4 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES. 



sunny plains of Africa, once more, when 



" Solvitur acris hyems grata vice veris et Favoni," 



turn their faces to their native land, and revisit 

 the green hedgerows and peaceful valleys of Eng- 

 land: but you can hardly be prepared to take such 

 an interest as I would fain inspire you with, in 

 certain ornithological details to be recorded here- 

 after, unless you have previously some idea of the 

 more prominent geographical divisions of Sussex, 

 the general aspect, and the local scenery of each. 

 I propose, therefore, to devote the remainder of 

 this letter to such an introductory sketch as may 

 in some degree tend to supply the deficiency. 



Sussex, one of the southern maritime counties 

 of England, is about seventy-six miles in length, 

 and nearly thirty in its average breadth. The 

 weald, the limits of which have been restricted 

 by some geologists to a portion of the eastern di- 

 vision, may, in a more popular sense, be said to 

 constitute the great clay valley stretching along 

 the entire county including the primaeval forest of 

 Anderida commencing near Harting Combe, on 

 the borders of Hampshire, and gradually increas- 

 ing in breadth as it advances in a south-easterly 

 direction towards the county of Kent. Its 

 appearance is that of a generally flat, but occa- 



