The Natural History of Selborne

Fine wood-straw-berries again.  A strong stream of water runs in Norton mead among the hay-cocks.

Vast rain.  Swllows-nests with their young washed down the chimney.

Whortle-berries ripen.  Bought an aged brown Galloway of Mr Bradley of Alton.

Will. Tanner shot a sparrow-hawk, which had infested the village for some time.  It had lately made havock among the young swallows, & h. martins which are slow & inactive: the dams insult all hawks with impunity.

Artichokes come in.  Wood-strawberries over.

The great Portugal-laurel in most beautiful bloom.  Tremella nostoc abounds.

A covey of young partridges frequents my out-let.  Hops do not cover their poles, nor throw-out any side-shoots.

Rain.  This weather will occasion much after-grass.  Field-pease, & spring corn thrive.

Bramshot

Rode to Fir-grove in the parish of Bramshot, & saw the house & garden.  The south wall of the kitchen-garden is covered with a range of vines of the sort called the millers-grape.  Each vine was trained within a very narrow space, & their boughs upright: yet they had fine wood, & promised for much fruit, & were almost in full bloom.  Mr Richardson’s vines, my sort, did not blow then: but Fir-grove is much more sheltered than Bramshot-place.  The soils are the same, a warm sandy loam.  When we came to Evely-corner a hen-partridge came out of a ditch, & ran along shivering with her wings, & crying out as if wounded, & unable to get from us.  While the dam acted this distress, the boy who attended me, saw her brood, that was small & unable to fly, run for shelter into an old fox-earth under the bank.  So wonderful a power is instinct.

Several titlarks nests were mowed-out in the St foin.