Part 31

The word _pollard_ is but little used in America; it is derived from the verb to _poll_, or lop, the heads of trees. With us, the custom so much condemned by the author, is unknown; but it is no just sense of the value of wood, no wise spirit of true economy, which causes the difference. On the contrary, if our timber is not mutilated in this way, it is simply owing to a custom still more culpable and wasteful—wherever a branch is needed, a whole tree will be felled. Often has the writer seen a fine chestnut hewn down by some careless lad, merely for the nuts of one season’s growth; frequently have we found oaks, or maples of good size, cut at the root in the same way, for the sake of the wild grapes which hung entwined among their higher branches; and on one occasion, we have seen a noble pine, a hundred and fifty feet in height, the growth perchance of several centuries, felled only to reach a hive of bees, which had taken refuge in a hollow branch.

NOTE LL. ICE FLOATING, page 271.

Absurd as the notion is, that the ice in our lakes and rivers sinks in spring, yet there are not wanting people who firmly believe it. Not long since, the writer chanced to meet in print a traveler’s story, evidently credited by the individual who asserted it, that the ice in Lake Champlain invariably disappeared in this way, _sinking to the bottom of the lake every spring_. Whether to rise again the following winter, the reader was not informed. In fact, it would be quite as rational to expect the snow which lies so long on our frozen rivers and lakes most winters, to sink bodily into the ice, as to maintain that the ice sinks in the water.

There is a coating of ice, however, which is found not unfrequently beneath the water, and that in running streams. But this is _ground ice_, as it is called, and has been formed where it is found, adhering to the soil which forms the bed of the river, and has never sunk from the surface. On the contrary, once loosened from its hold, it not only rises itself, but brings with it pebbles, gravel, &c. The formation of this ground ice has attracted the attention of distinguished scientific men. The slower motion of water at the bottom than on the surface of a stream, connected with the fact that crystals of ice form naturally and very readily on pointed and rough bodies, such as the stones or vegetable substances at the bottom of streams, have been supposed to be the causes of this ground ice.

INDEX.

Agarics, the pale gray species of, 86

— the verdigris, ibid.

— not easily investigated, 87

— the odorous agaric, 91

— the scented, ibid.

— the “stainer,” ibid.

— the surrectus springing from another species, 256.

Agriculture, practice of, at a village in Gloucestershire, 22

— bad custom of the farmers there, 40.

Aërial hummings, 250.

Amusements, heretofore holiday ones, in decline, 246.

Animals, increase of, 101

— what dependent on man, 151

— what independent, 152

— usefulness of, to man, 153

— affection of, to their young, 176

— mercy to, a scriptural command, ibid.

Ant, the black, 212

— the red, 213

— the yellow, ibid.

Apples injured by aphides, 235

— spottings on, how occasioned, 255.

Ash trees, 267.

Atmospheric influences, 249

— observations, 269

— experiments, 275.

Augerworms, 203.

Autumn, pleasure of a morning’s walk in, 83.

Aust ferry, 9.

Bee, the carpenter, 53.

Beetle, the rose, 53

— the dorr, 217

— the great water species, 224, 232.

Birds, partiality of the author to, 109, 120

— migration of, 110, 145

— injurious to trees, 114

— various food of, ibid.

— song and voices of, 119, 178. 189

— nests of, 121, 122, 123, 124

— great destroyers of insects, 124

— species of, diminishing in number, 137

— labor of, to feed their young, 140

— friendship of, 147

— eggs of, 156, 182

— dislike of, to man, 160

— stratagem of one, 163

— early rising of, 164

— boldness of, 176

— solitary and congregating ones, 178

— language of, unvarying, 185

— pleasure afforded by, to man, 189

— For the different kinds, see their respective English names.

Blackbird, song of the, 188.

Blackcap, the, 159.

Blight, 236

— some trees not affected by, ibid.

— manner in which this insect propagates itself, 237

— whence derived, uncertain, 238

— saline winds a supposed cause of, 254.

Bombylius, the, 211.

Bones of horses and human beings dug up, conjecture respecting, 11.

Bouquets, wearing of, not in use, 57.

Bramble, the common, almost an evergreen, 77

— lines on its leaves, ibid.

— its uses, 78.

Bull-finch, the, 113.

Bunting, peculiar practice of the, 173.

Burnet, conjecture as to its lasting verdure, 63.

Butcher-bird, the, 134.

Butterfly, the sulphur, 74

— the argus, 195

— the phlæas, 196

— the azure, ibid.

— the painted lady, 198

— the marble, 199

— the meadow brown, ibid.

Caloric, effects of, on bodies, 271.

Chaffinch, the, 116.

Changes in nature, 221.

Cheese, cheap kind of, 22.

Christmassing, 246.

Chrysalides of insects, 191.

Chrysalis, singular one, 186.

Cleanliness of animals, 219.

Clematis, the wild, 81

— sticks of, used by boys for smoking, 82.

Clocks, name given to the great dorr beetle, 217.

Cockchaffer, 220.

Coins dug out of the earth, 10.

Color, probably reflected light, 60.

Coral polypi, 15.

Crossbill, the, 128.

Cruelty, a vice of the ignorant, 96.

Dandelion, the, 74.

Day’s eye, the, 74.

Death’s-head moth, 222.

Digestion, power of, in birds, 146.

Dog, usefulness of, to man, 153.

Dogsbane destructive to insects, 61.

Dry-rot, the, 88.

Dyers, capricious in their art, 59.

Dyers’ broom, 58

— gathering of, 59

— uses of, ibid.

— dyers’ weed, 72.

Earth-worm, the common, 231.

Elm tree, the wych, a singularly beautiful one, 46

— value of, 47

— uses of, ibid.

— soon decays, 48

— leaves of the elm marked with plague-spots, 89.

Empiricism, 235.

Entomology, 190.

Evaporation from the earth, effect of, 63.

Fairfax, general, supposed skeletons of some of his foragers, 11.

Fairy rings, 250.

Fescue, spines of the hard, bearing no flowers, 77.

Fieldfare, the, 181.

Flea, the water, 215.

Flowers of plants, 52

— pleasures afforded by, 53

— use and application of, 54, 56

— natural love of, 54

— the playthings of children, 55.

Fly, the house, 151

— the biting, ibid.

— the four-spotted dragon, 192.

Flycatcher, the gray, 146.

Foxglove, 67.

Friendship between birds, instance of, 146, 147.

Frost, early, effect of on flowering plants, 276.

Fungi, beauties of, 85

— varieties of, 86

— uncertain appearance of, ibid.

— mutations of, 87

— agents of decay, 88

— propagation of, 93.

Fur of animals, 107.

Gallinaceous birds, 172.

Gamma moth, the, 210.

Ghost moth, 190.

Glaucous birthwort, 62.

Gleaning, profits of, to the poor, 244

— antiquity of the custom, 245.

Glow-worm, the, 207.

Gnat, the winter, 189.

Goat moth, 202.

Goldfinch, the, 166.

Grass crops, nature of, in the author’s village, 22

— certain grasses attached to certain soils, 23

— grass balls, 77.

Guinea, anecdote of the finding of one, 248.

Hair of animals, 106.

Hairworm, the clay, 226.

Hawk, the sparrow, 144

— the kestrel, ibid.

— the hawk-moth, 197.

Hay, crops of, method of saving, 25.

Hazel-tree, how liable to decay, 90.

Hedgehog, the, 96.

Hellebore, 52

— its medicinal uses, ibid.

Helvella, the mitred, 87.

Holly-trees, 247.

Hornet, the, 227.

Horse, instance of the longevity of one, 127.

Hummingbird, hawk-moth, the, 197.

Hummings in the air, 250.

Hydnum fungus, the beautiful floriform, 87.

Ice, cause of its swimming instead of sinking, 271.

Industry, profitable fruits of, to an agricultural laborer, 19.

Insects entrapped by the snapdragon, 61

— destroyed by the sun-dew, ibid.

— by the dogsbane with great suffering, ibid.

— paths of, on leaves, 77

— their manner of puncturing, 81

— consumption of, by birds, 124

— but little attended to or studied, 190

— chrysalis of, 191

— speedy methods of killing them, 264

— best mode of preserving specimens, 265.

Insensibility to pain, striking instance of, 17.

Ivy, 64.

Jack Snipe. See Snipe.

Jay, the, 133.

Kite, the, its numbers greatly on the decline, 158

— extraordinary capture of a number, 158.

Labor of the peasantry in the author’s village, profits of, 19.

Lady-bird note of a song-thrush, 188.

Language of birds, 185.

Laurel-tree, the, 89.

Leasing. See Gleaning.

Life, duration of, 126.

Lily, blossoms of, indicative of old of the price of wheat, 174.

Lime, 12

— nature and uses of, 13

— its abundance, ibid.

— formation and origin of, ibid.

— analysis of, 15

— residences upon its soil supposed to be healthy, 17.

Lime-kiln, frightful consequences of a traveller’s sleeping on one, 17.

Linnet, the, 112.

Longevity. See Life.

Magpie, the, 132.

Manure, picking it from grass lands for corn-lands, a bad practice, 40.

Maple tree, 79

— the under sides of the leaves of, a beautiful microscopic object, 80.

Marten cat, the, 95.

Maypoles, now seldom seen, 246.

Migration of birds, 110, 145.

Mistletoe, 71.

Moles, 104

— their sense of smelling, 106

— rankness of their flesh, 108.

Morell, the stinking, 92

— the esculent, 94.

Moth, the ghost, 192

— the hawk, 197

— the yellow under-wing, 200

— the gamma, 201

— the goat, 202

— the death’s-head, 222

— the ermine, 243.

Mouse, the harvest, 99

— the water, 101

— the common, 151

— the meadow, and long-tailed, ibid.

Natural affection, 133.

Natural history little attended to, 41.

Naturalist, pleasing occupations of the, 83.

Nature, designs of, 204

— changes in, 221

— tendencies of, to produce, 277.

Nests of birds, 121, 122.

Newt, the common, 215

— a small shell-fish often attached to its toes, ibid.

Nidularia, the bell-shaped, 94.

Nightingale, the, less common than heretofore, 138

— croaking of, 188.

Nosegays, 57.

Oak tree, description of one, 42

— several of extraordinary magnitude, 43, 45

— the oak less fruitful now than formerly, 44

— its value, from its various uses, 46.

Oat-grass, 70.

Pain, instance of insensibility to, 17.

Passerine birds, 172.

Peacock butterfly (note), 200.

Peewit, the, 179.

Phallus. See Morell.

Pick-a-bud, name given to the bull-finch, 114.

Pimpernel, the, a prognosticator of fine weather, 174.

Plants, blossoms of, 52

— names given to them of old, from their supposed qualities, 68

— pores of, 82

— decomposition of, 89.

Pollarding trees, 267.

Polypi of the coral, 15.

Poor, employment of the, 18.

Poplar tree, 57.

Potato, culture of the, 26

— sorts, 27

— profits, 28

— effects of, on soils, 30

— history of, ibid.

— value of, as food, 35.

Prognostications of wind and weather. See Wind and Weather.

Providence, inattention to, 234.

Puff, the gray, 87

— the turreted, 93

— the stellated, 94.

Rapacious birds, 171.

Rats, migration of, 101

— other particulars of, 151.

Raven, the, 125.

Redwing, 180.

Reeking of the earth, 269.

Robin, the, 115.

Roman encampment, 9

— roads, 10.

Rook, the, 128

— its affection, 129

— sagacity, 130

— appears to be decreasing in numbers, 138.

Rose, the white moss, 238 (note), the wild, 263.

Royal forest, indications of one in Gloucestershire, 11.

Seasons, variableness of, 145

— effect of, 240.

Sex, increase of, in 1825, 102, note.

Shrew, the water, 102

— the common, 113

— new species of, 104.

Shrike. See Butcher-bird.

Sinking of the earth, 252.

Sky-lark, the, 184.

Smelling, question of the sense of, in birds, 132.

Smokewood, sticks of the wild clematis so called, 82.

Snail, the common, 228

— the banded, 231

— the halotideus, 238.

Snakes, eggs of, 208

— harmlessness of, 209

— general aversion to, 210.

Snapdragon, peculiarities of, 60

— an insect trap, ibid, 62.

Snipe, the jack, its habits, 176

— supposed the male of the larger snipe, 178.

Snowdrop, the, 69

— a melancholy flower, 70.

Soil, of the parish in which the author resides, 12

— various sorts of, 20

— analysis of, useless, ibid.

— picking soil off grass lands a bad custom, 40.

Song of birds. See Birds.

Sparrow, the hedge, 109

— the common, 149.

Spottings, on apples, 255

— on strawberry leaves, 257.

Starling, the common, 139

— the brown, 142.

Steaming of the earth, 269.

Stinking phallus, the, 92.

Stormy petrel, the, 135.

Strontian, 16.

Sulphur butterfly, 74.

Sun-dew, destructive to insects, 61.

Superstition, 222, 230.

Swallows, their nests, 123

— killed in wanton sport, 155.

Sycamore tree, singularity of its leaves, 89.

Teasel, its cultivation, 35

— its profits, 37

— its uses, 39.

Thorn, the white, uniform in its blossoming, 145.

Thrush, the solitary, 142

— the common, 147

— the missel, 175

— song of, 188.

Timidity of animals, 176.

Tokens. See Prognostications.

Tom-tit, or titmouse, the little blue, rewards for the destruction of, 117

— perishes in severe winters, 118

— the long-tailed, 120

— instance of its intelligence in the care of its young, 124.

Traveller’s joy, name given to the wild clematis, 81.

Trees, attractors of humidity, 48

— condense fogs, 49

— verdure beneath, ibid

— mischief of pollarding them, 267.

Tree-creeper, the, 167.

Turnip, singularly decorated one, as a holiday amusement, 247.

Uredo, the two-fronted, a substance attached to the leaves of the laurel, 89.

Vermin, parish reward for the destruction of, 117.

Vervain, 71

— respect paid of old to this plant, ibid.

— its supposed powers and qualities, 72.

Village clubs, 57.

Wagtail, yellow, the, 168.

Wald, or wold, the dyers’ weed so called, 72.

Want, the, 104.

Wasp, the common, 199

— the solitary, 226

— its nest, ibid.

Water, stagnated and putrescent, favorable for the residence of insects, 215.

Water-flea, 216.

Water shrew, 102.

Wheat, crops of, method of saving, 26.

Wheatear, the, 154.

Whirly pits, what, 252.

Willow tree, 269.

Winds and weather, old tokens of, 174, 180

— saline winds a supposed cause of blight, 254.

Winter, the season of, depicted 270.

Woodlark, the, 184.

Woodlouse, 214.

Worm, the hair, 226

— the common, 231.

Wren, the willow, 110

— the golden-crested, 118, 122

— the common, instance of its stratagem to preserve its nest, 163.

Wryneck, the, 137.

Wych elm. See Elm.

Year 1825, singular increase of sex in the, 102, note

— other peculiarities of, 259.

Yellow weed, name given to dyers’ weed, 72

— yellow the prevailing color of the flowers of plants in spring, 73

— and in autumn, 74.

THE END.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

PLATE 1.

Fig. 1. Sphæria on the leaf of an elm, p. 89.

A. A portion enlarged, and the cuticle parting.

B. The same enlarged, representing the capsules.

Fig. 2. Sphæria bifrons, on a laurel leaf, p. 88, 89.

C. The front, and dorsal parts.

D. Imbedded capsules.

Fig. 3, Sphæria coryli, on a nut branch, p. 90.

E. The tubercle enlarged, bordered with the epidermis.

F. A section of the capsules at the base.

Fig. 4. Sphæria faginea, on a beech stick, p. 90.

G. Section of a tube, with the capsules at the base.

H. Group of the tubes detached from the bough, with their capsules.

I. A tube detached.

PLATE 2.

Fig. 1. A chrysalis of an insect, p. 191, 192.

B. The inner hood.

Fig. 2. The branch of an apple-tree, infested with the aphis lanata, p. 235, 236.

B. The aphis enlarged, with the globules, and the cotton that surrounds them.

D. The early appearance of the insect with its terminating bristle.

E. Appearance of the creature in winter.

WOOD ENGRAVINGS.

Spines and tubes of the hedgehog, enlarged, p. 99. Harvest mouse and nest, p. 100. Plumage of lepidopterous insects, p. 194. Agaricus surrectus, p. 256. Roots of an ash, p. 258.

Footnote 1:

Some money was found in one of our fields a few years past, which fame, as in all such cases, without perhaps any foundation, enlarged to a considerable sum. The nature of the coin I know not. A few old guineas were admitted; but from fear of that spectre “tresor trove,” the whole was concealed, whatever it might be.

Footnote 2:

The weight of lime is very variable, differing in different places: but taking our lime at the average of eighty pounds to the bushel, some idea may be conceived of the cooling nature of this substance. Lime, to be used as manure, must be in a pulverized state; and by drawing on the land the quantity that we do, we convey to every acre so dressed equivalent to two hundred and fifty gallons of water, not to be evaporated, but retained in the soil as a refrigerant to the fibres of vegetation.

Footnote 3:

I have called this alumine, stained with oxide of iron; but it seems more like vegetable or animal remains, adhering to the filter like a fine peaty deposit, and is lost in combustion.

Footnote 4:

From sixty-four to seventy-two cents, American money.—ED.

Footnote 5:

Thirty-three dollars and sixty cents.—ED.

Footnote 6:

In 1826, the herbage on some of our clay-lands designed for growing was, by reason of its tardy growth, and the dryness of the season, in such small quantities, that the owners let it grow untouched until after the corn harvest, in order to obtain some bottom grass, and, in consequence, our haymaking, as it was called, was not over until the last week in September.

Footnote 7:

The field poppy, as the reader must be aware, is no regular attendant upon the grain-fields of America.—ED.

Footnote 8:

But dibbling is not held in esteem by us: we think that in wet seasons the holes retain the moisture and the sets perish; and that in dry weather, being less covered than when planted by the spade, they are more obnoxious to injury by birds and mice, become affected by droughts, are longer in shooting out, and produce, in most cases, inferior crops. In a lighter soil these objections, perhaps, would not be found reasonable.

Footnote 9:

About fifty-four dollars, sixty cents.—ED.

Footnote 10:

See note A, appendix.

Footnote 11:

_Dipsacus sylvestris_ or wild teazel, is a naturalized weed in America; it differs from D. Fullonum or Fuller’s teazle, a cultivated plant.—ED.

Footnote 12:

Equisetum hyemale, the Dutch rush, or shave grass, is yet used in its natural state for finishing fine models in wood, and in removing roughness in plaster casts.

Footnote 13:

Philosoph. Trans. as quoted in the Sylva.

Footnote 14:

Pliny’s Natural History.

Footnote 15:

See note C, appendix.

Footnote 16:

This bee does not exclusively make use of the leaves of rose for its purposes, as I have known it in some seasons cut away the young foliage of cytisus laburnum, even when growing in company with its favorite rose.

Footnote 17:

See note D, appendix.

Footnote 18:

See note E, appendix.

Footnote 19:

See note F, appendix.

Footnote 20:

The dogsbane, _apocynum androsæmifolium_, is called Indian hemp in some parts of America.—ED.

Footnote 21:

See note G, appendix.

Footnote 22:

See note H, appendix.

Footnote 23:

See note I, appendix.

Footnote 24:

See note J, appendix.

Footnote 25:

See note K, appendix.

Footnote 26:

See note L, appendix.

Footnote 27:

Rural Economy of Norfolk.

Footnote 28:

Article Reseda, in Encyclopædia Britannica.

Footnote 29:

See note M, appendix.

Footnote 30:

The dandelion is considered by Mr. Torrey as a naturalized plant in America, although so very common.—ED.

Footnote 31:

See note N, appendix.

Footnote 32:

See note O, appendix.

Footnote 33:

See note P, appendix.

Footnote 34:

Without close examination, this plant appears to be a uredo; but it is in fact a sphæria. Uredo differs from sphæria chiefly in the vessels not containing the capsules in cells, but loose. Hoffman observes, that both sphæria and uredo discharge pollen from an orifice; but, if the summit of this plant be cut off, the capsules are obvious.

Footnote 35:

I am uncertain whether this plant has been noticed. Sphæria granulosa of Sowerby, and sp. tentaculata of Batsch, may be it in a young stage of growth; sp. faginea of Lamarck does not accord well with it.

Footnote 36:

Pileus—conical, one inch occasionally in diameter—pale gray becoming ocherous, summit orange, flesh thin.

Lamellæ—fixed, white, four in a set, stained in places.

Stipes—fistular, long, chestnut at the base, upwards pale brown root long, trailing, woolly.

Footnote 37:

This is the phallus esculentus of some; but Jussieu, Persoon, and others, have removed it from that genus, on account of its having no volva, but seeds in cells, not contained in a glareous mucus.

Footnote 38:

See note Q, appendix.

Footnote 39:

See note R, appendix.

Footnote 40:

As an event connected with the subject of temporary augmentation and diminution of creatures, I may be pardoned for noting the predominant increase of sex in some years. The most remarkable instance, that I remember of late, was in 1825. How far it extended I do not know, but for many miles round us we had in that year scarcely any female calves born. Dairies of forty or fifty cows produced not more than five or six, those of inferior numbers, in the same proportion, and the price of female calves for rearing was greatly augmented. In the wild state, an event like this would have considerable influence upon the usual product of some future herd. In the ensuing spring, we had in the village an extraordinary instance of fecundity in the sheep afforded us, one farmer having an increase of sixteen lambs from five ewes, four of which produced three each, and one brought forth four; however, only a small portion of these little creatures lived to maturity.

Footnote 41:

See note S, appendix.

Footnote 42:

See note T, appendix.

Footnote 43:

See Ray’s Synopsis.

Footnote 44:

he organ, which inflicts the pain, or sting, when we incautiously handle the nettle, is well known to be connected with a little vessel containing an acrid fluid, which being compressed, rushes up the tube of the organ, and is thus conveyed into the wound; and it is rather singular, that the larvæ of the admirable butterfly, which feeds upon the large hedge nettle, has the spines which arise from its body branched, and each collateral hair arises from a little bulb, similar to that of the plant on which it is chiefly found.

Footnote 45:

See note U, appendix.

Footnote 46:

Linnean Transactions, vol. vii.

Footnote 47:

See note V, appendix.

Footnote 48:

I remember no bird that seems to suffer so frequently from the peculiar construction of its nest, and by reason of our common observance of its sufferings obtains more of our pity, than the house- marten. The rook will at times have its nest torn from its airy site, or have its eggs shaken from it by the gales of spring; but the poor marten, which places its earthy shed beneath the eave of the barn, the roof of the house, or in the corner of the window, is more generally injured. July and August are the months in which these birds usually bring out their young; but one rainy day at this period, attended with wind, will often moisten the earth that composes the nest; the cement then fails, and all the unfledged young ones are dashed upon the ground; and there are some places to which these poor birds are unfortunately partial, though their nests are annually washed down. The projecting thatch of the old farm-house appears to be their safest asylum. The parent birds at times seem aware of the misfortune that awaits them; as, before the calamity is completed, we may observe them with great anxiety hovering about their nests.

Footnote 49:

Petrels have been carried, by a storm, as far inland as the interior of Pennsylvania.—ED.

Footnote 50:

See note W, appendix.

Footnote 51: