House-martins do not deal in second broods so much as usual: yet it should seem that they are not influenced by the cold wet summer, since the swallows seem to be as prolific as ever. Bees injure the wall-fruit in bad autumns; because they are hindered from gathering honey.
Some wasps on the wall-fruit. Where wasps gnaw a hole, the honey-bees come & suck the pulp. Al fruits are backward, watry, & bad.
The season for shooting is come; but scarce any partidges are to be found: the failure of breed is remarkable. The tops of the beeches begin to be tinged with a yellow hue.
Vast shower with hail. Turned the horses into the great mead. Much grass. A part of the orchard, where I laid the earth which came out of the garden, was sown in April with rye-grass, & hop trefoil, & has been mown already three times.
The barley coming-up unequally is not yet ripe. Hops promise to be very small.
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