COUNTRY WALKS OF A NATURALIST

WITH

HIS CHILDREN.

BY

REV. W. HOUGHTON, M.A., F.L.S.,

RECTOR OF PRESTON ON THE WILD MOORS, SHROPSHIRE.

ILLUSTRATED WITH EIGHT COLOURED PLATES AND
NUMEROUS WOOD ENGRAVINGS.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:
GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS,
5, PATERNOSTER ROW.

MDCCCLXX.

PREFACE.

In this little book my desire has been, not so much to impart knowledge to young people, as to induce them to acquire it for themselves. I have endeavoured to show that Country Walks may be full of interest and instruction to all who care to make good use of their eyes. If I have failed, the fault rests with me for the way in which I have treated the subject. I am aware that I have occasionally used words and phrases which may puzzle young brains, but I hope that nearly all will be intelligible to boys and girls of nine or ten years old, with a little explanation from parents or teachers.

The chief, if not the sole merit of this little book consists in the illustrations which adorn it; and I must express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Gould, the eminent ornithologist, for his kind permission to copy some of the magnificent drawings in his work on 'The Birds of Great Britain.' To Mr. R. S. Chattock, of Solihull, I am also deeply indebted, for the pains he has taken in reproducing, on a reduced scale, Mr. Gould's drawings, and for the drawings of the sticklebacks and the frontispiece. My generous friend and neighbour, Mr. Eyton, of Eyton, has furnished another instance of his numerous acts of kindness, in allowing me the use of Mr. Gould's work and of various woodcuts. To two lady friends I also express my best thanks; and last, though not least, to the publishers, Messrs. Groombridge, for the care they have taken to present the volume to the public in a very attractive form.

CONTENTS.

•  PAGE
  
  
• WALK I.—April1
  
  

  On the Moors — Swallows — Water-voles — Peewits — Marsh Marigold — Water-primrose — Moles — Herons — Kingfishers — Moschatelle — Water-scorpion.

• WALK II.—April17
  
  

  Ophrydium — Reed Sparrow — Whirligig Beetles — Fresh-water Mussels — Zebra Mussel — Titmice — Thrushes cracking Snail-shells — Dabbling in a Pond — Dyticus, or Great Water-beetle — Corethra Larva — Weasels.

• WALK III.—May36
  
  

  Searching for Sticklebacks' Nests — Nest-making Fish — Snail Leeches — Other Leeches — Cuckoo Flowers — Blue Speedwell — Stitchwort — Tadpoles — Frogs — Frog and Cat.

• WALK IV.—May50
  
  

  The Melicerta or Tubicolous Wheel-animalcule — Water-crowfoot or Buttercup — Sedge-warbler — Reed-warbler's Nest — Cuckoos — Horsetail — Hydræ.

• WALK V.—May69
  
  

  Drive to Shawbury — Trout Fishing — Parasite on Trout — Curious habit of a Two-winged Fly — Ephemeræ, or May-flies — Willy hooking out Dace — Another fish Parasite — Globe Flower — Dragon-flies — Quotation from Thomson's 'Seasons.'

• WALK VI.—June84
  
  

  In the Fields — St. George's Mushroom — Tree-creepers — A handful of Grasses — Nettles and Dead Nettles — Butterfly — Larvæ feeding on Nettle Leaves — Fresh-water Polyzoa — Eggs of Newts — Development of Newts — Donacia Beetles — Planarian Worms.

• WALK VII.—June103
  
  

  Hedgehog and young ones — Hedgehogs, injurious or not? — On the Moors again — Great Tomtit — Shrikes or Butcher Birds — Lady-bird Beetles — Swifts — Coots — Water-hens — Grebes — Convolvulus.

• WALK VIII.—July119
  
  

  Frog's Spawn Alga — Other Fresh-water Algæ — Hawks — Kestrel — Sparrow Hawk — Buzzard — Shrew-mouse, superstitions about — Spiders' Nests and Webs — Spiders' Fangs — Spiders' Feet.

• WALK IX.—July133
  
  

  In the Fields again — Scarlet Pimpernel — Goat's Beard — Caddis Worms and Flies — Forget-me-not — Goldfinches — Cruelty of country lads to young birds — Grasshoppers — Crickets — Pike, voracity and size of.

• WALK X.—October145
  
  

  In the Woods at the foot of the Wrekin — A hunt for Fungi — Fly Agarics — Victims nailed to a tree — Gamekeepers — Squirrels — Rare Fungi — Woodcocks — Ring-marks on fallen timber — Conclusion.

COUNTRY WALKS OF A NATURALIST

WITH

HIS CHILDREN.

WALK I.

APRIL.

WE could not have a more pleasant day, children, for a ramble in the fields than to-day. It is warm and bright, and the birds are singing merrily, thoroughly enjoying the sunshine; the little lambs are frisking about, and running races with each other. Put away lessons then, and we will have a holiday. "Oh," said Willy, "it will be so pleasant, and I will take one or two bottles, and my gauze net, because we are sure to find something interesting to bring home. Where shall we go?" "I do not think it much matters where, for there is always much to observe and to admire wherever we stroll in the country." "Let us go on the moors, then," said Jack, "for you know, papa, a little boy in the village told me the other day he had found a peewit's nest with four eggs in, and I should like to