</td><td>55</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>From Jan. 1, 1786, to Jan. 1, 1787, there fell</td><td>39</td><td>57</td> -</tr> - -</table> - -<p class="footnote"> -* A very intelligent gentleman assures me (and he speaks from upwards of forty -years’ experience) that the mean rain of any plate 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 16 and a half inches for -the year, if from 1740 to 1750, 18 and a half inches. The mean rain before 1763 -was 20 and a quarter, from 1763 and since, 25 and a half; from 1770 to 1780, -26. If only 1773, 1774 and 1775 had been measured, Lyndon mean rain would have -been called 32 inches.’ -</p> - -<p class="p2"> -The village of Selborne, and large hamlet of Oak-hanger, 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 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: but from circumstances this trade is at an end.** The -inhabitants enjoy a good share of health and longevity: and the parish swarms -with children. -</p> - -<p class="center"> -* A state of the parish of Selborne, taken October 4, 1783. -</p> - -<p class="letter"> -The number of tenements or families, 136.<br/> -The number of inhabitants in the street is … 313<br/> -In the rest of the parish … 363<br/> -Total, 676; near five inhabitants to each tenement.<br/> -In the time of the Rev. Gilbert White, vicar, who died in 1727–8, the number of -inhabitants was computed at about 500.) -</p> - -<p class="center"> -Average of baptisms for 60 years. -</p> - -<p> -From 1720 to 1729, both years inclusive Males 6,9 Females<br/> -6,0 12,9<br/> -From 1730 to 1739, both years inclusive Males 8,2 Females<br/> -7,1 15,3<br/> -From 1740 to 1749, inclusive Males 9,2 Females 6,6 15,8<br/> -From 1750 to 1759, inclusive Males 7,6 Females 8,1 15,7<br/> -From 1760 to 1769, inclusive Males 9,1 Females 8,9 18,0<br/> -From 1770 to 1779, inclusive Males 10,5 Females 9,8 20<br/> -3 -</p> - -<p> -Total baptisms of Males 515<br/> -Females 465 980<br/> -Total of baptisms from 1720 to 1779, both inclusive, 60 years<br/> -980. -</p> - -<p class="center"> -Average of burials for 60 years. -</p> - -<p> -From 1720 to 1729, both years inclusive Males 4,8 Females<br/> -5,1 9,9<br/> -From 1730 to 1739, both years inclusive Males 4,8 Females<br/> -5,8 10,6<br/> -From 1740 to 1749, inclusive Males 4,6 Females 3,8 8,4<br/> -From 1750 to 1759, inclusive Males 4,9 Females 5,1 10,0<br/> -From 1760 to 1769, inclusive Males 6,9 Females 6,5 13,4<br/> -From 1770 to 1779, inclusive Males 5,5 Females 6,2 11,7 -</p> - -<p> -Total of burials of Males 315<br/> -Females 325 640 -</p> - -<p> -Total of burials from 1720 to 1779 both inclusive, 60 years 640. -</p> - -<p> -Baptisms exceed burials by more them one-third. -</p> - -<p> -Baptisms of Males exceed Females by one-tenth, or one in ten. -</p> - -<p> -Burials of Females exceed Males by one in thirty. -</p> - -<p> -It appears that a child, born and bred in this parish, has an equal chance to -live above forty years. -</p> - -<p> -Twins thirteen times, many of whom dying young have lessened the chance for -life. -</p> - -<p> -Chances for life in men and women appear to be equal. -</p> - -<hr /> - -<p> -A TABLE of the Baptisms, Burials, and Marriages, from January 2, 1761, to -December 25, 1780, in the Parish of Selborne. -</p> - -<p> -Baptisms. -</p> - -<p> -1761 Males 8 Females 10 Total 18 1762 7 8 15 -1763 8 10 18 1764 11 9 20 1765 12 6 18 1766 - 9 13 22 1767 14 5 19 1768 7 6 13 1769 9 - 14 23 1770 10 13 23 1771 10 6 16 1772 11 - 10 21 1773 8 5 13 1774 6 13 19 1775 20 7 - 27 1776 11 10 21 1777 8 13 21 1778 7 13 -20 1779 14 8 22 1780 8 9 17 198 188 386 -</p> - -<p> -Burials. -</p> - -<p> -1761 Males 2 Females 4 Total 6 1762 10 10 20 -1763 3 4 7 1764 10 8 18 1765 9 7 16 1766 - 10 6 16 1767 6 5 11 1768 2 5 7 1769 6 - 5 11 1770 4 7 11 1771 3 4 7 1772 6 10 -16 1773 7 5 12 1774 2 8 10 1775 13 8 21 -1776 4 6 10 1777 7 2 9 1778 3 9 12 1779 - 5 6 11 1780 11 4 15 123 123 246 -</p> - -<p> -Marriages. -</p> - -<p> -1761 3 1762 6 1763 7 1764 6 1765 6 1766 4 1767 2 -1768 6 1769 2 1770 3 1771 4 1772 3 1773 3 1774 1 -1775 6 1776 6 1777 4 1778 5 1779 0 1780 3 83 -</p> - -<p> -During this period of twenty years the births of Males exceeded those of -Females 10. -</p> - -<p> -The burials of each sex were equal. -</p> - -<p> -And the births exceeded the deaths 140. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -** Since the passage above was written, I am happy in being able to say that -the spinning employment is a little revived, to the no small comfort of the -industrious housewife. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter VI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -The royal forest 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.** Besides the oak, I have also been -shown 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See his Hist. of Staffordshire. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -** 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 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 manifest, from this observation, viz. Nov. -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 Haemastatics, p. 360. Quaere.— 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? -</p> - -<p> -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 excursions: 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. -</p> - -<p> -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, black-game, or grouse. 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 greyhen was sprung by some beagles in beating for a -hare. The sportsmen cried out, ‘A hen pheasant’; but a gentleman -present, who had often seen grouse in the north of England, assured me that it -was a greyhen. -</p> - -<p> -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 succession for 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 further 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 -yeoman-prickers, in scarlet jackets laced with gold, attended by the -stag-hounds; ordering them to take every deer in this forest alive, and convey -them in carts to Windsor. In the course of the summer they caught every stag, -some of which showed extraordinary diversion; but, in the following winter, -when the hinds were also carried off, such fine chases were exhibited as served -the country people for matter of talk and wonder for years afterwards. I saw -myself one of the yeoman-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 anything in Mr. Astley’s riding-school. The exertions made by the -horse and deer much exceeded all my expectations; 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter VII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Though large herds of deer do much harm to the neighbourhood, 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 committed 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 Winchester, when urged -to re-stock Waltham-chase,** refused, from a motive worthy of a prelate, -replying that ‘it had done mischief enough already.’ -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Statute 9 Geo. I. c. 22. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -** This chase remains unstocked to this day; the bishop was Dr. Hoadly. -</p> - -<p> -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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Such forests and wastes, when their allurements to irregularities are removed, -are of considerable service to neighbourhoods 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 exceptis.* The reason, I presume, why -sheep** are excluded, is, because, being such close grazers, they would pick -out all the finest grasses, and hinder the deer from thriving. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* For the privilege the owner of that estate used to pay to the king annually -seven bushels of oats. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -** In the Holt, where a full stock of fallow-deer has been kept up till lately, -no sheep are admitted to this day. -</p> - -<p> -Though (by statute 4 and 5 W. 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 underwoods, woods, and coppices, where great damage has ensued. The plea -for these burnings is, that, when the old coat of heath, etc., 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 brush-wood 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter VIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -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 sportsman. For, being crowded at the upper end with willows, -and with the carex cespitosa,* it affords such a safe and pleasing shelter to -wild-ducks, teals, snipes, etc., that they breed there. In the winter this -covert is also frequented by foxes, and sometimes by pheasants; and the bogs -produce many curious plants. [For which consult Letter XLI to Mr. Barrington.] -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* 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 set -down by government. -</p> - -<p> -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 on 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; -comprehending also Short-heath, Oakhanger, and Oakwoods; a large district, now -private property, though once belonging to the royal domain. -</p> - -<p> -It is remarkable that the term purlieu is never once mentioned 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 Halt; 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 well, because the water is hungry, and the -bottoms are a naked sand. -</p> - -<p> -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 from this -contingency. Thus nature, who is a great economist, converts the recreation of -one animal to the support of another! Thomson, who was a nice observer of -natural occurrences, did not let this pleasing circumstance escape him. He -says, in his Summer: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -A various group the herds and flocks compose:<br/> -… on the grassy bank<br/> -Some ruminating lie; while others stand<br/> -Half in the flood, and, often bending, sip<br/> -The circling surface. -</p> - -<p> -Wolmer-Pond, so called, I suppose, for eminence sake, is a vast lake for this -part of the world, containing, in its whole circumference, 2,646 yards, or very -near a mile and a half. The length of the north-west and opposite side is about -704 yards, and the breadth of the south-west end about 456 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. But, as such discoveries more properly belong to the -antiquities of this place, I shall suppress all particulars for the present, -till I enter professedly on my series of letters respecting the more remote -history of this village and district. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter IX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -By way of supplement, I shall trouble you once more on this subject, to inform -you that Wolmer, with her sister 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* In ‘Rot. Inquisit. de statu forest. in Scaccar.,’ 36, Ed. 3, it -is called Aisholt. In the same, ‘Tit. Woolmer and Aisholt Hantisc. -Dominus Rex habet unam capellam in haia sua de Kingesle.’ ‘Haia, -sepes, sepimentum, parcus: a Gall. haie and haye.’—Spelman’s -Glossary. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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,** 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -** This prince was the inventor of mezzotinto. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -One thing is remarkable; that, though the Holt has been of old well-stocked -with fallow-deer, unrestrained by any pales or fences more than a common hedge, -yet they were never seen within the limits of Wolmer; nor were the red deer of -Wolmer ever known to haunt the thickets or glades of the Holt. -</p> - -<p> -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 imprisonment can deter them: so impossible is it to -extinguish the spirit of sporting, which seems to be inherent in human nature. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -A very large fall of timber, consisting of about one thousand oaks, has been -cut this spring (viz., 1784) 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 Binsted and Frinsham, Bentley and -Kingsley, 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. 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter X</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -August 4, 1767. -</p> - -<p> -It has been my misfortune never to have had any neighbours 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. -</p> - -<p> -As to swallows (hirundines rusticae) 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 toward 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Young broods of swallows began to appear this year on July the eleventh, and -young martins (hirundines urbicae) were then fledged in their nests. Both -species will breed again once. For I see by my Fauna of last year, that young -broods come forth so late as September the eighteenth. Are not these late -hatchings more in favour of hiding than migration? Nay, some young martins -remained in their nests last year so late as September the twenty-ninth; and -yet they totally disappeared with us by the fifth of October. -</p> - -<p> -How strange is it that the swift, which seems to live exactly the same life -with the swallow and house-martin, 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-martins on the seventh of November. The martins and -red-wing fieldfares were flying in sight together; an uncommon assemblage of -summer and winter birds. -</p> - -<p> -A little bird (it is either a species of the alauda trivialis, or rather -perhaps of the motacilla trochilus) 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, that 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. -</p> - -<p> -I perceive there are more than one species of the motacilla trochilus: Mr. -Derham supposes, in Ray’s Philos. 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 very first fine weather, they come trooping, all at once, into -these parts, but are never seen in the winter. They are delicate songsters. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 in fossis et -urinator.’ 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. -</p> - -<p> -As to the falco, 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 religuiae!’ -</p> - -<p> -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 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. -</p> - -<p> -The parish I live in is a very abrupt, uneven country, full of hills and woods, -and therefore full of birds. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, September 9, 1767. -</p> - -<p> -It will not be without impatience, that I shall wait for your thoughts with -regard to the falco; as to its weight, breadth, etc., 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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 frightened and -persecuted by idle boys, who would never let them be at rest. -</p> - -<p> -Three gross-beaks (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. -</p> - -<p> -A cross-bill (loxia curvirostra) was killed last year in this neighbourhood. -</p> - -<p> -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 fluviatilis), the eel (anguilla), the lampern -(lampaetra parka et fluviatilis), and the stickle-back (pisciculus aculeatus). -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -The house-martins have eggs still, and squab young. The last swift I observed -was about the twenty-first of August; it was a straggler. -</p> - -<p> -Red-starts, fly-catchers, white-throats, and reguli non cristati, still appear; -but I have seen no black-caps lately. -</p> - -<p> -I forgot to mention that I once saw, in Christ Church College quadrangle in -Oxford, on a very sunny warm morning, a house-martin flying about, and -settling on the parapet, so late as the twentieth of November. -</p> - -<p> -At present I know only two species of bats, the common vespertilio murinus and -the vespertilio auritus. -</p> - -<p> -I was much entertained last summer with a tame bat, which would take flies out -of a person’s hand. If you gave it anything 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 showed in shearing off the wings of the -flies, which were always rejected, was worthy of observation, and pleased me -much. Insects seem 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 dispatch than I was -aware of; but in a most ridiculous and grotesque manner. -</p> - -<p> -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 Richmond 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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -November 4, 1767. -</p> - -<p> -Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* This hawk proved to be the falco peregrinus; a variety. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 moreover 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 end of five of the -short remiges. It cannot, I suppose, with any propriety, be called an English -bird: and yet I see, by Ray’s Philosoph. Letters, that great flocks of -them, feeding upon haws, appeared in this kingdom in the winter of 1685. -</p> - -<p> -The mention of haws put 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. -</p> - -<p> -Some birds, haunting with the missal-thrushes, and feeding on the berries of -the yew-tree, which answered to the description of the merula torquata, or -ring-ousel, were lately seen in this neighbourhood. I employed some people to -procure me a specimen, but without success. See Letter XX. -</p> - -<p> -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 -goldfinches, greenfinches, etc. ? Before winter perhaps they might be hardened, -and able to shift for themselves. -</p> - -<p> -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 osier-beds 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 -water. A Swedish naturalist is so much persuaded of that fact, that he talks, -in his calendar of Flora, as familiarly of the swallows going under water in -the beginning of September, as he would of his poultry going to roost a little -before sunset. -</p> - -<p> -An observing gentleman in London writes me word that he saw a house-martin, on -the twenty-third of last October, flying in and out of its nest in the Borough. -And I myself, on the twenty-ninth 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. -</p> - -<p> -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?* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See Adamson’s Voyage to Senegal. -</p> - -<p> -I acquiesce entirely in your opinion—that, though most of the swallow -kind may migrate, yet that some do stay behind and hide with us during the -winter. -</p> - -<p> -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! -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Jan. 22, 1768. -</p> - -<p> -Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 compliment, and expect to have my curiosity gratified by your -living much more to the north. -</p> - -<p> -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 neighbourhood. But, when I came to observe them more -narrowly, I was amazed to find that they seemed 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 Linnaeus; 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 departure. -</p> - -<p> -You may depend on it that the bunting, emberiza miliaria, does not leave this -country in the winter. In January 1767 I saw several dozen of them, in the -midst of a severe frost, among the bushes on the downs near Andover: in our -woodland enclosed district it is a rare bird. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Stillingfleet, in his Tracts, says that ‘if the wheatear (oenanthe) -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. 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 that -subject is remarkable: there were little short-winged birds frequently coming -on board his ship all the way from our channel quite up to the Levant, -especially before squally weather. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See Ray’s Travels, p. 466. -</p> - -<p> -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 merulae torquatae. -</p> - -<p> -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 an 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 a 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc., etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XIV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, March 12, 1768. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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, -beside the nostrils; probably analogous to the puncta lachrymalia in the human -head. When the 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 inconvenience, they can -open two vents, one at the inner corner of each eye, having a communication -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.* 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 serve them when they travelled or laboured in that hot climate. And -we know that grooms, and gentlemen of the turf, think large nostrils necessary, -and a perfection, in hunters and running horses. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* 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 -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.’ -</p> - -<p> -Oppian, the Greek poet, by the following line, seems to have had some notion -that stags have four spiracula: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Τετράδυμοι ῥινὲς, πίσυρες πνοίῃσι δίαυλοι.<br/> -Quadrifidæ nares, quadruplices ad respirationem canales.<br/> -Opp. <i>Cyn</i>. lib. ii. 1. 181. -</p> - -<p> -Writers, copying from one another, make Aristotle say that goats breathe at -their ears; whereas he asserts just the contrary:—Ἀλκμαίων γὰρ οὐκ ἀληθῆ -λέγει, φάμενος ἀναπνεῖν τὰς αἶγας κατὰ τὰ ὠτά. ‘Alcmaeon does not advance -what is true, when he avers that goats breathe through their -ears.’—History of Animals. Book I. chap. xi. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Mark 30, 1768. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -Some intelligent country people have a notion that we have, in these parts, a -species of the genus mustelinum, 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -A shepherd saw, as he thought, some white larks on a down above my house this -winter: were not these the emberiza nivalis, the snow-flake of the Brit. Zool.? -No doubt they were. -</p> - -<p> -A few years ago I saw a cock bullfinch in a cage, which had been caught in the -fields after it had come to its full colours. In about a year it began to look -dingy; and, blackening every succeeding year, it became coal-black at the end -of four. Its chief food was hemp-seed. 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. -</p> - -<p> -I had remarked, for years, that the root of the cuckoo-pint (arum) was -frequently scratched out of the dry banks of hedges, and eaten 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 downwards, but never continuing -one moment in the same place. I shot at it, but it was so desultory that I -missed my aim. -</p> - -<p> -I wonder that the stone curlew, charadrius 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 I cannot say. Worms are their usual food, but -they also eat toads and frogs. -</p> - -<p> -I can show you some good specimens of my new mice. Linnaeus, perhaps, would -call the species mus minimus. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XVI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, April 18, 1768. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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, etc., -and are withdrawn to some flinty field by their 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 and 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 show 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. -</p> - -<p> -I make no doubt but there are three species of the willow-wrens: two I know -perfectly; but have not been able yet to procure the third. No two birds can -differ more in their notes, and that constancy, 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 drams and a half; while the latter weighs but two: so -the songster is one-fifth heavier than the chirper. The chirper (being the -first summer-bird of passage that is heard, the wryneck sometimes 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 scarce 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 a 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. Johnson, who -apparently confounds it with the reguli non cristati, from which it is very -distinct. See Ray’s Philosophical Letters, p. 108. -</p> - -<p> -The fly-catcher (stoparola) has not yet appeared: it usually breeds in my vine. -The redstart begins to sing: its note is 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, etc., and are so -tame that a gun will not scare them. -</p> - -<p> -A List of the summer birds of passage discovered in this neighbourhood, ranged -somewhat in the order in which they appear: -</p> - -<table summary="" style="margin-left: 2em;"> - -<tr> -<td></td><td>Linnæi Nomina</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Smallest willow-wren,</td><td><i>Motacilla trochilus.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Wryneck,</td><td><i>Lynx torquilla.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>House-swallow,</td><td><i>Hirundo rustica.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Martin,</td><td><i>Hirundo urbica.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Sand-martin,</td><td><i>Hirundo riparia.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Cuckoo,</td><td><i>Cuculus canorus.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Nightingale,</td><td><i>Motacilla luscinia.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Black-cap,</td><td><i>Motacilla atricapilla.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>White-throat,</td><td><i>Motacilla sylvia.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Middle willow-wren,</td><td><i>Motacilla trochilus.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Swift,</td><td><i>Hirundo apus.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Stone curlew,?</td><td><i>Charadrius oedicnemus?</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Turtle-dove,?</td><td><i>Turtur aldrovandi?</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Grasshopper-lark,</td><td><i>Alauda trivialis.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Landrail,</td><td><i>Rallus crex.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Largest willow-wren,</td><td><i>Motacilla trochilus.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Redstart,</td><td><i>Motacilla phœnicurus.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Goat-sucker, or fern-owl,</td><td><i>Caprimulgus europæus.</i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td>Fly-catcher,</td><td><i>Muscicapa grisola.</i></td> -</tr> - -</table> - -<p class="p2"> -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 europaea (the nut-hatch). Mr. Ray -says that the less spotted woodpecker does the same. This noise may be heard a -furlong or more. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 a -turkey? Some suspect it is made by their wings. -</p> - -<p> -This morning I saw the golden-crowned wren, whose crown glitters like burnished -gold. It often hangs lice a titmouse, with its back downwards. -</p> - -<p> -Yours, etc., etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XVII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, June 18, 1768. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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, sometimes -analogous to that of the cryptogamia in the sexual system of plants: and the -case is the same as regards some of the fishes: as the eel, etc. -</p> - -<p> -The method in which toads procreate and bring forth seems to me 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 ἔσω μὲν ὠοτὸκοι, ἔξω δε ζωοτόκοι, as is -known to be the case with the viper. -</p> - -<p> -The copulation of frogs (or at least the appearance of it; for Swammerdam -proves that the male has no penis intrans) is notorious to everybody: because -we see them sticking upon each other’s backs for a month together in -spring: and 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 yet been 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 an 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. -</p> - -<p> -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; showing 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 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 -these 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 oeconomy of Providence with regard to -the limbs of so vile a reptile! While it is 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. -</p> - -<p> -Merret, I trust, is widely mistaken when he advances that the rana arborea is -an English reptile; it abounds in Germany and Switzerland. -</p> - -<p> -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 5th, -1766, in his account of the mud inguana, an amphibious bides, 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 covering to the -gills of the mud inguana, he proceeds to say that ‘The forms of these -pennated coverings approach 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 become land animals, as I have observed, by -keeping them alive for some time myself:’ -</p> - -<p> -Linnaeus, in his Systema Naturae, hints at what Mr. Ellis advances more than -once. -</p> - -<p> -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 twenty-seventh 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. Country people talk much of a water-snake, -but I am pretty sure, without any reason; for the common snake (coluber natrix) -delights much to sport in the water, perhaps with a view to procure frogs and -other food. -</p> - -<p> -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 an 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XVIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, July 27, 1768. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -A person, by my order, has searched our brooks, but could find no such fish as -the gasterosteus pungitius: he found the gasterosteus aculeatus in plenty. 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’s heads; but I could produce no minnows. This basket will be in -Fleet-street by eight this evening; so I hope Mazel will have them fresh and -fair to-morrow morning. I gave some directions, in a letter, to what -particulars the engraver should be attentive. -</p> - -<p> -Finding, while I was on a visit, that I was within a reasonable distance of -Ambresbury, I sent a servant over to that town, and procured several diving -specimens of loaches, which he brought, safe and brisk, in a glass decanter. -They were taken in the gullies 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 lateralis, 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.’ -</p> - -<p> -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 intelligent persons, both gentry and clergy, do, I find, give a great -deal of credit to what was asserted in the papers: and I myself 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 chat 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 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. -</p> - -<p> -The water-eft has not, that I can discern, the least appearance 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 -larvae: for the larvae of insects are full of eggs, which they exclude the -instant they enter their last state. The water-eft is continually climbing over -the brims 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, up the dry banks. There are varieties of them, differing colour; and -some have fins up their tail and back, and some have not. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XIX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Aug. 17, 1768. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -I have now, past dispute, made out three distinct species of the willow-wrens -(motacillae 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 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, 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 stridula -locustae.’ Yet this great ornithologist never suspected that there were -three species. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Brit. Zool. edit. 1776, octavo, p. 381. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, October 8, 1768. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -The next rare birds (which were procured for me last week) were some -ring-ousels, turdi torquati. -</p> - -<p> -This week twelve months 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, paid but small -regard to what I 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 Lady-day, 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 the 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 63 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 extraordinary -provision of nature as a new instance of the wisdom of God in the creation. -</p> - -<p> -As yet I have not quite done with my history of the oedicnemus, 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Nov. 28, 1768. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -With regard to the oedicnemus, or stone curlew, I intend to write very soon to -my friend near Chichester, in whose neighbourhood these birds seem most to -abound; and shall urge him to take particular notice when they begin to -congregate, and afterwards to watch them most narrowly whether they do not -withdraw themselves during the dead of 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 -Naturalist’s Journal (with which he is much delighted), I 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 -monedulae) 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 that manner; but I should never have suspected the daws of building in -holes on the flat ground. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -One of my neighbours last Saturday, November the 26th, saw a martin 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Your approbation, with regard to my new discovery of the migration of the -ring-ousel, 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 ring-ousels leave your rocks in the autumn. -What puzzles me 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, July 2, 1769. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -As to the peculiarity of jackdaws 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 -dovecots. When I first saw Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire 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. -</p> - -<p> -What you mention with respect to reclaimed toads raises my curiosity. An -ancient author, though no naturalist, has well remarked that ‘Every kind -of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, -and hath been tamed, of mankind.’* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* James, chap. iii. 7. -</p> - -<p> -It is a satisfaction to me to find that a green lizard has actually been -procured for you in Devonshire; because it corroborates my discovery, which I -made many years ago, of the same sort, on a sunny sandbank 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. -</p> - -<p> -Since the ring-ousels 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 worth your -pains to endeavour to trace from whence they come, and to inquire why they make -so very short a stay. -</p> - -<p> -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 could never 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 gentlemen, -furnished with a good strength of water-spaniels, were to beat them over for a -week, they would certainly find more species. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Cressi-hall is near Spalding, in Lincolnshire. -</p> - -<p> -There is no bird, I believe, whose manners I have studied more than that of the -caplimulgus (the goat-sucker), as it is a wonderful and curious creature: but I -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 I -have for many an 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 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 tell 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 way through the boughs of a tree. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 silkworm.’ -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -The vast rains 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 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, February 28, 1769. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -It is not improbable that the Guernsey lizard and our green lizard 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 -University of Oxford, they lived a great while, and seemed to enjoy themselves -very well, but never bred. Whether this circumstance will prove anything either -way I shall not pretend to say. -</p> - -<p> -I return you thanks for your account of Cressi-hall; but recollect, not without -regret, that in June 1746 I 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 grove or wood, -or only of a few trees. -</p> - -<p> -It gave me satisfaction to find that we accorded so well about the caprimulgus: -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. -</p> - -<p> -If ever I saw anything like actual migration, it was last Michaelmas-day. I was -travelling, and out early in the morning: 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 rusticae) clustering on the stinted 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. -</p> - -<p> -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? -</p> - -<p> -When I used to rise in a morning last autumn, and see the swallows and martins -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 do not actually migrate at all. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXIV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, May 29, 1769. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -The scarabaeus 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. -</p> - -<p> -On the thirteenth of April I went to the sheep-down, where the ring-ousels 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 those dark spots of the grasshopper-lark; over each eye is a -milk-white stroke; the chin and throat are white, and the under parts of a -yellowish white; 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 -further inquiry. For my part, I suspect it is a second sort of locustella, -hinted at by Dr. Derham in Ray’s Letters: see p. 108. He also procured me -a grasshopper-lark. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* For this salicaria see letter August 30, 1769. -</p> - -<p> -The question that you put with regard to those genera of animals that are -peculiar to America, viz. 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 arguments 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.’ -</p> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<h3>The Naturalist’s Summer-evening Walk</h3> - -<p class="poem"> -… equidem credo, quia sit divinitus illis<br/> -Ingenium. -</p> - -<p class="right"> -V<small>IRG</small>. G<small>EORG</small>. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -When day declining sheds a milder gleam,<br/> -What time the may-fly[1] haunts the pool or stream;<br/> -When the still owl skims round the grassy mead,<br/> -What time the timorous hare limps forth to feed;<br/> -Then be the time to steal adown the vale,<br/> -And listen to the vagrant[2] cuckoo’s tale,<br/> -To hear the clamorous[3] curlew call his mate,<br/> -Or the soft quail his tender pain relate;<br/> -To see the swallow sweep the dark’ning plain<br/> -Belated, to support her infant train;<br/> -To mark the swift in rapid giddy ring<br/> -Dash round the steeple, unsubdu’d of wing:<br/> -Amusive birds!—say where your hid retreat<br/> -When the frost rages and the tempests beat;<br/> -Whence your return, by such nice instinct led,<br/> -When spring, soft season, lifts her bloomy head ?<br/> -Such baffled searches mock man’s prying pride,<br/> -The God of Nature is your secret guide!<br/> -While deep’ning shades obscure the face of day<br/> -To yonder bench, leaf-shelter’d, let us stray,<br/> -Till blended objects fail the swimming sight,<br/> -And all the fading landscape sinks in night;<br/> -To hear the drowsy dor come brushing by<br/> -With buzzing wing, or the shrill[4] cricket cry;<br/> -To see the feeding bat glance through the wood;<br/> -To catch the distant falling of the flood;<br/> -While o’er the cliff th’ awakened churn-owl hung<br/> -Through the still gloom protracts his chattering song;<br/> -While high in air, and pois’d upon his wings,<br/> -Unseen, the soft enamour’d woodlark[5] sings:<br/> -These, Nature’s works, the curious mind employ,<br/> -Inspire a soothing melancholy joy:<br/> -As fancy warms, a pleasing kind of pain<br/> -Steals o’er the cheek, and thrills the creeping vein!<br/> -Each rural sight, each sound, each smell combine;<br/> -The tinkling sheep-bell, or the breath of kine;<br/> -The new-mown hay that scents the swelling breeze,<br/> -Or cottage-chimney smoking through the trees.<br/> -The chilling night-dews fall: away, retire;<br/> -For see, the glow-worm lights her amorous fire![6]<br/> -Thus, ere night’s veil had half obscured the sky,<br/> -Th’ impatient damsel hung her lamp on high:<br/> -True to the signal, by love’s meteor led,<br/> -Leander hasten’d to his Hero’s bed.[7] -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -[1] 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 about eleven at night, determining the date of its fly state -in 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, Derham, -Scopoli, etc. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -[2] Vagrant cuckoo; so called because, being tied down by no -incubation or attendance about the nutrition of its young, it wanders without -control. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -[3] Charadrius aedicnemus. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -[4] Gryllus campetris. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -[5] In hot -summer nights woodlarks soar to a prodigious height, and hang singing in the -air</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -[6] 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 scarabaeus. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -[7] See the story of Hero and Leander.) -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Aug. 30, 1769. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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? Was not candour and openness the very life of -natural history, I should pass over this query just as the 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 ring-ousels 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 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. -</p> - -<p> -I have taken a great deal of pains about your salicaria and 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 nor 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 picis affines. It -ought no doubt to have gone among his aviculae 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 incessantly night and day during the breeding-time, imitating the note of -a sparrow, a swallow, a sky-lark; 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 & pedes in hac avicula multo majores sunt -quam pro corporis ratione.’ See letter May 29, 1769. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -When I wrote to you last year on reptiles, I wish I had not forgot to mention -the faculty that snakes have of stinking se defendendo. I knew a gentleman who -kept a tame snake, which was in its person as sweet as any animal while in a -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. Ouadr. -is an innocuous and sweet animal; but, when pressed hard by dogs and men, it -can eject such a pestilent and fetid smell and excrement, that nothing can be -more horrible. -</p> - -<p> -A gentleman sent me lately a fine specimen of the lanius minor cinerascens cum -macula in scapulis alba Raii; 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 Edwards’s drawing. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXVI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, December 8, 1769. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -I was much gratified by your communicative letter on your return from Scotland, -where you spent, I find, some 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 dispatch, 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. -</p> - -<p> -It has always been matter of wonder to me that field-fares, 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 -ring-ousel, 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -You admit, I find, that I have proved your fen salicaria to be the lesser -reed-sparrow of Ray; and I think that 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. -</p> - -<p> -De Buffon, I know, has described the water shrew-mouse: but still I am pleased -to find you have discovered it in Lincolnshire, for the reason I have given in -the article on the white hare. -</p> - -<p> -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? -</p> - -<p> -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 hirundo apus, or swift, so many weeks before its congeners; and -that not only with us, but also in Andalusia, where they also begin to retire -about the beginning of August. -</p> - -<p> -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 and 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 hirundines, and the larger bats, are supported by some sorts of -high-flying gnats, scarabs, or phalaenae, that are of short continuance; and -that the short stay of these strangers is regulated by the defect of their -food. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXVII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Feb. 22, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -Hedge-hogs abound in my gardens and fields. The manner in which they eat their -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 waffles 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. In June last I procured a 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 sides 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 into 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. -</p> - -<p> -I have discovered an anecdote with respect to the field-fare (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 all 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXVIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, March, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -On Michaelmas-day 1768 I managed to get a sight of the female moose belonging -to the Duke of Richmond, at Goodwood; 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, understanding -that it was not stripped, I proceeded to examine this rare quadruped: I found -it in an old green-house, 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 birds of the grallae order. I measured it, as they do an 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. 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 leg and great lip -must contribute much. I have read somewhere that it delights in eating the -nymphaea, 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 an 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, etc., -minutely; but the putrefaction precluded all further curiosity. This animal, -the keeper told me, seemed to enjoy itself best in the extreme frost of the -former winter. In the house they showed 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, -</p> - -<p> -With the greatest esteem. etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXIX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, May 12, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -Last month we had such a series of cold turbulent 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 -show 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-martins, which are always more backward than swallows, were not observed -till May came in. -</p> - -<p> -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 -martins 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. -</p> - -<p> -I have known a dove-house infested by a pair of white owls, which made great -havoc 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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; and will not, when they can avoid it, deign -to wet a foot, much less to plunge into that element. -</p> - -<p> -Quadrupeds that prey on fish are amphibious: such is the otter, which by nature -is so well formed for diving, that it makes great havoc among the inhabitants -of the waters. Not supposing that we had any of those beasts in our shadow -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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Aug. 1, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -The French, I think, in general, are strangely prolix in their natural history. -What Linnaeus says with respect to insects holds good in every other branch: -‘Verbositas praesentis saeculi, calamitas artis.’ -</p> - -<p> -Pray how do you approve of Scopoli’s new work? As I admire his -Entomologia, I long to see it. -</p> - -<p> -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 -St. Lawrence: it was a monstrous beast, he told me; but he did not take the -dimensions. -</p> - -<p> -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, an horn room furnished with more than -thirty different pairs; but I have not seen that house lately. -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Barrington showed 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, etc., were thick-billed birds of the -loxia and fringilla genera; and no motacillae, or muscicapae, 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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Sept. 14, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -You saw, I find, the ring-ousels again among their native crags; and are -farther assured that they continue resident in those cold regions the whole -year. From whence, then, do our ring-ousels 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Another intelligent person assures me that they breed in great abundance all -over the Peak of Derby, and are called there tor-ousels; withdraw in October -and November, and return in spring. This information seems to throw some light -on my new migration. -</p> - -<p> -Scopoli’s* new work (which I have just procured) has its merits in -ascertaining many of the birds of the Tirol and Carniola. Monographers, come -from whence they may, have, I think, fair presence 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 their -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 urbica that ‘pullos extra nidum non -nutrit.’ This assertion I know to be wrong from repeated observations -this summer, for house-martins 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 rostra portat 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Annus Primus Historico-Naturalis. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -T Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, October 29, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -After an ineffectual search in Linnaeus, Brisson, etc., I begin to suspect that -I discern my brother’s hirundo hyberna in Scopoli’s new discovered -hirundo rupestris, p. 167. His description of ‘Supra murina, subtus -albida; rectrices macula ovali alba in latere inferno; pedes nudi, nigri; -rostrum nigrum; remiges obscuriores quam plumae dorsales; rectrices remigibus -concolores; cauda emarginata, nec forcipata,’ agrees very well with the -bird in question; but when he comes to advance that it is ‘statura -hirundinis urbicae,’ and that ‘definitio hirundinis ripariae -Linnaei huic quoque convenit,’ he in some measure invalidates all he has -said; at least he shows 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Scopoli’s characters of his ordines and genera are clear, just, and -expressive, and much in the spirit of Linnaeus. These few remarks are the -result of my first perusal of Scopoli’s Annus Primus. -</p> - -<p> -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.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See his Elenchus vegerabilium et animalium per Austriam inferiorem, etc. -</p> - -<p> -I am pleased to see that my description of the moose corresponds so well with -yours. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Nov. 26, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Scopoli seems to me to have found the hirundo melba, the great Gibraltar swift, -in Tirol, without knowing it. For what is his hirundo alpina but the -afore-mentioned bird in other words? Says he, ‘Omnia prioris’ -(meaning the swift); ‘sed pectus album; paulo major priore.’ 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 seventeenth -and eighteenth, 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 hazard, as I have 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 3rd of September. -</p> - -<p> -When the oedicnemus flies it stretches out its legs straight behind, like an -heron. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXIV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, March 30, 1771. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 intolerably. 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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 -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 the farm-kitchens on the bacon-racks and about -the mantelpieces, and on the ceilings. -</p> - -<p> -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 posficis crassissimis.’ In very 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. -</p> - -<p> -There is an oestrus, known in these parts to every ploughboy; 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 chamaeleon: see Geoffrey, t. 17, f. 4. -</p> - -<p> -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 improvements -would soon follow of course. A knowledge of the properties, oeconomy, -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. -</p> - -<p> -As far as I am a judge, nothing would recommend entomology 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 that can be -conveyed at first by words alone. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, 1771. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 uropygium, but all up -their backs. A range of short brown stiff 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 those 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. -</p> - -<p> -I should tell you that I have got an uncommon calculus aegogropila, taken out -of the stomach of a fat ox; it is perfectly round, and about the size of a -large Seville orange; such are, I think, usually flat. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXVI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Sept. 1771. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 my two were amply furnished with the parts of -generation, much resembling those of a boar. -</p> - -<p> -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 not understand perfectly; but refer -it to the observation of the curious anatomist. These creatures send forth a -vary rancid and offensive smell. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXVII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, 1771. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 scarabaei solstitiales, or fern-chafers. 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 while 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 -chafers, I no longer wonder at the use of its middle toe, which is curiously -furnished with a serrated claw. -</p> - -<p> -Swallows and martins, the bulk of them, I mean, have forsaken us sooner this -year than usual; for, on September the twenty-second, they rendezvoused in a -neighbour’s walnut-tree, where it seemed probable they had taken up their -lodging for the night. At the dawn of the day, which was foggy, they arose all -together 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. -</p> - -<p> -Some swifts staid late, till the twenty-second of August —a rare -instance! for they usually withdraw within the first week.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See Letter LIII to Mr. Barrington. -</p> - -<p> -On September the twenty-fourth three or four ring-ousels appeared in my fields -for the first time this season: how punctual are these visitors in their -autumns and spring migrations! -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXVIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, March 15, 1773. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -By my journal for last autumn it appears that the house-martins bred very late, -and staid very late in these parts; for, on the first of October, I saw young -martins in their nests nearly fledged; and again, on the twenty-first of -October, we had at the next house a nest full of young martins 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 third; when -twenty, or perhaps thirty, house-martins 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 -sandbank, lake or pool (as a more northern naturalist would say), may become -their hybernaculum, and afford them a ready and obvious retreat? -</p> - -<p> -We now begin to expect our vernal migration of ring-ousels 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 show for men or guns, that they -have been little accustomed to places of much resort. Navigators 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 ring-ousels 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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXIX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Nov. 9, 1773. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -As you desire me to send you such observations 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. -</p> - -<p> -The osprey was shot about a year ago at Frinshampond, 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. -</p> - -<p> -A great ash-coloured butcher-bird was shot last winter in Tisted-park, and a -red-backed butcher-bird at Selborne: they are rarae aves in this country. -</p> - -<p> -Crows go in pairs the whole year round. -</p> - -<p> -Cornish choughs abound, and breed on Beachy-head and on all the cliffs of the -Sussex coast. -</p> - -<p> -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 together as they went -out in a morning to feed. They leave us early in spring; where do they breed? -</p> - -<p> -The people of Hampshire and Sussex call the missel-bird the storm-cock, because -it sings early in the spring in blowing showery weather; its song often -commences with the year: with us it builds much in orchards. -</p> - -<p> -A gentleman assures me that he has taken the nests of ring-ousels on Dartmoor: -they build in banks on the sides of streams. -</p> - -<p> -Titlarks 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. -</p> - -<p> -Adamson’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 ? -</p> - -<p> -The house-swallow washes by dropping into the water as it flies: this species -appears commonly about a week before the house-martin, and about ten or twelve -days before the swift. -</p> - -<p> -In 1772 there were young house-martins in their nest till October the -twenty-third. -</p> - -<p> -The swift appears about ten or twelve days later than the house-swallow: viz., -about the twenty-fourth or twenty-sixth of April. -</p> - -<p> -Whin-chats and stone-chattel stay with us the whole year. -</p> - -<p> -Some wheat-ears continue with us the winter through. -</p> - -<p> -Wagtails, all sorts, remain with us all the winter. -</p> - -<p> -Bullfinches, when fed on hempseed, often become wholly black. -</p> - -<p> -We have vast flocks of female chaffinches all the winter, with hardly any males -among them. -</p> - -<p> -When you say that in breeding-time the cock-snipes make a bleating noise, and I -a drumming (perhaps I should have rather said an 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. -</p> - -<p> -Soon after the lapwings have done breeding they congregate, and, leaving the -moors and marshes, betake themselves to downs and sheep-walks. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -I saw young teals taken alive in the ponds of Wolmerforest in the beginning of -July last, along with flappers, or young wild-ducks. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Of the sedge-bird 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. 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XL</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Sept. 2, 1774. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 -observations, 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -The grasshopper-lark chirps all night in the height of summer. -</p> - -<p> -Swans turn white the second year, and breed the third. -</p> - -<p> -Weasels prey on moles, as appears by their being sometimes caught in -mole-traps. -</p> - -<p> -Sparrow-hawks sometimes breed in old crows’ nests, and the kestrel in -churches and ruins. -</p> - -<p> -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 mysterious. -</p> - -<p> -Hen-harriers breed on the ground, and seem never to settle on trees. -</p> - -<p> -When red-starts shake their tails they move them horizontally, as dogs do when -they fawn: the tail of a wagtail, when in motion, bobs up and down like that of -a jaded horse. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Many birds which become silent about Midsummer reassume their notes again in -September; as the thrush, blackbird, woodlark, willow-wren, etc.; 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 ? -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -As my neighbour was housing 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 ate the common mice, refusing the red. -</p> - -<p> -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 drowned and lost in the general chorus; in the latter their song -becomes distinguishable. Many songsters of the autumn seem to be the young cock -red-breasts of that year: notwithstanding the prejudices in their favour, they -do much mischief in gardens to the summer-fruits.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* They eat also the berries of the ivy, the honeysuckle, and the euonymus -europaeus, or spindle-tree. -</p> - -<p> -The titmouse, which early in February begins to make two quaint notes, like the -whetting of a saw, is the marsh titmouse: the great titmouse sings with three -cheerful joyous notes, and begins about the same time. -</p> - -<p> -Wrens sing all the winter through, frost excepted. -</p> - -<p> -House-martins came remarkably late this year both in Hampshire and Devonshire: -is this circumstance for or against either hiding or migration ? -</p> - -<p> -Most birds drink sipping at intervals; but pigeons take a long continued -draught, like quadrupeds. -</p> - -<p> -Notwithstanding what I have said in a former letter, no grey crows were ever -known to breed on Dartmoor: it was my mistake. -</p> - -<p> -The appearance and flying of the scarabaeus solstitialis, or fern-chafer, -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. -</p> - -<p> -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, 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? -</p> - -<p> -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 a pugnacious disposition; for they sing with an erected crest and attitudes -of rivalry and defiance; are shy and wild in breeding-time, avoiding -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Black-caps mostly haunt orchards and gardens; while they warble their throats -are wonderfully distended. -</p> - -<p> -The song of the red-start 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 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. -</p> - -<p> -The fly-catcher is of all our summer birds the most mute and the most familiar: -it also appears the last of any. It builds in a vine, or a sweetbriar, against -the wall of an 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 shown near half the species that were ever known in Great Britain.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Sweden, 221; Great Britain, 252 species. -</p> - -<p> -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, I hope you will pardon the didactic manner -for the sake of the information it may happen to contain. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -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 wryneck (so much resembling the hardy -race of wood-peckers) 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 this 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 of -Phryganeae,* etc. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See Derham’s Physico-theology, p. 235. -</p> - -<p> -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. -Red-breasts 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. But 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 Linnaean 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 -caeruleus), the cole-mouse (parus ater), the great black-headed titmouse -(fringillago), and the marsh titmouse (parus palustris), all resort, at times, -to buildings; and in hard weather particularly. 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 straw 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. -</p> - -<p> -The blue titmouse, or nun, is a great frequenter of houses, and a general -devourer. Beside insects, it is very fond of flesh; for it frequently picks -bones on dung-hills: it is a vast admirer of suet, and haunts butchers’ -shops. When a boy, I have known twenty in a morning caught with snap -mousetraps, 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. -</p> - -<p> -How the wheat-ear 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 probably it is that -their maintenance arises from the aureliae of the lepidoptera ordo, which -furnish them with a plentiful table in the wilderness. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, March 9, 1775. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 -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 extensive and picturesque -lakes and water-falls, 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 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; but 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. -</p> - -<p> -The celebrated zigzag up the Coryarich must not be passed over. Mall takes -notice of Hamilton and Drumlanrig, and such capital houses; but a new survey, -no doubt, should represent every seat and castle remarkable for any great -event, or celebrated for its paintings, etc. Lord Breadalbane’s seat and -beautiful policy are too curious and extraordinary to be omitted. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -A pair of honey-buzzards, buteo opivorus, sive vespivorus Raii, 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 1780. -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 embrio -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 grey snails -without shells. The irides of the eyes of this bird were of a beautiful bright -yellow colour. -</p> - -<p> -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 martin, all clean picked, and some half devoured. The old birds -had been observed to make sad havoc for some days among the new-flown swallows -and martins, 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLIV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Nov. 30, 1780. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -Every incident that occasions a renewal of our correspondence will ever be -pleasing and agreeable to me. -</p> - -<p> -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, is that of stock-dove. -</p> - -<p> -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 an -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. -</p> - -<p> -You received, you say, last spring a stock-dove from Sussex; and are informed -that they sometimes breed in that county. 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 -with us perpetually confound the stock-dove with the ring-dove. -</p> - -<p> -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, -these two remarkable black spots on the remiges of each wing of the stock-dove, -which are so characteristic 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 an 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. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Naturam expellas furcâ, tamen usque recurret. -</p> - -<p> -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 wildfowl 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 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 be 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 evening, 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 round, 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, -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Their rising all at once was like the sound<br/> -Of thunder heard remote…. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Some old sportsmen say that the main part of these flocks used to withdraw -as soon as the heavy Christmas frosts were over. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 John Dryden has rendered it so happily in our -language, that without farther excuse I shall add his translation also. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Qualis speluncâ subitò commota Columba,<br/> -Cui domus, et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi,<br/> -Fertur in arva volans, plausumque exterrita pennis<br/> -Dat tecto ingentem—mox aere lapse quieto,<br/> -Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -As when a dove her rocky hold forsakes,<br/> -Rous’d, in her fright her sounding wings she shakes;<br/> -The cavern rings with clattering:—out she flies,<br/> -And leaves her callow care, and cleaves the skies:<br/> -At first she flutters:—but at length she springs<br/> -To smoother flight, and shoots upon her wings. -</p> - -<p> -I am, &c. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>LETTERS to DAINES BARRINGTON</h2> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter I</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, June 30, 1769. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -When I was in town last month I partly engaged that I would sometime do myself -the honour to write to you on the subject of natural history: and I am the more -ready to fulfil my promise, because I see you are a gentleman of great candour, -and one that will make allowances; 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. -</p> - -<p> -The following is a List of the Summer Birds of Passage which I have discovered -in this neighbourhood, ranged somewhat in the order in which they appear. -</p> - -<p> -Usually appears about: -</p> - -<p> -1. Wry-neck, Raii nomina: Jynx, sive torquilla: The middle of March: harsh -note. -</p> - -<p> -2. Smallest willow-wren, Regulus non cristatus: March 23: chirps till -September. -</p> - -<p> -3. Swallow, Hirundo domestica: April 13. -</p> - -<p> -4. Martin, Hirundo rustica: Ditto. -</p> - -<p> -5. Sand-martin, Hirundo riparia: Ditto. -</p> - -<p> -6. Black-cap, Atricapilla: Ditto: a sweet wild note. -</p> - -<p> -7. Nightingale, Luscinia: Beginning of April. -</p> - -<p> -8. Cuckoo, Cuculus: Middle of April. -</p> - -<p> -9. Middle willow-wren, Regulus non cristatus: Ditto, a sweet plaintive note. -</p> - -<p> -10. White-throat, Ficedulae affinis: Middle of April: mean note; sings on till -September. -</p> - -<p> -11. Red-start, Ruticilla: Ditto: more agreeable song. -</p> - -<p> -12. Stone curlew, OEdicnemus: End of March; loud nocturnal whistle. -</p> - -<p> -13. Turtle-dove, Turtur: -</p> - -<p> -14. Grasshopper-lark, Alauda minima locustae voce: Middle of April: a small -sibilous note, till the end of July. -</p> - -<p> -15. Swift, Hirundo apus: About April 27. -</p> - -<p> -16. Less reed-sparrow, Passer arundinaceus minor: A sweet polyglot, but -hurrying: it has the notes of many birds. -</p> - -<p> -17. Land-rail, Ortygometra: A loud harsh note, crex, crex. -</p> - -<p> -18. Largest willow-wren, Regulus non cristatus: Cantat voce stridula locustae; -end of April, on the tops of high beeches. -</p> - -<p> -19. Goat-sucker, or fern-owl, Caprimulgus: Beginning of May; chatters by night -with a singular noise. -</p> - -<p> -20. Fly-catcher, Stoparola: May 12. A very mute bird: this is the latest summer -bird of passage. -</p> - -<p> -This assemblage of curious and amusing birds belongs to ten several genera of -the Linnaean system; and are all of the ordo of passeres, save the jynx and -cuculus, which are picae, and the charadrius (oedicnemus) and rallus -(ortygometra) which are grallae. -</p> - -<p> -These birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the following Linnaean -genera: -</p> - -<p> -1. Jynx. -</p> - -<p> -2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18. Motacilla. -</p> - -<p> -3, 4, 5, 15. Hirundo. -</p> - -<p> -8. Cuculus. -</p> - -<p> -12. Charadrius. -</p> - -<p> -13. Columba. -</p> - -<p> -17. Rallus. -</p> - -<p> -19. Caprimulgus. -</p> - -<p> -14. Alauda. -</p> - -<p> -20. Muscicapa. -</p> - -<p> -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: -</p> - -<p> -Red-breast, Raii nomina: Rubecula: -</p> - -<p> -Wren, Passer troglodytes: These frequent houses; and haunt outbuildings in the -winter; eat spiders. -</p> - -<p> -Hedge-sparrow, Curruca: Haunt sinks for crumbs and other sweepings. -</p> - -<p> -White-wagtail, Motacilla alba: -</p> - -<p> -Yellow-wagtail, Motacilla flava: -</p> - -<p> -Grey-wagtail, Motacilla cinerea: These frequent shallow rivulets near the -spring heads, where they never freeze: eat the aureliae of Phryganea. The -smallest birds that walk. -</p> - -<p> -Wheat-ear, Oenanthe: Some of these are to be seen with us the winter through. -</p> - -<p> -Whin-chat, OEnanthe secunda: -</p> - -<p> -Stone-chatter, OEnanthe tertia: -</p> - -<p> -Golden-crowned wren, Regulus cristatus: This is the smallest British bird: -haunts the tops of tall trees; stays the winter through. -</p> - -<p> -A List of the Winter Birds of Passage round this neighbourhood, ranged somewhat -in the order in which they appear: -</p> - -<p> -1. Ring-ousel, Raii nomina: Merula torquata: This is a new migration which I -have lately discovered about Michaelmas week, and again about the fourteenth -of March. -</p> - -<p> -2. Redwing, Turdus iliacus: About Michaelmas. -</p> - -<p> -3. Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris, Though a percher by day, roosts on the ground. -</p> - -<p> -4. Royston-crew, Cornix cinerea: Most frequent on downs. -</p> - -<p> -5. Wood-cock, Scolopax: Appears about old Michaelmas. -</p> - -<p> -6. Snipe, Gallinago minor: Some snipes constantly breed with us. -</p> - -<p> -7. Jack-snipe, Gallinago minima: -</p> - -<p> -8. Wood-pigeon, OEnas: Seldom appears till late: not in such plenty as -formerly. -</p> - -<p> -9. Wild-swan, Cygnus ferus: On some large waters. -</p> - -<p> -10. Wild-goose, Anser ferus: -</p> - -<p> -11. Wild-duck, Anas torquata minor: -</p> - -<p> -12. Pochard, Anas fera fusca: -</p> - -<p> -13. Widgeon, Penelope: -</p> - -<p> -14. Teal, breeds with us in Wolmer-forest, Querquedula: On our lakes and -streams. -</p> - -<p> -15. Gross-beak, Coccothraustes: -</p> - -<p> -16. Cross-bill, Loxia: -</p> - -<p> -17. Silk-tail, Garrulus bohemicus: These are only wanderers that appear -occasionally, and are not observant of any regular migration. -</p> - -<p> -These birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the following Linnaean -genera: -</p> - -<p> -1, 2, 3. Turdus. -</p> - -<p> -4. Corvus. -</p> - -<p> -5, 6, 7. Scolopax. -</p> - -<p> -8. Columba. -</p> - -<p> -9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. Anas. -</p> - -<p> -15, 16. Loxia. -</p> - -<p> -17. Ampelis. -</p> - -<p> -Birds that sing in the night are but few: -</p> - -<p> -Nightingale, Luscinia: ‘In shadiest covert hid.’—MILTON. -</p> - -<p> -Woodlark, Alauda arborea: Suspended in mid air. -</p> - -<p> -Less reed-sparrow, Passer arundinaceus minor: Among reeds and willows. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter II</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Nov. 2, 1769. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -1. Woodlark, Raii nomina: Alauda arborea: In January, and continues to sing -through all the summer and autumn. -</p> - -<p> -2. Song-thrush, Turdus simpliciter dictus: In February and on to August, -reassume their song in autumn. -</p> - -<p> -3. Wren, Passer troglodytes: All the year, hard frost excepted. -</p> - -<p> -4. Red-breast, Rubecula: Ditto. -</p> - -<p> -5. Hedge-sparrow, Curruca: Early in February to July the 10th. -</p> - -<p> -6. Yellow-hammer, Emberiza flava: Early in February, and on through July to -August the 21st. -</p> - -<p> -7. Skylark, Alauda vulgaris: In February, and on to October. -</p> - -<p> -8. Swallow, Hirundo domestica: From April to September. -</p> - -<p> -9. Black-cap, Atricapilla: Beginning of April to July 13. -</p> - -<p> -10. Titlark, Alauda pratorum: From middle of April to July the 16th. -</p> - -<p> -11. Blackbird, Merula vulgaris: Sometimes in February and March, and so on to -July the twenty third; reassumes in autumn. -</p> - -<p> -12. White-throat, Ficedulcae affinis: In April and on to July 23. -</p> - -<p> -13. Goldfinch, Carduelis: April and through to September 16. -</p> - -<p> -14. Greenfinch, Chloris: On to July and August 2. -</p> - -<p> -15. Less reed-sparrow, Passer arundinaceus minor: May, on to beginning of July. -</p> - -<p> -16. Common linnet, Linaria vulgaris: Breeds and whistles on till August; -reassumes its note when they begin to congregate in October, and again early -before the flock separate. -</p> - -<p> -Birds that cease to be in full song, and are usually silent at or before -Midsurnmer: -</p> - -<p> -17. Middle willow-wren, Regulus non cristatus: Middle of June: begins in April. -</p> - -<p> -18. Red-start, Ruticilla: Middle of June: begins in May. -</p> - -<p> -19. Chaffinch, Fringilla: Beginning of June: sings first in February. -</p> - -<p> -20. Nightingale, Luscinia: Middle of June: sings first in April. -</p> - -<p> -Birds that sing for a short tune, and very early in the spring: -</p> - -<p> -21. Missel-bird, Turdus viscivorus: January the 2nd, 1770, in February. Is -called in Hampshire and Sussex the storm-cock, because its song is supposed to -forebode windy wet weather: is the largest singing bird we have. -</p> - -<p> -22. Great tit-mouse, or ox-eye, Fringillago: In February, March, April: -reassumes for a short time in September. -</p> - -<p> -Birds that have somewhat of a note or song, and yet are hardly to be called -singing birds: -</p> - -<p> -23. Golden-crowned wren, Regulus cristatus: Its note as minute as its person; -frequents the tops of high oaks and firs; the smallest British bird. -</p> - -<p> -24. Marsh titmouse, Parus palustris: Haunts great woods; two harsh sharp notes. -</p> - -<p> -25. Small willow-wren, Regulus non cristatus: Sings in March and on to -September. -</p> - -<p> -26. Largest ditto, Ditto: Cantat voce stridula locustae: from end of April to -August. -</p> - -<p> -27. Grasshopper-lark, Alauda minima voce locustae: Chirps all night, from the -middle of April to the end of July -</p> - -<p> -28. Martin, Hirundo agrestis: All the breeding time; from May to September. -</p> - -<p> -29. Bullfinch, Pyrrhula: -</p> - -<p> -30. Bunting, Emberiza alba: From the end of January to July. -</p> - -<p> -All singing birds, and those that have any pretensions to song, not only in -Britain, but perhaps the world through, come under the Linnaean ordo of -passeres. -</p> - -<p> -The above-mentioned birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the following -Linnaean genera. -</p> - -<p> -1, 7, 10, 27. Alauda. -</p> - -<p> -2, 11, 21. Turdus. -</p> - -<p> -3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 15, 17, 18, 20, 23, 25, 26. Motacilla. -</p> - -<p> -6, 30. Emberiza. -</p> - -<p> -8, 28. Hirundo. -</p> - -<p> -13, 16, 19. Pringilla. -</p> - -<p> -22, 24. Parus. -</p> - -<p> -14, 29. Loxia. -</p> - -<p> -Birds that sing as they fly are but few: -</p> - -<p> -Skylark, Raii nomina. Alauda vulgaris: Rising, suspended, and falling. -</p> - -<p> -Titlark, Alauda pratorum: In its descent; also sitting on trees, and walking on -the ground. -</p> - -<p> -Woodlark, Alauda arborea: Suspended; in hot summer nights all night long. -</p> - -<p> -Blackbird, Merula: Sometimes from bush to bush. -</p> - -<p> -White-throat, Ficedulae affinis: Uses when singing on the wing odd jerks and -gesticulations. -</p> - -<p> -Swallow, Hirundo domestica: In soft sunny weather. -</p> - -<p> -Wren, Passer troglodytes: Sometimes from bush to bush. -</p> - -<p> -Birds that breed most early in these parts: -</p> - -<p> -Raven, Corvus: Hatches in February and March. -</p> - -<p> -Song-thrush, Turdus: In March. -</p> - -<p> -Blackbird, Merula: In March. -</p> - -<p> -Rook, Cornix frugilega: Builds the beginning of March. -</p> - -<p> -Woodlark, Alauda arborea: Hatches in April. -</p> - -<p> -Ring-dove, Palurnbus torquatus: Lays the beginning of April. -</p> - -<p> -All birds that continue in full song till after Midsummer appear to me to breed -more than once. -</p> - -<p> -Most kinds of birds seem to me to be wild and shy somewhat 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 an human figure, that they would stand still to be taken; -as is the case with boobies, etc. 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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter III</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Jan. 15, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 punctually. 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 on my last -letter, you will find that many species continued to warble after the beginning -of July. -</p> - -<p> -The titlark and yellowhammer 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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 undoubtedly, and the last, as far as I can -yet see, a summer bird of passage, they would require more nice and curious -management in a cage than I should be able to give them; they are 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, -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -And tune his merry note<br/> -Unto the wild bird’s throat.—Shakespeare. -</p> - -<p> -The latter has a surprising variety of notes resembling the song of several -other birds; but then it also has an hurrying manner, not at all to its -advantage; it is notwithstanding a delicate polyglot. -</p> - -<p> -It is new to me that titlarks in cages sing in the night; perhaps 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 meadows. 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 ? -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter IV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Feb. 19, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 perfectly new to me; and struck me so forcibly, that I -naturally fell into a train of thought that led me to consider whether the fact -was 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 excellent 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 the natural -στοργὴ 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-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. -</p> - -<p> -What was said by a very ancient and sublime writer concerning the defect of -natural affection in the ostrich, may be well applied to the bird we are -talking of: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -‘She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not -hers:<br/> -Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her -understanding.’* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Job xxxix. 16, 17. -</p> - -<p> -Query.—Does each female cuckoo lay but one egg in a season, or does she -drop several in different nests according as opportunity offers? -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter V</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, April 12, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 yellowhammer no doubt persists with more steadiness than any -other; but the woodlark, the wren, the red-breast, the swallow, the -white-throat, the goldfinch, the common linnet, are all undoubted instances of -the truth of what I advance. -</p> - -<p> -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 birdcatcher; 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. 16? -</p> - -<p> -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 case is just the same with blackbirds, etc.; -and farmers and warreners observe, the first, that their hogs fat more kindly -at such times, and the latter that the 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 overbalances 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. -</p> - -<p> -When birds come to suffer by severe frost, I find that the first that fail and -die are the redwing-fieldfares, and then the song-thrushes. -</p> - -<p> -You wonder, with good reason, that the hedge-sparrows, etc., can be induced to -sit at all 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. For the 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 was come down out of the ovary, and advanced to a good size, doubtless -then she would that spring lay more than one. -</p> - -<p> -I will endeavour to get a hen, and to examine. -</p> - -<p> -Your supposition that there may be some natural obstruction in singing birds -while they are mute, and that when this is removed the song recommences is new -and bold; I wish you could discover some good grounds for this suspicion. -</p> - -<p> -I was glad you were pleased with my specimen of the caprimulgus, or fern-owl; -you were, I find, acquainted with the bird before. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Some extracts from your ingenious ‘Investigations of the difference -between the present temperature of the air in Italy,’ etc., have fallen -in my way, and gave me great satisfaction: they have removed the objections -that always rose 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> - -<p> -P.S. Swallows appear amidst snows and frost. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter VI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, May 21, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -The severity and turbulence of last month so interrupted the regular progress -of summer migration, that some of the birds do but just begin to show -themselves, and others are apparently thinner than usual; as the white-throat, -the black-cap, the red-start, 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 blowed the 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. -</p> - -<p> -I am not pleased to find that some people seem so little satisfied with -Scopoli’s new publication;* there is room to expect great things from -the hands of that man, who is a good naturalist: and one would think that an -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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* This work he calls his Annus Primus Historico-Naturalis. -</p> - -<p> -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.** -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -** See Letter XXV to Mr. Pennant. -</p> - -<p> -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 about it at present.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See Letter XLIII to Mr. Barrington. -</p> - -<p> -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, etc., etc., 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: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Quem si puellarum insereres choro,<br/> -Mire sagaces falleret hospites<br/> -Discrimen obscurum, solutis<br/> -Crinibus, ambiguoque vultu.—H<small>OR</small>. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter VII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Ringmer, near Lewes, Oct. 8, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -I am glad to hear that Kuckalm is to furnish you with the birds of Jamaica; a -sight of the hirundines of that hot and distant island would be great -entertainment to me. -</p> - -<p> -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 possibly be acquainted with: every kingdom, every province, -should have its own monographer. -</p> - -<p> -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 naturalist 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 Entomology: and his characters of his Ordines and Genera are -many of them new, expressive, and masterly. He has ventured to alter some of -the Linnaean genera with sufficient show of reason. -</p> - -<p> -It might perhaps be mere accident that you saw so many swifts and no swallows -at Staines; because, in my long observations of those birds, I never could -discover the least degree of rivalry or hostility between the species. -</p> - -<p> -Ray remarks that birds of the gallinae order, as cocks and hens, partridges, -and pheasants, etc., 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 -frequency seen grovelling and wallowing in dusty roads; and yet they are great -washers. Does not the skylark dust? -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… in tenui re<br/> -Majores pennas nido extendisse … -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -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. -</p> - -<p> -In July I saw several cuckoos skimming over a large pond; and found, after some -observation, that they were feeding on the libellulae, 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. -</p> - -<p> -This district affords some birds that are hardly ever heard of at Selborne. In -the first place considerable flocks of cross-beaks (loxiae curvirostrae) have -appeared this summer in the pine-groves belonging to this house; the -water-ousel is 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. -</p> - -<p> -I was greatly pleased to see little parties of ring-ousels (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 auspicious 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 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! -</p> - -<p> -As I rode along near the coast I kept a very sharp lookout 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 red-start, -white-throat, black-cap, uncrested wren, fly-catcher, etc. 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, whin-chats, buntings, linnets, some few wheatears, -titlarks, etc. Swallows and house-martins abound yet, induced to prolong their -stay by this soft, still, dry season. -</p> - -<p> -A land-tortoise, which has been kept for thirty years in a little walled court -belonging to the house where I now am 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! -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter VIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Dec. 20, 1770. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -The birds that I took for aberdavines were reed-sparrows (passeres torquati). -</p> - -<p> -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 was there -a due proportion of each sex, it should seem very improbable that any one -district should produce such numbers of these little birds; and much more when -only half of the species appears: therefore we may conclude that the fringillae -caelebes, 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 Systema Naturae, -p. 318. I see every winter vast flights of hen chaffinches, but none of cocks. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Sure there can be no doubt but that woodcocks and fieldfares leave us in the -spring, in order to cross the seas, and to retire to some districts more -suitable to the purpose of breeding. That the former pair before they retire, -and that the hens are forward with egg, I myself, when I was a sportsman, have -often experienced. It cannot indeed be denied but that now and then we hear of -a woodcock’s nest, or young 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 fieldfares, 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. 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 remember, after that dreadful winter of 1739-40, -that cold north-east 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 nidificat’; and of the redwing he says, in the same place, that -‘nidificat in mediis arbusculis, sive sepibus: ova sex caeruleo-viridia -maculis 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 aequinoctium vernale’; meaning in -Tirol, 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 -woodcocks breed at all in Austria: but he says ‘Avis haec -septentrionalium provinciarum aestivo tempore incola est; ubi plerumque -nidificat. Appropinquante hyeme australiores provincias petit: hinc circa -plenilunium mensis Octobris plerumque Austriam transmigrat. Tunc rursus circa -plenilunium potissimum mensis Martii per Austriam matrimonio juncta ad -septentrionales provincias redit.’ For the whole passage (which I have -abridged) see Elenchus, etc., p. 351. This seems to be a full proof of the -migration of woodcocks; though little is proved concerning the place of -breeding. -</p> - -<p> -P.S. There fell in the county of Rutland, in three weeks of this present very -wet weather, seven inches and an 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 one year is twenty inches and an half. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter IX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Fyfield, near Andover, Feb. 12, 1771. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -You are, I know, no great friend to migration; and the well attested accounts -from various parts of the kingdom 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, to slumber away the -more uncomfortable months till the return of the sun and fine weather awakens -them. -</p> - -<p> -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, and from south to north, -according to the season. And these vast migrations consist not only of -hirundines but of bee-birds, hoopoes, oro pendolos or golden thrushes, etc., -etc., and also 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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, etc.; because, if we reflect, a bird may travel from England to the -equator without launching 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 -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… rang’d in figure wedge their way,<br/> -… and set forth<br/> -Their airy caravan high over seas<br/> -Flying, and over lands with mutual wing<br/> -Easing their flight …<br/> -</p> - -<p class="right"> -M<small>ILTON</small>. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -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. -</p> - -<p> -In former letters we have considered whether it was probable that woodcocks in -moon-shiny 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 some people were shooting in the -parish of Trotton, in the county of Sussex, they killed a duck in that dreadful -winter 1708-9, 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* I have read a like anecdote of a swan. -</p> - -<p> -At present I do not know anybody near the sea-side 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 woodcocks 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Let me hear from your own observation whether skylarks do not dust. I think -they do: and if they do, whether they wash also. -</p> - -<p> -The alauda pratensis of Ray was the poor dupe that was educating the booby of a -cuckoo mentioned in my letter of October last. -</p> - -<p> -Your letter came too late for me to procure a ring-ousel for Mr. Tunstal during -their autumnal visit; but I will endeavour to get him one when they call on us -again in April. I am glad that you and that gentleman saw my Andalusian birds; -I hope they answered your expectation. Royston, or grey 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? did he not find a missel-thrush’s nest, -and take it for the nest of a fieldfare? -</p> - -<p> -The stock-dove, or wood-pigeon, oenas 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 are much decreased in number. The -ring-dove, palumbus Raii, stays with us the whole year, and breeds several -times through the summer. -</p> - -<p> -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 chafers, 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. -</p> - -<p> -My musical friend, at whose house I am now visiting, has tried all the owls -that are his near neighbours with a pitch-pipe, set at concert-pitch, and finds -they all hoot in B flat. He will examine the nightingales next spring. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc., etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter X</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Aug. 1, 1771. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 by was a -common half-crown pitch-pipe, such as masters use for tuning of harpsichords; -it was the common London pitch. -</p> - -<p> -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, the other in D sharp, who 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 they retreat from -Scandinavian winters: and much more the ordo of grallae, who, all to a bird, -forsake the northern parts of Europe at the approach of winter. ‘Grallae -tanquam conjugatae unanimiter in fugam se conjiciunt; ne earum unicam quidem -inter nos habitantem invenire possimus; ut enim aestate in australibus degere -nequeunt ob defectum lumbricorum, terramque siccam; ita nec in frigidis ob -eandem causam,’ says Eckmarck the 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 Amoenitates Academicae, vol. iv, -p. 565. -</p> - -<p> -Birds may be so circumstanced as to be obliged to migrate in one country and -not in another: but the grallae (which procure their food from marshes and -boggy grounds) must in winter forsake the more northerly parts of Europe, or -perish for want of food. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Foreign systematics 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 -followers and imitators in spite of the advantage of fresh discoveries and -modern information. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc., etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Feb. 8, 1772. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -When I ride about in the winter, and see such prodigious flocks of various -kinds of birds, I cannot help 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 sustenance 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 dews, yet it is -strange that the former should so frequently have a flight of starlings for -their satellites. Is it because rooks have a more 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 yelpings of -jackals. Lapwings and starlings sometimes associate. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -March 9, 1772. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -As a gentleman and myself were walking on the fourth of last November round the -sea-banks at Newhaven, 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 than retire again -to their latebrae. 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 -invigorating. And I am the more of this opinion from what I have remarked -during some of our late springs, that though some swallows did make their -appearance about the usual time, viz., the thirteenth or fourteenth of April, -yet meeting with an harsh reception, and blustering cold north-east winds, they -immediately withdrew, absconding for several days, till the weather gave them -better encouragement. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -April 12, 1772. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -While I was in Sussex last autumn my residence was at the village near Lewes, -from whence I had formerly the pleasure of writing to you. On the first of -November I remarked that the old tortoise, formerly mentioned, began first to -dig the ground in order to the forming its hybernaculum, which it had fixed on -just beside a great tuft of hepaticas. It scrapes out the ground with its -fore-feet, and throws it up over its back with its hind; but the 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 unusually 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 thirteenth 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 were on tiptoe, feeding with great earnestness 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 knoweth his -owner, and the ass has 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> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Isaiah i. 3. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc., etc. -</p> - -<p> -P.S. In about three days after I left Sussex the tortoise retired into the -ground under the hepatica. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XIV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, March 26, 1773. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -The more I reflect on the στοργὴ 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. -</p> - -<p> -This affection sublimes the passions, quickens the invention, and sharpens the -sagacity of the brute creation. Thus an hen, just become a mother, is no longer -that placid bird she used to be, but with feathers standing on end, wings -hovering, and clocking 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 an hawk, whom they will persecute till he leaves -that district. A very 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 kestril, 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 repetition for the sake of illustration. -</p> - -<p> -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 an 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 -impertinent intruder. -</p> - -<p> -A still more remarkable mixture of sagacity and instinct occurred to me one day -as my people were pulling off the lining of an hotbed, in order to add some -fresh dung. From out of the side of this bed leaped an animal with great -agility 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! -</p> - -<p> -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 perversion of the στοργὴ, 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. 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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, July 8, 1773. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -Some young men went down lately to a pond on the verge of Wolmer-forest 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 much pleased with the discovery: this I look upon as a -great stroke in natural history. -</p> - -<p> -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 unacceptable: — -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 nests, 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 regards the well-being -of itself and offspring. But a piece of address, which they show 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. -</p> - -<p> -White owls seem not (but in this I am not positive) to hoot at all: 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 whole village up in arms on such -an occasion, imagining the church-yard to be full of goblins and spectres. -White owls also often scream horribly as they fly along; from this screaming -probably arose the common people’s imaginary species of screech-owl, -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 -examination, he found 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 devour, after the manner of hawks. He -believes, he told me, that there were bushels of this kind of substance. -</p> - -<p> -When brown owls hoot their throats swell as big as an 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 owls 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 presume are necessary to collect every ray of light, and -large concave ears to command the smallest degree of sound or noise. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -<p> -The hirundines 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 themselves to our houses; amuse us with their -migrations, songs, and marvellous agility; and clear our outlets from the -annoyances of gnats and other troublesome insects. Some districts in the south -seas, near Guiaquil,* 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 hirundines is found in those -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 was it not for the friendly -interposition of the swallow tribe. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See Ulloa’s Travels. -</p> - -<p> -Many species of birds have their particular 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 truly irksome and -injurious to them. These are the hippoboscae hirundinis 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 coming out of the north, are rendered half frantic by the tickling -sensation; while our own breed little regards them. -</p> - -<p> -The curious Reaumur discovered the large eggs, or rather pupae, of these flies -as big as the flies themselves, which he hatched in his own bosom. Any person -that will take the troupe to examine the old nests of either species of -swallows may find in them the black shining cases of the pupae of these -insects: but for other particulars, too long for this place, we refer the -reader to L’Histoire d’Insectes of that admirable entomologist. -Tom. iv. pi. ii. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XVI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Nov. 20, 1773. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -In obedience to your injunctions I sit down to give you some account of the -house-martin, 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 hirundines — the swallow, -the swift, and the bank-martin. -</p> - -<p> -A few house-martins begin to appear about the sixteenth 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 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 martin begins to think in earnest of providing 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 and tenacious. As -this bird often builds against a perpendicular wall without any projecting -ledge under, 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 lithe bird) raise but a moderate layer at a time, and then desist; lest -the work should become top-heavy, and so be ruined by is 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 -is own, to eject the owner, and to line it after is own manner. -</p> - -<p> -After so much labour is bestowed in erecting a mansion, as nature seldom works -in vain, martins win 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 shed 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. Was 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 a particular provision, that the -dung of nestlings is enveloped into 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 young 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 ἡλικία 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 imperceptible 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 mobs of churches and houses. These -congregations 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 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 than -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 frequency as swallows. It has been observed that martins -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 an hot stifled inn-yard, against -a wall facing to the south. -</p> - -<p> -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 an house -without eaves in an exposed district, where some martins build year by year in -the corners of the windows. But, as the corners of these windows (which face to -the south-east and south-west) are too shallow, the 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 wonderful -unequal faculty; in some instances so much above reason, in other respects so -far below it! Martins 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. Martins 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. Accordingly they make use of a placid easy motion in -a middle region of the air, seldom mounting to any great height, and never -sweeping long 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 the twenty-first, and are never without unfledged young as late as -Michaelmas. -</p> - -<p> -As the summer declines the congregating docks 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 eight 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 ate very short-lived -indeed, or unless they do not return to the district where they are bred, they -must undergo vast devastations somehow, sad somewhere; for the birds that -return yearly bear no manner of proportion to the birds that retire. -</p> - -<p> -House-martins ate distinguished from that congeners by having that legs coveted -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 breeding they -are often greatly molested with fleas. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XVII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Ringmer, near Lewes, Dec. 9, 1773. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -I received your last favour just as I was setting out for this place; and am -pleased to find that my monography 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 ought not make many additions, since subjects of -this kind are inexhaustible. -</p> - -<p> -If you think my letter worthy the notice of your respectable society, you are -at liberty to lay it before them; and they win 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 hereafter I may be -induced to take the house-swallow under consideration, and from that proceed -to the rest of the British hirundines. -</p> - -<p> -Though I have now travelled the Sussex-downs upwards of thirty years, yet I -still investigate that chain of majestic mountains with fresh admiration year -by year; and 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 command a noble view of the wild, or weald, on one hand, -and the broad downs and sea on the other. Mr. Ray used to visit a family* just -at the foot of these hips, and was so ravished with the prospect from -Plumpton-plain near Lewes, that he mentions those scopes in his Wisdom of God -in the Works of the Creation with the utmost satisfaction, and thinks them -equal to anything he had seen in the finest parts of Europe. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Mr. Courthope, of Danny. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 smooch -fungus-like protuberances, their fluted sides, and regular hollows and slopes, -that carry at once the air of vegetative dilation and expansion…. Or was there -ever a time when these immense masses of calcareous matter were drown 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? -</p> - -<p> -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 au -average at about the rate of five hundred feet. -</p> - -<p> -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 the -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 foreheads, 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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 hirundines, 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, etc., etc., 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 wheat-ear, though they abound 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 plowed 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 Brighthelmstone 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 wheat-ears are taken to the westward of Houghton-bridge, which stands on -the river Arun. -</p> - -<p> -I did not fail to look particularly after my new migration of ring-ousels; 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 whin-chats, -some rooks, and several kites and buzzards. -</p> - -<p> -About Midsummer a flight of cross-bills comes to the pine-groves about this -house, but never makes any long stay. -</p> - -<p> -The old tortoise, that I have mentioned in a former letter, still continues in -this garden; and retired under ground about the twentieth of November, and came -out again for one day on the thirtieth: 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! -</p> - -<p> -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 harbingers. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XVIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Jan. 29, 1774. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 immediately 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 at hand, than return for a week or two -only to warmer latitudes. -</p> - -<p> -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 Virgil’s time: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… Ante<br/> -Garrula quam tignis nidos suspendat hirundo. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Five or six or more feet down the chimney does this little bird begin to form -her nest about the middle of May, which consists, like that of the -house-martin, 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 martin 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. -</p> - -<p> -Wonderful is the address which this adroit bird shows 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 day 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 flyers, 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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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-martins; 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 are too quick for the eye. -</p> - -<p> -The swallow, probably the male bird, is the excubitor to house-martins, and -other little birds, announcing the approach of birds of prey. For as soon as an -hawk appears, with a shrill alarming note he calls all the swallows and martins -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 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-martins and bank-martins dip and wash a little. -</p> - -<p> -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 flyer, ranging to distant downs and commons even in windy weather, -which the other species seem much to dislike; nay, even frequenting exposed -sea-port 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Some few pairs haunt the new and open streets of London next the fields, but do -not enter, like the house-martin, the close and crowded parts of the city. -</p> - -<p> -Both male and female are distinguished from their congeners 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. -</p> - -<p> -After this circumstantial detail of the life and discerning στοργὴ of the -swallow, I shall add, for your farther amusement, an anecdote or two not much -in favour of her sagacity: -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -The owl and the conch make a strange grotesque appearance, and are not the -least curious specimens in that wonderful collection of art and nature.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Sir Ashton Lever’s Museum. -</p> - -<p> -Thus is instinct in animals, taken the least out of its way, an -undistinguishing, limited faculty; and blind to every circumstance that does -not immediately respect self-preservation, or lead at once to the propagation -or support of their species. -</p> - -<p> -I am, -</p> - -<p> -With all respect, etc., etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XIX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Feb. 14, 1774. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 less pleased -to find that you made objections where you saw reason. -</p> - -<p> -As to the quotations, it is difficult to say precisely which species of hirundo -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. -</p> - -<p> -In the first place the epithet garrula suits the swallow well, who is a great -songster; but not the martin, 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 martin; 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 martin is milk-white, its back and wings blue, and all -its under part white as snow. Nor can the clumsy motions (comparatively clumsy) -of the martin 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 Aeneas. The verb sonat also seems to imply a bird that -is somewhat loquacious.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Nigra velut magnas domini cum divitis ædes<br/> -Pervolat, et pennis alta atria lustrat hirundo,<br/> -Pabula parva legens, nidisque loquacibus escas:<br/> -Et nunc porticibus vacuis, nunc humida circum<br/> -Stagna sonat … -</p> - -<p> -We have had a very wet autumn and winter, so as to raise the springs to a pitch -beyond any thing since 1764; which was a remarkable year for floods and high -waters. The land-springs, which we call lavants, break out much on the downs of -Sussex, Hampshire, and Wiltshire. The country people say when the lavants 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 vicissitudes from fierce frost to pouring rains, looks -poorly; and the turnips rot very fast. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Feb. 26, 1774. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -The sand-martin, or bank-martin, 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 is fera natura, at -least in this part of the kingdom, disclaiming all domestic attachments, and -haunting wild heaths and commons where there are large lakes; while the other -species, especially the swallow and house-martin, are remarkably gentle and -domesticated, and never seem to think themselves safe but under the protection -of man. -</p> - -<p> -Here are in this parish, in the sand-pits and banks of the lakes 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-martins 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. 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. -</p> - -<p> -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-martin discover -the greatest address in raising and securely fixing crusts or shells of loam as -cunabula for their young, the bank-martin terebrates a round and regular hole -in the sand or earth, which is serpentine, 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. -</p> - -<p> -Perseverance will accomplish anything: 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 -dispatch: 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 intentionally 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 latebrae 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 flounder, and threatening to -overwhelm them and their labours ? -</p> - -<p> -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 -untenable. 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 upon the stools of their hives. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -The sand-martin arrives much about the same time with the swallow, and lays, as -she does, from four to six white eggs. But as the species is cryptogame, -carrying on the business of nidification, incubation, and the support of its -young in the dark, it would not be so 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 libellulae (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-martins do, we have never yet been able to determine; nor do -we know whether they pursue and attack birds of prey. -</p> - -<p> -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-martins. -</p> - -<p> -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 congregating with their congeners in the autumn. -Undoubtedly they breed a second time, like the house-martin and swallow; and -withdraw about Michaelmas. -</p> - -<p> -Though in some particular districts they may happen to abound, yet in 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-martins; 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-martins, scattered here and there, live a sequestered life among some -abrupt sand-hills, and in the banks of some few rivers. -</p> - -<p> -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 group of insects affords the principal food of each respective -species of swallow. -</p> - -<p> -Notwithstanding what has been advanced above, some few sand-martins, I see, -haunt the skirts of London, frequenting the dirty pools in Saint -George’s-Fields, and about White-Chapel. 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-martin and swallow. -</p> - -<p> -Sand-martins differ from their congeners in the diminutiveness of their size, -and in their colour, which is what is usually called a mouse-colour. Near -Valencia in Spain, they are taken, says Willughby, and sold in the markets for -the table; and are called by the country people, probably from their desultory -jerking manner of flight, Papilion de montagna. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Sept. 28, 1774. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -As the swift or black-martin is the largest of the British hirundines, so is it -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. -</p> - -<p> -The swift, like the sand-martin, 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 usurp upon the house-sparrows, and expel them, as sparrows -do the house and sand-martin; 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. -</p> - -<p> -Swifts, like sand-martins, carry on the business of nidification 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 ninth 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. -</p> - -<p> -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, was 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. -</p> - -<p> -As the swift eats, drinks, collects materials for its nest, and, at 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 thundry weather, when it expresses -great alacrity, and calls forth all its powers. In hot mornings several, -getting together in 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. 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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 -phryganeae, ephemerae, and libellulae (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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -On the thirtieth of last June I untiled the eaves of an 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 martins, -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 in 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. Windy, and particularly windy weather with heavy -showers, they dislike; and on such days withdraw, and are scarce ever seen. -</p> - -<p> -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? -</p> - -<p> -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 before their congeners -bring out their second brood. 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 most southerly parts of Andalusia, where -they can be no ways 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 searches, but almost eludes our guesses! -</p> - -<p> -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 hippoboscae hirundinis; and often wriggle and scratch -themselves, in their flight, to get rid of that clinging annoyance. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -The particular formation of the foot discriminates the swift from all British -hirundines; and indeed from all other known birds, the hirundo melba, 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 constitute a genus -per se. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* John Antony Scopoli, of Carniola, M.D. -</p> - -<p> -In London a party of swifts frequents 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-martin, into the close -crowded part of the town. -</p> - -<p> -The Swedes have bestowed a very pertinent name on this swallow, calling it ring -swala, form the perpetual rings or circles that it takes round the scene of its -nidification. -</p> - -<p> -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, over-run with hippoboscae, are sometimes found, under their -nests, fallen to the ground: the number of vermin rendering 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. -</p> - -<p> -On the fifth 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 affected by natural -στοργὴ 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, permitting -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 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 inconceivable -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 ἡλικία or state of perfection; while the progressive -growth of men and large quadrupeds is slow and tedious! -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Sept. 13, 1774. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 pleasure, in contemplating the address with which this feat was -performed to a consideraable depth in the chimney, was somewhat interrupted by -apprehensions lest my eyes might undergo the same fate with those of Tobit.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Tobit ii. 10. -</p> - -<p> -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-martin on April the 12th, and the house-martin 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-martins not till -the middle of May. At Blackburn, in Lancashire, swifts were seen April the -28th, swallows April the 29th, house-martins May the 1st. Do these different -dates, in such distant districts, prove anything for or against migration ? -</p> - -<p> -A farmer, near Weyhill, fallows his land with two teams of asses; one of which -works till noon, and the other in the afternoon. 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. -</p> - -<p> -Linnaeus says that hawks ‘paciscuntur inducias cum avibus, quamdiu -cuculus cuculat’ but it appears to me that, during 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. -</p> - -<p> -The missel-thrush is, while breeding, fierce and pugnacious, driving such birds -as approach its nest, with great fury, to a distance. The Welch 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 successful 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 aris & focis; but -numbers at last prevailed, they tore the nest to pieces, and swallowed the -young alive. -</p> - -<p> -In the season of notification the wildest birds are comparatively tame. Thus -the ring-dove breeds in my fields, though they are continually frequented; 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Frequent returns of deafness incommode me sadly, and half 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, etc., as August. My eyesight is, -thank God, quick and good; but with respect to the other sense, I am, at times, -disabled: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -And Wisdom at one entrance quite shut out. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, June 8, 1775. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 plentifully 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 incumbrances 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 France itself. -</p> - -<p> -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 inch broad, and five or six long, which fell with a degree of -velocity which showed they were considerably heavier than the atmosphere. -</p> - -<p> -On every side as the observer turned his eyes might he behold a continual -succession of fresh flakes falling into his sight, and twinkling like stars as -they turned their sides towards the sun. -</p> - -<p> -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 a triangle, the shortest of whose sides is about eight miles in extent. -</p> - -<p> -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, 300 feet above his fields, he found the webs in appearance still -as much above him as before; still descending into sight in a constant -succession, and twinkling in the sun, so as to draw the attention of the most -incurious. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -The remark that I shall make on these cobweb-like appearances, 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 rapturous 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 region 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 to Mr. Ray], then, when they were become heavier than the -air, they must fall. -</p> - -<p> -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 my breath. So that these little crawlers -seem to have, while mounting, some loco-motive power without the use of wings, -and to move in the air, faster then the air itself. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXIV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Aug. 15, 1775. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -There is a wonderful spirit of sociality in the brute creation, independent of -sexual attachment: the congregating of gregarious birds in the winter is a -remarkable instance. -</p> - -<p> -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 -endeavouring 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 longings and menacing horns, drive the -assailants quite out of the pasture. -</p> - -<p> -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 circumspection, 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 following sentiment in the mouth of -Adam, seems to be somewhat mistaken: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Much less can bird with beast, or fish with fowl,<br/> -So well converse, nor with the ox the ape. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Oct. 2, 1775. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -We have two gangs or hordes of gypsies 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 spread by degrees over Europe, may not this name, a -little corrupted, be the very name they brought with them 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, etc. -It is possible that amidst their cant and corrupted dialect many mutilated -remains of their native language might still be discovered. -</p> - -<p> -With regard to those peculiar people, the gypsies, 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 gypsy-girl lie-in in the -midst of one of our hop-gardens, on the cold ground, with nothing over her but -a piece of 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. -</p> - -<p> -Europe itself, it seems, cannot set bounds to the rovings of those 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.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See Bell’s Travels in China. -</p> - -<p> -Gypsies are called in French, Bohemians; in Italian and modern Greek, Zingari. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXVI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Nov. 1, 1775. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Hic … taedae pingues, hic plurimus ignis<br/> -Semper, et assidua postes fuligine nigri. -</p> - -<p> -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 am 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. -</p> - -<p> -The proper species of rush for this purpose seems to be the juncus effusus, 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 dispatch, and seldom failing to strip them with the nicest -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 scumrnings 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 four pence; 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. -</p> - -<p> -A good rush, which measured in length two feet four inches and an half, being -minuted, burnt only three minutes short of an hour: and a rush still of greater -length has been known to burn one hour and a quarter. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 1/33 of a farthing, and 1/11 afterwards. Thus a poor family will enjoy -5&1/2 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. -</p> - -<p> -Little farmers use rushes much in the short days, both 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 an 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. -</p> - -<p> -While on the subject of rural oeconomy, it may not be improper to mention a -pretty implement of housewifery that we have seen no where else; that is, -little neat besoms which our foresters make from the stalk 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, etc. If these besoms were known to the brushmakers in town, it is -probable they might come much in use for the purpose above-mentioned.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* A besom of this sort is to be seen in Sir Ashton Lever’s Museum. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXVII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, December 12, 1775. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -We had in this village more than twenty years ago an idiot-boy, whom I well -remember, who, from a child, showed 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 dosed away his time, within his father’s -house, by the fireside, 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. Honeybees, 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 his skin with a number of these captives; and -sometimes would confine them 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 exhibitor of bees; and -we may justly say of him now, -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… Thou,<br/> -Had thy presiding star propitious shone,<br/> -Should’st Wildman be. … -</p> - -<p> -When a tall youth he was removed from hence to a distant village, where he -died, as I understand, before he arrived at manhood. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXVIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Jan. 8, 1776. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 a 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 ourselves 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -But the people of Tring, in Hertfordshire, would do well to remember, that no -longer ago than the year 1751, and within 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 show 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 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, would 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. -</p> - -<p> -We have several persons now living in the village, who, in their childhood, -were supposed to be healed by this superstitious ceremony, derived down perhaps -from our Saxon ancestors, who practiced it before their conversion to -Christianity. -</p> - -<p> -At the south corner 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 -fore-fathers 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* For a similar practice, see Plot’s Staffordshire. -</p> - -<p> -As to that on the Plestor, -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -The late vicar stubb’d and burnt it, -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -when he was way-warden, regardless of the remonstrances of the by-standers, who -interceded in vain for its preservation, urging its power and efficacy, and -alleging that it had been -</p> - -<p> -Religione patrum multos servata per annos. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXIX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Feb. 7, 1776. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 evergreens imbibe very little. These facts may furnish -the intelligent with hints concerning what trees they should plant round small -ponds that they would wish to be perennial; and show them how advantageous some -trees are in preference to others. -</p> - -<p> -Trees perspire profusely, condense largely, and check evaporation so much, that -woods are always moist: no wonder therefore that they contribute much to pools -and streams. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Vide Kalm’s Travels to North America. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 containing perhaps not more than two or three hundred hogsheads -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 beside. -This pond, it is true, is over-hung 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 overflowing 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 in 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 a surface of water -than there does on an equal surface of moist earth.’ Hence we see that -water, by its coolness, is enabled to assimilate 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, etc., 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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, April 3, 1776. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 gallinae columbae, etc., but immediately behind it, on and over the -bowels, so as to make a large protuberance in the belly.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Histoire de l’Academie Royale, 1752. -</p> - -<p> -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, cranberries, or some -such fruit; so that these birds apparently subsist on insects and fruits: nor -was there the least appearance of bones, feathers, or fur to support the idle -notion of their being birds of prey. -</p> - -<p> -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 backbone. -</p> - -<p> -It must be allowed, as this anatomist observes, that the crop placed just upon -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. This -inquiry I proposed to myself to make with a fern-owl, or goat-sucker, as soon -as opportunity offered: because, if their information proves the same, the -reason for incapacity in the cuckoo will be allowed to have been taken up -somewhat hastily. -</p> - -<p> -Not long after a fern-owl was procured, which, from its habit 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 phalaenae, moths of -several sorts, and their eggs, which no doubt had been forced out of those -insects by the action of swallowing. -</p> - -<p> -Now as it appears that this bird, which is so well known to practice -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, April 29, 1776. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 earthworms. This little fry issued into the world with the true -viper-spirit about them, showing great alertness as soon as disengaged from -the belly of the dam: they twisted and wriggled about, and set themselves up, -and gaped very wide when touched with a stick, showing 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 a 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 scissors. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 then his powers forsook him, and he -neglected those females to whom before he was passionately attached, and from -whom no fences could restrain him. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -The natural term of an 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 an 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 showed some tokens of age by the decay of her teeth and the decline -of her fertility. -</p> - -<p> -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 hundred pigs: a -prodigious instance of fecundity in so large a quadruped! She was killed in -spring 1775. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXIV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, May 9, 1776. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -… admorunt ubera tigres. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 dispatched 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. -</p> - -<p> -Thus was a graminivorous animal nurtured by a carnivorous and predaceous one! -</p> - -<p> -Why so cruel and sanguinary a beast as a cat, of the ferocious genus of Feles, -the murium leo, as Linnaeus calls it, should be affected with any tenderness -towards an animal which is its natural prey, is not so easy to determine. -</p> - -<p> -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 complacency and ease she derived to herself from the 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… viridi fœtam Mavortis in antro<br/> -Procubuisse lupam: geminos huic ubera circum<br/> -Ludere pendentes pueros, et lambere matrem<br/> -Impavidos: illam tereti cervice reflexam<br/> -Mulcere alternos, et corpora fingere lingua. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, May 20, 1777. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 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 and twigs into -it; and, most of all, by throwing up such infinite numbers of lumps of earth -called worm-casts, 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 sterile: 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 tipulae (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.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Farmer Young, of Norton-farm, says that this spring (1777) about 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. -</p> - -<p> -These hints we think proper to throw out in order to set the inquisitive and -discerning to work. -</p> - -<p> -A good monography of worms would afford much entertainment 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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXVI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Nov. 22, 1777. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -You cannot but remember that the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh of last March -were very hot days; so sultry that everybody complained and were restless under -those sensations to which they had not been reconciled by gradual approaches. -</p> - -<p> -This 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 and came forth; some bees swarmed in this neighbourhood; the -old tortoise, near Lewes in Sussex, 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Again; it appears by my journals for many years past, that house-martins -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 November, more than -twenty house-martins, which, in appearance, 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 1/2 ; 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 -death-like stupor as a defect of heat. And farther, it is reasonable to suppose -that two whole species, or at least many individuals of those 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-martins 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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXVII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Jan. 8, 1778. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -There was in this village several years ago a miserable pauper, who, from his -birth, was addicted 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 -or 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. -</p> - -<p> -The good women, who love to account for every defect in 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 -which were lepers; his father in particular lived to be far advanced in years. -</p> - -<p> -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 peculiar 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See Leviticus, chap. xiii. and xiv. -</p> - -<p> -Some centuries ago this horrible distemper prevailed all Europe over; 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. -</p> - -<p> -It must therefore, in these days, be, to an 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 now is 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. -Three or four centuries ago, before there were any enclosures, sown-grasses, -field-turnips, or field-carrots, or hay, all the cattle which 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; 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** t 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 is now arrived at such a pitch of perfection, that our best and -fattest meats are killed in the winter; and no man need eat salted flesh, -unless he prefers it, that has money to buy fresh. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -** Viz. Six hundred bacons, eighty carcasses of beef, and six hundred muttons. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -The use of linen changes, shirts or shifts, in the room of sordid and 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 Welch, who are subject to -foul eruptions. -</p> - -<p> -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 -correcting 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. -</p> - -<p> -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, peas, 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 -that had gardens and fruit-trees in any perfection, within the walls of their -abbies* and priories. The barons neglected every pursuit that did not lead to -war or tend to the pleasure of the chase. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* ‘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. -</p> - -<p> -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 Beaconsfield, 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 sallets, -which are not yet or have not been but lately used in England, viz., selleri -(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 further he adds ‘curled endive blanched is much -used beyond seas; and, for a raw sallet, seemed to excel lettuce itself.’ -Now this journey was undertaken no longer ago than in the year 1663. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXVIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Fortè puer, comitum seductus ab agmine fido,<br/> -Dixerat, ecquis adest ? et, adest, responderat echo.<br/> -Hic stupet; utque aciem partes divisit in omnes;<br/> -Voce, veni, clamat magna. Vocat illa vocantem. -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Feb. 12, 1778. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Tityre, tu patulæ recubans … -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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, -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens … -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -we could perceive a return but of four or five. -</p> - -<p> -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 wood or -vales; because in the latter the voice is as it were entangled, and embarrassed -in the covert, and weakened in the rebound. -</p> - -<p> -The true object of this echo, as we found by various experiments, is the -stone-built, tiled hop-kiln in Galleylane, which measures in front 40 feet, and -from the ground to the eaves 12 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 Oxfordshire, allows 120 feet for the return -of each syllable distinctly: hence this echo, which gives ten distinct -syllables, ought to measure 400 yards, or 120 feet to each syllable; whereas -our distance is only 258 yards, or near 75 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. -</p> - -<p> -When experiments of this sort are making, it should always be remembered that -weather and the time of day have a vast 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 phenomenon, since it may become the subject of philosophical or -mathematical inquiries. -</p> - -<p> -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 -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… aut ubi concava pulsu<br/> -Saxa sonant, vocisque offensa resultat image. -</p> - -<p> -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 hearing 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 -showing the least sensibility or resentment. -</p> - -<p> -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 an 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 purpose 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 needful to erect this building on the gentle declivity of an 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 -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… quæ nec reticere loquenti,<br/> -Nec prior ipsa loqui didicit resonabilis echo. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -<p> -P.S. — The classic reader will, I trust, pardon the following lovely -quotation, so finely describing echoes, and so poetically accounting for their -causes from popular superstition: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Quæ bene quom videas, rationem reddere possis<br/> -Tute tibi atque alus, quo pacto per loca sola<br/> -Saxa pareis formas verborum ex ordine reddant,<br/> -Palanteis comites quom monteis inter opacos<br/> -Quaerimus, et magna dispersos voce ciemus.<br/> -Sex etiam, aut septem loca vidi reddere voces<br/> -Unam quom jaceres: ita colles collibus ipsis<br/> -Verba repulsantes iterabant dicta referre.<br/> -Haec loca capripedes Satyros, Nymphasque tenere<br/> -Finitimi fingunt, et Faunos esse loquuntur;<br/> -Quorum noctivago strepitu, ludoque jocanti<br/> -Adfirmant volgo taciturna silentia rumpi,<br/> -Chordarumque sonos fieri, dulceisque querelas,<br/> -Tibia quas fundit digitis pulsata canentum:<br/> -Et genus agricolum late sentiscere, quom Pan<br/> -Pinea semiferi capitis velamina quassans,<br/> -Unco saepe labro calamos percurrit hianteis,<br/> -Fistula silvestrem ne cesset fundere musam. -</p> - -<p> -Lucretius, lib. iv. 1. 576. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XXXIX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, May 13, 1778. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 martins 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 reoccupy their ancient -haunts ? -</p> - -<p> -Ever since I have attended to the subject of ornithology, I have always -supposed that that sudden reverse of affection, that strange ἀντιστοργὴ, 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 -inhabitants, 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-martins return in the same -exact number annually is not easy to say, for reasons given above: but it is -apparent, as I have remarked before in my Monographies, that the numbers -returning bear no manner of proportion to the numbers retiring. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XL</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, June 2, 1778. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 system should be subservient to, not the main object -of, pursuit. -</p> - -<p> -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, etc., what not only strengthens our hearts, and exhilarates our -spirits, but what secures 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 on his own species.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See the late Voyages to the South-seas. -</p> - -<p> -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, paper, etc. 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 content with our hips and haws, without enjoying the -delicate fruits of India and the salutiferous drugs of Peru. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -But of all sorts of vegetation the grasses seem to be most neglected; neither -the farmer nor the grazier seem to distinguish the annual from the perennial, -the hardy from the tender, nor the succulent and nutritive from the dry and -juiceless. -</p> - -<p> -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 an 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.’ -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, July 3, 1778. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 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 be neither -unacceptable nor unentertaining: -</p> - -<p> -Helleborus foetidus, stinking hellebore, bear’s foot, or setterworth, -— all over the High-wood and Coney-croft-hanger: this continues a great -branching plant the winter through, blossoming 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -Vaccinium oxycoccos, creeping bilberries or cranberries, — in the bogs of -Bin’s-pond. -</p> - -<p> -Vaccinium myrtillus, whortle, or bleaberries, — on the dry hillocks of -Wolmer-forest. -</p> - -<p> -Drosera rotundifolia, round-leaved sun-dew. Drosera longifolia, long-leaved -ditto. In the bogs of Bin’s-pond. -</p> - -<p> -Comarum palustre, purple comarum, or marsh cinquefoil, — in the bogs of -Bin’s-pond. -</p> - -<p> -Hypericon androsaemum, tutsan, St. John’s wort, — in the stony, -hollow lanes. -</p> - -<p> -Vinca minor, less periwinkle, — in Selborne Hanger and Shrubwood. -</p> - -<p> -Monotropa 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. -</p> - -<p> -Chlora perfoliata, Blackstonia perfoliata, Hudsoni, perfoliated yellow-won, -— on the banks in the King’s-field. -</p> - -<p> -Paris quadrifolia, herb Paris, true-love, or one-berry, — in the Church -Litten coppice. -</p> - -<p> -Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, opposite golden saxifrage, — in the dark -and rocky hollow lanes. -</p> - -<p> -Gentiana amarella, autumnal gentian or fellwort, — on the Zig-zag and -Hanger; -</p> - -<p> -Lathraea squamaria, tooth-wort, — in the Church Litten coppice under some -hazels near the foot-bridge, in Trimming’s garden-hedge, and on the dry -wall opposite Grange-yard. -</p> - -<p> -Dipsacus pilosus, small teasel, — in the Short and Long Lith. -</p> - -<p> -Lathyrus sylvestris, narrow-leaved, or wild lathyrus, — in the bushes at -the foot of the Short Lith, near the path. -</p> - -<p> -Ophrys spiralis, ladies’ traces, — in the Long Lith, and towards -the south-corner of the common. -</p> - -<p> -Ophrys nidus avis, birds’ 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. -</p> - -<p> -Serapias latifolia, helleborine, — in the High-wood under the shady -beeches. -</p> - -<p> -Daphne laureola, spurge laurel, — in Selborne Hanger and the High-wood. -</p> - -<p> -Daphne mezereum, the mezereon, — in Selborne Hanger among the shrubs at -the south-east end above the cottages. -</p> - -<p> -Lycoperdon tuber, truffles, — in the Hanger and High-wood. -</p> - -<p> -Sambucus ebulus, dwarf elder, walwort, or danewort, — among the rubbish -and ruined foundations of the Priory. -</p> - -<p> -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 foetidus 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 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 structure. 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 phaenomenon in nature. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Say, what impels, amidst surrounding snow,<br/> -Congealed, the crocus’ flamy bud to grow?<br/> -Say, what retards, amidst the summer’s blaze,<br/> -Th’ autumnal bulb till pale, declining days ?<br/> -The GOD of SEASONS; whose pervading power<br/> -Controls the sun, or sheds the fleecy shower:<br/> -He bids each flower His quickening word obey;<br/> -Or to each lingering bloom enjoins delay. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Omnibus animalibus reliquis certus et uniusmodi, et in suo cuique genere -incessus est: aves solae vario meatu feruntur, et in terra, et in -äere.—P<small>LIN</small>. Hist. Nat. lib. x. cap. 38. -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Aug. 7, 1778. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -A good ornithologist should be able to distinguish birds by their air as well -as by 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 moron -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… Et verâ incessu patuit…. -</p> - -<p> -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 wind-hover, 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; wood-peckers fly -volatu undoso, opening and closing their wings at every stroke, and so are -always rising or 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 -hook-clawed birds, walk awkwardly, and make use of their bill as a third foot, -climbing and ascending with ridiculous caution. All the gallinae 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 dispatch; herons seem incumbered 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 the 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 -wind-hover; and the green-finch 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 dusk over -the tops of trees like a meteor; starlings as it were swim along, while -missal-thrushes use a wild and desultory flight; swallows sweep over the -surface of the ground and water, and distinguish themselves by rapid turns and -quick evolutions; swifts dash round in circles; and the bank-martin 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 alternately. Skylarks rise and fall -perpendicularly as they sing: woodlarks hang poised in the air; and titlarks -rise and fall in large cubes, 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 if fettered, and stand erect on their -tails: these are the compedes of Linnaeus. Geese and cranes, and most -wild-fowls, move in figured flights, often changing their position. The -secondary rerniges of tringae, wild-ducks, and some others, are very long, and -give their wings, when in motion, an hooked appearance. Dab-chicks, moor-hens, -and coots, fly erect, with their legs hanging down, and hardly make any -dispatch; 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Sept. 9, 1778. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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 of the <i>Spectator</i>, who, by the -recital of a conversation which passed between two owls, reclaimed a sultan,* -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 kind, is quite mute, though some -are rather silent. The language of birds is very ancient, and, like other -ancient modes of speech, very elliptical: little is said, but much is meant and -understood. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See Spectator, Vol. VII., No. 512. -</p> - -<p> -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, -beside 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 -breeding 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 wood-pecker sets up -a sort of loud and hearty laugh; the fern-owl, or goat-sucker, from the dusk -till day-break, serenades his mate with the clattering of castanets. All the -tuneful passeres express their 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 quarters 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 therefore confine the remainder of this letter -to the few domestic fowls of our yards, which are most known, and therefore -best understood. At 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 distinction of voice is remarkable; for, -while the quack of the female is loud and sonorous, the voice of the drake is -inward and 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 steady and attentive look; but if he approach, her -note becomes earnest and alarming, and her outcries are redoubled. -</p> - -<p> -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 expressive 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 or larum, as the watchman that proclaims the -divisions of the night. Thus the poet elegantly styles him: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… the crested cock, whose clarion sounds<br/> -The silent hours. -</p> - -<p> -A neighbouring gentleman one summer had lost most of his chickens by a -sparrow-hawk, that came gliding down between a faggot-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 matrons upbraided, they execrated, they -insulted, they triumphed. In a word, they never desisted from buffeting their -adversary till they had torn him in an hundred pieces. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLIV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… monstrent.<br/> -* * * * *<br/> -Quid tantum Oceano properent se tingere soles<br/> -Hyberni; vel quae tardis mora noctibus obstet. -</p> - -<p> -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 an heliotrope. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 northward 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 heliotrope to the north of it. -</p> - -<p> -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 north -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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… Mugire videbis<br/> -Sub pedibus terram, et descendere montibus ornos. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -I nor advise, nor reprehend the choice<br/> -Of Marcley Hill: the apple no where finds<br/> -A kinder mould: yet ’tis unsafe to trust<br/> -Deceitful ground: who knows but that once more<br/> -This mount may journey, and his present site<br/> -Forsaken, to thy neighbour’s bounds transfer<br/> -Thy goodly plants, affording matter strange<br/> -For law debates! -</p> - -<p> -But, when I came to consider better, I began to suspect that though our hills -may never have journeyed that far, yet 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 and 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 lavants, 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 engulfed, going down in a -perpendicular 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 unincumbered; 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 tremendous 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 day-light 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 barn 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, some thrown down, and some fallen into the heads of neighbouring -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 or safe for pasturage, till considerable labour and -expense had been bestowed in levelling the surface and filling in the gaping -fissures. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLVI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… resonant arbusta … -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -As their cheerful summer cry cannot but draw the attention of a naturalist, I -have often gone down to examine the oeconomy 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 show 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: hut 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 upon any that were obtruded upon them with a vast row of serrated -fangs. With their strong jaws, 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 stiller 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 -themselves. 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 everything that is rural, verdurous, and joyous. -</p> - -<p> -About the tenth 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* We have observed that they cast these skins in April, which are then seen -lying at the mouths of their holes. -</p> - -<p> -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 stayed -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. -</p> - -<p> -One of these crickets, when confined in a paper cage and 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLVII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Far from all resort of mirth<br/> -Save the cricket on the hearth.<br/> -M<small>ILTON’S</small> <i>Il Penseroso</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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, from the burning atmosphere which they inhabit, they are a thirsty -race, and show 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 prognostic sometimes, she thinks, of in or good luck; of the -death of a near relation, or the approach of an absent lover. By being the -constant companions 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 seem 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 wood-packers, opening and shutting their wings at every stroke, -and so are always rising or sinking. -</p> - -<p> -When they increase to a great degree, as they did once in the house where I am -now writing, they became 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.’ * -Their shrilling noise is occasioned by a brisk attrition of their wings. Cats -catch hearth-crickets, and, playing with them as they do with mice, devour -them. Crickets may be destroyed, like wasps, by phials half fined 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Exod. viii. 3. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLVIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne. -</p> - -<p> -How diversified are the modes of life not only of incongruous 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -About the beginning of May they lay their eggs, as I was once an eye-witness: -for a gardener at an 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 oeconomy: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… ingentem lato dedit ore fenestram:<br/> -Apparet domus intus, et atria longa patescunt:<br/> -Apparent … penetralia. -</p> - -<p> -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 -this secret nursery were deposited near an hundred eggs of a dirty yellow -colour, and enveloped in a tough skin, but too lately excluded to contain 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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! -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter XLIX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, May 7, 1779. -</p> - -<p> -It is now more than forty years that I have paid some attention 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 himantopus, were shot upon the verge of -Frinsham-pond, 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 -caricature; 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 l’echasse. My -specimen, when drawn and stuffed with pepper, weighed only four ounces and a -quarter, though the naked part of the thigh measured three inches and an half, -and the legs four inches and an half. Hence we may safely assert that these -birds exhibit, weight for inches, incomparably 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 fraction 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 support its -steps it must be liable, in speculation, to perpetual vacillations, and seldom -able to preserve the true centre of gravity. -</p> - -<p> -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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter L</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, April 21, 1780. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -The old Sussex tortoise, that I have mentioned to you so often, is become my -property. I 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. -</p> - -<p> -As it will be under my eye, I shall now have an opportunity of enlarging my -observations on its mode of life, and propensities; 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 -till late. Besides, it retires to rest for every shower; and does not move at -all in wet days. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -While I was writing this letter, a moist and warm afternoon, with the -thermometer at 50, brought forth troupe 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 amusing occurrence! to -see such a similarity of feelings between the two φερέοικοι! for so the Greeks -call both the shell-snail and the tortoise. -</p> - -<p> -Summer birds are, this cold and backward spring, unusually late: I have seen -but one swallow yet. This conformity with the weather convinces me more and -more that they sleep in the winter. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Sept. 3, 1781. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -In some former letters I expressed my suspicions that many of the house-martins -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 supposing that the -examination would be made to the best advantage in the spring, and observing -that no martins had appeared by the 11th 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-martin, 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 stayed a short time, and -then flew over the houses; for some days after no martins were observed, not -till the 16th of April, and then only a pair. Martins in general were -remarkably late this year. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Selborne, Sept. 9, 1781. -</p> - -<p> -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 I 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 hippoboscae -hirundinis. -</p> - -<p> -The following remarks on this unusual incident are obvious. The first is, that -though it may 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 -corroborates 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> - -<p> -P.S. One swift was seen at Lyndon, in the county of Rutland, in 1782, so late -as the third of September. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -As I have sometimes known you make inquiries about several kinds of insects, I -shall here send you an account of 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 anything 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 -multitude of eggs. This curious and uncommon production put me upon -recollecting what I have heard and read concerning the coccus vitis viniferae -of Linnaeus, which, in the South of Europe, infests many vines, and is an -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 be -at all checked by the preceding winter, which had been uncommonly severe. -</p> - -<p> -Not being then at all aware that it had anything 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 especially -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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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: -</p> - -<p> -‘In the year 1770 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 everything 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 incumbrance. 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.’ -</p> - -<p> -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, yet the attention -of the gardener in a summer or two has entirely relieved my vine from this -filthy annoyance. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* For various methods by which several insects shift their quarters, see -Derham’s Physico-Theology. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LIV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -When I happen to visit a family where gold and silver fishes are kept in a -glass bowl, I am always pleased 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 vivary, 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 -uppermost, 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 nourishment 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: however, 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. -</p> - -<p> -When they want to move a little they gently protrude themselves with their -pinnae 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 motionless, and are -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 this 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, -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -Qui variare cupit rem prodigialiter unam. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -October 10, 1781. -</p> - -<p> -Dear Sir, -</p> - -<p> -I think I have observed before that much the most considerable part of the -house-martins 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 shown itself in the first week of November. -</p> - -<p> -Having taken notice, in October 1780, 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 -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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 a sweet day, and in -appearance exactly suited to my wishes, yet not a martin was to be seen; and so -I was forced, reluctantly, to give up the pursuit. -</p> - -<p> -I have only to add that were the bushes, which cover some acres, and are not my -own property, to be grubbed and carefully examined, probably those late broods, -and perhaps the whole aggregate body of the house-martins 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LVI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -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 chat 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 chat 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. -</p> - -<p> -It has been remarked chat 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 -remarkable in the edifices of the little architect. Again, the regular nest of -the house-martin 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. -</p> - -<p> -In the following instances instinct is perfectly uniform and consistent. There -are three creatures, the squirrel, the field-mouse, and the bird called the -nut-hatch (sitta Europaea), which live much on hazel nuts; and yet they open -them each in a different way. The first, after rasping off the small end, -splits the shell in 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. -</p> - -<p> -You that understand both the theory and practical part of music may best inform -us why harmony or melody should so 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: -</p> - -<p> -‘Praehabebat porro vocibus humanis, instrumentisque harmonicis musicam -illam avium: non quad alia quoque non delectaretur; sed quod ex musica humana -relinqueretur in animo continens qaemdam, attentionemque et somnum conturbans -agitatio; dum ascensus, exscensus, tenores, ac mutationes illae sonorum et -consonantiarum euntque redeuntque per phantasiam: — cum nihil tale -relinqui possit ex modulationibus avium, quae, quod non sunt perinde a nobis -imitabiles, non possunt perinde internam facultatem commovere.’ — -GASSENDUS in Vita Peireskii. -</p> - -<p> -This curious quotation strikes me much by so well representing my own case, and -by describing what I have so often felt, but never could so well express. When -I hear fine music I 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. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LVII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -One of my neighbours, an intelligent and observing man, 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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 measured 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 an -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 supposed 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. This falcon was probably driven from the mountains of North -Wales or Scotland, where they are known to breed, by rigorous weather and deep -snows that had lately fallen. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See my tenth and eleventh letter to that gentleman. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LVIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -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 the country for the purpose of being eaten: they are about the -size of a moderate spaniel; of a pale yellow colour, with coarse bristling -hairs 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 midway, 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 showed -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 are bred up on -vegetables, and would not eat flesh when offered them by our circumnavigators. -</p> - -<p> -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 cultivation. Thus, in the Travels of Ysbrandt 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 -Kamschatdales 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 ending 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 foetid 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,* and kites, and ravens, and crows, etc., were intended to be -messmates with dogs** over their carrion; and seem to be appointed by nature as -fellow-scavengers to remove all cadaverous nuisances from the face of the -earth. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* 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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -** The Chinese word for a dog to an European ear sounds like quihloh. -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LIX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -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 axe, 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 (charadrius -oedicnemus). Some of them pass over or near my house almost every evening after -it is dark, from the uplands of the hill and North field, 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 watchwords to keep them together, that they may not -stray or lose each the other in the dark. -</p> - -<p> -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 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.’ -</p> - -<p> -I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LX</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -In reading Dr. Huxham’s Observationes de Aere, etc., 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 1748, 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 17.266 in. and in 1741, 20.354 in.; and again in 1743 only 20.908 -in. 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 considerable. In the wettest years at Plymouth -the Doctor measured only once 36 in.; and again once, viz., 1734, 37.114 in.: 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. He is -also of opinion that the dingy, smoky appearance of 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 Combwood, was very grand: but it was at -the Hermitage that the echoes and repercussions delighted the hearers; not only -filling the Lythe with the roar, as if all the beeches were tearing up by the -roots; but, turning to the left, they pervaded the vale above Combwood-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 -further 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 barometers 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 27; because in stormy weather the -mercury there will sometimes descend below 28. 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 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. -</p> - -<p> -It may not be impertinent to add, that the barometers at Selborne stand -three-tenths of an inch lower than the barometers 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 Sough Lambeth; the distance between -which, all the windings and indentings of the streams considered, cannot be -less than an hundred miles. I am, etc. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LXI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -Since the weather of a district is undoubtedly part of its natural history, I -shall make no further apology for the four following letters, which will -contain many particulars concerning 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. -</p> - -<p> -As the frost in January 1768 was, for the small 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 ornamenting; and may -particularly become a work that professes never to lose sight of utility. -</p> - -<p> -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 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 behaves 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. -</p> - -<p> -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, and 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. -</p> - -<p> -Dr. Fothergill and others have experienced the same inconvenience with respect -to the more tender shrubs from North America; which they therefore plant under -north walls. There should also perhaps be a wall to the east to defend them -from the piercing blasts from that quarter. -</p> - -<p> -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 -inhabitants too early from their slumbers; and, by putting their juices into -motion too soon, subjects them afterwards to inconveniences when rigorous -weather returns. -</p> - -<p> -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 straw lengthwise from the eaves of thatched houses -and barns in a most adroit manner, for a purpose that has been explained -already.* -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See Letter XLI to Mr. Pennant. -</p> - -<p> -On the 3d 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 4th -to 18, and the 7th to 17.5, 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; for, when a thermometer hangs -abroad in a 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 gauge. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -To the great credit of Portugal laurels and American junipers, be it remembered -that they remained untouched amidst the general havoc: hence men should learn -to ornament 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. -</p> - -<p> -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 affected that they cast all their leaves. -</p> - -<p> -By the 14th 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LXII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* The autumn preceding January 1768 was very wet, and particularly the month of -September, during which there fell at Lyndon, in the county of Rutland, six -inches and an half of rain. And the terrible long frost of 1739-40 set in after -a rainy season, and when the springs were very high. -</p> - -<p> -January 7th. — Snow driving all the day, which was followed by frost, -sleet, and some snow, till the 12th, when a prodigious mass overwhelmed all the -works of men, drifting over the tops of the gates and filling the hollow lanes. -</p> - -<p> -On the 14th the writer was obliged to be much abroad; and thinks he never -before or since has 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 -confounded by the glare of snow that they would soon perish without assistance. -The hares also lay sullenly in their seats, and would not move until compelled -by hunger; being conscious, poor animals, that the drifts and heaps -treacherously betray their footsteps, and prove fatal to numbers of them. -</p> - -<p> -From the 14th the snow continued to increase, and began to stop the road -waggons 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 Marlborough, 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 track to London; but -the relentless heaps of snow were too bulky to be removed; and so the 18th -passed over, leaving the company in very uncomfortable circumstances at the -Castle and other inns. -</p> - -<p> -On the 20th 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 29, 28, -25, and thereabout; but on the 21st it descended to 20. The birds now began to -be in a very pitiable and starving condition. Tamed by the season, skylarks -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. -</p> - -<p> -On the 22nd 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 exception from din and clatter was strange, but not pleasant; it -seemed to convey an uncomfortable idea of desolation: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… ipsa silentia terrent. -</p> - -<p> -On the 27th much snow fell all day, and in the evening the frost became very -intense. At South Lambeth, for the four following nights, the thermometer fell -to 11, 7, 6, 6; and at Selborne to 7, 6, 10; and on the 31st January, just -before sunrise, with rime on the trees and on the tube of the glass, the -quicksilver sunk exactly to zero, being 32 degrees below the freezing point; -but by eleven in the morning, though in the shade, it sprung up to 16.5 * -— 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 incumbered with snow, which crumbled and trod -dusty; and, turning grey, 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 1st 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 3d -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. -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* 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., 34 degrees -below the freezing point. The thermometer used at Selborne was graduated by -Benjamin Martin. -</p> - -<p> -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 19: at Blackburn, in -Lancashire, at 19: and at Manchester at 21, 20, and 18. Thus does some unknown -circumstance strangely overbalance latitude, and render the cold sometimes much -greater in the southern than in the northern parts of this kingdom. -</p> - -<p> -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 -evergreens 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LXIII</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -The first week in December was very wet, with the barometer very low. On the -7th, with the barometer at 28-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 9th 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 9th 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 Dollond, which soon began -to show us what we were to expect; for, by ten o’clock, they fell to 21, -and at eleven to 4, when we went to bed. On the 10th, in the morning, the -quicksilver of Dollond’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 10th, at eleven at night, -though the air was perfectly still, Dollond’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 10th, 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 -phaenomena, in so elevated a region, at two hundred feet or more above my -house. But, behold! on the 10th, at eleven at night, it was down only to 17, -and the next morning at 22, when mine was at 10. 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 exactly together: so -that, for one night at least, the cold at Newton was 18 degrees less than at -Selborne; and, through the whole frost, 10 or 12 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! -</p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* 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. -</p> - -<p> -We had steady frost on to the 25th, when the thermometer in the morning was -down to 10 with us, and at Newton only to 21. Strong frost continued till the -31st, when some tendency to thaw was observed, and, by January the 3rd, 1785, -the thaw was confirmed, and some rain fell. -</p> - -<p> -A circumstance that I must not omit, because it was new to us, is, that on -Friday, December the 10th, being bright sun-shine, the air was full of icy -spiculae, floating in all directions, like atoms in a sun-beam 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 they floated; or were they evaporations from the snow frozen as they -mounted ? -</p> - -<p> -We were much obliged to the thermometers for the early information they gave -us: and hurried our apples, pears, onions, potatoes, etc., 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -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 a mortification followed, from which they did not -recover for many weeks. -</p> - -<p> -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 yet it may be allowed from its effects to -have exceeded any since 1739–40. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LXIV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -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 inconveniences -that we suffered from late rigorous winters. -</p> - -<p> -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 and shelter their wall-trees with mats or boards, as they -may easily do, because such annoyance is seldom of long continuance. 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 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 beats were so great as to render the juices vapid and insipid. -</p> - -<p> -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 not we set -the boys to take the nests, and caught thousands with hazel twigs tipped with -bird-lime: we have since employed 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. -</p> - -<p> -In the sultry season of 1783 honey-dews were so frequent as to deface and -destroy the beauties of my garden. My honey-suckles, which were one week the -most sweet and lovely objects that the eye could behold, became the next the -most loathsome; being enveloped in a viscous substance, and loaded with black -aphides, or smother-flies. The occasion of this clammy 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 seen -first in warm still mornings. -</p> - -<p> -On chalky and sandy soils, and in the hot villages about London, the -thermometer has been often observed to mount as high as 83 or 84; but with us, -in this hilly and woody district, I have hardly ever seen it exceed 80; 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. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LXV</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -The summer of the year 1783 was an amazing and portentous one, and full of -horrible phaenomena; for besides the alarming meteors and tremendous -thunder-storms that affrighted and distressed the different counties of this -kingdom, the peculiar haze, or smokey 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 anything known within the memory of man. -By my journal I find that I had noticed this strange occurrence from June 23 to -July 20 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 on 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 country people began to look with a superstitious awe, at the red, -louring 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, -frequency 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 -phaenomena. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> -… As when the sun, new risen,<br/> -Looks through the horizontal, misty air,<br/> -Shorn of his beams; or from behind the moon,<br/> -In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds<br/> -On half the nations, and with fear of change<br/> -Perplexes monarchs…. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>Letter LXVI</h2> - -<p class="center"> -To The Honourable Daines Barrington -</p> - -<p> -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 continually harassed with tempests and often from -the south, yet we escaped them all; as appears by my journal of that summer. -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 promontories, 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 -those turbulent meteors; while the humble vales escape, because they are so far -beneath them. -</p> - -<p> -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, 1784, -the thermometer in the morning being at 64, and at noon at 70, the barometer at -29, six-tenths one-half, and the wind north, I observed a blue mist, smelling -strongly of sulphur, hanging along our sloping woods, and seeming to indicate -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 Hartley, 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 Hartley it did some damage to one farm; but Norton, which lay 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 200 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. -</p> - -<p> -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. -</p> - -<p> -When I first took the present work in hand I proposed to have added an Annus -Historico-naturalis, or the Natural History of the Twelve Months of the Year; -which would have comprised many incidents and occurrences that have not fallen -in 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, -</p> - -<p> -With all due deference and regard,<br/> -Your most obliged,<br/> -And most humble servant, -</p> - -<p class="right"> -GIL. WHITE. -</p> - -<p> -Selborne,<br/> -June 25, 1787. -</p> - -</div><!--end chapter--> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* - - - - - -This Etext created by Tokuya Matsumoto <toqyam@os.rim.or.jp> - - -************************************************************** -THERE IS AN IMPROVED EDITION OF THIS TITLE WHICH MAY BE VIEWED -at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20933 -and https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20934 -************************************************************** - - - - -The Natural History of Selborne - -by Gilbert White - - - - -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 ornaments supplied ?-- -Unpleasing, tasteless, impotent expense, -Compared with Nature's rude magnificenee. - -Arise, my stranger, to these wild scenes haste; -The unfinish'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, -Emerging gently from the leafy dell, -By fancy plann'd; as once th' inventive maid -Met the hoar sage amid the secret shade: -Romantic spot ! from whence in prospect lies -Whate'er 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 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 and priest -Pour'd forth their minions 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. -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 belong -Where round the blooming village orchards grow; -There, like a picture, lies my 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 beech 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. -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' enliven'd 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. - -Nov. 1, 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' levell'd sun opposed: -Lovely refraction ! while 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, -" Maker omnipotent, and thou the bow; -" And by that covenant graciously hast sworn -" 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. - - - -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 -Gossamer floats, or, stretch'd from blade to blade, -The wavy net-work 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 woodlark 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 globe, 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 NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE - -In a series of letters addressed to THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ. and -The Hon. DAINES BARRINGTON - - - -Advertisement - -The Author of the following Letters takes the liberty, with all -proper deference, of laying before the public his idea of parochial -history, which, he thinks, ought to consist of natural productions -and occurrences as well as antiquities. He is also of opinion that if -stationary men would pay some attention to the districts on which -they reside, and would publish their thoughts respecting the objects -that surround them, from such materials might be drawn the most -complete county-histories, which are still wanting in several parts -of this kingdom, and in particular in the county of Southampton. - -And here he seizes the first opportunity, though a late one, of -returning his most grateful acknowledgments to the reverend the -President and the reverend and worthy the Fellows of Magdalen -College in the University of Oxford, for their liberal behaviour in -permitting their archives to be searched by a member of their own -society, so far as the evidences therein contained might respect the -parish and priory of Selborne. To that gentleman also, and his -assistant, whose labours and attention could only be equalled by -the very kind manner in which they were bestowed, many and great -obligations are also due. - -Of the authenticity of the documents above-mentioned there can be -no doubt, since they consist of the identical deeds and records that -were removed to the College from the Priory at the time of its -dissolution; and, being carefully copied on the spot, may be -depended on as genuine; and, never having been made public -before, may gratify the curiosity of the antiquary, as well as -establish the credit of the history. - -If the writer should at all appear to have induced any of his readers -to pay a more ready attention to the wonders of the Creation, too -frequently overlooked as common occurrences; or if he should by -any means, through his researches, have lent an helping hand -towards the enlargement of the boundaries of historical and -topographical knowledge; or if he should have thrown some small -light upon ancient customs and manners, and especially on those -that were monastic, his purpose will be fully answered. But if he -should not have been successful in any of these his intentions, yet -there remains this consolation behind--that these his pursuits, by -keeping the body and mind employed, have, under Providence, -contributed to much health and cheerfulness of spirits, even to old -age:--and, what still adds to his happiness, have led him to the -knowledge of a circle of gentlemen whose intelligent -communications, as they have afforded him much pleasing -information, so, could he flatter himself with a continuation of -them, would they ever be deemed a matter of singular satisfaction -and improvement. - -Gil. White. -Selborne, January 1st, 1788. - - - - -THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE - - - -LETTERS to THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ. - - -Letter I -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -The 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 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, wood-lands, -heath, and water. The prospect is bounded to the south-east and -east by the vast range of mountains called the Susses-downs, by -Guild-down near Guildford, and by the Downs round Dorking, 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 wood -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 Well-head.* This breaks out of -some high grounds joining to Core Hill, a noble chalk promontory, -remarkable for sending forth two streams into two different seas. -The one to the south becomes 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 Tilford-bridge, 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. -(* This spring produced, September 14, 1781, after a severe hot -summer, and a preceding dry spring and winter, nine 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-four hours, or one natural day. At this -time many of the wells failed, and all the ponds in the vales were -dry.) - -Our wells, at an average, run 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.** -(** This soil produces good wheat and clover.) - -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 estimation 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. 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. - - - -Letter II -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -In the court of Norton-farmhouse, a manor farm to the north-west -of the village, on the white maims, 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 1703, equal to a moderate tree, yet, when -felled, contained eight loads of timber; and, being too bulky for a -carriage, was sawn off at seven feet above the butt, where it -measured near eight feet in the diameter. This elm I mention to -show to what a bulk planted elms may attain; as this tree must -certainly have been such from its situation. - -In the centre of the village, and near the church, is a square piece -of ground surrounded by houses, and vulgarly called the Plestor. In -the midst of this spot stood, in old times, a vast oak, with a short -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 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 show to what a bulk -planted oaks also may arrive: and planted this tree must certainly -have been, as will appear from what will be said farther concerning -this area, when we enter on the antiquities of Selborne. - -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 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 apiece. - -In the centre of this grove there stood an oak, which, though -shapely and tall on the whole, bulged out into a large excrescence -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 butt, 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. - - - -Letter III -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -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 long, -the cardo passing for an head and mouth. It is in reality a bivalve of -the Linnaean genus of Mytilus, and the species of Crista Galli; -called by Lister, Rastellum; by Rumphius, Ostreum plicatum -minus; by D'Argenville, Auris Porci, s. Crista Galli, and by those -who make collections cock's comb. Though I applied to several -such in London, I could never 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. The curious foldings of the suture, the one -into the other, the alternate flutings or grooves, and the curved -form of my specimen being much easier expressed by the pencil -than by words, I have caused it to be drawn and engraved. - -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 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 considerable -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 wholly composed of, the -stone of the quarry. - - - -Letter IV -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -As in a former 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 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 chiseled smooth, it makes elegant fronts for houses, -equal in colour and grain to the Bath stone; and superior in one -respect, that, when seasoned, it does not scale. Decent chimney- -pieces 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 as it grows in the -quarry.** On the ground abroad this firestone will not succeed for -pavements, because, probably, some degree of saltness prevailing -within it, the rain tears the slabs to pieces.*** Though this stone is -too hard to be acted on by vinegar, yet both the white part, and -even the blue rag, ferments strongly in mineral acids. Though the -white stone will 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. -(* 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.) -(** To surbed stone is to set it edgewise, contrary to the posture it -had in the quarry, says Dr. Plot, Oxfordsh., 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.) - -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 very hard -and heavy, and of a firm, compact texture, and composed 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, Esquire - -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 water- -courses 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 frost-work. 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, was it strictly looked after, with its kindly -aspects, and all its sloping coverts, would swarm 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 -landrails 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.* -(*A very intelligent gentleman assures me (and he speaks from -upwards of forty years' experience) that the mean rain of any plate -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 16 and a half inches for the year, if from 1740 to 1750, -18 and a half inches. The mean rain before 1763 was 20 and a -quarter, from 1763 and since, 25 and a half; from 1770 to 1780, 26. -If only 1773, 1774 and 1775 had been measured, Lyndon mean rain -would have been called 32 inches.') - -I only know that: - -From May 1, 1779, the end of the year, there fell 28 Inch. 37! -Hund. -From Jan. 1, 1780, to Jan. 1, 1781, there fell 27 32 -From Jan. 1, 1781, to Jan. 1, 1782, there fell 30 71 -From Jan. 1, 1782, to Jan. 1, 1783, there fell 50 26! -From Jan. 1, 1783, to Jan. 1, 1784, there fell 33 71 -From Jan. 1, 1784, to Jan. 1, 1785, there fell 33 80 -From Jan. 1, 1785, to Jan. 1, 1786, there fell 31 55 -From Jan. 1, 1786, to Jan. 1, 1787, there fell 39 57 - -The village of Selborne, and large hamlet of Oak-hanger, 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 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: but -from circumstances this trade is at an end.** The inhabitants enjoy -a good share of health and longevity: and the parish swarms with -children. - -(* A state of the parish of Selborne, taken October 4, 1783. - -The number of tenements or families, 136. -The number of inhabitants in the street is ... 313 -In the rest of the parish ... 363 -Total, 676; near five inhabitants to each tenement. - -In the time of the Rev. Gilbert White, vicar, who died in 1727-8, -the number of inhabitants was computed at about 500.) - -(** Since the passage above was written, I am happy in being able -to say that the spinning employment is a little revived, to the no -small comfort of the industrious housewife.) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- -Average of baptisms for 60 years. - -From 1720 to 1729, both years inclusive Males 6,9 Females -6,0 12,9 -From 1730 to 1739, both years inclusive Males 8,2 Females -7,1 15,3 -From 1740 to 1749, inclusive Males 9,2 Females 6,6 15,8 -From 1750 to 1759, inclusive Males 7,6 Females 8,1 15,7 -From 1760 to 1769, inclusive Males 9,1 Females 8,9 18,0 -From 1770 to 1779, inclusive Males 10,5 Females 9,8 20 -3 - -Total baptisms of Males 515 - Females 465 980 -Total of baptisms from 1720 to 1779, both inclusive, 60 years -980. - -Average of burials for 60 years. - -From 1720 to 1729, both years inclusive Males 4,8 Females -5,1 9,9 -From 1730 to 1739, both years inclusive Males 4,8 Females -5,8 10,6 -From 1740 to 1749, inclusive Males 4,6 Females 3,8 8,4 -From 1750 to 1759, inclusive Males 4,9 Females 5,1 10,0 -From 1760 to 1769, inclusive Males 6,9 Females 6,5 13,4 -From 1770 to 1779, inclusive Males 5,5 Females 6,2 11,7 - -Total of burials of Males 315 - Females 325 640 - -Total of burials from 1720 to 1779 both inclusive, 60 years 640. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- -Baptisms exceed burials by more them one-third. - -Baptisms of Males exceed Females by one-tenth, or one in ten. - -Burials of Females exceed Males by one in thirty. - -It appears that a child, born and bred in this parish, has an equal -chance to live above forty years. - -Twins thirteen times, many of whom dying young have lessened -the chance for life. - -Chances for life in men and women appear to be equal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- -A TABLE of the Baptisms, Burials, and Marriages, from January 2, -1761, to December 25, 1780, in the Parish of Selborne. - -Baptisms. - -1761 Males 8 Females 10 Total 18 -1762 7 8 15 -1763 8 10 18 -1764 11 9 20 -1765 12 6 18 -1766 9 13 22 -1767 14 5 19 -1768 7 6 13 -1769 9 14 23 -1770 10 13 23 -1771 10 6 16 -1772 11 10 21 -1773 8 5 13 -1774 6 13 19 -1775 20 7 27 -1776 11 10 21 -1777 8 13 21 -1778 7 13 20 -1779 14 8 22 -1780 8 9 17 - 198 188 386 - -Burials. - -1761 Males 2 Females 4 Total 6 -1762 10 10 20 -1763 3 4 7 -1764 10 8 18 -1765 9 7 16 -1766 10 6 16 -1767 6 5 11 -1768 2 5 7 -1769 6 5 11 -1770 4 7 11 -1771 3 4 7 -1772 6 10 16 -1773 7 5 12 -1774 2 8 10 -1775 13 8 21 -1776 4 6 10 -1777 7 2 9 -1778 3 9 12 -1779 5 6 11 -1780 11 4 15 - 123 123 246 - -Marriages. - -1761 3 -1762 6 -1763 7 -1764 6 -1765 6 -1766 4 -1767 2 -1768 6 -1769 2 -1770 3 -1771 4 -1772 3 -1773 3 -1774 1 -1775 6 -1776 6 -1777 4 -1778 5 -1779 0 -1780 3 - 83 - -During this period of twenty years the births of Males exceeded -those of Females 10. - -The burials of each sex were equal. - -And the births exceeded the deaths 140. - - - -Letter VI -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -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 royal forest 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.** Besides -the oak, I have also been shown 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. -(* See his Hist. of Staffordshire.) -(** 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 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 manifest, from this observation, viz. -Nov. 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 Haemastatics, p. 360. -Quaere.-- 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 ?) - -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 excursions: 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, black- -game, or grouse. 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 greyhen was sprung by some beagles in beating for a hare. -The sportsmen cried out, 'A hen pheasant'; but a gentleman present, -who had often seen grouse in the north of England, assured me that -it was a greyhen. - -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 succession for 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 further 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 -yeoman-prickers, in scarlet jackets laced with gold, attended by the -stag-hounds; ordering them to take every deer in this forest alive, -and convey them in carts to Windsor. In the course of the summer -they caught every stag, some of which showed extraordinary -diversion; but, in the following winter, when the hinds were also -carried off, such fine chases were exhibited as served the country -people for matter of talk and wonder for years afterwards. I saw -myself one of the yeoman-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 anything in Mr. Astley's riding-school. The -exertions made by the horse and deer much exceeded all my -expectations; 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, Esquire - -Though large herds of deer do much harm to the neighbourhood, -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 committed -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 Winchester, when urged to -re-stock Waltham-chase,** refused, from a motive worthy of a -prelate, replying that 'it had done mischief enough already.' -(* Statute 9 Geo. I. c. 22.) -(** This chase remains unstocked to this day; the bishop was Dr. -Hoadly.) - -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 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 irregularities -are removed, are of considerable service to neighbourhoods 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 exceptis.* -The reason, I presume, why sheep** are excluded, is, because, -being such close grazers, they would pick out all the finest grasses, -and hinder the deer from thriving. -(* For the privilege the owner of that estate used to pay to the king -annually seven bushels of oats.) -(** In the Holt, where a full stock of fallow-deer has been kept up -till lately, no sheep are admitted to this day.) - -Though (by statute 4 and 5 W. 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 underwoods, woods, and coppices, where great damage has -ensued. The plea for these burnings is, that, when the old coat of -heath, etc., 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 brush-wood 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, Esquire - -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 sportsman. For, being -crowded at the upper end with willows, and with the carex -cespitosa,* it affords such a safe and pleasing shelter to wild- -ducks, teals, snipes, etc., that they breed there. In the winter this -covert is also frequented by foxes, and sometimes by pheasants; -and the bogs produce many curious plants. [For which consult -Letter XLI to Mr. Barrington.] -(* 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 set down by -government.) - -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 on 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; comprehending also Short-heath, 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 mentioned 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 Halt; 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 well, 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 from this contingency. Thus nature, who is -a great economist, converts the recreation of one animal to the -support of another! Thomson, who was a nice observer of natural -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, 2,646 yards, or very near a mile and a half. The -length of the north-west and opposite side is about 704 yards, and -the breadth of the south-west end about 456 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. But, as such -discoveries more properly belong to the antiquities of this place, I -shall suppress all particulars for the present, till I enter professedly -on my series of letters respecting the more remote history of this -village and district. - - - -Letter IX -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -By way of supplement, I shall trouble you once more on this -subject, to inform you that Wolmer, with her sister 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. -(*In 'Rot. Inquisit. de statu forest. in Scaccar.,' 36, Ed. 3, it is called -Aisholt. In the same, 'Tit. Woolmer and Aisholt Hantisc. Dominus -Rex habet unam capellam in haia sua de Kingesle.' 'Haia, sepes, -sepimentum, parcus: a Gall. haie and haye.'--Spelman's Glossary.) - -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,** 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. -(** This prince was the inventor of mezzotinto.) - -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 -well-stocked with fallow-deer, unrestrained by any pales or fences -more than a common hedge, yet they were never seen within the -limits of Wolmer; nor were the red deer of 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 -imprisonment 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., 1784) 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 Binsted and -Frinsham, Bentley and Kingsley, 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. 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. - - - -Letter X -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -August 4, 1767. - -It has been my misfortune never to have had any neighbours 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 (hirundines rusticae) 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 toward 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 -eleventh, and young martins (hirundines urbicae) were then fledged -in their nests. Both species will breed again once. For I see by my -Fauna of last year, that young broods come forth so late as -September the eighteenth. Are not these late hatchings more in -favour of hiding than migration? Nay, some young martins -remained in their nests last year so late as September the twenty- -ninth; and yet they totally disappeared with us by the fifth of -October. - -How strange is it that the swift, which seems to live exactly the -same life with the swallow and house-martin, 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- -martins on the seventh of November. The martins and red-wing -fieldfares were flying in sight together; an uncommon assemblage -of summer and winter birds. - -A little bird (it is either a species of the alauda trivialis, or rather -perhaps of the motacilla trochilus) 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, that 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. - -I perceive there are more than one species of the motacilla -trochilus: Mr. Derham supposes, in Ray's Philos. 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 very first fine weather, they come trooping, -all at once, into these parts, but are never seen in the winter. 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 in fossis et urinator.' 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 the falco, 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 religuiae!' - -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 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 XI -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -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, etc., 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 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 frightened and persecuted -by idle boys, who would never let them be at rest. - -Three gross-beaks (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 cross-bill (loxia curvirostra) was killed last year in this -neighbourhood. - -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 fluviatilis), the eel (anguilla), -the lampern (lampaetra parka et fluviatilis), and the stickle-back -(pisciculus aculeatus). - -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-martins have eggs still, and squab young. The last swift -I observed was about the twenty-first of August; it was a straggler. - -Red-starts, fly-catchers, 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- -martin flying about, and settling on the parapet, so late as the -twentieth of November. - -At present I know only two species of bats, the common vespertilio -murinus and the vespertilio auritus. - -I was much entertained last summer with a tame bat, which would -take flies out of a person's hand. If you gave it anything 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 showed in shearing off the wings of the flies, which were always -rejected, was worthy of observation, and pleased me much. Insects -seem 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 dispatch 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 Richmond 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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XII -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -November 4, 1767. - -Sir, - -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. -(* This hawk proved to be the falco peregrinus; a variety.) - -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 moreover 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 end of five of -the short remiges. It cannot, I suppose, with any propriety, be -called an English bird: and yet I see, by Ray's Philosoph. Letters, -that great flocks of them, feeding upon haws, appeared in this -kingdom in the winter of 1685. - -The mention of haws put 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 missal-thrushes, and feeding on the -berries of the yew-tree, which answered to the description of the -merula torquata, or ring-ousel, were lately seen in this -neighbourhood. I employed some people to procure me a -specimen, but without success. See Letter XX. - -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 goldfinches, greenfinches, etc. ? 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 osier-beds 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 water. A Swedish naturalist is so much -persuaded of that fact, that he talks, in his calendar of Flora, as -familiarly of the swallows going under water in the beginning of -September, as he would of his poultry going to roost a little before -sunset. - -An observing gentleman in London writes me word that he saw a -house-martin, on the twenty-third of last October, flying in and out -of its nest in the Borough. And I myself, on the twenty-ninth 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? * -(* See Adamson's Voyage to Senegal.) - -I acquiesce entirely in your opinion--that, though most of the -swallow kind may migrate, yet that 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, Esquire - -Selborne, Jan. 22, 1768. - -Sir, - -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 compliment, -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 neighbourhood. -But, when I came to observe them more narrowly, I was amazed to -find that they seemed 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 Linnaeus; 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 departure. - -You may depend on it that the bunting, emberiza miliaria, does not -leave this country in the winter. In January 1767 I saw several -dozen of them, in the midst of a severe frost, among the bushes on -the downs near Andover: in our woodland enclosed district it is a -rare bird. - -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 (oenanthe) -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. 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 that subject is remarkable: -there were little short-winged birds frequently coming on board his -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. -(* See Ray's Travels, p. 466.) - -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 merulae torquatae. - -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 an 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 a 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 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. - -I am, etc., etc. - - - -Letter XIV -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -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, beside the nostrils; probably -analogous to the puncta lachrymalia in the human head. When the -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 -inconvenience, they can open two vents, one at the inner corner of -each eye, having a communication 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.* 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 serve them when they travelled or laboured in that hot -climate. And we know that grooms, and gentlemen of the turf, -think large nostrils necessary, and a perfection, in hunters and -running horses. -(* 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 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.') - -Oppian, the Greek poet, by the following line, seems to have had -some notion that stags have four spiracula: - -Quadrifidae nares, quadruplices ad respirationem canales. -Opp. 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: -'Alcmaeon 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, Esquire - -Selborne, Mark 30, 1768. - -Dear Sir, - -Some intelligent country people have a notion that we have, in -these parts, a species of the genus mustelinum, 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 emberiza nivalis, the -snow-flake of the Brit. Zool.? No doubt they were. - -A few years ago I saw a cock bullfinch in a cage, which had been -caught in the fields after it had come to its full colours. In about a -year it began to look dingy; and, blackening every succeeding year, -it became coal-black at the end of four. Its chief food was hemp- -seed. 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 eaten -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 downwards, but never continuing one moment in the -same place. I shot at it, but it was so desultory that I missed my -aim. - -I wonder that the stone curlew, charadrius 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 I cannot say. Worms are their -usual food, but they also eat toads and frogs. - -I can show you some good specimens of my new mice. Linnaeus, -perhaps, would call the species mus minimus. - - - -Letter XVI -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -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, etc., and are withdrawn -to some flinty field by their 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 and 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 show 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 procure the -third. No two birds can differ more in their notes, and that -constancy, 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 drams and a half; while the latter weighs but two: -so the songster is one-fifth heavier than the chirper. The chirper -(being the first summer-bird of passage that is heard, the wryneck -sometimes 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 scarce 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 a 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. Johnson, 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 (stoparola) has not yet appeared: it usually breeds -in my vine. The redstart begins to sing: its note is 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, etc., and are so tame that a -gun will not scare them. - -A List of the summer birds of passage discovered in this -neighbourhood, ranged somewhat in the order in which they -appear: - -Smallest willow-wren, Linnaei Nomina Motacilla -trochilus. -Wryneck, Lynx torquilla. -House-swallow, Hirundo -rustica. -Martin, Hirundo urbica. -Sand-martin, 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? -Turtle-dove? Turtur -aldrovandi? -Grasshopper-lark, Alauda trivialis. -Landrail, Rallus crex. -Largest willow-wren, Motacilla -trochilus. -Redstart, Motacilla -phoenicurus. -Goat-sucker, or fern-owl, Caprimulgus -europaeus. -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 -europaea (the nut-hatch). Mr. Ray says 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 a turkey? Some suspect it is made by -their wings. - -This morning I saw the golden-crowned wren, whose crown glitters -like burnished gold. It often hangs lice a titmouse, with its back -downwards. - -Yours, etc., etc. - - - -Letter XVII -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -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, sometimes analogous to that of the cryptogamia in the -sexual system of plants: and the case is the same as regards some -of the fishes: as the eel, etc. - -The method in which toads procreate and bring forth seems to me -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 ' eso men ootokoi, exo de dzootokoi,(in Greek), 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 everybody: because we see them sticking upon each -other's backs for a month together in spring: and 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 yet been -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 an 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; showing -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 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 these 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 oeconomy of Providence with regard to the -limbs of so vile a reptile! While it is 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 5th, 1766, in his account of the mud -inguana, an amphibious bides, 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 covering -to the gills of the mud inguana, he proceeds to say that 'The forms -of these pennated coverings approach 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 become land animals, as I have -observed, by keeping them alive for some time myself:' - -Linnaeus, in his Systema Naturae, 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 -twenty-seventh 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. Country people talk much of a water-snake, but -I am pretty sure, without any reason; for the common snake -(coluber natrix) delights much 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 an -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, Esquire - -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 pungitius: he found the gasterosteus -aculeatus in plenty. 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's -heads; but I could produce no minnows. This basket will be in -Fleet-street by eight this evening; so I hope Mazel will have them -fresh and fair 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 reasonable -distance of Ambresbury, I sent a servant over to that town, and -procured several diving specimens of loaches, which he brought, -safe and brisk, in a glass decanter. They were taken in the gullies -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 lateralis, 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 intelligent persons, both gentry -and clergy, do, I find, give a great deal of credit to what was -asserted in the papers: and I myself 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 chat 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 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 appearance 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 larvae: for the larvae of insects are full of -eggs, which they exclude the instant they enter their last state. The -water-eft is continually climbing over the brims 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, up the dry banks. There are varieties of them, differing -colour; and some have fins up their tail and back, and some have -not. - - - -Letter XIX -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, Aug. 17, 1768. - -Dear Sir, - -I have now, past dispute, made out three distinct species of the -willow-wrens (motacillae 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 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, 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 stridula locustae.' Yet this great ornithologist never suspected -that there were three species. -(*Brit. Zool. edit. 1776, octavo, p. 381.) - - - -Letter XX -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, October 8, 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. - -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. - -The next rare birds (which were procured for me last week) were -some ring-ousels, turdi torquati. - -This week twelve months 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, paid -but small regard to what I 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 Lady-day, 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 the 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. - -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 63 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 extraordinary 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 oedicnemus, 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. - - - -Letter XXI -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, Nov. 28, 1768. - -Dear Sir, - -With regard to the oedicnemus, or stone curlew, I intend to write -very soon to my friend near Chichester, in whose neighbourhood -these birds seem most to abound; and shall urge him to take -particular notice when they begin to congregate, and afterwards to -watch them most narrowly whether they do not withdraw -themselves during the dead of 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 -Naturalist's Journal (with which he is much delighted), I 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 monedulae) 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 that 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, saw a -martin 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 ring-ousel, 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 ring-ousels leave your rocks in the autumn. What puzzles me -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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXII -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, July 2, 1769. - -Dear Sir, - -As to the peculiarity of jackdaws 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 -dovecots. When I first saw Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire 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 well -remarked that 'Every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, -and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed, of -mankind.' * -(* James, chap. iii. 7.) - -It is a satisfaction to me to find that a green lizard has actually been -procured for you in Devonshire; because it corroborates my -discovery, which I made many years ago, of the same sort, on a -sunny sandbank 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 ring-ousels 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 worth your pains to endeavour -to trace from whence they come, and to inquire why they make so -very 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 -could never 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 gentlemen, furnished with a good strength of water-spaniels, -were to beat them over for a week, they would certainly find more -species. -(* Cressi-hall is near Spalding, in Lincolnshire .) - -There is no bird, I believe, whose manners I have studied more -than that of the caplimulgus (the goat-sucker), as it is a wonderful -and curious creature: but I 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 I have for -many an 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 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 tell 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 way -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 -silkworm.' - -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 rains 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 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. - - - -Letter XXIII -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, February 28, 1769. - -Dear Sir, - -It is not improbable that the Guernsey lizard and our green lizard -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 University of Oxford, they lived a great -while, and seemed to enjoy themselves very well, but never bred. -Whether this circumstance will prove anything 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 I 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 grove or wood, or only of a few trees. - -It gave me satisfaction to find that we accorded so well about the -caprimulgus: 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. - -If ever I saw anything like actual migration, it was last -Michaelmas-day. I was travelling, and out early in the morning: 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 rusticae) clustering on the stinted 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 martins 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 do not -actually migrate at all. - -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, Esquire - -Selborne, May 29, 1769. - -Dear Sir, - -The scarabaeus 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 thirteenth of April I went to the sheep-down, where the -ring-ousels 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 those -dark spots of the grasshopper-lark; over each eye is a milk-white -stroke; the chin and throat are white, and the under parts of a -yellowish white; 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 further inquiry. For my part, -I suspect it is a second sort of locustella, hinted at by Dr. Derham -in Ray's Letters: see p. 108. He also procured me a grasshopper- -lark. -(* For this salicaria see letter August 30, 1769.) - -The question that you put with regard to those genera of animals -that are peculiar to America, viz. 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 arguments 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 illis -Ingenium. -Virg. Georg. - -When day declining sheds a milder gleam, -What time the may-fly * haunts the pool or stream; -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 call his mate, -Or the soft quail his tender pain relate; -To see the swallow sweep the dark'ning plain -Belated, to support her infant train; -To mark the swift in rapid giddy ring -Dash round the steeple, unsubdu'd 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 dor come brushing by -With buzzing wing, or the shrill**** cricket cry; -To see the feeding bat glance through the wood; -To catch the distant falling of the flood; -While o'er the cliff th' awakened churn-owl hung -Through the still gloom protracts his chattering song; -While high in air, and pois'd 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; -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.******* - -I am, etc. -(*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 about eleven at night, determining the date of its -fly state in 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, Derham, Scopoli, etc.) -(** Vagrant cuckoo; so called because, being tied down by no -incubation or attendance about the nutrition of its young, it -wanders without control.) -(*** Charadrius aedicnemus.) -(**** Gryllus campetris.) -(***** In hot summer nights woodlarks soar to a prodigious height, -and hang singing in the air. -(****** 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 scarabaeus.) -(******* See the story of Hero and Leander.) - - - -Letter XXV -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, Aug. 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? -Was not candour and openness the very life of natural history, I -should pass over this query just as the 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 ring-ousels 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 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 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 nor 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 picis affines. It ought no doubt to have gone among -his aviculae 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 incessantly night and day -during the breeding-time, imitating the note of a sparrow, a -swallow, a sky-lark; 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 & pedes in hac avicula -multo majores sunt quam pro corporis ratione.' See letter May 29, -1769. - -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 se defendendo. I -knew a gentleman who kept a tame snake, which was in its person -as sweet as any animal while in a 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. Ouadr. is -an innocuous and sweet animal; but, when pressed hard by dogs -and men, it can eject such a pestilent and fetid smell and -excrement, that nothing can be more horrible. - -A gentleman sent me lately a fine specimen of the lanius minor -cinerascens cum macula in scapulis alba Raii; 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 -Edwards's drawing. - - - -Letter XXVI -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, December 8, 1769. - -Dear Sir, - -I was much gratified by your communicative letter on your return -from Scotland, where you spent, I find, some 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 dispatch, 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. - -It has always been matter of wonder to me that field-fares, 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 ring-ousel, -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 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. - -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 that 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: but still I -am pleased to find you have discovered it in Lincolnshire, for the -reason I have given in the article on 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 hirundo -apus, or swift, so many weeks before its congeners; and that not -only with us, but also in Andalusia, where they also 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 -and 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 hirundines, and the larger bats, are supported -by some sorts of high-flying gnats, scarabs, or phalaenae, that are -of short continuance; and that the short stay of these strangers is -regulated by the defect of their food. -(* 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.) - -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 XXVII -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, Feb. 22, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -Hedge-hogs abound in my gardens and fields. The manner in which -they eat their 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 waffles 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. In June last I procured a 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 sides 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 into 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 field-fare (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 all -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. - -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 XXVIII -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, March, 1770. - -On Michaelmas-day 1768 I managed to get a sight of the female -moose belonging to the Duke of Richmond, at Goodwood; 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, understanding that it was not stripped, I -proceeded to examine this rare quadruped: I found it in an old -green-house, 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 birds of the grallae -order. I measured it, as they do an 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. 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 leg and great lip must contribute much. I -have read somewhere that it delights in eating the nymphaea, 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 an 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, etc., minutely; but the putrefaction precluded -all further curiosity. This animal, the keeper told me, seemed to -enjoy itself best in the extreme frost of the former winter. In the -house they showed 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. - -I am, - -With the greatest esteem. etc. - - - -Letter XXIX -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, May 12, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -Last month we had such a series of cold turbulent 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 show 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-martins, 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 martins 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. - -I have known a dove-house infested by a pair of white owls, which -made great havoc 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; 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 is the otter, -which by nature is so well formed for diving, that it makes great -havoc among the inhabitants of the waters. Not supposing that we -had any of those beasts in our shadow 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 XXX -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, Aug. 1, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -The French, I think, in general, are strangely prolix in their natural -history. What Linnaeus says with respect to insects holds good in -every other branch: 'Verbositas praesentis saeculi, 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 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, an -horn room furnished with more than thirty different pairs; but I -have not seen that house lately. - -Mr. Barrington showed 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, etc., were thick-billed birds of the loxia and fringilla -genera; and no motacillae, or muscicapae, 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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXXI -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, Sept. 14, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -You saw, I find, the ring-ousels again among their native crags; and -are farther assured that they continue resident in those cold regions -the whole year. From whence, then, do our ring-ousels 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 tor- -ousels; 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 Tirol and Carniola. -Monographers, come from whence they may, have, I think, fair -presence 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 their -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 urbica that 'pullos extra nidum non nutrit.' This -assertion I know to be wrong from repeated observations this -summer, for house-martins 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 -rostra portat 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.) - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXXII -T Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, October 29, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -After an ineffectual search in Linnaeus, Brisson, etc., I begin to -suspect that I discern my brother's hirundo hyberna in Scopoli's -new discovered hirundo rupestris, p. 167. His description of ' Supra -murina, subtus albida; rectrices macula ovali alba in latere inferno; -pedes nudi, nigri; rostrum nigrum; remiges obscuriores quam -plumae dorsales; rectrices remigibus concolores; cauda -emarginata, nec forcipata,' agrees very well with the bird in -question; but when he comes to advance that it is 'statura hirundinis -urbicae,' and that 'definitio hirundinis ripariae Linnaei huic quoque -convenit,' he in some measure invalidates all he has said; at least -he shows 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 Linnaeus. 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.* -(* See his Elenchus vegerabilium et animalium per Austriam -inferiorem, etc.) - -I am pleased to see that my description of the moose corresponds -so well with yours. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXXIII -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, Nov. 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 hirundo melba, the great -Gibraltar swift, in Tirol, without knowing it. For what is his -hirundo alpina but the afore-mentioned bird in other words? Says -he, 'Omnia prioris' (meaning the swift); 'sed pectus album; paulo -major priore.' 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 seventeenth and eighteenth, 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 -hazard, as I have 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 3rd of September. - -When the oedicnemus flies it stretches out its legs straight behind, -like an heron. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXXIV -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -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 intolerably. 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 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 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 the farm-kitchens on the bacon-racks and -about the mantelpieces, 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 posficis -crassissimis.' In very 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 ploughboy; -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 -chamaeleon: see Geoffrey, 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 improvements would soon follow -of course. A knowledge of the properties, oeconomy, 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 entomology -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 that can be conveyed at -first by words alone. - - - -Letter XXXV -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -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 uropygium, but all up their backs. A range of short brown stiff -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 those 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 -aegogropila, taken out of the stomach of a fat ox; it is perfectly -round, and about the size of a large Seville orange; such are, I -think, usually flat. - - - -Letter XXXVI -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Sept. 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 my 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 -not understand perfectly; but refer it to the observation of the -curious anatomist. These creatures send forth a vary rancid and -offensive smell. - - - -Letter XXXVII -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -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 scarabaei solstitiales, or fern-chafers. -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 while 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 chafers, 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 twenty-second, -they rendezvoused in a neighbour's walnut-tree, where it seemed -probable they had taken up their lodging for the night. At the dawn -of the day, which was foggy, they arose all together 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 twenty-second of August --a rare -instance! for they usually withdraw within the first week.* -(*See Letter LIII to Mr. Barrington.) - -On September the twenty-fourth three or four ring-ousels appeared -in my fields for the first time this season: how punctual are these -visitors in their autumns and spring migrations! - - - -Letter XXXVIII -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, March 15, 1773. - -Dear Sir, - -By my journal for last autumn it appears that the house-martins -bred very late, and staid very late in these parts; for, on the first of -October, I saw young martins in their nests nearly fledged; and -again, on the twenty-first of October, we had at the next house a -nest full of young martins 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 -third; when twenty, or perhaps thirty, house-martins 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 -sandbank, lake or pool (as a more northern naturalist would say), -may become their hybernaculum, and afford them a ready and -obvious retreat? - -We now begin to expect our vernal migration of ring-ousels 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 show for men or guns, -that they have been little accustomed to places of much resort. -Navigators 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 ring-ousels 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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXXIX -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, Nov. 9, 1773. - -Dear Sir, - -As you desire me to send you such observations 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 Frinshampond, 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. - -A great ash-coloured butcher-bird was shot last winter in Tisted- -park, and a red-backed butcher-bird at Selborne: they are rarae aves -in this country. - -Crows go in pairs the whole year round. - -Cornish choughs abound, and breed on Beachy-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 together 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 the -storm-cock, because it sings early in the spring in blowing showery -weather; its song often commences with the year: with us it builds -much in orchards. - -A gentleman assures me that he has taken the nests of ring-ousels -on Dartmoor: they build in banks on the sides of streams. - -Titlarks 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. - -Adamson'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- -martin, and about ten or twelve days before the swift. - -In 1772 there were young house-martins in their nest till October -the twenty-third. - -The swift appears about ten or twelve days later than the house- -swallow: viz., about the twenty-fourth or twenty-sixth of April. - -Whin-chats and stone-chattel stay with us the whole year. - -Some wheat-ears continue with us the winter through. - -Wagtails, all sorts, remain with us all the winter. - -Bullfinches, when fed on hempseed, often become wholly black. - -We have vast flocks of female chaffinches all the winter, with -hardly any males among them. - -When you say that in breeding-time the cock-snipes make a -bleating noise, and I a drumming (perhaps I should have rather said -an 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 congregate, 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 taken alive in the ponds of Wolmerforest 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 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. 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. - - - -Letter XL -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, Sept. 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 observations, 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. - -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 sometimes -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 mysterious. - -Hen-harriers breed on the ground, and seem never to settle on trees. - -When red-starts shake their tails they move them horizontally, as -dogs do when they fawn: the tail of a 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, woodlark, -willow-wren, etc.; 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. - -As my neighbour was housing 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 ate 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 drowned and lost in the general -chorus; in the latter their song becomes distinguishable. Many -songsters of the autumn seem to be the young cock red-breasts of -that year: notwithstanding the prejudices in their favour, they do -much mischief in gardens to the summer-fruits.* -(* They eat also the berries of the ivy, the honeysuckle, and the -euonymus europaeus, or spindle-tree.) - -The titmouse, which early in February begins to make two quaint -notes, like the whetting of a saw, is the marsh titmouse: the great -titmouse sings with three cheerful joyous notes, and begins about -the same time. - -Wrens sing all the winter through, frost excepted. - -House-martins 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 grey crows -were ever known to breed on Dartmoor: it was my mistake. - -The appearance and flying of the scarabaeus solstitialis, or fern- -chafer, 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, 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 a pugnacious disposition; for they -sing with an erected crest and attitudes of rivalry and defiance; are -shy and wild in breeding-time, avoiding 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 red-start 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 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 and the -most familiar: it also appears the last of any. It builds in a vine, or a -sweetbriar, against the wall of an 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 -shown near half the species that were ever known in Great -Britain.* -(* Sweden, 221; Great Britain, 252 species.) - -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, I hope you will -pardon the didactic manner for the sake of the information it may -happen to contain. - - - -Letter XLI -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -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 -wryneck (so much resembling the hardy race of wood-peckers) -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 this 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 of Phryganeae,* etc. -(* See Derham's Physico-theology, p. 235.) - -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. Red-breasts 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. But -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 Linnaean 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 -caeruleus), the cole-mouse (parus ater), the great black-headed -titmouse (fringillago), and the marsh titmouse (parus palustris), all -resort, at times, to buildings; and in hard weather particularly. 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 -straw 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. - -The blue titmouse, or nun, is a great frequenter of houses, and a -general devourer. Beside insects, it is very fond of flesh; for it -frequently picks bones on dung-hills: it is a vast admirer of suet, -and haunts butchers' shops. When a boy, I have known twenty in a -morning caught with snap mousetraps, 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 wheat-ear 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 probably it is that their maintenance arises from the -aureliae of the lepidoptera ordo, which furnish them with a -plentiful table in the wilderness. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XLII -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -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 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 -extensive and picturesque lakes and water-falls, 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 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; but 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. -Mall takes notice of Hamilton and Drumlanrig, and such capital -houses; but a new survey, no doubt, should represent every seat and -castle remarkable for any great event, or celebrated for its -paintings, etc. 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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XLIII -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Dear Sir, - -A pair of honey-buzzards, buteo opivorus, sive vespivorus Raii, -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 1780. 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 -embrio 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 grey -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 martin, all clean -picked, and some half devoured. The old birds had been observed -to make sad havoc for some days among the new-flown swallows -and martins, 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 XLIV -To Thomas Pennant, Esquire - -Selborne, Nov. 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, 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 an 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 county. 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 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, these -two remarkable black spots on the remiges of each wing of the -stock-dove, which are so characteristic 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 an -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 wildfowl 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 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 be 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 evening, 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 -round, 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.... -(* Some old sportsmen say that the main part of these flocks used -to withdraw as soon as the heavy Christmas frosts were over.) - -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 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 pennis -Dat tecto ingentem--mox aere lapse quieto, -Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas. - -As when a dove her rocky hold forsakes, -Rous'd, in her fright her sounding wings she shakes; -The cavern rings with clattering:--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. - -I am, etc. - - - -LETTERS to DAINES BARRINGTON - - -Letter I -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, June 30, 1769. - -Dear Sir, - -When I was in town last month I partly engaged that I would -sometime do myself the honour to write to you on the subject of -natural history: and I am the more ready to fulfil my promise, -because I see you are a gentleman of great candour, and one that -will make allowances; 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 Birds of Passage which I -have discovered in this neighbourhood, ranged somewhat in the -order in which they appear. - -1. Wry-neck, -Raii nomina: Jynx, sive torquilla: -Usually appears about: -The middle of March: harsh note. - -2. Smallest willow-wren, -Regulus non cristatus: -March 23: chirps till September. - -3. Swallow, -Hirundo domestica: -April 13. - -4. Martin, -Hirundo rustica: -Ditto. - -5. Sand-martin, -Hirundo riparia: -Ditto. - -6. Black-cap, -Atricapilla: -Ditto: a sweet wild note. - -7. Nightingale, -Luscinia: -Beginning of April. - -8. Cuckoo, -Cuculus: -Middle of April. - -9. Middle willow-wren, -Regulus non cristatus: -Ditto, a sweet plaintive note. - -10. White-throat, -Ficedulae affinis: -Middle of April: mean note; sings on till September. - -11. Red-start, -Ruticilla: -Ditto: more agreeable song. - -12. Stone curlew, -OEdicnemus: -End of March; loud nocturnal whistle. - -13. Turtle-dove, -Turtur: - -14. Grasshopper-lark, -Alauda minima locustae voce: -Middle of April: a small sibilous note, till the end of July. - -15. Swift, -Hirundo apus: -About April 27. - -16. Less reed-sparrow, -Passer arundinaceus minor: -A sweet polyglot, but hurrying: it has the notes of many birds. - -17. Land-rail, -Ortygometra: -A loud harsh note, crex, crex. - -18. Largest willow-wren, -Regulus non cristatus: -Cantat voce stridula locustae; end of April, on the tops of high -beeches. - -19. Goat-sucker, or fern-owl, -Caprimulgus: -Beginning of May; chatters by night with a singular noise. - -20. Fly-catcher, -Stoparola: -May 12. A very mute bird: this is the latest summer bird of -passage. - -This assemblage of curious and amusing birds belongs to ten -several genera of the Linnaean system; and are all of the ordo of -passeres, save the jynx and cuculus, which are picae, and the -charadrius (oedicnemus) and rallus (ortygometra) which are -grallae. - -These birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the following -Linnaean genera: - -1. -Jynx. - -2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18. -Motacilla. - -3, 4, 5, 15. -Hirundo. - -8. -Cuculus. - -12. -Charadrius. - -13. -Columba. - -17. -Rallus. - -19. -Caprimulgus. - -14. -Alauda. - -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: - -Red-breast, -Raii nomina: Rubecula: - -Wren, -Passer troglodytes: -These frequent houses; and haunt outbuildings in the winter; eat -spiders. - -Hedge-sparrow, -Curruca: -Haunt sinks for crumbs and other sweepings. - -White-wagtail, -Motacilla alba: - -Yellow-wagtail, -Motacilla flava: - -Grey-wagtail, -Motacilla cinerea: -These frequent shallow rivulets near the spring heads, where they -never freeze: eat the aureliae of Phryganea. The smallest birds that -walk. - -Wheat-ear, -Oenanthe: -Some of these are to be seen with us the winter through. - -Whin-chat, -OEnanthe secunda: - -Stone-chatter, -OEnanthe tertia: - -Golden-crowned wren, -Regulus cristatus: -This is the smallest British bird: haunts the tops of tall trees; stays -the winter through. - -A List of the Winter Birds of Passage round this neighbourhood, -ranged somewhat in the order in which they appear: - -1. Ring-ousel, -Raii nomina: Merula torquata: -This is a new migration which I have lately discovered about -Michaelmas week, and again about the fourteenth of March. - -2. Redwing, -Turdus iliacus: -About Michaelmas. - -3. Fieldfare, -Turdus pilaris, -Though a percher by day, roosts on the ground. - -4. Royston-crew, -Cornix cinerea: -Most frequent on downs. - -5. Wood-cock, -Scolopax: -Appears about old Michaelmas. - -6. Snipe, -Gallinago minor: -Some snipes constantly breed with us. - -7. Jack-snipe, -Gallinago minima: - -8. Wood-pigeon, -OEnas: -Seldom appears till late: not in such plenty as formerly. - -9. Wild-swan, -Cygnus ferus: -On some large waters. - -10. Wild-goose, -Anser ferus: - -11. Wild-duck, -Anas torquata minor: - -12. Pochard, -Anas fera fusca: - -13. Widgeon, -Penelope: - -14. Teal, breeds with us in Wolmer-forest, -Querquedula: -On our lakes and streams. - -15. Gross-beak, -Coccothraustes: - -16. Cross-bill, -Loxia: - -17. Silk-tail, -Garrulus bohemicus: -These are only wanderers that appear occasionally, and are not -observant of any regular migration. - -These birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the following -Linnaean genera: - -1, 2, 3. -Turdus. - -4. -Corvus. - -5, 6, 7. -Scolopax. - -8. -Columba. - -9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. -Anas. - -15, 16. -Loxia. - -17. -Ampelis. - -Birds that sing in the night are but few: - -Nightingale, -Luscinia: -'In shadiest covert hid.'--MILTON. - -Woodlark, -Alauda arborea: -Suspended in mid air. - -Less reed-sparrow, -Passer arundinaceus minor: -Among reeds and willows. - -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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter II -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Nov. 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. - -1. Woodlark, -Raii nomina: Alauda arborea: -In January, and continues to sing through all the summer and -autumn. - -2. Song-thrush, -Turdus simpliciter dictus: -In February and on to August, reassume their song in autumn. - -3. Wren, -Passer troglodytes: -All the year, hard frost excepted. - -4. Red-breast, -Rubecula: -Ditto. - -5. Hedge-sparrow, -Curruca: -Early in February to July the 10th. - -6. Yellow-hammer, -Emberiza flava: -Early in February, and on through July to August the 21st. - -7. Skylark, -Alauda vulgaris: -In February, and on to October. - -8. Swallow, -Hirundo domestica: -From April to September. - -9. Black-cap, -Atricapilla: -Beginning of April to July 13. - -10. Titlark, -Alauda pratorum: -From middle of April to July the 16th. - -11. Blackbird, -Merula vulgaris: -Sometimes in February and March, and so on to July the twenty -third; reassumes in autumn. - -12. White-throat, -Ficedulcae affinis: -In April and on to July 23. - -13. Goldfinch, -Carduelis: -April and through to September 16. - -14. Greenfinch, -Chloris: -On to July and August 2. - -15. Less reed-sparrow, -Passer arundinaceus minor: -May, on to beginning of July. - -16. Common linnet, -Linaria vulgaris: -Breeds and whistles on till August; reassumes its note when they -begin to congregate in October, and again early before the flock -separate. - -Birds that cease to be in full song, and are usually silent at or -before Midsurnmer: - -17. Middle willow-wren, -Regulus non cristatus: -Middle of June: begins in April. - -18. Red-start, -Ruticilla: -Middle of June: begins in May. - -19. Chaffinch, -Fringilla: -Beginning of June: sings first in February. - -20. Nightingale, -Luscinia: -Middle of June: sings first in April. - -Birds that sing for a short tune, and very early in the spring: - -21. Missel-bird, -Turdus viscivorus: -January the 2nd, 1770, in February. Is called in Hampshire and -Sussex the storm -cock, because its song is supposed to forebode -windy wet weather: is the largest singing bird we have. - -22. Great tit-mouse, or ox-eye, -Fringillago: -In February, March, April: reassumes for a short time in -September. - -Birds that have somewhat of a note or song, and yet are hardly to -be called singing birds: - -23. Golden-crowned wren, -Regulus cristatus: -Its note as minute as its person; frequents the tops of high oaks and -firs; the smallest British bird. - -24. Marsh titmouse, -Parus palustris: -Haunts great woods; two harsh sharp notes. - -25. Small willow-wren, -Regulus non cristatus: -Sings in March and on to September. - -26. Largest ditto, -Ditto: -Cantat voce stridula locustae: from end of April to August. - -27. Grasshopper-lark, -Alauda minima voce locustae: -Chirps all night, from the middle of April to the end of July - -28. Martin, -Hirundo agrestis: -All the breeding time; from May to September. - -29. Bullfinch, -Pyrrhula: - -30. Bunting, -Emberiza alba: -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 ordo of passeres. - -The above-mentioned birds, as they stand numerically, belong to -the following Linnaean genera. - -1, 7, 10, 27. -Alauda. - -2, 11, 21. -Turdus. - -3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 15, 17, 18, 20, 23, 25, 26. -Motacilla. - -6, 30. -Emberiza. - -8, 28. -Hirundo. - -13, 16, 19. -Pringilla. - -22, 24. -Parus. - -14, 29. -Loxia. - -Birds that sing as they fly are but few: - -Skylark, -Raii nomina. -Alauda vulgaris: -Rising, suspended, and falling. - -Titlark, -Alauda pratorum: -In its descent; also sitting on trees, and walking on the ground. - -Woodlark, -Alauda arborea: -Suspended; in hot summer nights all night long. - -Blackbird, -Merula: -Sometimes from bush to bush. - -White-throat, -Ficedulae affinis: -Uses when singing on the wing odd jerks and gesticulations. - -Swallow, -Hirundo domestica: -In soft sunny weather. - -Wren, -Passer troglodytes: -Sometimes from bush to bush. - -Birds that breed most early in these parts: - -Raven, -Corvus: -Hatches in February and March. - -Song-thrush, -Turdus: -In March. - -Blackbird, -Merula: -In March. - -Rook, -Cornix frugilega: -Builds the beginning of March. - -Woodlark, -Alauda arborea: -Hatches in April. - -Ring-dove, -Palurnbus torquatus: -Lays the beginning of April. - -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 somewhat 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 -an human figure, that they would stand still to be taken; as is the -case with boobies, etc. 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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter III -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Jan. 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 punctually. 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 on my last letter, you will -find that many species continued to warble after the beginning of -July. - -The titlark and yellowhammer 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 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 undoubtedly, and the -last, as far as I can yet see, a summer bird of passage, they would -require more nice and curious management in a cage than I should -be able to give them; they are 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.-Shakespeare. - -The latter has a surprising variety of notes resembling the song of -several other birds; but then it also has an 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; perhaps 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 meadows. 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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter IV -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Feb. 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 perfectly new to me; and struck me so -forcibly, that I naturally fell into a train of thought that led me to -consider whether the fact was 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 excellent 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 the -natural storge(in Greek) 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-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. - -What was said by a very ancient and sublime writer concerning 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.' * -(* Job xxxix. 16, 17.) - -Query.--Does each female cuckoo lay but one egg in a season, or -does she drop several in different nests according as opportunity -offers? - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter V -To The Honourable 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 -yellowhammer no doubt persists with more steadiness than any -other; but the woodlark, the wren, the red-breast, the swallow, the -white-throat, the goldfinch, the common linnet, are all undoubted -instances of the truth of what I advance. - -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 -birdcatcher; 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. -16? - -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 case is just the same with blackbirds, etc.; and -farmers and warreners observe, the first, that their hogs fat more -kindly at such times, and the latter that the 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 overbalances 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 redwing-fieldfares, and then the song-thrushes. - -You wonder, with good reason, that the hedge-sparrows, etc., can -be induced to sit at all 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. For the 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 was 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 to examine. - -Your supposition that there may be some natural obstruction in -singing birds while they are mute, 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,' etc., have fallen -in my way, and gave me great satisfaction: they have removed the -objections that always rose 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. - - - -Letter VI -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, May 21, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -The severity and turbulence of last month so interrupted the regular -progress of summer migration, that some of the birds do but just -begin to show themselves, and others are apparently thinner than -usual; as the white-throat, the black-cap, the red-start, 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 -blowed the 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; * there is room to expect great -things from the hands of that man, who is a good naturalist: and -one would think that an 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. -(* This work he calls his Annus Primus Historico-Naturalis.) - -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.** -(** See Letter XXV to Mr. Pennant.) - -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 about it at present.* -(* See Letter XLIII to Mr. Barrington.) - -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, etc., etc., 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: - -Quem si puellarum insereres choro, -Mire sagaces falleret hospites -Discrimen obscurum, solutis -Crinibus, ambiguoque vultu.--HOR. - - - -Letter VII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Ringmer, near Lewes, Oct. 8, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -I am glad to hear that Kuckalm is to furnish you with the birds of -Jamaica; a sight of the hirundines of that hot and distant island -would be 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 possibly 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 naturalist 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 Entomology: and his characters of his Ordines and -Genera are many of them new, expressive, and masterly. He has -ventured to alter some of the Linnaean 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 observations of those -birds, I never could discover the least degree of rivalry or hostility -between the species. - -Ray remarks that birds of the gallinae order, as cocks and hens, -partridges, and pheasants, etc., 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 frequency seen grovelling and wallowing in -dusty roads; and yet they are great washers. Does not the skylark -dust? - -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 - -... in tenui re -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 -libellulae, 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 cross-beaks -(loxiae curvirostrae) have appeared this summer in the pine-groves -belonging to this house; the water-ousel is 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 ring-ousels (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 auspicious 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 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 lookout 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 red-start, white-throat, black- -cap, uncrested wren, fly-catcher, etc. 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, whin-chats, buntings, -linnets, some few wheatears, titlarks, etc. Swallows and house- -martins 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 now am 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! - - - -Letter VIII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Dec. 20, 1770. - -Dear Sir, - -The birds that I took for aberdavines were reed-sparrows (passeres -torquati). - -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 was there a due proportion of -each sex, it should seem very improbable that any one district -should produce such numbers of these little birds; and much more -when only half of the species appears: therefore we may conclude -that the fringillae caelebes, 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 Systema Naturae, 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 fieldfares leave -us in the spring, in order to cross the seas, and to retire to some -districts more suitable to the purpose of breeding. That the former -pair before they retire, and that the hens are forward with egg, I -myself, when I was a sportsman, have often experienced. It cannot -indeed be denied but that now and then we hear of a woodcock's -nest, or young 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 fieldfares, -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. 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 -remember, after that dreadful winter of 1739-40, that cold north- -east 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 nidificat'; and of the redwing he says, in -the same place, that 'nidificat in mediis arbusculis, sive sepibus: -ova sex caeruleo-viridia maculis 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 aequinoctium vernale'; meaning in Tirol, 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 woodcocks breed -at all in Austria: but he says 'Avis haec septentrionalium -provinciarum aestivo tempore incola est; ubi plerumque nidificat. -Appropinquante hyeme australiores provincias petit: hinc circa -plenilunium mensis Octobris plerumque Austriam transmigrat. -Tunc rursus circa plenilunium potissimum mensis Martii per -Austriam matrimonio juncta ad septentrionales provincias redit. ' -For the whole passage (which I have abridged) see Elenchus, etc., -p. 351. This seems to be a full proof of the migration of -woodcocks; though little is proved concerning the place of -breeding. - -P.S. There fell in the county of Rutland, in three weeks of this -present very wet weather, seven inches and an 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 one year is -twenty inches and an half. - - - -Letter IX -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Fyfield, near Andover, Feb. 12, 1771. - -Dear Sir, - -You are, I know, no great friend to migration; and the well attested -accounts from various parts of the kingdom 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, to 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, and from south to north, according to -the season. And these vast migrations consist not only of -hirundines but of bee-birds, hoopoes, oro pendolos or golden -thrushes, etc., etc., and also 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. - -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, etc.; because, if we reflect, a -bird may travel from England to the equator without launching 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 - -... rang'd 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 moon-shiny 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 some people were shooting in the -parish of Trotton, in the county of Sussex, they killed a duck in that -dreadful winter 1708-9, 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. -(* I have read a like anecdote of a swan.) - -At present I do not know anybody near the sea-side 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 woodcocks 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. - -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 ring-ousel for Mr. -Tunstal during their autumnal visit; but I will endeavour to get him -one when they call on us again in April. I am glad that you and that -gentleman saw my Andalusian birds; I hope they answered your -expectation. Royston, or grey 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? -did he not find a missel-thrush's nest, and take it for the nest of a -fieldfare? - -The stock-dove, or wood-pigeon, oenas 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 are much decreased in number. The -ring-dove, palumbus Raii, stays with us the whole year, and breeds -several times through the summer. - -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 chafers, 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-pipe, set at -concert-pitch, and finds they all hoot in B flat. He will examine the -nightingales next spring. - -I am, etc., etc. - - - -Letter X -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Aug. 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 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, the other in D sharp, -who 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 they -retreat from Scandinavian winters: and much more the ordo of -grallae, who, all to a bird, forsake the northern parts of Europe at -the approach of winter. 'Grallae tanquam conjugatae unanimiter in -fugam se conjiciunt; ne earum unicam quidem inter nos habitantem -invenire possimus; ut enim aestate in australibus degere nequeunt -ob defectum lumbricorum, terramque siccam; ita nec in frigidis ob -eandem causam,' says Eckmarck the 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 -Amoenitates Academicae, vol. iv, p. 565. - -Birds may be so circumstanced as to be obliged to migrate in one -country and not in another: but the grallae (which procure their -food from marshes and boggy grounds) must in winter forsake the -more northerly parts of Europe, or perish for want of food. - -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 systematics 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 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. - -I am, etc., etc. - - - -Letter XI -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Feb. 8, 1772. - -Dear Sir, - -When I ride about in the winter, and see such prodigious flocks of -various kinds of birds, I cannot help 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 sustenance 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 dews, yet it is strange that the former -should so frequently have a flight of starlings for their satellites. Is -it because rooks have a more 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 yelpings -of jackals. Lapwings and starlings sometimes associate. - - - -Letter XII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -March 9, 1772. - -Dear Sir, - -As a gentleman and myself were walking on the fourth of last -November round the sea-banks at Newhaven, 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 than retire again to their -latebrae. 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 invigorating. -And I am the more of this opinion from what I have remarked -during some of our late springs, that though some swallows did -make their appearance about the usual time, viz., the thirteenth or -fourteenth of April, yet meeting with an harsh reception, and -blustering cold north-east winds, they immediately withdrew, -absconding for several days, till the weather gave them better -encouragement. - - - -Letter XIII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -April 12, 1772. - -Dear Sir, - -While I was in Sussex last autumn my residence was at the village -near Lewes, from whence I had formerly the pleasure of writing to -you. On the first of November I remarked that the old tortoise, -formerly mentioned, began first to dig the ground in order to the -forming its hybernaculum, which it had fixed on just beside a great -tuft of hepaticas. It scrapes out the ground with its fore-feet, and -throws it up over its back with its hind; but the 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 unusually 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 thirteenth 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 were on tiptoe, feeding with great earnestness 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 knoweth his owner, and the ass has -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! -* Isaiah i. 3. - -I am, etc., etc. - -P.S. In about three days after I left Sussex the tortoise retired into -the ground under the hepatica. - - - -Letter XIV -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, March 26, 1773. - -Dear Sir, - -The more I reflect on the storge (in Greek) 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. - -This affection sublimes the passions, quickens the invention, and -sharpens the sagacity of the brute creation. Thus an hen, just -become a mother, is no longer that placid bird she used to be, but -with feathers standing on end, wings hovering, and clocking 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 an -hawk, whom they will persecute till he leaves that district. A very -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 kestril, 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 repetition for the sake -of 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 an 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 impertinent intruder. - -A still more remarkable mixture of sagacity and instinct occurred -to me one day as my people were pulling off the lining of an -hotbed, in order to add some fresh dung. From out of the side of -this bed leaped an animal with great agility 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 perversion of the -otorge (in Greek), 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. 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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XV -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, July 8, 1773. - -Dear Sir, - -Some young men went down lately to a pond on the verge of -Wolmer-forest 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 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 unacceptable: -- 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 nests, 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 -regards the well-being of itself and offspring. But a piece of -address, which they show 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: -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 whole village up in arms on such -an occasion, imagining the church-yard to be full of goblins and -spectres. White owls also often scream horribly as they fly along; -from this screaming probably arose the common people's -imaginary species of screech-owl, 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 examination, he found 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 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 an 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 owls 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 presume are necessary to collect every ray of light, and large -concave ears to command the smallest degree of sound or noise. - -I am, etc. - -The hirundines 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 themselves to our -houses; amuse us with their migrations, songs, and marvellous -agility; and clear our outlets from the annoyances of gnats and -other troublesome insects. Some districts in the south seas, near -Guiaquil,* 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 -hirundines is found in those 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 was it not for the friendly -interposition of the swallow tribe. - -Many species of birds have their particular 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 truly irksome and injurious to them. These are the -hippoboscae hirundinis 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 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 pupae, of -these flies as big as the flies themselves, which he hatched in his -own bosom. Any person that will take the troupe to examine the -old nests of either species of swallows may find in them the black -shining cases of the pupae of these insects: but for other -particulars, too long for this place, we refer the reader to L'Histoire -d'Insectes of that admirable entomologist. Tom. iv. pi. ii. - - - -Letter XVI -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Nov. 20, 1773. - -Dear Sir, - -In obedience to your injunctions I sit down to give you some -account of the house-martin, 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 hirundines -- the swallow, the swift, and the -bank-martin. - -A few house-martins begin to appear about the sixteenth 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 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 martin begins to think in -earnest of providing 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 and tenacious. As this bird -often builds against a perpendicular wall without any projecting -ledge under, 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 lithe bird) raise but a -moderate layer at a time, and then desist; lest the work should -become top-heavy, and so be ruined by is 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 is own, to eject the -owner, and to line it after is own manner. - -After so much labour is bestowed in erecting a mansion, as nature -seldom works in vain, martins win 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 shed 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. Was 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 a -particular provision, that the dung of nestlings is enveloped into 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 -young 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 elikia (in Greek) 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 imperceptible 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 mobs of churches -and houses. These congregations 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 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 than 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 -frequency as swallows. It has been observed that martins 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 -an 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 an house without eaves in an exposed district, where some -martins build year by year in the corners of the windows. But, as -the corners of these windows (which face to the south-east and -south-west) are too shallow, the 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 wonderful unequal faculty; in some instances so much above -reason, in other respects so far below it! Martins 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. -Martins 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. -Accordingly they make use of a placid easy motion in a middle -region of the air, seldom mounting to any great height, and never -sweeping long 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 the twenty- -first, and are never without unfledged young as late as Michaelmas. - -As the summer declines the congregating docks 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 eight 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 ate very short-lived indeed, or unless -they do not return to the district where they are bred, they must -undergo vast devastations somehow, sad somewhere; for the birds -that return yearly bear no manner of proportion to the birds that -retire. - -House-martins ate distinguished from that congeners by having that -legs coveted 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 breeding they are often greatly molested -with fleas. - -I am, etc. - - -Letter XVII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Ringmer, near Lewes, Dec. 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 monography 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 -ought 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 win 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 hereafter 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 Sussex-downs upwards of thirty -years, yet I still investigate that chain of majestic mountains with -fresh admiration year by year; and 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 command a noble view of the wild, or weald, on one -hand, and the broad downs and sea on the other. Mr. Ray used to -visit a family* just at the foot of these hips, and was so ravished -with the prospect from Plumpton-plain near Lewes, that he -mentions those scopes in his Wisdom of God in the Works of the -Creation with the utmost satisfaction, and thinks them equal to -anything he had seen in the finest parts of Europe. -(* Mr. Courthope, of Danny.) - -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 smooch fungus-like -protuberances, their fluted sides, and regular hollows and slopes, -that carry at once the air of vegetative dilation and expansion.... Or -was there ever a time when these immense masses of calcareous -matter were drown 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 au 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 the 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 foreheads, 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 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 hirundines, -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, etc., etc., 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 -wheat-ear, though they abound 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 plowed 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 Brighthelmstone 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 wheat-ears 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 ring- -ousels; 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 whin-chats, -some rooks, and several kites and buzzards. - -About Midsummer a flight of cross-bills comes to the pine-groves -about this house, but never makes any long stay. - -The old tortoise, that I have mentioned in a former letter, still -continues in this garden; and retired under ground about the -twentieth of November, and came out again for one day on the -thirtieth: 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 harbingers. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XVIII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Jan. 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 immediately 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 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 Virgil's time: - -... Ante -Garrulla 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. - -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 consists, -like that of the house-martin, 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 -martin 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 shows 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 day 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 flyers, -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 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-martins; 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 are too quick for the eye. - -The swallow, probably the male bird, is the excubitor to house- -martins, and other little birds, announcing the approach of birds of -prey. For as soon as an hawk appears, with a shrill alarming note -he calls all the swallows and martins 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 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-martins -and bank-martins 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 flyer, ranging to distant downs and -commons even in windy weather, which the other species seem -much to dislike; nay, even frequenting exposed sea-port 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. - -Some few pairs haunt the new and open streets of London next the -fields, but do not enter, like the house-martin, the close and -crowded parts of the city. - -Both male and female are distinguished from their congeners 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 otorge (in -Greek) 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. - -The owl and the conch make a strange grotesque appearance, and -are not the least curious specimens in that wonderful collection of -art and nature.* -(* Sir Ashton Lever's Museum.) - -Thus is instinct in animals, taken the least out of its way, an -undistinguishing, limited faculty; and blind to every circumstance -that does not immediately respect self-preservation, or lead at once -to the propagation or support of their species. - -I am, - -With all respect, etc., etc. - - - -Letter XIX -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Feb. 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 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 -hirundo 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; but not the martin, 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 martin; 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 martin is milk- -white, its back and wings blue, and all its under part white as snow. -Nor can the clumsy motions (comparatively clumsy) of the martin -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 Aeneas. The verb sonat also seems to imply -a bird that is somewhat loquacious.* -(* Nigra velut magnas domini cum divitis aedes -Pervolat, et pennis alta atria lustrat hirundo, -Pabula parva legens, nidisque loquacibus escas: -Et nunc porticibus vacuis, nunc humida circum -Stagna sonat ...) - -We have had a very wet autumn and winter, so as to raise the -springs to a pitch beyond any thing since 1764; which was a -remarkable year for floods and high waters. The land-springs, -which we call lavants, break out much on the downs of Sussex, -Hampshire, and Wiltshire. The country people say when the -lavants 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 vicissitudes from fierce -frost to pouring rains, looks poorly; and the turnips rot very fast. - - - -Letter XX -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Feb. 26, 1774. - -Dear Sir, - -The sand-martin, or bank-martin, 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. - -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 is fera natura, at least in this part of the kingdom, -disclaiming all domestic attachments, and haunting wild heaths -and commons where there are large lakes; while the other species, -especially the swallow and house-martin, 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 lakes 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- -martins 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. 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-martin discover the greatest address in -raising and securely fixing crusts or shells of loam as cunabula for -their young, the bank-martin terebrates a round and regular hole in -the sand or earth, which is serpentine, 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 anything: 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 dispatch: 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 intentionally 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 latebrae -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 flounder, and threatening to overwhelm them -and their labours ? - -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 untenable. 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 upon 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-martin arrives much about the same time with the -swallow, and lays, as she does, from four to six white eggs. But as -the species is cryptogame, carrying on the business of nidification, -incubation, and the support of its young in the dark, it would not be -so 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 libellulae -(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-martins 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-martins. - -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 congregating with their -congeners in the autumn. Undoubtedly they breed a second time, -like the house-martin and swallow; and withdraw about -Michaelmas. - -Though in some particular districts they may happen to abound, yet -in 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-martins; 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-martins, 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 group of insects -affords the principal food of each respective species of swallow. - -Notwithstanding what has been advanced above, some few sand- -martins, I see, haunt the skirts of London, frequenting the dirty -pools in Saint George's-Fields, and about White-Chapel. 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-martin and swallow. - -Sand-martins differ from their congeners in the diminutiveness of -their size, and in their colour, which is what is usually called a -mouse-colour. Near Valencia in Spain, they are taken, says -Willughby, and sold in the markets for the table; and are called by -the country people, probably from their desultory jerking manner -of flight, Papilion de montagna. - - - -Letter XXI -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Sept. 28, 1774. - -Dear Sir, - -As the swift or black-martin is the largest of the British hirundines, -so is it 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-martin, 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 usurp upon the house-sparrows, and expel them, as -sparrows do the house and sand-martin; 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-martins, carry on the business of nidification -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 ninth 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, was 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, at 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 thundry weather, when it -expresses great alacrity, and calls forth all its powers. In hot -mornings several, getting together in 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. 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 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 phryganeae, -ephemerae, and libellulae (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 an 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 -martins, 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 in 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. Windy, and particularly windy weather with -heavy showers, they dislike; and on such days withdraw, and are -scarce 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 before their congeners bring -out their second brood. 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 most southerly parts of Andalusia, -where they can be no ways 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 searches, 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 hippoboscae 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 British hirundines; and indeed from all other known birds, the -hirundo melba, 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 -constitute a genus per se. -(* John Antony Scopoli, of Carniola, M.D.) - -In London a party of swifts frequents 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-martin, into the close crowded part of the town. - -The Swedes have bestowed a very pertinent name on this swallow, -calling it ring swala, form 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, over-run with -hippoboscae, are sometimes found, under their nests, fallen to the -ground: the number of vermin rendering 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 fifth 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 -affected by natural storge (in Greek) 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, permitting 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 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 inconceivable -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 elikia (in Greek) or -state of perfection; while the progressive growth of men and large -quadrupeds is slow and tedious! - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Sept. 13, 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 pleasure, in contemplating the -address with which this feat was performed to a consideraable -depth in the chimney, was somewhat interrupted by apprehensions -lest my eyes might undergo the same fate with those of Tobit.* -(* Tobit ii. 10.) - -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-martin -on April the 12th, and the house-martin 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-martins not till the -middle of May. At Blackburn, in Lancashire, swifts were seen -April the 28th, swallows April the 29th, house-martins May the 1st. -Do these different dates, in such distant districts, prove anything -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 afternoon. 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. - -Linnaeus says that hawks 'paciscuntur inducias cum avibus, -quamdiu cuculus cuculat' but it appears to me that, during 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 Welch 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 successful 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 aris & focis; but numbers at last prevailed, they tore -the nest to pieces, and swallowed the young alive. - -In the season of notification the wildest birds are comparatively -tame. Thus the ring-dove breeds in my fields, though they are -continually frequented; 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 -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, etc., 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 XXIII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, June 8, 1775. - -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 plentifully 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 incumbrances 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 France 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 inch broad, and -five or six long, which fell with a degree of velocity which showed -they were considerably heavier than the atmosphere. - -On every side as the observer turned his eyes might he 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 a 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, 300 feet above his fields, he found -the webs in appearance still as much above him as before; still -descending into sight in a 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 appearances, -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 rapturous 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 region 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 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 my breath. So that these little -crawlers seem to have, while mounting, some loco-motive power -without the use of wings, and to move in the air, faster then the air -itself. - - - -Letter XXIV -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Aug. 15, 1775. - -Dear Sir, - -There is a wonderful spirit of sociality in the brute creation, -independent of sexual attachment: the congregating 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 endeavouring 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. - -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 longings 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 -circumspection, 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 -following 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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXV -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Oct. 2, 1775. - -Dear Sir, - -We have two gangs or hordes of gypsies 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 spread by degrees over -Europe, may not this name, a little corrupted, be the very name -they brought with them 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, etc. 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 gypsies, 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 gypsy-girl lie-in -in the midst of one of our hop-gardens, on the cold ground, with -nothing over her but a piece of 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 those -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.* -(* See Bell's Travels in China.) - -Gypsies are called in French, Bohemians; in Italian and modern -Greek, Zingari. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXVI - -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Nov. 1, 1775. - -Dear Sir, - -Hic ... taedae pingues, hic 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 am 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 -effusus, 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 dispatch, and seldom failing to strip them with the nicest -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 scumrnings 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 four pence; 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 an -half, being minuted, burnt only three minutes short of an hour: and -a rush still of 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 1/33 of a farthing, and 1/11 afterwards. Thus a poor -family will enjoy 5&1/2 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 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 -an 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 oeconomy, it may not be improper to -mention a pretty implement of housewifery that we have seen no -where else; that is, little neat besoms which our foresters make -from the stalk 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, etc. If these besoms were known to the -brushmakers in town, it is probable they might come much in use -for the purpose above-mentioned.* -(*A besom of this sort is to be seen in Sir Ashton Lever's Museum.) - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXVII -To The Honourable 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, showed 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 dosed away his time, within his father's house, by -the fireside, 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. Honeybees, 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 his skin with a number of these -captives; and sometimes would confine them 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 exhibitor of bees; and we may justly say of -him now, - -... Thou, -Had thy presiding star propitious shone, -Should'st 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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXVIII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Jan. 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 a 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 ourselves 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 -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 show 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 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, -would 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. - -We have several persons now living in the village, who, in their -childhood, were supposed to be healed by this superstitious -ceremony, derived down perhaps from our Saxon ancestors, who -practiced it before their conversion to Christianity. - -At the south corner 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 fore-fathers 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. -(* For a similar practice, see Plot's Staffordshire.) - -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 -by-standers, who interceded in vain for its preservation, urging its -power and efficacy, and alleging that it had been - -Religione patrum multos servata per annos. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXIX -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Feb. 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 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. - -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 evergreens imbibe very little. These facts -may furnish the intelligent with hints concerning what trees they -should plant round small ponds that they would wish to be -perennial; and show 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 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. -(* Vide Kalm's Travels to North America.) - -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. - -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 containing perhaps -not more than two or three hundred hogsheads 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 beside. -This pond, it is true, is over-hung 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 -overflowing 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 in 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 a surface of water than there does on an equal surface of -moist earth.' Hence we see that water, by its coolness, is enabled to -assimilate 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, etc., 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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXX - -To The Honourable 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 gallinae -columbae, etc., but immediately behind it, on and over the bowels, -so as to make a large protuberance in the belly.* -(* Histoire de l'Academie Royale, 1752.) - -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, -cranberries, or some such fruit; so that these birds apparently -subsist on insects and fruits: nor was there the least appearance of -bones, feathers, or fur to support the idle notion of their being birds -of prey. - -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 backbone. - -It must be allowed, as this anatomist observes, that the crop placed -just upon 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. This inquiry I proposed -to myself to make with a fern-owl, or goat-sucker, as soon as -opportunity offered: because, if their information 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 habit 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 phalaenae, moths of -several sorts, and their eggs, which no doubt had been forced out of -those insects by the action of swallowing. - -Now as it appears that this bird, which is so well known to practice -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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXXI -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -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 -earthworms. This little fry issued into the world with the true viper- -spirit about them, showing great alertness as soon as disengaged -from the belly of the dam: they twisted and wriggled about, and set -themselves up, and gaped very wide when touched with a stick, -showing 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. - -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 a 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 scissors. - -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 XXXII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -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. - -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 then 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 XXXIII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -The natural term of an 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 an 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 -showed 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 hundred pigs: a prodigious -instance of fecundity in so large a quadruped! She was killed in -spring 1775. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXXIV -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, May 9, 1776. - -Dear Sir, - -... admorunt ubera tigres. - -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 dispatched 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! - -Why so cruel and sanguinary a beast as a cat, of the ferocious -genus of Feles, the murium leo, as 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 complacency and ease she -derived to herself from the 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 foetam 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. - - - -Letter XXXV -To The Honourable 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 -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 and twigs into it; and, most of all, by throwing up -such infinite numbers of lumps of earth called worm-casts, 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 sterile: 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 tipulae (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.* -(* Farmer Young, of Norton-farm, says that this spring (1777) -about 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.) - -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 entertainment -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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXXVI -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Nov. 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 everybody -complained and were restless under those sensations to which they -had not been reconciled by gradual approaches. - -This 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 and came forth; -some bees swarmed in this neighbourhood; the old tortoise, near -Lewes in Sussex, 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- -martins 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 -November, more than twenty house-martins, which, in appearance, -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 1/2 ; 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 death-like stupor as a defect of -heat. And farther, it is reasonable to suppose that two whole -species, or at least many individuals of those 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-martins 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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXXVII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Jan. 8, 1778. - -Dear Sir, - -There was in this village several years ago a miserable pauper, -who, from his birth, was addicted 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 or 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 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 which 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 peculiar 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. -(* See Leviticus, chap. xiii. and xiv.) - -Some centuries ago this horrible distemper prevailed all Europe -over; 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 an 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 now is 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. Three or four centuries ago, -before there were any enclosures, sown-grasses, field-turnips, or -field-carrots, or hay, all the cattle which 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; 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** t 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 is now arrived at such a pitch of perfection, that our -best and fattest meats are killed in the winter; and no man need eat -salted flesh, unless he prefers it, that has money to buy fresh. -(** Viz. : Six hundred bacons, eighty carcasses of beef, and six -hundred muttons.) - -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 and -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 Welch, 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 correcting 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, peas, -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. - -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 that had -gardens and fruit-trees in any perfection, within the walls of their -abbies* and priories. The barons neglected every pursuit that did -not lead to war or tend to the pleasure of the chase. -(* '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.) - -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 Beaconsfield, -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. - -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 sallets, which are not yet or have not been but -lately used in England, viz., selleri (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 -further he adds 'curled endive blanched is much used beyond seas; -and, for a raw sallet, seemed to excel lettuce itself.' Now this -journey was undertaken no longer ago than in the year 1663. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XXXVIII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Forte puer, comitum seductus ab agmine fido, -Dixerat, ecquis adest ? et, adest, responderat echo. -Hic stupet; utque aciem partes divisit in omnes; -Voce, veni, clamat magna. Vocat illa vocantem. - -Selborne, Feb. 12, 1778. - -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 patulae 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. - -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 wood 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 experiments, is -the stone-built, tiled hop-kiln in Galleylane, which measures in -front 40 feet, and from the ground to the eaves 12 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 Oxfordshire, allows -120 feet for the return of each syllable distinctly: hence this echo, -which gives ten distinct syllables, ought to measure 400 yards, or -120 feet to each syllable; whereas our distance is only 258 yards, or -near 75 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 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 phenomenon, 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 image. - -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 hearing 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 showing the least sensibility or resentment. - -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 an 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 purpose 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 needful to erect this building on -the gentle declivity of an 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 - -... quae nec reticere loquenti, -Nec prior ipsa loqui didicit resonabilis echo. - -I am, etc. - -P.S. -- The classic reader will, I trust, pardon the following lovely -quotation, so finely describing echoes, and so poetically accounting -for their causes from popular superstition: - -Quae bene quom videas, rationem reddere possis -Tute tibi atque alus, quo pacto per loca sola -Saxa pareis formas verborum ex ordine reddant, -Palanteis comites quom monteis inter opacos -Quaerimus, et magna dispersos voce ciemus. -Sex etiam, aut septem loca vidi reddere voces -Unam quom jaceres: ita colles collibus ipsis -Verba repulsantes iterabant dicta referre. -Haec loca capripedes 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 saepe labro calamos percurrit hianteis, -Fistula silvestrem ne cesset fundere musam. - -Lucretius, lib. iv. 1. 576. - - - -Letter XXXIX -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -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 martins 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 reoccupy -their ancient haunts ? - -Ever since I have attended to the subject of ornithology, I have -always supposed that that sudden reverse of affection, that strange -antistorge (in Greek), 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 inhabitants, -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-martins return in the same exact number -annually is not easy to say, for reasons given above: but it is -apparent, as I have remarked before in my Monographies, that the -numbers returning bear no manner of proportion to the numbers -retiring. - - - -Letter XL -To The Honourable 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 system 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, etc., what not only -strengthens our hearts, and exhilarates our spirits, but what secures -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 on -his own species.* -(* See the late Voyages to the South-seas.) - -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, paper, etc. 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 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 distinguish -the annual from the 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 an 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.' - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter XLI -To The Honourable Daines 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 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 be neither -unacceptable nor unentertaining: - -Helleborus foetidus, stinking hellebore, bear's foot, or setterworth, --- all over the High-wood and Coney-croft-hanger: this continues a -great branching plant the winter through, blossoming 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. - -Vaccinium oxycoccos, creeping bilberries or cranberries, -- in the -bogs of Bin's-pond. - -Vaccinium myrtillus, whortle, or bleaberries, -- on the dry hillocks -of Wolmer-forest. - -Drosera rotundifolia, round-leaved sun-dew. Drosera longifolia, -long-leaved ditto. In the bogs of Bin's-pond. - -Comarum palustre, purple comarum, or marsh cinquefoil, -- in the -bogs of Bin's-pond. - -Hypericon androsaemum, tutsan, St. John's wort, -- in the stony, -hollow lanes. - -Vinca minor, less periwinkle, -- in Selborne Hanger and -Shrubwood. - -Monotropa 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-won, -- 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 amarella, autumnal gentian or fellwort, -- on the Zig-zag -and Hanger; - -Lathraea squamaria, tooth-wort, -- in the Church Litten 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, birds' 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 High-wood 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 foetidus 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 -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 structure. 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 phaenomenon in nature. - -Say, what impels, amidst surrounding snow, -Congealed, the crocus' flamy bud to grow? -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 XLII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Omnibus animalibus reliquis certus et uniusmodi, et in suo cuique -genere incessus est: aves solae vario meatu feruntur, et in terra, et -in aere. -PLIN. Hist. Nat. lib. x. cap. 38. - -Selborne, Aug. 7, 1778. - -Dear Sir, - -A good ornithologist should be able to distinguish birds by their air -as well as by 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 moron - -... 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 wind-hover, 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; wood- -peckers fly volatu undoso, opening and closing their wings at every -stroke, and so are always rising or 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 hook-clawed birds, walk -awkwardly, and make use of their bill as a third foot, climbing and -ascending with ridiculous caution. All the gallinae 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 dispatch; herons seem -incumbered 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 the 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 wind- -hover; and the green-finch 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 dusk over the tops of trees like a meteor; -starlings as it were swim along, while missal-thrushes use a wild -and desultory flight; swallows sweep over the surface of the ground -and water, and distinguish themselves by rapid turns and quick -evolutions; swifts dash round in circles; and the bank-martin -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 -alternately. Skylarks rise and fall perpendicularly as they sing: -woodlarks hang poised in the air; and titlarks rise and fall in large -cubes, 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 if fettered, and stand erect on -their tails: these are the compedes of Linnaeus. Geese and cranes, -and most wild-fowls, move in figured flights, often changing their -position. The secondary rerniges of tringae, wild-ducks, and some -others, are very long, and give their wings, when in motion, an -hooked appearance. Dab-chicks, moor-hens, and coots, fly erect, -with their legs hanging down, and hardly make any dispatch; 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 XLIII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Sept. 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,* 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 kind, is -quite mute, though some are rather silent. The language of birds is -very ancient, and, like other ancient modes of speech, very -elliptical: little is said, but much is meant and understood. -(* See Spectator, Vol. VII., No. 512.) - -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, beside 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 -breeding 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 wood-pecker sets up a sort of -loud and hearty laugh; the fern-owl, or goat-sucker, from the dusk -till day-break, serenades his mate with the clattering of castanets. -All the tuneful passeres express their 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 quarters 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 therefore confine the -remainder of this letter to the few domestic fowls of our yards, -which are most known, and therefore best understood. At 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 distinction of -voice is remarkable; for, while the quack of the female is loud and -sonorous, the voice of the drake is inward and 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 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 expressive 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 clocking 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 or larum, 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 -faggot-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 matrons upbraided, they execrated, they insulted, -they triumphed. In a word, they never desisted from buffeting their -adversary till they had torn him in an hundred pieces. - - - -Letter XLIV -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne. - -... monstrent. -* * * * * -Quid tantum Oceano properent se tingere soles -Hyberni; vel quae 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 an 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 northward 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 heliotrope to the north of it. - -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 north 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. - - - -Letter XLV -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne. - -... Mugire videbis -Sub pedibus terram, et descendere 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 -Forsaken, to thy neighbour's bounds transfer -Thy 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 that far, yet 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 and 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. - -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 lavants, 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 engulfed, going down in a perpendicular -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 unincumbered; -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 tremendous 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 day-light 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 barn 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, some thrown down, and -some fallen into the heads of neighbouring 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. - -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 -or safe for pasturage, till considerable labour and expense had been -bestowed in levelling the surface and filling in the gaping fissures. - - - -Letter XLVI -To The Honourable 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 oeconomy 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 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 show 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: hut 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 upon any that were obtruded upon them -with a vast row of serrated fangs. With their strong jaws, 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 stiller 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 themselves. 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 -everything that is rural, verdurous, and joyous. - -About the tenth 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. -(* We have observed that they cast these skins in April, which are -then seen lying at the mouths of their holes.) - -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 stayed 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 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 XLVII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne. - -Far from all resort of mirth -Save the cricket on the hearth. -MILTON'S Il 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. - -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, from the burning atmosphere which they inhabit, -they are a thirsty race, and show 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 prognostic sometimes, she thinks, of in or good luck; -of the death of a near relation, or the approach of an absent lover. -By being the constant companions 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 seem 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 wood-packers, 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 became 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.' * Their shrilling noise is -occasioned by a brisk attrition of their wings. Cats catch hearth- -crickets, and, playing with them as they do with mice, devour -them. Crickets may be destroyed, like wasps, by phials half fined -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. -(* Exod. viii. 3.) - - - -Letter XLVIII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne. - -How diversified are the modes of life not only of incongruous 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. - -About the beginning of May they lay their eggs, as I was once an -eye-witness: for a gardener at an 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 oeconomy: - -... 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 this secret nursery were deposited near -an hundred eggs of a dirty yellow colour, and enveloped in a tough -skin, but too lately excluded to contain 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 XLIX -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, May 7, 1779. - -It is now more than forty years that I have paid some attention 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 -himantopus, were shot upon the verge of Frinsham-pond, 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 caricature; 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 l'echasse. My specimen, when drawn and stuffed -with pepper, weighed only four ounces and a quarter, though the -naked part of the thigh measured three inches and an half, and the -legs four inches and an half. Hence we may safely assert that these -birds exhibit, weight for inches, incomparably 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 -fraction 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 support its steps it must be liable, in speculation, -to perpetual vacillations, and seldom able to preserve 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 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 L -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, April 21, 1780. - -Dear Sir, - -The old Sussex tortoise, that I have mentioned to you so often, is -become my property. I 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 propensities; -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 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 troupe 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 amusing occurrence! to see such a -similarity of feelings between the two phereoikoi (in Greek) for so -the Greeks call both the shell-snail and the tortoise. - -Summer birds are, this cold and backward spring, unusually late: I -have seen but one swallow yet. This conformity with the weather -convinces me more and more that they sleep in the winter. - - - -Letter LI -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Sept. 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-martins 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 supposing that the -examination would be made to the best advantage in the spring, -and observing that no martins had appeared by the 11th 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-martin, 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 -stayed a short time, and then flew over the houses; for some days -after no martins were observed, not till the 16th of April, and then -only a pair. Martins in general were remarkably late this year. - - - -Letter LII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Selborne, Sept. 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 I 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 hippoboscae hirundinis. - -The following remarks on this unusual incident are obvious. The -first is, that though it may 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 corroborates 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 Rutland, in -1782, so late as the third of September. - - - -Letter LIII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -As I have sometimes known you make inquiries about several -kinds of insects, I shall here send you an account of 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 -anything 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 multitude of eggs. -This curious and uncommon production put me upon recollecting -what I have heard and read concerning the coccus vitis viniferae of -Linnaeus, which, in the South of Europe, infests many vines, and is -an 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 be at all checked by the preceding -winter, which had been uncommonly severe. - -Not being then at all aware that it had anything 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 especially 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 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 1770 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 -everything 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 -incumbrance. 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, 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.* -(* For various methods by which several insects shift their quarters, -see Derham's Physico-Theology.) - - - -Letter LIV -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Dear Sir, - -When I happen to visit a family where gold and silver fishes are -kept in a glass bowl, I am always pleased 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 vivary, 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 uppermost, 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 nourishment 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: however, 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 pinnae 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 motionless, and are 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 this 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 prodigialiter unam. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter LV -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -October 10, 1781. - -Dear Sir, - -I think I have observed before that much the most considerable part -of the house-martins 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 -shown itself in the first week of November. - -Having taken notice, in October 1780, 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 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 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 a sweet day, and in appearance -exactly suited to my wishes, yet not a martin was to be seen; and so -I was forced, reluctantly, 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 carefully -examined, probably those late broods, and perhaps the whole -aggregate body of the house-martins 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 LVI -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -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 chat 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 chat 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 chat 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 remarkable in the edifices of the -little architect. Again, the regular nest of the house-martin 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 field-mouse, -and the bird called the nut-hatch (sitta Europaea), which live much -on hazel nuts; and yet they open them each in a different way. The -first, after rasping off the small end, splits the shell in 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 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 harmonicis -musicam illam avium: non quad alia quoque non delectaretur; sed -quod ex musica humana relinqueretur in animo continens -qaemdam, attentionemque et somnum conturbans agitatio; dum -ascensus, exscensus, tenores, ac mutationes illae sonorum et -consonantiarum euntque redeuntque per phantasiam: -- cum nihil -tale relinqui possit ex modulationibus avium, quae, quod non sunt -perinde a nobis imitabiles, non possunt perinde internam -facultatem commovere.' -- GASSENDUS in Vita Peireskii. - -This curious quotation strikes me much by so well representing my -own case, and by describing what I have so often felt, but never -could so well express. When I hear fine music I 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. - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter LVII -To The Honourable 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 man, 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 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 measured 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 an 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 supposed 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. This falcon was probably driven from the -mountains of North Wales or Scotland, where they are known to -breed, by rigorous weather and deep snows that had lately fallen. -(* See my tenth and eleventh letter to that gentleman. ) - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter LVIII -To The Honourable 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 the country for the -purpose of being eaten: they are about the size of a moderate -spaniel; of a pale yellow colour, with coarse bristling hairs 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 -midway, 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 showed 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 are -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 cultivation. Thus, in -the Travels of Ysbrandt 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 -Kamschatdales 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 ending 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 -foetid 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,* and kites, and ravens, and -crows, etc., were intended to be messmates with dogs** over their -carrion; and seem to be appointed by nature as fellow-scavengers -to remove all cadaverous nuisances from the face of the earth. -(* 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 an European ear sounds like -quihloh.) - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter LIX -To The Honourable 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 axe, 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 (charadrius oedicnemus). Some of -them pass over or near my house almost every evening after it is -dark, from the uplands of the hill and North field, 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 watchwords to -keep them together, that they may not stray or lose each the 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 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.' - -I am, etc. - - - -Letter LX -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -In reading Dr. Huxham's Observationes de Aere, etc., 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 -1748, 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 -17.266 in. and in 1741, 20.354 in.; and again in 1743 only 20.908 -in. 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 -considerable. In the wettest years at Plymouth the Doctor measured -only once 36 in.; and again once, viz., 1734, 37.114 in.: 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. He is also of opinion that the dingy, smoky -appearance of 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 Combwood, was very grand: but it was -at the Hermitage that the echoes and repercussions delighted the -hearers; not only filling the Lythe with the roar, as if all the -beeches were tearing up by the roots; but, turning to the left, they -pervaded the vale above Combwood-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 further 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 barometers 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 27; -because in stormy weather the mercury there will sometimes -descend below 28. 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 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 barometers 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 Sough Lambeth; the -distance between which, all the windings and indentings of the -streams considered, cannot be less than an hundred miles. I am, -etc. - - - -Letter LXI -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -Since the weather of a district is undoubtedly part of its natural -history, I shall make no further apology for the four following -letters, which will contain many particulars concerning 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 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 ornamenting; 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 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 behaves 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, -and 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 inconvenience -with respect to the more tender shrubs from North America; which -they therefore plant under north walls. There 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 inhabitants too early from their -slumbers; and, by putting their juices into motion too soon, -subjects them afterwards to inconveniences 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 straw lengthwise from the eaves of -thatched houses and barns in a most adroit manner, for a purpose -that has been explained already.* -(* See Letter XLI to Mr. Pennant.) - -On the 3d 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 4th to 18, and the 7th to 17.5, 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; for, when a thermometer hangs abroad in a -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 gauge. - -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 junipers, be it -remembered that they remained untouched amidst the general -havoc: hence men should learn to ornament 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 -affected that they cast all their leaves. - -By the 14th 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 LXII -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -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. -(* The autumn preceding January 1768 was very wet, and -particularly the month of September, during which there fell at -Lyndon, in the county of Rutland, six inches and an half of rain. -And the terrible long frost of 1739-40 set in after a rainy season, -and when the springs were very high.) - -January 7th. -- Snow driving all the day, which was followed by -frost, sleet, and some snow, till the 12th, when a prodigious mass -overwhelmed all the works of men, drifting over the tops of the -gates and filling the hollow lanes. - -On the 14th the writer was obliged to be much abroad; and thinks -he never before or since has 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 confounded by the glare of snow that they would soon -perish without assistance. The hares also lay sullenly in their seats, -and would not move until 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 14th the snow continued to increase, and began to stop -the road waggons 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 Marlborough, 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 -track to London; but the relentless heaps of snow were too bulky to -be removed; and so the 18th passed over, leaving the company in -very uncomfortable circumstances at the Castle and other inns. - -On the 20th 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 29, 28, 25, and thereabout; but on the -21st it descended to 20. The birds now began to be in a very -pitiable and starving condition. Tamed by the season, skylarks -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 22nd 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 -exception from din and clatter was strange, but not pleasant; it -seemed to convey an uncomfortable idea of desolation: - -... ipsa silentia terrent. - -On the 27th much snow fell all day, and in the evening the frost -became very intense. At South Lambeth, for the four following -nights, the thermometer fell to 11, 7, 6, 6; and at Selborne to 7, 6, -10; and on the 31st January, just before sunrise, with rime on the -trees and on the tube of the glass, the quicksilver sunk exactly to -zero, being 32 degrees below the freezing point; but by eleven in -the morning, though in the shade, it sprung up to 16.5 * -- 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 incumbered with snow, which crumbled and trod -dusty; and, turning grey, 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 1st 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 3d 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., 34 degrees below the freezing point. -The thermometer used at Selborne was graduated by Benjamin -Martin.) - -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 19: at Blackburn, in Lancashire, at 19: and at -Manchester at 21, 20, and 18. Thus does some unknown -circumstance strangely overbalance latitude, and render the cold -sometimes much greater in the southern than in 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 evergreens 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. - - - -Letter LXIII -To The Honourable 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 7th, with the barometer at 28-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 9th 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 9th 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 Dollond, which soon began to show us what we -were to expect; for, by ten o'clock, they fell to 21, and at eleven to -4, when we went to bed. On the 10th, in the morning, the -quicksilver of Dollond'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 10th, at eleven at night, though the air was perfectly still, -Dollond'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 10th, 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 phaenomena, in so elevated a region, at two -hundred feet or more above my house. But, behold! on the 10th, at -eleven at night, it was down only to 17, and the next morning at 22, -when mine was at 10. 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 exactly together: so that, for one night at least, the cold at -Newton was 18 degrees less than at Selborne; and, through the -whole frost, 10 or 12 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! -(* 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.) - -We had steady frost on to the 25th, when the thermometer in the -morning was down to 10 with us, and at Newton only to 21. Strong -frost continued till the 31st, when some tendency to thaw was -observed, and, by January the 3rd, 1785, 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 10th, being bright sun-shine, the air -was full of icy spiculae, floating in all directions, like atoms in a -sun-beam 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 -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, etc., 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. - -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 a -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 yet it may be -allowed from its effects to have exceeded any since 1739 - 40. - - - -Letter LXIV -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -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 inconveniences that -we suffered from 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 and shelter their wall-trees with mats or boards, -as they may easily do, because such annoyance is seldom of long -continuance. 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 -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 beats 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 not we set the boys to take the nests, -and caught thousands with hazel twigs tipped with bird-lime: we -have since employed 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 1783 honey-dews were so frequent as to -deface and destroy the beauties of my garden. My honey-suckles, -which were one week the most sweet and lovely objects that the -eye could behold, became the next the most loathsome; being -enveloped in a viscous substance, and loaded with black aphides, -or smother-flies. The occasion of this clammy 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 seen first 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 83 or -84; but with us, in this hilly and woody district, I have hardly ever -seen it exceed 80; 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 LXV -To The Honourable Daines Barrington - -The summer of the year 1783 was an amazing and portentous one, -and full of horrible phaenomena; for besides the alarming meteors -and tremendous thunder-storms that affrighted and distressed the -different counties of this kingdom, the peculiar haze, or smokey -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 anything known within the memory of man. By -my journal I find that I had noticed this strange occurrence from -June 23 to July 20 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 on 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 country people began to look with -a superstitious awe, at the red, louring 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, frequency 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 phaenomena. - -... 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 LXVI -To The Honourable 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 continually harassed with tempests and often -from the south, yet we escaped them all; as appears by my journal -of that summer. 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 promontories, 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 -those 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, 1784, the thermometer in the morning being at -64, and at noon at 70, the barometer at 29, six-tenths one-half, and -the wind north, I observed a blue mist, smelling strongly of -sulphur, hanging along our sloping woods, and seeming to indicate -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 Hartley, 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 -Hartley it did some damage to one farm; but Norton, which lay 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 200 -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-naturalis, or the Natural History of the -Twelve Months of the Year; which would have comprised many -incidents and occurrences that have not fallen in 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. - - - - - -End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Natural History of Selborne -This Etext created by Tokuya Matsumoto <toqyam@os.rim.or.jp> - diff --git a/old/old/1408.zip b/old/old/1408.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8c6ecfa..0000000 --- a/old/old/1408.zip +++ /dev/null |