The Natural History of Selborne

Bror. Benjn. & I measured my tall beech in Sparrow’s hanger, which, at five feet from the ground, girths six feet one inch, and three quarters.

Mr. Ed. White & man brought a good fine young white poplare from his out-let at Newton, & planted it at ye top of Parson’s, slip behind the bench, where it will be ornamental.

Planted in the garden 2 codling-trees, 2 damson-trees, & 22 goose-berry trees, sent me by Bror. T. W.

The seeds of the lime begins to fall.  Some wheat under hedges begins to grow.

My lower wall nut-tree casts it’s leaves in a very unusual manner.  No wall-nuts; the crop dropped off early in the summer.

Cut-off the cones of the balm of Gilead fir in such numbers that they measured one gallon & a half. So much fruit would have exhausted a young tree. The cones grow sursum, upright; those of the Spruce, deorsum, downward.

My beeches in the field shed ripe mast.  Some of the Bantams sicken.

Meadows not cut.  Nymphaea lutea in bloom in a watry ditch.  Went to see the village of Compton, where my father lived more than sixty years ago, & where seven of his children were born.  The people of the village remember nothing of our family.  Mr. Fulham’s conservatory richly furnished; & the grounds behind his house engaging, & elegant.  The romantic grounds, & paddock at the west end Godalming town are very bold & striking.  The hanging woods very solemn, & grand; & many of the trees of great age & dimensions.  This place was for many years inhabited by General Oglethrope.  The house is now under a general repair being with it’s grounds the property of Mr Godbold a quack Doctor.  The vale & hanging woods round Godalming are very beautiful: the Wey a sweet river, & becomes navigable at this town.  One branch of the Wey rises at Selborne.  At the entrance to the avenue leading to Bramshot-place are three great, hollow oaks, the largest of which measure 21 feet in girth.  We measure this tree at about 5 feet from the ground, & could not come at it lower on account of a dr stone-wall in which it stands.  We measure also the largest Sycamore in the front of the house, & found the girth to be 13.  They are very tall, & are deemed to be 80 feet in height: but I should suppose they do not exceed 74 feet.  I hear much of trees 80 or 90 feet high; but have never measured anay that exceed the supposed height of the Sycamores above.

My tall beech in Sparrow’s hanger, which measured 50 feet to the first fork, & 42 afterwards, is just 6 feet in girth at 2 feet above the ground.  At the back of Burhant house, in an abrupt field which inclines towards nightingale-lane, stand four noble beech-trees on the edge of a steep ravin or water gully the largest of which measures 9 ft. 5. in. at about a yard from the ground.  This ravin runs with a strong torrent in winter from nightingale-lane, but is dry in the summer.  The beeches above are now the finest remaining in the neighbourhood, & carry fine heads.  There is a romantic, perennial spring in this gully, that might be rendered very ornamental was it situated in a gentleman’s outlet.

Boiled a mess of autumnal spinage, sown Aug. 3rs.  Nep J. White left us, & returned to Sarum.  There is a fine thriving oak near the path as you go to Combwood, just before you arrive at the pond, round which, at about the distance of the extremities of the boughs, may be seen a sort of circle in the grass, in which the herbage appears dry & withered, as if a fariy-ring was beginning.  I remember somewhat of the same appearance at the same place in former years.