Writing the region

The county of Cornwall was the subject of an early nineteenth century attempt to compile an exhaustive regional fauna, Jonathan Couch's three volume A Cornish Fauna (1838–44). Although the Fauna was part of a much broader contemporary impulse to document the natural history of Britain, it was a very early example of a zoological study organised by geography rather than faunal group. It therefore required the author to make an explicit defence of its geographical approach and focus. According to Couch the region was the best place from which to build a better understanding of nature and, ultimately, of nature's creator. In particular, careful observations of a naturalist's local fauna could contribute to mid-nineteenth century debates over the distribution and migration of animals, their extinction, and their value to human industry. According to Couch, the county of Cornwall was especially suited to this sort of investigation. Indeed, although little had been done on the Cornish fauna before Couch's own study, his work was the catalyst for a number of other Cornish naturalists over the latter half of the century

Archaeology · Biology · Cornish · Fauna · Geography · Library science · Subject (documents · Computer Science · Ecology and biodiversity studies · Historical Art and Culture Studies · History · History of Science and Natural History · Ecology

• Historical geography

  Open Access•Simon Naylor•Progress in Human Geography•2005

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• Encountering Fish, Flows, and Waterscapes through Angling

  Open Access•Jacob Bull•Environment and Planning A…•2011

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• The field, the museum and the lecture hall

  Open Access•Simon Naylor•Transactions of the Institute of…•2002

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• Collecting quoits

  Open Access•Simon Naylor•Cultural Geographies•2003

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