Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Diane Monico, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was made using scans of public domain works in the International Children's Digital Library.) [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 various woodcuts. To two lady friends I also express my best thanks; and last, though not least, to the publishers, Messrs. Groombridge, for the care they have taken to present the volume to the public in a very attractive form. CONTENTS. PAGE WALK I.--APRIL 1 On the Moors--Swallows--Water-voles--Peewits--Marsh Marigold--Water-primrose--Moles--Herons--Kingfishers-- Moschatelle--Water-scorpion. WALK II.--APRIL 17 Ophrydium--Reed Sparrow--Whirligig Beetles--Fresh-water Mussels--Zebra Mussel--Titmice--Thrushes cracking Snail-shells--Dabbling in a Pond--Dyticus, or Great Water-beetle--Corethra Larva--Weasels. WALK III.--MAY 36 Searching for Sticklebacks' Nests--Nest-making Fish--Snail Leeches--Other Leeches--Cuckoo Flowers--Blue Speedwell--Stitchwort--Tadpoles--Frogs--Frog and Cat. WALK IV.--MAY 50