The Natural History of Selborne

Slipped out & planted many doz. of good polyanths.  Young Geo: Tanner shot a water-ouzel, merula aquatica, near Ja: Knight’s ponds.  This is the first bird of the sort that was ever observed in this parish.  This bird, being only pinioned, was caught alive, & put into a cage, to which it soon became reconciled; & is fed with woodlice, & small snails.  W: ouzels are very common in the mountainous parts of the N. of England, & in N. Wales.  They haunt rocky streams, & water-falls; & tho’ not web-footed often dive into currents in pursuit of insects.

Sowed holly-hocks, columbines, & sweet Williams.

Men sow clover in their wheat.

Sowed a box of polyanth seeds, of our own saving.

Timothy the tortoise, after a fast of more tha five months, weighs 6 ae. 12 oz. 11 dr. Some sow in Shalden lanes.  Cromn Imperial blows.

Timothy heaves up the mould, & comes out of his hibernacula under the wall-nut tree.

Daws are building in the church.  Nightingale sings at French-mere.

Planted 12 goose-berry trees, & three monthly roses, & three Provence roses.  Mr & Mrs Taylor left Selborne.

Planted 1 doz. of white currans, & six of goose-berry trees, with many rasp-plants on the orchard-side of the bank.  Turned-out the cucumber-plants into the hills of the bearing-bed; they are large & strong, & began to be too big for the pots.  Sowed onions, & parsnips: the ground is dusty, & works well.  10 pots of Cucumber-plants remain.  Sowed radishes, & lettuce.  Planted one Roman, & one Newington Nectarine-tree against the fruit-wall.

Earthed the cucumber-bed; plastered some fresh cow-dung under the hills.  Sowed two ounces of carrot seed in the garden-plot in the meadow.