Part 1

COUNTRY RAMBLES IN ENGLAND; OR JOURNAL OF A NATURALIST; WITH NOTES AND ADDITIONS,

BY THE AUTHOR OF “RURAL HOURS.”

——“Plants, trees, and stones, we note, Birds, insects, beasts, and many rural things.”

BUFFALO: PUBLISHED BY PHINNEY & CO.

1853.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by PHINNEY & CO. In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Northern District of New York.

Go forth, my little bark, again, and risk Once more thy fragile form upon the world’s Unsteady surge. Rude gales and currents may Be found to meet thee on thy way, and check Thy progress to a ready mart: yet steer, If haply thou canst, thy course—light is Thy freight, nor rare; and few I deem’d would prize Such merchandise as thine, nor willing aid Thee foundering in the wave; but thou hast sail’d In tranquil seas—warm, sunny gleams have cheer’d Thee on; and friends—kind friends!—were seen, Who slighted not thy ware, all rustic as It was. Yet bear thee steady on thy course; And chance some wandering trafficker may come To seek a sample of thy stores, and find The lading to its invoice true.

PREFACE.

Many years have now passed away since we were presented with that very interesting and amusing book, the “Natural History of Selborne:” nor do I recollect any publication at all resembling it having since appeared. It early impressed on my mind an ardent love for all the ways and economy of nature, and I was thereby led to the constant observance of the rural objects around me. Accordingly, reflections have arisen, and notes been made, such as the reader will find them. The two works do not, I apprehend, interfere with each other. The meditations of separate naturalists in fields, in wilds, in woods, may yield a similarity of ideas; yet the different aspects under which the same things are viewed, and characters considered, afford infinite variety of description and narrative: mine, I confess, are but brief and slight sketches; plain observations of nature, the produce often of intervals of leisure and shattered health, affording no history of the country; a mere outline of rural things; the journal of a traveller through the inexhaustible regions of Nature.

CONTENTS.

Residence of the Author—Extensive prospect on the banks of the Severn—Welsh mountains, and passages of the river—Roman encampment upon a British site—Remains of the Romans—Coins—Skeletons of men and horses—Traces of a forest—Soils of the parish—Limestone, its abundance and uses—origin—Rocks formed in the parish by the coral polypi—analysis of—Rocks of deposit—analysis of—Lead ore—Carbonate of strontian—Traveller’s foot burned off—Residences upon Limestone supposed healthy—Employment for laborers—Amount of stone disposed of—A worthy peasant—Analysis of soils considered as fallacious—Dairy processes—Grass lands, their nature—Wild plants—predominating plants in corn-fields—Soils will produce particular herbage—Mode of saving hay—Wheat—Culture of the potato—sorts—expense and profit—effect upon the soil—not considered as injurious—sketch of its history—its introduction—some soils not favorable for the root—introduced later than tobacco—value to mankind—Ignorance of the first habitants of the Cerealia—Tendency of plants to revert to their original creation—Original species of the potato cannot now be ascertained—Component parts of some varieties—Teasel crops—its introduction—culture—gathering—value—its cultivation not injurious to the soil—variety of names—application-consumption—Bad custom in Page 9 farming—“clatters” to 41

Study of natural history no subject of ridicule—to be made an object in youth—A beautiful Oak tree—magnitude of several trees—uncertain in producing acorns—a history of the oak might be written—all its products valuable—Wych elm—its character—uses—magnitude—name—suffers in early frosts—not beautiful in autumn—The buff-tip-moth—Trees condense moisture—Air under trees—verdure—Utility and agency of foliage—Prevalence of plants in soils—Fetid hellebore—uses—Village doctress—Blossoms of plants—use not manifest—Carpenter bee—What flowers most abundant—design of flowers—application of flowers—love of flowers—emblems—amusements of children—universal ornament—cultivation of flowers—bouquet—Poplar tree—formation of footstalks—its suckers 41–58

Dyers’ broom—gathering—dishonest practice—uses for the dyer—Conformation of flax and silk—Nature of color—Snapdragon—an insect trap—Dogsbane—very destructive—the object mysterious—Glaucous birthwort—Snapdragon vegetates in great drought—Evaporation from the earth—Ivy—its shelter and food for birds and insects—love of ivy—ornament to ruins—its effect—Foxglove—grows only in particular soils—medicinal uses—uncertain application—name—ancient names—Vindication of old epithets—Ancient and modern remedies—Snowdrop—a native plant—remains long in abandoned places—character of the snowdrop—Yellow oat-grass—affected by drought—Vervain—ancient estimation, and application—Druids of Gaul—Ancient and modern virtues—Dyers’ weed—value—uses—cultivation—yellow color—most permanent and common—Brimstone butterfly—Day’s eye—Dandelion—Singular appearance of a grass—Brambles—insect path on the leaves—uses of the bramble—Maple tree—an early autumn beau—fashion followed by others—maple wood a beautiful microscopic object—medicinal properties—leaves punctured by insects—Traveller’s joy—grows in limestone soils by preference—uses—pores of the wood in the microscope—Vessels of plants—uninjured by dry seasons—Seeds of the Clematis 58–83

Naturalist’s autumnal walk—beautiful, and full of variety—Agaric—beauty and variety—plentiful in Monmouthshire—Agaricus fimi putris—Verdigris agaric—Fungi very uncertain in their growth—Flower-formed hydnum—Mitred helvella—Gray puff ball—Fingered clavaria—Agarics, to be understood, observed in all stages of growth—Perishable nature of created things—Parasitic fungi—laurel—holly—two- fronted sphæria—elm leaves—sycamore leaves—bark of plants—the nut—beech—Odorous agaric—Fragment agaric—‘Stainer’ agaric—Stinking phallus—Mode of propagation—Turreted puff—Starry puff—Morell—Bell-shaped nidularia—Food for mice 83–95

Marten cat—his capture—well adapted for a predatory life—its skin—Hedgehog—mode of life—always destroyed—prejudices against—cruelty of man—an article of food—sensibility of the spines—Harvest mouse—where found—character—Increase and decrease of animals—Migration of rats—Water shrew—its residence and habits—common shrew mouse—Pale blue shrew—Mole—his actions—character—abundance of—easily discovers his food—structure of his body—fur and hair of animals—flesh of the moles—killed by weasels 95–108

Birds—admiration of—The hedge-sparrow—contingencies of its life—song—example of a domestic character—Willow wren—early appearance—and departure—nest—object of her migration—Difficulty of rearing young birds—Golden-crested wren—Linnet—their song—habits—Bull-finch—character—injurious to trees—preference of food—no destroyer of insects—Robin—character—always found—Song of birds—motives obscure—Chaffinch—beautifully feathered—female, her habits—country epithets—conduct in spring—moisten their eggs in hot weather—Parish rewards for vermin—Blue tom- tit—perishes in winter—mode of obtaining food—stratagems—Birds distinguished by voice—Cole mouse—variety of notes—Long-tailed tom- tit—nests—journeys—eggs—labor to feed their young—winter food—great variety of nests—Goldfinch—beautiful nests—Sufferings of the swallow—Maternal care of a little blue tom-tit—industry—Raven—scared from its nest—faculty of discovering its food—universally found—duration of life—reverence—superstitions wearing out—duration of animal life—aided or injured by man—an old horse—life of man—Crossbill—breeds in England—Rook—suffers in cold and dry seasons—his life in the year 1825—various habits of—detects grubs in the earth—his habits in the spring—associations—senses—Magpie—nests—habits—plunderers of the farm-yard—natural affection—Jay—conduct of the old birds—winter habits—feathers—shrike—nest—young—kills other birds—a sentinel—its mischievous disposition—Stormy petrel—habits—Wryneck—its habits—Birds annually diminishing—Swan pool, Lincoln—Nightingale—migrating birds—Rooks love long avenues—Starlings—great flights—social habits—breeding—a stray bird—actions before roosting—congregate—very attentive to their young—journeyings—Laborious life of birds—Red-start—Starling, brown—habits—a very dusky bird—Hawks capture by intimidation—single out individuals—Early seasons—bring rain—Blooming of the white thorn—Migrating birds—their conduct—Butcher-bird—Gray flycatcher—Thrush—instance of affection—motives of action—utility in a garden—Sparrows—domestic habits—manners—increase—destruction—great consumers of insects—accommodating appetite 108–150

Creatures associating with man—Common mouse—Rat—House fly—Utility of animals—Conduct of man—The dog—Wheatear—Country amusements often cruel—Supplication for pity—Eggs—their markings—Foolish superstition—Kite—his habits—great capture of—Blackcap—habits—song—nest—food—shyness—habits of our occasional visiting birds—Petty chaps—White throats—Willow wren—Fear of man in animals—Stratagem of a wren—Instinct—Awakening of birds—Early morning—Morning in autumn—Goldfinch—captured—die in the winter—soon reconciled to captivity—Tree-creeper—winters in England—not an increasing bird—Yellow wagtail—Rapacious birds—Passerine birds—Buntings—unthatching corn ricks—Old tokens and signs—White lily—Pimpernel—Mistlethrush—his note—breeds near the dwellings of man—Change of character in birds—Love of offspring—Divine appointments—Jack snipe—solitary habits—Christmas shooter—Association of birds—Peewit—habits—eggs—Prognostications—Hedge fruit—Fieldfares—Redwings—feeding in the lowlands—uplands—Egg of the fieldfare—Rural sounds—notes of birds—Plumage of birds—Song of birds—Woodlark—habits—voice—capture—Language of man—of birds—Note significant of danger—Singing a spontaneous effusion—Variety of note in same species—‘Lady-bird’ note of a song-thrush—Croaking of the nightingale—Admiration of birds—Cleanly and innocent creatures 150–189

Knowledge slowly obtained—Entomology a difficult study—Wonders around us—The objects of many insects unknown—Chrysalis of a moth—Four-spotted dragon-fly—Ghost moth—soon destroyed—Specimens of plumage of butterflies—Argus butterfly—a pugnacious insect—combats—Azure butterfly—seldom seen—Hummingbird sphinx—habits—wildness—tamed by familiarity—feigns death—Painted lady butterfly—uncertain in appearing—Marble butterfly—Wasp—Meadow-brown butterfly—Yellow winged moth—Admirable butterfly—Gamma moth—Goat moth—their numbers—odor—power of destruction—Larvæ of phalæena cossus, where plentifully found—Designs of nature—Evening ramble—Insects abounding—ignorance of their objects—Glow- worms—curious contrivance about their eyes—light—migration—Snake eggs—destruction—harmless in England—antipathy of mankind to the race—Paucity of noxious creatures inhabiting with us—Small bombyx—Vigilance—animation—quarrels—Black ant—combats of strength—Red ants—mortality—Yellow ants—winter nests—millipedes—support great degree of cold—Stagnated water—abounding with insects—Newt—his voracity—Water-flea—an amusing insect—observed by boys—Dorr beetle—their numbers—feign death to avoid injury—Cleanliness of creatures in health—Recurrence to causes—Cockchafers—Changes in nature—Death’s-head moth—chrysalides—superstitions regarding the insect—voice—Great water-beetle—its habits and voracity—Hair worm—its object—Nests of a solitary wasp—Hornets—their abundance at times, and voracity—kill each other—Garden snail—its injuries—generally secure from destruction—faculties—small banded snails—their numbers—superstitions concerning them—Earth-worms—numbers of—the prey of all creatures—utility of—drain watery soils—Inattention to the works of Providence 189–235

Empiricism—Apple-tree blight—progress—injury—White moss rose—Testacellus halotideus—Cure of the American blight—Effect of season on the vegetation—Destruction of grass roots—Honey-dew—Injury to foliage by small moths—Salt winds—Leasing—its profits—an innocent occupation—ordained by the Almighty—Old customs—wearing out—Maypoles—Christmassing—Kitchen bushes—young holly- trees—Singular conceit—Influence of electric atmosphere on vegetation—Anecdote of the finding of a guinea—Hummings in the air—Fairy rings—Spring changes—Periodical winds—Whirly pits—Sinkings in the earth—Lichen fascicularis—Salt winds destructive of vegetation—Spottings on apples—spottings on strawberry leaves—curious agaric—Curious analogy between plants and animated beings 235–259

The year 1825—its peculiarities and influences—A speedy method of killing insects—Preserving of insects—Pollarding of trees—most injurious—Insects that destroy the ash—The willow rarely seen as a tree—a fine one near Gloucester—Foggy morning—Reeking of the earth—the cause—and utility—Winter of the year—Ice in pools—Law of nature—Winter called a dull season—Nature actively employed—Exhausting powers observed in the air—A minute vegetable product 259–279

CONTENTS OF APPENDIX.

NOTES—Names for Rural Dwellings—Wild Potato—Wych Elm—Carpenter Bee—Rose-Beetle—Dyers’ Broom—Carnivorous Plant—Ivy—Snowdrop—Vervain—Mistletoe—Dyers’ Weed—Brimstone Butterfly—Furze—Maple—Agarics—Marten—Hedgehog—Mole—Shrew. BIRDS OF ENGLAND; Rook—Linnet—Bull-finch—House- sparrow—Jay—Wood-dove—Kestrel—House-marten—Rock- pigeon—Magpie—Wryneck—Jackdaw—Thrush—Missel- thrush—Blackbird—Cuckoo—Wren—Halcyon—Wagtail—Swift—Goat- sucker—Bustard—Grous—Titmouse—Starling—Fieldfare—Raven—House Fly—Robin—Goldfinch—Sky-lark—Winter Gnat—Butterflies and Moths—Glow-worm—Slow-worm—Dorr, or Clock-beetle—Death’s-head Moth—American Blight—Holly—Provincialisms—Fairy Rings—Æcidium—Pollarding Trees—Ice Floating 281–330

INTRODUCTION.

BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR.

It is now nearly five-and-twenty years since the “Journal of a Naturalist” first appeared in England. The author, Mr. Knapp, has told us himself that the book owes its origin to the “Natural History of Selborne,” a work of the last century, which it is quite needless to say has become one of the standards of English literature; and the reader is probably also aware that the honors acceded to the disciple are, in this instance, scarcely less than those of his master—the Journal of a Naturalist, and Selborne, stand side by side, on the same shelf, in the better libraries of England.

Both volumes belong to a choice class; they are to be numbered among the books which have been written neither for fame nor for profit, but which have opened spontaneously, one might almost say unconsciously, from the author’s mind. The subjects on which they touch are such as must always prove interesting in themselves; like the grass of the field, and the trees of the wood, the growth of both works has been fostered by the showers and the sunshine of the open heavens; and in spite of so much that is artificial in our daily life and habits, there are hours when all our hearts gladly turn to the natural and unperverted gifts of our Maker.

The History of Selborne, and the Journal of a Naturalist, happen to have been both written in the southern counties of England. Selborne, the parish of which the Rev. Gilbert White was Rector, lies on the eastern borders of Hampshire. Mr. Knapp has not given us the name of his own village; but its position in Gloucestershire is minutely described. He tells us that it stands upon a high ridge of land commanding very beautiful views, including the broad estuary of the Severn, and the rich plains on its banks, while the fine mountains of southern Wales fill up the back-ground; a Roman ferry with the sites of ancient stations, and the lines of old roads of the same people, are visible, and the pretty though unimportant town of Thornbury, with its imposing church and castle, occupy the cliffs on the opposite bank of the river.

“The smooth Severn stream,”

with its

“Rush-yfringed bank Where grows the willow, and the osier dank,”

is the only river of any size in England, running north and south. It rises in Wales, at the foot of Plinlimnon, and winding through some of the finest plains on the island, waters the town of Shrewsbury, Worcester, Tewksbury, and Gloucester. How familiar are all these names to American ears; how the scroll of history unfolds before the mind’s eye as we read their titles! During the last century the importance of the Severn, in a commercial sense, was very great indeed; the movement on the broad estuary by which it flows into the ocean, being perhaps greater, at that period, than that of any other European river, with the single exception of the Thames. Many have been the naval expeditions of importance which have sailed from the Severn; the Cabots when bound on the daring voyage which first threw the light of civilization upon the coast of North America, embarked from the wharves of Bristol. Perchance the scanty sails, and heavy hull of their craft, as it made its way sea- ward, may have been watched by some wondering peasant, toiling in the same fields to which the Naturalist has introduced us.

The mountains of Wales, filling the back-ground of the picture sketched in the author’s opening pages, are very different from those with which American eyes are familiar. Bare and bleak, they are usually wholly shorn of wood, and far bolder in their craggy outline than our own heights. Snowdon, the most important mountain in Wales, rises to a height of 3700 feet. Standing in a northern county of the Principality it is not, however, to be included in a view from the banks of the southern Severn. But the hills of Glamorgan, and Brecon, especially noticed by Mr. Knapp, are upward of 2000 feet in height, and stamped more or less with the same general character. It often happens indeed, from the boldness of position, and the abruptness of outline, which usually mark the mountains of Europe, that heights of no great elevation produce very striking effects in a view.

The fertile alluvial pastures in the immediate foreground of the picture, are those in which Milton’s rivernymph Sabrina, may be supposed to have strayed:

“Still she retains Her maiden gentleness, and oft at eve Visits the herds along the twilight meadows, Helping all urchin blasts, and ill-luck signs That the shrewd meddling elf delights to make, Which she with precious vial’d liquors heals; For which the shepherds at their festivals Carol her goodness loud in rustic lays, And throw sweet garland wreaths into her stream Of pansies, pinks, and gaudy daffodils.”

The little village, the immediate scene of the Naturalist’s observations, appears to have had an uneventful existence. It lies, we are told, “on a very ancient road,” running between the cities of Gloucester and Bristol; doubtless the tide of war and adventure, must often have swept over the track on many occasions, when the interests of England were battled for in the western counties of the kingdom, but only scanty vestiges of its passage have been found in the little community. A few skeletons, accidentally dug up by the road-side, the bones of horses, the iron head of a single lance, are alone alluded to as memorials of some nameless conflict of the period of Cromwell, and his wars. No stern feudal towers, no ambitious monastic edifices appear to have been raised within the limits of the parish; and, in short, the position of the spot is one associated chiefly with simple rustic labors, and rural quiet, a field especially in harmony with the inquiries and pursuits of the lover of nature.

It is with the vegetation of this unambitious region, and with the living creatures by which it is peopled, that the Naturalist would make us acquainted. He tells us of the trees found in the groves and copses of that open country; of the grasses which grow in the meadows on the banks of the Severn; of the grains and plants cultivated in the hedged fields which line his ancient road. He has a great deal to say about the birds which fly to and fro, with the passing seasons; about the butterflies, and moths which come and go with the summer blossoms, and he is familiar with the lowliest of the creeping things found upon his path. Such simple lore is never without interest to those who delight in the face of the earth, to those who love to honor the Creator in the study of his works. It is pleasant to know familiarly the plants which spring up at our feet; we like to establish a sort of intimacy with the birds which, year after year, come singing about our homes; and, on the other hand, when told of the wonders of a foreign vegetation, differing essentially from our own, when hearing of the habits of strange creatures from other and distant climates, we listen eagerly as to a tale of novelty.

We Americans, indeed, are peculiarly placed in this respect. As a people, we are still, in some sense, half aliens to the country Providence has given us; there is much ignorance among us regarding the creatures which held the land as their own long before our forefathers trod the soil, and many of which are still moving about us, living accessories of our existence, at the present hour. On the other hand, again, English reading has made us very familiar with the names, at least, of those races which people the old world. From the nursery epic, relating the melancholy fate of “Cock Robin,” and the numerous feathered _dramatis personæ_ figuring in its verses; from the tragical histories of “Little Red Riding Hood,” and the “Babes in the Woods;” from the winged and four-footed company of Gay and Lafontaine, from these associates of our childhood to the larks and nightingales of Shakspeare and Milton, we all, as we move from the nursery to the library, gather notions more or less definite. We fancy that we know all these creatures by sight; and yet neither “Cock Robin,” nor his murderer the Sparrow, nor his parson the Rook, is to be found this side the salt sea; the cunning Wolf whose hypocritical personation of the old grandame, so wrung our little hearts once upon a time, is not the wolf which howled only a few years since in the forests our fathers felled; the wily Fox of Lafontaine,

“Certain renard Gascon, D’autres disent Normand,”

is not the fox of Yankeeland—albeit we have our foxes too! Neither the Marten,