NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 71 



a most pestilent and fetid smell and excrement, that 

 nothing can be more horrible. 



A gentleman sent me lately a fine specimen of the 

 Lanius minor cinerascens cum maculd in scaj^ulis albd, Raii; 

 which is a bird that, at the time of your publishing your 

 two first volumes of British Z oology ^ I find you had 

 not seen. You have described it well from Edwards's 

 drawinnj. 



LETTER XXVL 



Selborne, December 8th, 1769. 

 I WAS much gratified by your communicative letter on 

 your return from Scotland, where you spent some consider- 

 able time, and gave yourself good room to examine the 

 natural curiosities of that extensive kingdom, both those of 

 the islands, as well as those of the highlands. The usual 

 bane of such expeditions is hurry, because men seldom allot 

 themselves half the time they should ; but, fixing on a day 

 for their return, post from place to place, rather as if 

 they were on a journey that required dispatch, than as 

 philosophers investigating the works of nature. You must 

 have made, no doubt, many discoveries, and laid up a good 

 fund of materials for a future edition of the British 

 Zoology ; and will have no reason to repent that you have 

 bestowed so much pains on a part of Great Britain that 

 perhaps was never so well examined before. 



It has always been matter of wonder to me that field- 

 fares, which are so congenerous to thrushes and blackbirds, 

 should never choose to breed in England ; but that they 

 should not think even the highlands cold and nortlujrly, 



