QueHeV dfid AnMm. 469 



ation on this subject will oblige, yours, hc. — lt. March "^9. 1830. ' ^ , 



Forster's Perennial Calendar y 1 vol. 8vo, or Forster's PocJcet Enci^j^' 

 pcedia of Natural Phenomena ^ 12mo, will supply the wants, of o^r^^C^re- 

 spondent to a certain extent. — Cond. " ; ! j . ♦/ . >, 



Parochial Natural History.— Sir, If you woiil'd trbiible yoftrself "^o draw 

 up a list of questions to be proposed to the readers of your Magazine of 

 Natural History, with a view of obtaining, from their answers, something of 

 the natural history of the respective parishes in which they reside, you 

 could not fail of accumulating much useful and interesting matter, and such 

 as^jiiight afterwards be applied to very valuable purposes. 



A list of queries to this eiFect was inserted in the Gentleman* s Magazine 

 for 1755, what success I know not. I have a small 12mo pamphlet, 

 published at Edinburgh, entitled A Description of the Parish of Melrose, 

 which appears to have been drawn up in answer to them ; but it relate$ 

 entirely to the history and antiquities of the place. I 



The taste for natural history is so much increased since the year 1775, 

 !^hat answers to well selecte(jj questions on the subject may be obtained 

 'with much greater facility now than they could have been at that time. 

 fiThe following are a few of the queries proposed in the Gentleman's MagUr 



If'^^'— ..• ... . ii 



H " What is the appearance of the country in the parish, is it flat, or hill|yrj 

 i*ocky or mountainous ? Do the lands consist of woods, arable, pasturic^^ 

 meadow, heath, or what ? Are they fenny or moorish, boggy or firm ? fs 

 there satid, clay, chalk, stone, gravel, loam, or what is the nature of tl^e 

 soil ? Are there any lakes, racers, of waters ; what are they ; their depth ; 

 where do they rise, and whither do they run ? Are there any subterraneous 

 rivers, which appear in one place, then sink into the earth, and rise agaiii? 

 Are there any mineral springs, what are they, at what seasons of the ye^r 

 are they reckoned best, and what distempers are they frequented torT Are 

 there any periodical springs which rise and fall, ebb and flow ; at what sea/- 

 $l)ns? Are there any and what mines ? Any marble, moorstone, or other 

 I feibne of any sort ? What are the chief products of the lands ; wheat, bar- 

 ley, &;c. &c. ? What sort of fish do the rivers produce, what quantities, 

 and in what seasons are they best ? Are there any remarkable caves or 

 grottoes ? On digging wells, or other openings, what strata of soil do they 

 meet with, and liow thick is each ? How low do the springs lie ? Does 

 the parish produce any quantities of timber, of what sort ? What is the 

 nature of the air ? . Any petrifying springs ? Any hot wells ? Are there 

 any figured stones, such as ecliinites, belemnites, &c. ? Any having tht! in(i- 

 pression of plants or fishes on them, or any fossil marine bodies, such as 

 shell, corals, &c., or aiiy petrified parts of animals ? Is any part pf the 

 parish subject to inundations pic land floods? If the parish is on the sea 

 coast, what sort of shore, flat, sandy, high, or rocky r| What sorts of fish 

 are caught ? What other sea animals, plants, spopges, corals, shells, &(?. 

 are found on the coasts ? Are there any remarkable. gf a we^i}|?^. Mh^ 

 are the courses of the tide on the shore, or off* at sea ; the currents at a 

 mile's distance ; and other things worthy of remark ? " 



Many of these queries might be expunged, and others substituted, but 

 they cannot be too particular or minute ; and there are a great many sub- 

 jects of interest which are not at all touched Upon ; these you would frame 

 new questions for, entirely divesting them of all technicalities. 



I do but throw out the hint to you, as being a matter particularly de- 

 serving your consideration : if you think it worth attending to, I shall be 

 most happy to give you such information as lies within my power. Yours, 

 &c. — G. M. Lynn Regis, March 9-. 1830. 



A pamphlet by the Rev. Edward Stanley, F. L. S., entitled Statistical 



