The Natural History of Selborne

My largest wall-nut tree produced four bushels & a half of nuts many bunches contained 8, 9, & on to 15 wallnuts each.

The hanging beech-woods begin to be beautifully tinged, & to afford most lovely scapes, very engaging to the eye, & imagination.  They afford sweet lights & shades.  Maples are also finely tinged.  These scenes are worthy the pencil of a Reubens.

The red-breast entertains us with his autumnal song.

Grey, windy, soft & agreeable.  Now my grapes are delicate notwithstanding the summer was so wet & shady.

Nuts fall very fast from the hedges.

Gathered some keeping-apples.  The intercourse between tups and ewes seems pretty well over.  Ewes go, I think, 22 weeks.

Numbers of swallows & martins playing about at Faringdon, & settling on the trees.  If hirundines hide in rocks & caverns, how do they, while torpid, avoid being eaten by weasels & other vermin?

Black snails are more sluggish than in the summer; but in sight all day at this season of the year.  Saw one hornet.

Beautiful wheat season for the wet fallows.  The buzzard is a dastardly bird, & beaten not only by the raven, but even by the carrion-crow.  Gathered baking-pears.

Swallows & martins, before they withdraw, not only forsake houses, but do not frequent the villages at all: so that their intercourse with houses is only for the sake of breeding.