Victorians (particularly, one must imagine, city Victorians) regarded the countryside as a romantic, idyllic place. (Those who actually lived and worked there may not have shared this view...) This section offers articles and gorgeous illustrations by naturalists and others who sought to praise (and preserve) the countryside and all its beauties.

Birds, Beasts, Flowers and Countryside

Girls' Own Paper - 1880 (Vol. 1)

A Clever Raven

The Blackbird, by Harrison Weir

I had no idea that the blackbird was also known as the "ousel" or "merle."

How We Saved the Poor Birds in Winter

Our Aquarium at the Seaside

Shell Collecting

Girls' Own Paper - 1880-1881 (Vol. 2)

The Country in November: The Pine Wood

How to Select and Manage Singing Birds

Our Mutual Friend, Puss, by Gordon Stables

The Traveling Cat

Window Gardening, by Cotsford Dick

Girl's Own Paper - 1881-1882

Girls' Own Pets, by Gordon Stables

This series examines a host of wild birds (jackdaws, starlings, finches, ravens, rooks, nightingales, etc.) that make good "pets" -- including their habits in the wild, how to care for them, and glimpses of Stables' own feathered friends.

The Forget-Me-Not, by Rev. T.F. Thiselton Dyer

A look at the flower's folklore and history.

Natural Phenomena

A charming series of articles on natural phenomena as experienced/narrated by birds, beasts and fish.

Notes in Spring

Wanderings Among Our Wildflowers, by Cotsford Dick

Girl's Own Paper - 1882-1883

Girls' Own Pets, by Gordon Stables

The second part of this series (which began in 1881, above) examines foreign birds, and discusses how to set up an aviary.

Girl's Own Paper - 1886-1887

The Brook and Its Banks, by Rev. J.G. Woods

A lovely series where you'll meet such denizens of the English brook as the water-rat, water vole, heron, dabchick, and water ousel (right).

Notes for...

A series of "nature and gardening notes" indicating what to expect in the countryside in the month to come. Explore "showery April," "leafy June," etc.

Girls' Own Paper - 1888-1889

Among the Wildflowers, by Gordon Stables

A lyrical look at the wildflowers of Britain's byways (as seen from a naturalist rambling in a gypsy caravan).

Bird Life, by "A Naturalist"

Bits About Animals, by Ruth Lamb

A look at some beloved pets.

The Debt We Owe to Birds and Beasts, by Gordon Stables

Flowers in History, by Sophia Caulfield

A well illustrated series on the history and folklore of flowers.

Flowers of the Oberland (Switzerland)

The Romance of Nature, by James Mason

Subtitled "The Folklore of Animals, Plants, Earth, Air, Sea and Sky," which pretty much says it all.

The Strand - 1891

The Music of Birds

This article actually has provides the notes of different bird-songs.

Cats, by J. MacLaren Cobban

Wild Animal Training

A day (or so) in the life of a Victorian lion-tamer, among others...

Gardens and Gardening

Girl's Own Paper - 1881-1882

A Chapter on Annuals

A Chat About British Ferns, by Cotsford Dick

Gardening in November

Roses, by Cotsford Dick

Useful Plants

Girl's Own Paper - 1882-1883

Creepers and Climbing Plants, by Gordon Stables

Window Gardening, by Gordon Stables

Girls' Own Paper - 1888-1889

Old-Fashioned Gardens, by Fred Miller

The Strand - 1891

Orchids