T'he Natural History of Selborne 91 



make inquiry whether your ring- ousels leave your rocks in the 

 autumn. What puzzles me most, is the very short stay they 

 make with us ; for in about three weeks they are all gone. I 

 shall be very curious to remark whether they will call on us at 

 their return in the spring, as they did last year. 



I want to be better informed with regard to ichthyology. 

 If fortune had settled me near the sea-side, or near some great 

 river, my natural propensity would soon have urged me to 

 have made myself acquainted with their productions : but as 

 I have lived mostly in inland parts, and in an upland district, 

 my knowledge of fishes extends little farther than to those 

 common sorts which our brooks and lakes produce. 



I am, &c. 



