INTRODUCTION Ig 
W orcestershire included a few ornithological notices ; and Walcott in 1789 
published an illustrated Synopsis of British Birds, coloured copies of which 
are rare. Simultaneously William Lewin commenced his Birds of Great 
Britain, in 7 quarto volumes, the last of which appeared in 1794, a 
re-issue of the whole in 8 volumes following between 1795 and 1801. 
In 1791 J. Heysham added to Hutchins’s Cumberland a list of birds of 
that county, while in the same year began Thomas Lord’s Entire New 
System of Ornithology, or Gicumenical History of British Birds, the un- 
grammatical text professedly written, or corrected, by Dr. Dupree, a 
pretentious and worthless work of which 38 parts were published in the 
course of the next five years. In 1794 Donovan commenced a History 
of British Birds which was only finished in 1819—the earlier portion 
being reissued about the same time. LBolton’s Harmonia Ruralis, an 
account of British Song-Birds, first appeared between 1794 and 1796. 
Other editions followed, one even 50 years later.! 
All the foregoing British publications yield in importance to two that 
remain to be mentioned. In 1767 Pennant, several of whose works have 
already been named, entered into correspondence with Gilbert White, 
receiving from him much information, almost wholly drawn from his own 
observation, for the succeeding editions of the British Zoology. In 1769 
White began exchanging letters of a similar character with Barrington. 
The epistolary intercourse with the former continued until 1780, and with 
the latter until 1787. In 1789 White’s share of the correspondence, 
together with some miscellaneous matter, was published as The Natural 
History of Selborne—from the name of the village in which he lived. 
Observations on Birds form the principal though by no means the whole 
theme of this book, which may be safely said to have done more to pro- 
mote a love of Ornithology in this country than any other work that has 
been written, nay more than all the other works (except one next to be 
mentioned) put together. It has passed through a far greater number of 
editions than any other work on Natural History in the whole world, and 
has become emphatically an English classic—the graceful simplicity of 
its style, the elevating tone of its spirit and the sympathetic chords it 
strikes recommending it to every lover of nature, while the severely 
scientific reader can find few errors in the statements it contains, 
whether of matter-of-fact or opinion. It is almost certain that more than 
half the zoologists of the British Islands for the past eighty years or more 
have been infected with their love of the study by Gilbert White ; and 
it can hardly be supposed that his influence will cease.” 
1 I cannot vouch for the complete accuracy of some of the dates given above. 
They have puzzled even that accomplished bibliographer Dr. Coues. It was nobody’s 
business in those days to record the precise time of appearance of a work published 
in parts, and the date, when given at the foot of the plates, cannot always be trusted. 
2 Next to the original edition, that known as Bennett’s, published in 1837, which 
was reissued in 1875 by Mr. Harting, was long deemed the best; but it must give 
place to that of Bell, which appeared in 1877, and contains much additional informa- 
tion of great interest. But the editions of Markwick, Herbert, Blyth and Jardine 
all possess features of merit. An elaborately prepared edition, issued in 1875 by 
one who gained great reputation as a naturalist, only shews his ignorance and his 
vulgarity. Since that time several popular writers have essayed other editions, 
though their labour may have been limited to the production of a preface in which 
