The Natural History of Selborne

Woodcock, Thomas Bewick’s History of British Birds, 1797

• 1792: October 1, 1792 – Wheat out at Buriton, Froxfield, Ropely, & other places.
• 1791: October 1, 1791 – Nep. B. White left us, & went to London.  It was with difficulty that we procured water enough for  brewing from my well.
• 1788: October 1, 1788 – H.H. White came from Fyfield.
• 1787: October 1, 1787 – Wheat not so good as last year: 50 sheaves do not yield more than forty did this time twelvemonth.
• 1786: October 1, 1786 – About Octobr 1, the weather was cold & wet at Vevey, in Switzerland; when the Hirundines flew so near the ground as to be a prey to cats, which watched for them; & some entered mens windows so tame & hungry as to sit on a finger, & take flies when offered to them, or which they saw on the glass or walls.
• 1784: October 1, 1784 – Gathered-in the Swan’s egg, autumn-burgamot, Cresan-burgamot, Chautmontelle, & Virgoleuse pears: a great crop.  The Swan-eggs are a vast crop. A wood-cock was killed in Blackmoor-woods; an other was seen the same evening in Hartley-wood.
• 1781: October 1, 1781 – Cleaned my well by drawing out about 100 buckets of muddy water: there was little rubbish at the bottom.  There were two good springs, one at the bottom, & one about three feet above.  Nothing had been done to this well for about 40 years.  The man at the bottom in the cleaning brought up several marbles & taws that we had thrown down when children.
• 1777: October 1, 1777 – Bright stars.  This day, Mr Richardson of Bramshot shot a wood-cock: it was large & plump & a female: it lay in a moorish piece of ground.  This bird was sent to London, where as the porter carryed it along the streets he was offered a guinea for it.
• 1776: October 1, 1776 – Swallows & martins, before they withdraw, not only forsake houses, but do not frequent the villages at all: so that their intercourse with houses is only for the sake of breeding.
• 1772: October 1, 1772 – Young martins in their nest at Lassam.
• 1768: October 1, 1768 – Harvest pretty well finished this evening.  Some wheat out at Harting.  Roads are much dryed.