The Natural History of Selborne

Fallows dusty, & in mellow order. Young fawns in the Holt.  My walnut-trees are almost naked, & half-killed by the winter; while those at Rood are in full foliage, & shew fruit.

Turbid sunset: the disk of the sun looked like three suns.  Full moon.

Most of our oaks are naked of leaves, & even the Holt in general, having been ravaged by the caterpillars of a small phalaena, which is of a pale, yellow colour. These Insects tho’ a feeble race, yet from their infiinite numbers are of wonderful effect, being able to destroy the foliage of whole forests, & districts. At this season they leave their aurelia, & issue forth in their fly-state, swarming & covering the trees, & hedges. In a field at Greatham a saw a flight of Swifts busied in catching their prey near the ground; & found they were hawking after these phalenae. The aurelia of this moth is shining, & as black as jet; it lies wrapped-up in a leaf of the tree, which is rolled round it, & secured at the ends by a web, to preven the maggot from falling-out.

The yew-hedges at the vicarage half-killed by the winter.  My tall hedges are much injured by the severity of last winter: many boughs are killed, & the foliage in general is thin.

Fly-catchers have young.  Standard honey-suckles beautiful, & very sweet.

Established summer.  Corn-flag blows.

Rose-fly, a green scarab.  Tho’ the stream has been dry for some time at Gracious street quite down to Kimber’s mead; yet, when it meets Well-head stream at Dorton, it is little inferior to that.  This shows that there are several springs along the foot of the short Lithe, as well as a constant one at Kimber’s.

Wood-ruff blows.

Swifts copulate in the air, as they flie.

Field-crickets cry round the forest.