The Natural History of Selborne

A pair of Nightingales haunt my fields: the cock sings nightly in the Portugal-laurel, & balm of Gilead fir.

White-throat on the road.

Some bank-martins at Wallingford-bridge.

While two labourers were examinnig the shrubs & cavities at the S.E. end of the hanger, a house-martin came down the street & flew into a nest under Benham’s eaves.  This appearance is rather early for that bird.  Quae: whether it was disturbed by the two men?

Searched the S.E. end of the hanger for house-martins, but without any success, tho’ many young me assisted.  They examined the beechen-shrubs & holes in the steep hanger.

The rooks at Faringdon have got young.  Very  little spring-corn sown yet.  Snow as deep as the horses belly under the hedges in the North field.  A brace more of hares frequenting my grounds were killed in my absence: so that I hope now the garden will be safe fore some time.

Timothy eats heartily.  The wry-neck appears & pipes.  Bombylius medius still: bobs his tail in flight against the grass, as if in the act of laying eggs.

Tortoise out.  Timothy weighs 6 lobs. 8 3/4 oz.  The beginning of last May he wighted only 6 lbs. 4 oz.

The tortoise came-out for two hours.

Vast storm.  Had the duration of this storm been equal to it’s strength, nothing could have withstood it’s fury.  As it was, it did prodigious damage.  The tiles were blown from the roof of Newton church with such violence, that shivers from the them broke the windows of the great farm-house at near 30 yards distance.  This storm blew the alcove back into the hedge, & threw down the stone dial-post.