The Naturalist S Bedside Book

A lavishly illustrated companion to The Bedside Book of Birds explores the relationships between predators and prey, drawing on mythology, nature writings, and other sources to provide coverage of both real and fictional creatures.

A selection of stories and articles about wildfowling and country life from one of the leading outdoors writers. This anthology is the ideal bedside book for everyone interested in country pursuits.

The perfect bedside read from the world's best-loved, best-selling writer of the Expert gardening books. There are times when we simply wish to read about our hobby and not be badgered by advice. If you enjoy reading about plants whether or not you can grow them, or enjoy discovering gardens you may never visit and could never hope to match, or are keen to learn how people gardened in the past and what they have contributed to our gardens today, then this is the book for you. It includes sections on the great gardeners in history; extraordinary and surprising plants; remarkable gardens around the world; key gardening moments in history; the wildlife in our gardens; things for the plant lover to do indoors, and other 'this and that' trivia, statistics and fascinating things you never knew, all illustrated with charming line drawings. The Bedside Book of the Garden is a gardening book to be read at leisure, which will never tell you that you have to go outside, and which will not only make you a better gardener but will open your eyes to the magic of gardening.

A funny and charming collection of famous last words.

"The secret life of woods and fields is brought together in The Naturalist's Bedside Book, that delightful collection of BB essays on the seasons of the British countryside. This book was first published in 1980 and is now redesigned and back in print for a new generation to dip into. As he moves from winter through to spring, summer and autumn, BB covers such topics as: * fighting starlings and where to site tit boxes * how to identify old nests in winter hedgerows * BB's pet rook Percy, an injured fledgling * separating a clinging, amorous frog from a carp * what makes a good taxidermist * albino birds and mammals * the perfume of the balsam poplar * how to keep horse flies and midges at bay * a search for the eggs of the purple emperor butterfly * the 15-year-old hand-reared goldfinch * a perfect field pond * autumn deer ruts * long-eared owls mobbed by jays Illustrated with 20 of his beautiful scraper-board illustrations, this new edition is in an improved, larger print and contains the addition of a BB illustration of the Bowcase Stone. "

"This is a selection of the best essays from the celebrated classic fishing anthology, first compiled in 1945 by 'BB', one of Britain's best-loved naturalists. There are tales of salmon and trout with sections on coarse fishing: carp, tench, barbel, perch, roach, bream, pike and chub. The 'Bishop Browne' story of the giant salmon that was hooked in 1896 where the Earn flows into the Tay and fought for ten hours before the line went slack, cannot fail to arouse a thrill in all fishermen, and there are other classics and less famous fishing incidents in Britain and abroad. The fine and distinctive scraperboard illustrations by Denys Watkins-Pitchford ('BB') all appeared in the original edition of The Fisherman's Bedside Book. Ian Niall in his introduction describes how BB's artistic vision and naturalist's observation enabled him to look at the reeds and rushes, the ancient pollarded willow by the pool and the duck shedding water droplets from frantically beating wings as it springs into the air, and to capture them in illustration and word. The Fisherman's Bedside Book brings together this rare combination of Denys Watkins-Pitchford's skills with some of the best writing from fishing people for fishing people."