The Natural History of SelborneHarper, 1842 - 335 pages |
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Page 30
... 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 ...
... 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 ...
Page 32
... beginning of this century , all this country was wild about deer - stealing . The Waltham blacks at length committed such enormities , that govern- ment was forced to interfere with that severe and sanguinary act called the Black Act ...
... beginning of this century , all this country was wild about deer - stealing . The Waltham blacks at length committed such enormities , that govern- ment was forced to interfere with that severe and sanguinary act called the Black Act ...
Page 36
... NOTE . - In the beginning of the summer , 1787 , the royal for- ests of Wolmer and Holt were measured by persons sent down by government . Within the present limits of the forest are three considerable 36 NATURAL HISTORY.
... NOTE . - In the beginning of the summer , 1787 , the royal for- ests of Wolmer and Holt were measured by persons sent down by government . Within the present limits of the forest are three considerable 36 NATURAL HISTORY.
Page 54
... 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 23d of last October , flying in and out of its nest 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 23d of last October , flying in and out of its nest in the ...
Page 85
... bird is most punctual in beginning its song exactly at the close of day ; so exactly , that I have known it * Cressi Hall is near Spalding , in Lincolnshire . H 1 strike up more than once or twice just at the. OF SELBORNE . 85 Stone Curlew.
... bird is most punctual in beginning its song exactly at the close of day ; so exactly , that I have known it * Cressi Hall is near Spalding , in Lincolnshire . H 1 strike up more than once or twice just at the. OF SELBORNE . 85 Stone Curlew.
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Common terms and phrases
abound Alauda Andalusia animals appear April autumn birds of passage birds of prey blackcap brood build called chaffinches colour Comb Wood common buzzard congeners coppice cuckoo curious DEAR SIR district eggs feed feet fern-owl fieldfares fields flocks frequently frost garden Greatham ground Hanger hatched haunt hedges hirundines hirundo house-martins hundred inches insects late legs LETTER Linnæus manner martins mentioned migration morning Motacilla natural neighbour neighbourhood nest never night observed owls parish perhaps ponds prey procure quadrupeds Raii rain redwings remarkable remiges retire ring-dove ringousels rooks roost season seems seen Selborne shot sing snow soon sort species spring stone curlew strange summer birds suppose Sussex swifts tail thrushes tion titmouse trees vast village weather whinchats whitethroat wild wings winter Wolmer Forest wonder woodcocks Woodlark woods young
Popular passages
Page 83 - For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Page 331 - 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 bloodcoloured at rising and setting. All the time the heat was so intense that butchers...
Page 92 - 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!
Page 232 - 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.
Page 77 - 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.
Page 279 - 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.
Page 183 - ... 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.
Page 204 - ... 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 sculking insects that are roused by the trampling of the horses...
Page 290 - But as he avoids heat in the summer, so, in the decline of the year, he improves the faint autumnal beams, by getting within the reflection of a...
Page 37 - Now scarcely moving through a reedy pool, Now starting to a sudden stream, and now Gently diffus'd into a limpid plain ; A various group the herds and flocks compose, Rural confusion ! on the grassy bank Some ruminating lie ; while others stand Half in the flood, and often bending, sip The circling surface.