August 2020

The Illustrated Natural History of Selborne 8 (13/08/’20).

In writing about sand-martins, the smallest of the ‘hirundines’ (s.p.b.s.), the Rev. White  focussed on their manner of nest building. Unlike swallows and house martins, sand-martins built their nest in a hollowed-out hole in an earthen bank, these holes, he claims, being up to two feet in depth. White develops a moral point from this

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The Illustrated Natural History of Selborne 5 (5/08/’20)

Researching the biographies of Rev. Gilbert White’s two main correspondents provides an interesting insight into the methodical studies of late 18th century intellectuals – the two main correspondents being Thomas Pennant (1726 – 1798) and The Honourable Daines Barrington (1727 – 1800). Pennant was a Welsh naturalist, writer and antiquarian who corresponded with many contemporary

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