The Natural History of Selborne

Rugged, Siberian weather.  The narrow lanes are full of snow in some places, which is driven into the most romantic, & grotesque shapes.  The road-waggons are obliged to stop, & the stage-coaches are much embarassed.  I was obliged to be much abroad on this day, & scarce ever saw its fellow.

The snow is drifted-up to the tops of gates, & the lanes are full.  Poultry do not stir-out of the hen-houses: they are amazed, & confounded in snow, & would soon perish.

A very deep snow.  Poor birds begin to be distress’d, & to come in a door: hares do not stir yet.  Hares lie-by at first, ’til compelled to beat-out by hunger.

Some lambs fall.

Grey & white wagtails appear every day; they never leave us.

The country-people, who are abroad in winter-mornings long before sun-rise, talk of much hard frost in some spots, & none in others.  The reason of these partial frosts is obvious: for there are, at such times, partial fogs about: where the fog obtains little or no frost appears; but where the air is clear there it freezes hard.  So the  frost takes place either on the hill or in dale, where every the air happens to be clearest, & freest from vapour.  Hyrn, cornu vel angulus: whence our Faringdon Hyrn, or hern as we pronounce it, is the corner-field of our parish.  Heane, Humilis: hence perhaps our honey-lane.  Our Gally-hill, is perhaps gallows hill from Galga, crux.  Does not domesday book among other privileges, say that Priors & c. were allowed Furcas, gallows?  By, habitation: from whence ye adjective Byn, as Binsted, &c.  Deortun, saltus: hence no doubt our Dorton, a wild, bushy common just below the village: Deerton, a place where deer are kept.  Eowod, Ovile: hence perhaps our field called the Ewel?  Ymbhanger the winding hanger: we have places so named.  Rode, crux: hence our Rode-green near the Priory, where probably a cross was erected.  Fyrd, a ford; also a camp: hence probably our high common-field to the N.W. is called the fordown.  Ether, sepes: the top border that binds down our hedges & keeps them together is called by our hedgers ether to this day: the wickering the top along they call ethering.  Gouleins (Gothic) salutatio: hence perhaps our word Golly, a sort of jolly kind of oath, or asservation much in use among our carters, & lowest people.  Eorthwicga, blatta terrana: hence our absurd word, not peculiar to this district: earwig.

On every sunny day the winter thro’, clouds of insects usually called gnats (I suppose tipulae & empedes) appear sporting & dancing over the tops of the ever-green trees in the shrubbery, & frisking about as if the business of generation was still going on.  Hence it appears that these diptera (which by their sizes appear to be of different species) are not subject to a torpid state in the winter, as most winged Insects are.  At night, & in frosty weather, & when it rains & blows they seem to retire into those trees.  They often are out in a fog.

People fall with colds. Dry weather for near three weeks, ’til the ground was very free from water.

10 or 12 large gulls sailing high in the air over comb-wood pond.

People recover from the epidemic disorder.