The Project Gutenberg EBook of Country Walks of a Naturalist with His
Children, by W. Houghton

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Title: Country Walks of a Naturalist with His Children

Author: W. Houghton

Release Date: December 20, 2007 [EBook #23941]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COUNTRY WALKS ***

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[Illustration]

COUNTRY WALKS OF A NATURALIST

WITH

HIS CHILDREN.

BY

REV. W. HOUGHTON, M.A., F.L.S.,
RECTOR OF PRESTON ON THE WILD MOORS, SHROPSHIRE.

ILLUSTRATED WITH EIGHT COLOURED PLATES AND
NUMEROUS WOOD ENGRAVINGS.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:
GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS,
5, PATERNOSTER ROW.

MDCCCLXX.

PREFACE.

In this little book my desire has been, not so much to impart
knowledge to young people, as to induce them to acquire it for
themselves. I have endeavoured to show that Country Walks may be full
of interest and instruction to all who care to make good use of their
eyes. If I have failed, the fault rests with me for the way in which I
have treated the subject. I am aware that I have occasionally used
words and phrases which may puzzle young brains, but I hope that
nearly all will be intelligible to boys and girls of nine or ten years
old, with a little explanation from parents or teachers.

The chief, if not the sole merit of this little book consists in the
illustrations which adorn it; and I must express my sincere gratitude
to Mr. Gould, the eminent ornithologist, for his kind permission to
copy some of the magnificent drawings in his work on 'The Birds of
Great Britain.' To Mr. R. S. Chattock, of Solihull, I am also deeply
indebted, for the pains he has taken in reproducing, on a reduced
scale, Mr. Gould's drawings, and for the drawings of the sticklebacks
and the frontispiece. My generous friend and neighbour, Mr. Eyton, of
Eyton, has furnished another instance of his numerous acts of
kindness, in allowing me the use of Mr. Gould's work and of v