Wild Life in a Southern County [Hardcover]

Richard Jefferies (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1978

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1889. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... Pasture-land 199 CHAPTER XIII. THE WARREN--RABBIT-BURROWS FERRETS--THE QUARRY--THE FOREST--SQUIRRELS--DEER--DYING RABBIT--A HAWK. Under the trunks of the great trees the hedges are usually thinner, and need repairing frequently; and so it happens that at the top of the home-field, besides the gap leading into the ash copse, there is another some distance away beneath a mighty oak. By climbing up the mound, and pushing through the brake fern which grows thickly between the bushes, entrance is speedily gained to the wide rolling stretch of open pasture called the Warren. The contrast with the small enclosed meadow just left is very striking. A fresh breeze comes up from the lake, which, though not seen in this particular spot, borders the plain-like field in one part. The ground is not level; it undulates, now sinking into wide hollows, now rising in rounded ridges, and the turf (not mown but grazed) is elastic under the foot, almost like that of the downs in the distance. This rolling surface increases the sense of largeness--of width--because it is seldom possible to see the whole of the field at once. In the hollows the ridges conceal its real extent: on the ridges a corresponding rise yonder suggests another valley. The two rows of tall elms--some hundreds of yards apart--the scattered hawthorn bushes and solitary trees, groups of cattle in the shade, and sheep grazing by the far-away hedge, give the aspect of a wilder park, the more pleasant because of its wildness. Near about the centre, where the land is most level, an unexpected slope goes down into a cuplike depression. This green crater may perhaps have been formed by digging for sand--so long ago that the turf has since grown over smoothly. Standing at the bottom the sidesconceal all but the sky overhea...

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Richard Jefferies (1848-1847) remains one of the most thoughtful and most lyrical writers on the English countryside. In Wild Life in a Southern County, published in 1879, Jefferies describes the countryside of the Downs, the natural habitats, wildlife and people in his highly descriptive and lyrical style. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 365 pages
• Publisher: Moonraker Press; New edition edition (June 15, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 023900177X
• ISBN-13: 978-0239001771
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds

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