The Natural History of Selborne |
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Page 4
... rain , moulders to pieces , and becomes manure to itself . * 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 ...
... rain , moulders to pieces , and becomes manure to itself . * 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 ...
Page 11
... rains and frost , they moul- dered 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 ...
... rains and frost , they moul- dered 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 ...
Page 12
... 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 , ferment strongly in mineral acids . Though the white stone * There may probably be also in 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 , ferment strongly in mineral acids . Though the white stone * There may probably be also in the ...
Page 13
... 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 ...
... 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 ...
Page 15
... rain that falls on it is very con- siderable , as may be supposed in so woody and moun- tainous a district . As my ... rain of any place cannot be ascertained till a person has measured it for a very long period . " If I had only ...
... rain that falls on it is very con- siderable , as may be supposed in so woody and moun- tainous a district . As my ... rain of any place cannot be ascertained till a person has measured it for a very long period . " If I had only ...
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Common terms and phrases
abound Andalusia animal appear April autumn birds of passage birds of prey breed British Birds British Zoology brood called Cambridgeshire chaffinches colour crista galli cuckoo curious Daines Barrington district eggs feeding feet female fern-owl fieldfares fishes flocks former frequently frost garden gentleman genus Gibraltar Gross-beak ground Hanger haunt hedges hirundines hirundo house-martins inches insects instance known late legs LETTER Linnæus male manner martins mentioned migration morning Motacilla Natural History naturalist neighbourhood nest never night numbers observed owls pair perhaps procure quadrupeds rain remarkable remiges retire ring-dove ring-ousels rooks says season seems seen Selborne sing snow soft-billed soon species spring stone-curlew strange summer birds suppose Sussex Swaffham Bulbeck swallow swifts tail THOMAS PENNANT tion titmouse toads trees vast village weather White white-throat wild willow-wren wings winter wonder Woodlark woods Yarrell young Zoology
Popular passages
Page 323 - Swinging slow with sullen roar; Or if the air will not permit, Some still removed place will fit, Where glowing embers through the room Teach light to counterfeit a gloom, Far from all resort of mirth, Save the cricket on the hearth, Or the bellman's drowsy charm To bless the doors from nightly harm.
Page 381 - Of glory obscured ; as when the sun, new risen, Looks through the horizontal misty air Shorn of his beams ; or from behind the moon, JOHN MILTON. 345 In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds On half the nations, and with fear of change Perplexes monarchs.
Page 96 - 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 191 - MILTOK. 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.
Page 306 - 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...
Page 85 - 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 2 - 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.
Page 27 - 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.
Page 261 - ... 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.
Page 226 - 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...