November 3
Posted by sydney on Nov 3rd, 2008
- 1792: November 3, 1792 – Men sow wheat: but the land-springs break out in some of the Hartley malm-fields.
- 1789: November 3, 1789 – Planted 150 cabbages to stand the winter: dunged the ground. Grapes all very bad. Two swallows were seen this morning at Newton vicarage house, hovering & settling on the roofs, & outbuildings. None have been observed at Selborne since Octobr. 11. It is very remarkable, that after the hirundines have disappeared for some weeks, a few are occasionally seen again sometimes, in the first week of November, & that only for one day. Do they withdraw & slumber in some hiding-place during the interval? for we cannot suppose they had migrated to warmer climes, & so returned again for one day. Is it not more probable that they are awakened from sleep, & like the bats are come forth to collect a little food? Bats appear at all seasons through the autumn & spring months, when the Thermomr is at 50, because then phalaenae & moths are stirring. These swallows looked like young ones.
- 1788: November 3, 1788 – Bro. Tho. sowed many acorns, & some seeds of an ash in a plot dug in Baker’s hill. The King’s hounds tryed our coverts for the stag, but with no success.
- 1786: November 3, 1786 – The oaks in Comb-wood & below the Temple are in full leaf, & many of the in good verdure. The beeches in general have lost their foliage.
- 1783: November 3, 1783 – The runs dusty, & the chaises run on the summer tracks, on the downs. Lovely clouds, & sky!! Turnips on the downs are bad. Wheat looks well. Men chalk the downs in some parts.
- 1781: November 3, 1781 – Hogs, in eating acorns, chew them very small, & reject all the husks. The plenty of acorns this year avails the hogs of poor men & brings them forward without corn.
- 1780: November 3, 1780 – Timothy, who is placed under a hen-coop near the fruit-wall, scarce moves at all.
- 1777: November 3, 1777 – Sea-gulls, winter-mews, haunt the fallows. Beetles flie.
- 1775: November 3, 1775 – Grapes are delicate still; especially those that are not bagged in crape those that are, are shrivelled, & vapid. *The great month for spring migration is April: tho’ the wryneck, one species of willow-wren, & the upland curlew are seen in March: in this month also the winter birds retire. In Sept. most of the short-winged summer birds withdraw; & in Oct the wood-cock, redwing, & fieldfare return. The hirundines are more irregular in their retreat; for the Swift disappears in the beginning of August: the rest of the Genus not ’til Oct.: In Nov the wood-pigeons, & wild fowls return. We have found in the parish of Selborne alone about 120 species of birds, which are more than half the number that belong to Great Britain in general; & more than half as many as Linnaeus can produce in the kingdom of Sweden. Mr Pennant enumerates 227 species in Gr. Britain, & Linnaeus about 221 in his native country.
- 1774: November 3, 1774 – Great field-fares flock on the down.
- 1773: November 3, 1773 – Stock-dove, or wood-pigeon appears. Redwing appears.
- 1772: November 3, 1772 – 20 or perhaps 30 martins were playing all day along by the side of the hanger, & over my fields. Will these house-martins, some of which were nestlings 12 days ago, shift their quarters at this late season of the year to the other side of the northern tropic! Or rather is it not more probably that the next church, ruin, cliff, sand bank ( a Northern naturalist would say) lake or pool will prove their hybernaculum & afford them a ready, & obvious retreat?
- 1770: November 3, 1770 – Misling rain all day.
- 1769: November 3, 1769 – Five or six swallows appear.
- 1768: November 3, 1768 – Bat appears. Hedge-hogs cease to dig the walks.
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