22 n a t u I a L h i s t o r y
ttiis, friipft, &c. thrit'they breed there. In the winter this- covert
is. aifo frequented' by foitft, and fotrifetimes by phe'afahts; and the
bogs"pr6duce many ttirious plaft'ts. £Fdr whichconfult letter XLII.
to Mr. Barrington J
By i.jirdriiMIat'ioh of WAMer farift and <Tkt H<, liiade in 1635,
arid In the eleventh fear of Warks the Frill (Which now lies before
me), it appears that the limits of the forftset 'are -touch circum-
feribed. 'For, to fay riothirigb'f the farther fide, With which I am
niorio well hcquairited, the boririds on this'fide, 5in old times, came
into ^mjwoocti 'a.M 'extended tb the ditch of tVardirham J>drk, in
which-ftahdsfhe erfrfotis toount called lKing John’s Hill, arid Lodge
Hill; and'to tiie'Vftge of HdrtlSy 3 /ictuduii, sailed Mtm&uit-hatcb;
comprehending alfo '•$Umtt4>laib, ■ Qdkhdhger-, and 'Obkzttdeds.; a large
diftrift, now private property, though once belonging to the royal
domain.
It is remarkable that the term purlieu is never once mentioned in
this long roll of parchment. It contains, befides the-perambulation,
a rough eftimate of the value Of the-timbers, which were confider-
able, growing at that time in the diftrift of the Holt; and enumerates
the officers, fuper'ior and inferior, of thofe joint forelts,
for the time being, and their pftenfible fees and perquifites. In
thofe days, as at preterit, there were hardly any "trees in Wolrner
forej.
Within the prefent limits of the"'fOrdl ‘ ate three '-'corifiderable
lakes, Hogmer, tranmer, and^Wdlnier ; all of which ate flocked with
carp, - tench, eels, arid perch :'lbut the filh do not thrive "Well,
tecaufe the water is’huhgry, ffiiti''fheBbttdtft'sftre'hrfeked fond.
A circumftance refpefting thefe ponds, though by no means
peculiar to them, I cannot pafs over in filence; -and that-is, that
iriffirift By which 'ihHiMSigr hllFhe ‘klrie, whethfersexen, coWs, calves
O F J S L p O R N E . 23
falves, or heifers, retire eonft^ntly to the wafer during tj».e hotter
hours; where, being mpfe exeqipt from ^lies, and jnhafing .the cool-
nefs of .that eJesienf, fbme belly deep, and fopie only fo piid-leg, they
ruminate and fofoee diemfelve? from about ten in the morning till
four in tpe afternoon, a®d ,tijen return to their feeding. During
-this great proportion of .the day they drop much dung, in which
infefts neftle; andfo fepply food for die filh, -which would be poorly -
fubfifted but from this contingency. Thus Nature, who is a great*
-economift, converts the recreation of one animal to the fripport.
of another 1 S’hfimjpn, who was .a .nice .obferver of natural occurrences,'
did not let this pleating .circumftan.ce pfeape him. He
fays, in his Summer,
« A yarious group the herds and flocks compofe $
tt _z— on the grafly bank
« Some ruminating lie j while others Hand
“ Half in the flood, and, often bending, fip
P T h e circling iufface.v
Wolmer-pond, fo called, I fuppofe, for eminence fake, is a vaft
lake for this part of the world, containing, in it s whole circumference,
2.6,46 yards, or very, near a mile and an half. The length
of the jnorth-weft and pppofite fide is about 704 yards, and the
hre&dth of the fottth-weft.e,nd about 456 yards. This meafure-
ment, which I caufed to be made with good exaftnefs, gives an
rarea of about fixty-fix acres, exclufive of a large irregular arm at the
north-call corner, which w.e did not take into the reckoning.
On the face of this expanfe of waters, and perfeftly fecure from
fowlers, lie all day iong, in the winter feafon, vaft flocks of ducks,
teals, and wigeons,-pf various denominations; where they preen
.and folace, and reft themfelves, till towards funTet, W-hfin .they
iffue forth in little parties (for in their natural ftate they are all
birds