The Natural History of Selborne

Bro. & Sister Benj. came to us from Newton.

The wind on Saturday last occasioned much damage among the shipping in the river, & on the E. coast.

Planted 150 cabbages to stand the winter: dunged the ground.  Grapes all very bad.  Two swallows were seen this morning at Newton vicarage house, hovering & settling on the roofs, & outbuildings.  None have been observed at Selborne since Octobr. 11.  It is very remarkable, that after the hirundines have disappeared for some weeks, a few are occasionally seen again sometimes, in the first week of November, & that only for one day.  Do they withdraw & slumber in some hiding-place during the interval? for we cannot suppose they had migrated to warmer climes, & so returned again for one day.  Is it not more probable that they are awakened from sleep, & like the bats are come forth to collect a little food?  Bats appear at all seasons through the autumn & spring months, when the Thermomr is at 50, because then phalaenae & moths are stirring.  These swallows looked like young ones.

My horses taken into the stable & not to lie out any more a nights.  New coped the top of my kitchen-chimney, mended the tiling, & toached the inside of the roofing to keep out the drifting snow.

The young men of this place found a stray fallow deer at the back of the village, which they roused, & hunted with grey hounds, & other dogs.  When taken it proved to be a buck of three years old.

Planted out many young laurustines, & Portugal laurels from the old stools.

Bror Th. W. sows laburnum seed on the hanger, & down.  A wood-cock killed in the high wood.

The quantity of haws is prodigious!

Mended the planks of the zigzag.  Bro. Tho. White sowed the naked part of the hanger with great quantities of hips, haws, sloes, & holly-berries.  In May last he sowed a pound of furze seeds on the same naked space; many of which appear to have grown: & lately he sowed two pounds more.  *added note:  Decembr 1790.  As fast as any of these seeds have sprouted, they have constantly been brouzed off, & bitten down by the sheep, which lie very hard on them, & will not suffer them to thrive.

Woodcock seen on the down, among the fern.  Finished gathering the apples, many of which are fair fruit.  Shoveled the zigzag.  Leaves fall.  My wall-nut trees, & some ashes are naked.