80 
INTRODUCTION. 
parts. The first reached a tenth volume, and 
contains two hundred and forty plates ; the second 
was discontinued at the third volume, and with 
the hundred and fourteenth plate. Both are 
meritorious works, continued under the disadvan- 
tages of great outlay and a limited circulation. 
About the same date, or during the twenty 
years of the conclusion and commencement of the 
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, great pro- 
gress was making in all branches of zoology, and 
works upon various plans were pouring from the 
British and foreign presses ; but there were two 
British works published now, which, though their 
characters were very different, marked, we think, 
the commencement of a second era in the advance 
of British ornithology, and promoted, in different 
ways, the love and knowledge of the science. In 
1797, “ Land Birds,” by Thomas Bewick, was 
published, having no splendid exterior, or deli- 
cately coloured plates. This work gained, and 
has kept its reputation, from the fidelity and cha- 
racter peculiarly its own, which was infused into 
the wood-cuts, and at the period of its appearance 
contained the most complete list of our species, 
generally plainly and concisely described. Its 
price was moderate, and the vignettes, which filled 
up the blank parts of the pages, rendered it popu- 
lar from their humour. The later editions have 
kept pace with the modern advances, and are now 
