The Natural History of Selborne

The kidney-beans at Newton-house not touched by the late frost.  Bror. Thomas left us.

White frost, dark & cold; covered the kidney beans with straw last night.  My annuals, which were left open, much injured by the frost: the balsams, which touched the glass of the light, scorched.  Kidney-beans injured, & in some gardens killed.  Cucumbers secured by the hand-glasses but they do not grow.  The cold weather interrupts the house-martins in their building, & makes them leave their nests unfinished.  I have no martins at the end of my brew-house, as usual.

Farmer Spencer mows his cow-grass.

Garden red valerian blows: where it sows itself soon becomes white.

Finished sowing kidney-beans, having used one quart, which makes five rows, half white & half scarlet.

Mole-cricket jars.  An old hunting mare, which ran on the common, being taken very ill, came down into the village as it were to implore the help of men, & dyed the night following in the street.

Ophrys nidus avis blows in Comb-wood.  Rain is wanted.  Wheat looks yellow.

Brother Thomas White came.

The weather has been so harsh, that the swallows, & martins are not disposed to build.  Found a hen redstart dead in the walks.

Fly-catcher returns.  The fern-owl, or eve-jar returns, & is heard in the hanger.  These birds are the last summer-birds of passage: when they appear we hope the summer will soon be established.