GILBERT WHITK. 18 



of wild fowl, which not only frequent it in the winter, but breed 

 there in the summer," when up rose nine wild ducks ; they flew 

 round two or three times and then went straight away. I looked 

 for footmarks round the pond, but could find none of any wading 

 birds near the water. A great portion of what was once the 

 pond is now a mass of different kinds of mosses. All kinds of 

 birds seemed scarce. On the south side of the pond there were 

 some large caves in the sandstone ; for what purpose they were 

 made I cannot say. We then had a turn round the common, 

 to tiy for snakes, vipers, &c., but could find none. 



It will be observed that White writes as follows at page 101 : 

 " I wish it was in my power to procure you one of those songsters ; 

 but I am no bird-catcher, and so little used to birds in a cage, 

 that I fear if I had one it would soon die for want of skill in 

 feeding." 



When I undertook the task of re-editing this book I was de- 

 termined, if possible, to do my best to implant upon the original 

 text as much more information as the space afforded \vould allow. 

 White acknowledged himself that he was no bird-catcher. 



I have been, therefore, most fortunate in obtaining the services 

 of Mr. Charles R Davy, bird-catcher, who for thirty years has 

 largely dealt in all kinds of British birds, both " seed-eating " and 

 " soft-meat." Mr. Davy is thoroughly conversant, from practical 

 observation, with the habits, manners, and treatment of English 

 birds. He receives annually large quantities of live birds from 

 various parts of England for shipping orders as well as for home 

 distribution. Mr. Davy, Mr. Searle, my secretary, and myself, 

 have gone through White's remarks two or three times, and I 

 have placed Mr. Davy's observations on record. I trust they 

 will be found interesting to my readers. 



At page 14 we read, " The parish swarms with children " this 

 was a hundred years ago. The parish still swarms with children, 

 but they are not exactly the same children as in White's time. 

 The children that White may have seen, and probably did see, 

 are now old Mrs. Small and Mr. Cobb. 



These successive generations following one on to the other 

 remind me of a passage in my father's sermon preached before 

 the University of Oxford. 1 We read in the Dean's sermon : 



"From the \iniversal condition of all organic beings upon 

 earth, man himself has no exemption ; to him as to everything 

 around him, the inevitable termination of life is death. 



" As of the green leaves on a thick tree, some fall and some 



1 " An Inquiry whether the Sentence of Death Pronounced at the Fall of 

 Man included the Whole Animal Creation, or was Restricted to the Human 

 Race." Murray, Albemarle Street, 1839. 



