704 



ENGLAND. 



From this description of the soil of England, though 

 necessarily brief ami general, it v ill be sufficiently ap- 

 parent that it i* suited to almost every variety of pro- 

 duce ; though, at the same lime, much of it U natu- 

 rally of such a quality and description, that without 

 skill, labour, and capital, it would but ill repay the 

 agriculturist, and but scantily supply tlic wants of the 

 inhabitants. The soil of a country, however, ought 

 always to be considered in reference to its climate : we 

 h*ve seen that the climate of England differs very 

 considerably in different parts of the country ; in some 

 parts, it is so moist, as to point out the advantage, or 

 tin- necessity, it' the -oil were of a proper dc-,eriptio:>, 

 of pasture ; in other parts, it is comparatively so dry, 

 as to be well suited to arable husbandry. The soil, also, 

 varies in the same manner: in some districts, though mix- 

 ed with soils of a different quality, it is evidently better 

 fitted for grass than for the plough; while, in other 'parts 

 of England, both the soil and the climate point out 

 the advantage of arable husbandry. When we come 

 to treat of the agriculture of this kingdom, we shall 

 observe in what manner, and to wliat extent, these 

 circumstances have be*n attended to and improved. 



CHAP. V. 

 Natural History. 



Natural OCR account of England would be imperfect, if it 



history. passed over its natural history ; and yet our limits will 

 not admit of a' regular and complete treatise on that 

 subject ; we must therefore adopt a middle course, so 

 as to give a clear idea of the natural history of this 

 country, without pretending or endeavouring to give a 

 full and regular account of it. The natural history of a 

 country comprehends its Zoology, Ornithology, Am- 

 phibiofogy, Ichthyology, Entomology, and Helmintho- 

 logy, or what, in the more strict and limited sense of 

 the'term, is called Natural History. The species in the 

 two last of these divisions are so numerous, that we 

 shall content ourselves with noting die number con- 

 tained under each genus that are found in England, 

 and with particularizing only the most remarkable : 

 For the CONCHOLOGY of England, we may refer to that 

 article. In Botany, also, which forms the next divi- 

 sion of Natural History, taken in its most comprehen- 

 sive sense, we shall confine ourselves to a general de- 

 scription of the most remarkable vegetables found in 

 England ; referring such of our readers as wish to 

 learn particularly what plants under each genus flou- 

 rish here, to the article BOTANY. 



The last division of our account of the Natural His- 

 tory of England, will embrace its Mineralogy, which 

 wiU naturally lead to the consideration of its Geo- 

 logy. 



SECT. I. Zoology. 



rrimauc. 1 tno c ^ ;lss MAMMALIA, and order PRIMATES, the only 

 genus that is found in England is Vespertilio, the bat. 

 Of this we have four species : V. auritus, eared bat. 

 V. murinus, common bat. V. noctula, great bat ; and 

 V. ferrum equinum, the tailed bat. The first is the 

 most common of the English species; the third is the 

 largest; the fourth is very rarely found here. Of the 



Uta,, genus Phoca, belonging to the next order PER*, we 



nave two species : P. vitulinn, sea-calf, or common seal ; 



ami P. barbata, great seal. The last, however, is very StUi. 

 M'lilom -een on the English coa-sts, confining itself gene- -""Y*"* 

 rally to the northern coasts of Seotland. Of the genus 

 (.Vim's, and gpecies I', fomiliaris, there are several 

 varieties in England; the most noted are the mastiff, 

 bull-dog, and the different breeds adapted to the 

 chace. C. vulpus ; there are three varieties of the 

 fox in England : the greyhound fox is the largest, 

 tallest, and boldest ; he will sometimes attack a full 

 grown sheep : the mastiff fox is not -quite so high, but 

 he is stronger built, and more heavy in his appearance: 

 the least and most common of our gpecies is the cur 

 fox. Of the genus Felis, we have F. catus ; the va- 

 riety of this, which is wild, is still found in some of 

 our woods, particularly in the county of Northampton, 

 and is one of our most destructive bea.-ts of prey. Of 

 the genus Miulela, the M. lutra, or common otter, is 

 very frequently met with in all parts of England : of 

 the martin, we have two species, or perhaps only va- 

 rieties, Mustek foina, and Mustela martes, the com- 

 mon and the pine martin ; the former is more frequent- 

 ly found in this country, and is, of all the English 

 beasts of prey, the most beautiful and courageous. Of 

 this genus there are also found here M. putorius, the 

 foumart; and M. vulgaris, the common weasel. Of 

 the genus Ursus, the U. arctos, or common bear, is 

 supposed to have been formerly native here : but if 

 this opinion is correct, it must have been at a very re- 

 mote period. U. meles, the badger, is too often the 

 sport of the thoughtless or the savage part of the com- 

 munity. Genus Talpa, T. enropea, common mole. 

 Genus Sorex, S. fodiens, the water shrew : this species 

 is by no means common with us. S. araneus, common 

 shrew. Genus Erinaceux, E. europeus, hedgehog. 



Of the order GLIRES, the first genus that is found in G ^ t , 

 England is Mtts: of this we have M. rattus, black rat; 

 M. decumanus, brown rat; M. musculus, common 

 mouse ; M. sylvaticus, field mouse ; M. amphibius, wa- 

 ter rat. Of the genus Sciiirus, S. vulgaris, common 

 squirrel. Of the genus Myoxus, M. muscardinus, com- 

 mon.dormouse ; in many parts of England, this little 

 animal is called the sleeper. Of the genus Lejms, L. 

 timidus, common hare ; L. cuniculus, rabbit ; this- List 

 will be noticed under the head Agriculture of Eng- 

 land. 



Of the order PECOHA, the first genus we possess is Pecora. 

 Cervnt : C. elaphus, the stag, in its natural state, is very 

 rare in England, but there are still a few remaining on 

 the borders of the county of Cornwall. The usual co- 

 lour of the English stag is a dusky red ; but Buffon 

 says the most common colour of the stag is yellow. C. 

 dama, the fallow deer. There are two kinds of fallow 

 deer in this country, said to be of foreign original ; the 

 beautiful dappled, originally imported from India; and 

 the fine dark brown, introduced by James I. from Nor- 

 way. Of the genus Capra, C. agrarius, the common 

 goat. Mr Pennant remarks that the goats of Wales are 

 commonly white, and far superior in strength, size, and 

 fineness of hair, to those of other mountainous regions ; 

 their horns are likewise much longer and thicker at the 

 base. The haunches of these animals are frequently salt- 

 ed and dried, and used as a substitute for bacon. The 

 genera Ovis and Bos will be treated of under the division 

 Agriculture in this article. With respect to the latter, 

 we shall merely remark in this place, that the indigenous 

 homed cattle of this island are now only known to exist 

 in Needwood Forest in Staffordshire, and at Chilling- 

 ham Castle in Northumberland. They are long-legged, 



