Beneath the surface in Britain

Press, 8 February 1986, Page 20

Beneath the surface in Britain

The Shell Countryside Book. By Richard Muir and Eric Duffey. J. M. Dent and Sons, London, 1984. 318 pp. $59.95. (Reviewed by John Macaulay) Ever had the wish, while travelling in another part of New Zealand or overseas, to be able to “see below the surface" or to ask really knowledgabie questions? If away to Britain then this should be the book for you. The “Shell Countryside Book,” which the dust-jacket blurb says is replacing its "bestselling predecessor,” “The Shell Country Book,” has been written by two well-known authorities. Dr Richard Muir, a landscape

historian, has already written several books, and Dr Eric Duffey, formerly Head of the Research Section of the British Nature Conservancy, is now editor of the international journal “Biological Conservation.” Dr Muir has also provided most of the photographs, a mixture of black and white and coloured plates, closely and attractively linked with the text. The authors use a systematic approach to give general principles Illustrated with examples, rather than a regional treatment. The eleven chapters can be grouped in three sections. The first three deal with: “Fields, Walls and Hedgerows,” “Down in the Greenwood,” and "Country Roads.” In the second group, rural churches, cottages, villages, country parks, cottage gardens and farm buildings are surveyed, while the last three briefly describe countrysides where physical elements still dominate: “Mountains,” “Wetlands,” and "The Coast.” The authors adopt a uniform approach in the first two sections. Richard Muir’s accounts of landscape history are followed by Eric Duffey’s comments on related flora and fauna, including some close-up colour plates showing wild flowers, butterflies, birds and’ mammals. Regrettably this system is abandoned in the last section, which is almost solely concerned with plants and animals. The inclusion of more information on Britain’s very interesting landforms could have achieved a better balance. It is difficult in a review to do justice to a text of generally high

quality. The reader is brought up-to-date with both recent changes in the countryside and some of the latest research findings. A few examples will have to suffice. The increased mechanisation of British farming during the past few decades is Illustrated by the decline in the total length of hedgerows. In one arable area where a 1946 aerial photo disclosed 114 kilometres, the same area by 1966 had only 26 km, with dire consequences for the previously prolific populations of plant-feeding birds, butterflies, and other insects. Aspects of rural architecture are well-illustrated with both photographs and line drawings. The accompanying text contains some delightfully facetious pieces: “When Richard Gough began his history of the parish of Myddle around 1700, he described the local families in order according to their positions in the seating plan of the church: even at worship, each bottom was placed according to property and pedigree.” From time to time we see photographs of leisure craft on the Norfolk Broads, a group of small lakes between Norwich and the coast, so we assume they were natural in origin. Research has disclosed that they are really huge mediaeval peat diggings inundated by a great flood in 1287 A.D. Despite being good value, the substantial cost of this book will deter many home library buyers. Let us hope a steady flow of requests encourages its purchase by most public libraries.