The Natural History of Selborne

Pease lie in a sad state, & shatter-out.  Gleaning begins: wheat is heavy.  Agaricus pratensis champignion, comes-up in the fairey-ring on my grass-plot.

Sarah Dewey came to assist in the family.

My young fly-catchers near fledge.

Harvest-bugs are troublesome.  Fly-catcher in Mr Mulso’s garden, that seem to have a nest of young. Tremella nostoch abounds in Mr Mulso’s grass walks.

All the way as we drove along, we saw wheat harvest beginning.  The ponds at Privet, where they have been much distressed for water, are nearly full.  The down-wheat, about Meonstroke a poor crop.  Many turnips fail.  The fly-catchers hover over their young to preserve them from the heat of the sun.

Hops begin to form on their poles: but the gardens in general, fall off, & look lousey, since the rains.

Boys bring the 8th & 9th wasps nest.  Pyramidal campanula blows.

By frequent picking we have much reduced the Cocci on the vines.  Vast storm of thunder, & rain at Thursley, which damaged the crops.  Thursley is in Surrey, to the N.E. of us.

Boys bring the sixth & seventh wasp’s nest.  My Nep. Edmd White sends me some fine wall-nuts for pickling.  The trees at Newton were not at all touched by the severity of last winter; while mine were so damaged that all the bearing twigs were destroyed.  My wall-nut trees have this summer pushed out shoots thro’ the old bark, several feet from the extremities of the boughs.  While the hen-fly-catcher sits, the cock feeds her all day long: he also pays attention to the former brood, which he feeds at times.

Some water in the pond on the down.  Mr. Edmd White’s tank has four feet of water.