THIS EDITION IS LIMITED TO 750 COPIES FOR SALE IN ENGLAND, IOO FOR SALE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND 35 PRESENTATION COPIES THE COLLECTED WORKS W. H. HUDSON IN TWENTY-FOUR VOLUMES THE LAND’S END THE LAND’S END NATURALISTA IMPRESSIONS IN WEST CORNWALL BY W. H. HUDSON MCMXXIII LONDON y TORONTO J. M. DENT & SONS LTD. NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON Gf CO. All rights reserved PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN About a fourth part of the matter contained in this volume has appeared in the Saturday Review and the Speaker, and I am obliged to the editors of those journals for their permission to use it here. CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE WlNTERING IN WEST CORNWALL..................................................... I England’s “observables”—Why I delayed visiting Com­ wall—A visión of the Land's End—Flight to St. Ives— Climate—The oíd town—The fishermen—Their love of children—Drowned babes—The fishing fleet going out at sunset—Oíd memories suggested—Jackdaws at St. Ives—Feeding the birds—A greedy sheep-dog—Daws show their intelligence — Daws on the roofs — Their moming pastime—Dialogue between two daws. CHAPTER II Gulls at St. Ivés ....... 16 Gulls in fishing harbours—Their numbers and beautiful appearance at St. Ives—Different species—Robbing the fishermen—How they are regarded—The glaucous gull or Burgomaster—Cause of the fishermen’s feeling—A demonstration of hungry gulls—A gull tragedy. CHAPTER III Cornwall’s Connemara ...... 25 Aspect of the country—Gilpin on Comish scenery— The farm-houses—Footpaths and stiles—Cattle and pigs—A friendly sow—Dogs and foxes—Stony fields— Fanners’ love of their holdings—An oíd farmer. CHAPTER IV Old Cornish Hedges ...... 34 Hedges in England—Plant and animal life—Stone hedges in Comwall—Effect of wind on trees—How hedges are made—Appearance of stone hedges—An ancient hedge — Woody ivy — Signs of antiquity — An old man's testimony. ix CONTENTS CHAPTER V PAGE Bolerium: the End of all the Land ... 44 Cliff scenery and headlands—The Land’s End sentiment— Pilgrims and how they are afíected—Wilkie Collins— The child’s visión—Books on Comwall—A Trip to the Far West — Sir Humphry Davy— Wesley—Winter nights at the Land’s End — Lighthouses — Associa- tions and speculations—The scene of great tragedies in the past. CHAPTER VI CASTLES BY THE SEA............................................................................... 56 The rocky forelands—Delightful days—Colour of the sea —Wild-bird life—Montgomery’s Pelican Island—Gulls and daws—We envy birds their wings—The sense of sublimity—Cormorants—Ravens and superstition— Gumard’s Head—A first visit—A siesta in a dangerous place—The hunter’s visión. CHAPTER VII The British Pelican ....... 67 The gannet — Gannets at St. Ives — At Treryn Dinas — Appearance of the bird when fishing—The rise before the fall—Gannet and gull — A contrast — Gull and great northem diver — Gulls and gannets in the pilchard season — Bass, pollack and sand-eels — An extraordinary accident. CHAPTER VIII Bird Life in Winter ....... 82 Land birds—Gulls in bad weather—Jackdaw and donkeys —Birds in the field—Yellowhammers—A miracle of the sun—The common sparrow—An oíd disused tin-mine— Sparrows roosting in a pit—Magpies’ language—Gold- crests in the furze bushes—The Comish wren—The sad little meadow pipit. CONTENTS xi CHAPTER IX PAGH The People and the Farms ..... 95 A primitive type—Unintelligible speech—The little dark man—The prevailing type blonde—The Dawn in Britain —Comish speech and “naughty English”—Two modes of speaking—Voice and intonation—Chapel singing— The farmer’s politics—Preachers and people—Life on a fann—Furze as fuel—Food—Healthy and happy children—Children in procession—The power of the child. CHAPTER X An Impression of Penzance......................................113 Valué of first impressions—Market day in Penzance— Comish cows—The main thoroughfare—Characteristics —Temperance in drink—A foreigner on English drink- ing habits—Irish intemperance—The craving for drink —False ideas—Wales—Methodism and temperance— Carew’s testimony—Conclusión. CHAPTER XI Manners and Morals . .126 Carew’s Survey of Cornwall—Books on Cornwall—Exces- sive praise and dispraise—Saxon and Celt—Charge of insincerity—“One-and-all’’ spirit—Dishonesty—Un- truthfulness—An Englishman’s view of the Welsh— The question of immorality — Cruelty to animáis— Offences unpunished—Comish civilisation a “veneer” —Wrecking and what it means—Sunday observance— Comish and English consistency — Englishmen who understand. CHAPTER XII CORNISH HUMOUR................................................................................ 143 Native humour—Deceptive signs—Adventures in search of humour—Irish and Comish expression—A traveller in a stony country—The stone-digger—Taking you literally—The danger of using figures of speech—Anee- dotes—The Comish funny man—English and Comish xií CONTENTS humour—Unconscious humour of two kinds—A woman preacher—A story of Brett the artist—Examples of unconscious humour—A local preacher—An oíd man and a parrot—Children’s humour—Guize-dancing. CHAPTER XIII The Poetic Spirit ....... 167 The naturalist’s mind and men’s complex nature — An eminent ethnologist—The use of fools—The simple animal mind—Herring gull and rock pipit—Man and animáis compared—The imaginative faculty—Comish poets — Hawker of Morwenstow — Prose writers — Thomas Carew—Purity of race in Comwall—Dearth of imaginative work—A prosaic people—Comwall and Ireland contrasted — Reason of diflerence — Comish legends—Mystery plays—Wesley’s mission and great- ness—Ugliness of Methodism—Effect on the child’s mind. CHAPTER XIV WlNTER ASPECTS AND A BlRD VlSITATION . I92 Back to the land—Golden days in winter—Colour of dead bracken—Lichen on trees in winter—Furze and bracken in winter—A New Forest memory—Effect of rain on dead bracken—An artist in the rain—Snow and bird migration from the east—The birds retum east—How the migrants are received at St. Ives—Birds taken with fish-hooks—Bush-beating—Dolls and gins for the children—Maimed birds—Wesley revisits St. Ives—A compassionate woman—Story of a robin—Mr. Ebble- thwaite and the gulls—The author follows Ruskin's advice. CHAPTER XV A Great Frost ......................................................... 209 A second wave of coid—Migrating goldfinches—Increase in number of wintering birds—Beginning of the frost —At Zennor—Feeding the birds under difi&culties— A crippled robin—Crystal fruit—Prowess of a fox— Fox and raven—The foxes’ larder—Migrating ravens CONTENTS xiii PAGH —Frosted window panes — Starving birds — Starlings going to roost—Evening on Zennor Hill—Heath fires —The windy night—Animism and personifications of nature—The end of the frost. CHAPTER XVI A Native Naturalist ...... 226 The towans or sandhills—Their destructive progress over the land—Sea rush introduced—The ferry at Lelant— Among the towans—The meadow pipit—The ferryman —Knowledge of wild life in country boys and men— Countryman and chaffinch—The native naturalist— A strange story of a badger—Great black-backed gull and young guillemot—Sparrow-hawk and curlew— Fight between a seal and a conger—Story of a young seal—An osprey—A great northem diver—The killing passion in sportsmen—Story of a meadow pipit—The seal colony threatened. CHAPTER XVII The Coming of Spring ...... 248 Spring in winter—John Cocking—Antics and love-flights of the shag—Herring gull mocked by a jackdaw— Migrating sea-birds—Departure of winter visitors— Appearance of the wheatear — Resident songsters— The frogs’ camival—A Dominican adder—Willow-wren and chiffchaff — Nesting birds and washing-day — A merciful woman — Pied wagtails in a quarry — Boys and robins. CHAPTER XVIII Some Early Flowers ...................................... 262 Late flowers at Land’s End—Sweet-scented colt’s-foot— Its luxuriance and beauty—A pretty and singular girl —A gardener on the colt’s-foot—Colt’s-foot in Madron churchyard—A vegetable rat—Billy and his charlock bouquet—“Farmer’s Glory” — Early blue flowers — A matter-of-fact girl—Vernal squill — Beauty and habits—A blue band by the sea—The glory of flowers —Secret of the charm of flowers—Expression of the blue flower. xiv CONTENTS CHAPTER XIX PAGE The Furze in its Glory ...... 280 Fascination of the furze—The furze in literature—Evelyn on the furze—Furze faggots—The beauty the effect of contrast—Large masses of bloom—Various aspects of the furze—Fragrance—Linnaeus and the furze—The cynic a spiritual harpy—Furze at the Land’s End— The stone hedges ropes of bloom—Eye-dazzling colour —Furze by the sea—Y ello w and blue. CHAPTER XX PlLGRIMS AT THE LAND’S END ..... 29O How this book carne to be written—Fascination of the Land’s End—Aged pilgrims—A visión of the land of rest — An Unsentimental Journey through Comwall— A horde of trippers from Lancashire—A sentiment to be cherished—An appeal. Index . 303 THE LAND’S END CHAPTER I WINTERING IN WEST CORNWALL England's “observables”—Why I delayed visiting Cornwall—A visión of the Land's End—Flight to St. Ives—Climate—The oíd town—The fishermen—Their love of children—Drowned babes—The fishing fleet going out at sunset—Oíd memories suggested— Jackdaws at St. Ives—Feeding the birds—A greedy sheep-dog—Daws show their intelligence—Daws on the roofs—Their morning pastime—Dialogue between two daws. “ ’W'Z'NOW,” said wise oíd Fuller, “most of the rooms of thy native country before thou ^goest over the threshold thereof. Especially seeing England presents thee with so many observ­ ables.” But if we were to follow this advice there would be no getting out of the country at all. It is too rich in its way: the rooms are too many and too well-furnished with observables. Take my case. I have been going on rambles about the land for a good many years, and though the West Country had the greatest attraction for me, I never got over the Tamar, ñor even so far as Plymouth, simply because I had not the time, albeit my time was my own.