HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 1m. 



Stannary-yd., ioth Feb., 1792. 



Friend Jno. Ingham. — In the course of the spring I shall be in want of 

 the birds in the list below, and desire your assistance in procuring them. 

 My boy brings some powder and shot, and I will very willingly make you 

 a proper compensation for the time it may cost you. When both cock and 

 hen cannot be got, the cock will always be preferable. 



1, the missel bird; 2, the throstle; 3, the black ouzle ; 4, the ring 

 ouzle, about the skirts of our moors in May ; 5, the skylark ; 6, the titlark, 

 both kinds ; 7, the moor titing, or brown lark, or pippet lark ; 8, the 

 .woodlark; 9, the lesser redpole, or chisaree ; 10, the redpole, or twite; 

 11, the common linnet ; 12, the green linnet; 13, the common bunting; 

 14, the reed sparrow ; 15, the common flycatcher; 16, the common yellow 

 wagtail, found about ploughed ground in the month of May ; 17, the red- 

 start, or fire tail ; 18, the robin redbreast ; 19 the black cap, a summer 

 bird, concealed in woods, the head of the cock black, of the hen brown, 

 comes in April ; 20, the straw smalls ; 21, the green wren; 22, the hedge 

 sparrow, or dunnock ; 23. the willow lark ; 24, the white throat ; 25, the 

 wheatear. If you can procure from any of the idle boys of your neigh- 

 bourhood, in the course of building time, the nests with eggs unset of the 

 following of the above Nos., the nests not to be much ruffled or torn, I 

 will pay you 6d. a piece for them, viz. : No. 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 

 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24. 



You must know, John, that I have been so long tilted between roses 

 and toadstools, and back again from toadstools to roses, that I am wearied 

 out with both for the present, and wish (by way of recreation only) to turn 

 for awhile to some other page in the great volume. I have not painted a 

 bird this nine or ten years, and yet have so much of this ugly self- 

 sufficiency about me, that I think I can do it tolerably, after a few days' 

 practice. Birds for drawing should not be much ruffled, and the colour 

 of their eyes should be noted while living or as soon as dead. 



I am, your humble servant, 



JAMES BOLTON. 



The result of this preparation was ' Harmonia Ruralis, or an 

 Essay towards a Natural History of British Song Birds. 

 Illustrated with Figures the Size of Life of the Birds, Male and 

 Female, in their most natural Attitudes ; their Nests and Eggs, 

 Food, favourite Plants, Shrubs, Trees, &c, &c Faith- 

 fully drawn, engraved and coloured after nature. . . . By 

 James Bolton." This was issued in 1794 and 1796, in two 

 quarto volumes, each containing forty coloured plates, and 



^Historical Notes on the Church at Illingworth, No. VII., Halifax 

 Guardian, May ioth, 1879. The extracts from John Ingham's memorandum 

 note book in this article include one or two references to Bolton, viz. : 



March 1st, 1782. — I went to J. Bolton's, where I had the pleasure of 

 seeing Swammerdam's Philosophical Account of Insects He (Bolton) 

 sent his son, Thomas, with a few lines to Mr. Alexander's for it. 



October 30th, 1782. — A shoit account of a collection of insects, shells, 

 and fossils, the property of Thomas Bolton [Butterflies, 400 ; Sphinxes or 

 Hawks, 40 ; Moths, many hundreds ; Beetles a great number.] 



