The Natural History of Selborne

Rooks resort to their nest-trees.

Mrs Snooke’s tortoise, after it had been buried more than a month, came forth & wandered round the garden in a disconsolate state, not knowing where to fix on a spot for it’s retreat.

The air abounds with insects dancing about over the evergreen trees.  They seem to be of the genus tipula, & empis.  Phalaenae come out in the evening they seem to be much hardier than the papiliones, appearing in mild weather all the winter through.  Full moon.

Dark & mild, spiting rain, great rain.  Earth-worms are alert, & throw-up their casts this mild weather.

The frost seems to have done no harm.

Almost continual frost from Nov. 20: & some snow frequently falling.  Mergus serratus, the Dun-diver, a very rare bird in these parts, was shot in James Knight’s ponds just as it was emerging from the waters with a considerable tench in it’s Mouth.  It’s head, & part of the neck, was of a deep rust-colour.  On the back part of the head was a considerable crest of the same hue.  The sexes in this species, Ray observes, differ so widely, that writers have made two species of them.  It appears from Ray’s description that my specimen with the rust-coloured head was a female, called in some parts the sparlin-fowl; & is, he supposes, the female Goosander.

London.  When I came to town I found that herrings were out of season, but sprats, which Ray says are undoubtedly young herrings, abounded in such quantities, that in these hard times they were a great help to the poor.  Cods & haddocks in plenty: smelts beginning to come in.  The public papers here abounded with accounts of most severe & early frosts, not only in the more Northern parts of Europe, but on the Rhine, & in Holland.  The news of severe weather usually reaches us some days before the cold arrives; which most times follows soon when we hear of rigorous cold on the Continent.

Trimmed, & tacked the vines: pretty good wood towards the S.E. for next year’s bearing.  The S.W. vines are weak in the wood.

Frost, sun.

Gathered-in all the grapes.  Snow on the hills.