The Natural History of Selborne

• 1788: February 18, 1788 – Turnip-tops come into eating.  The ground dries at a wonderous rate.
• 1786: February 18, 1786 – Pleasant season: paths dry.  Men plough & sow.  Large titmouse sings his three notes.
• 1785: February 18, 1785 – Carried the apples, pears, & roots into the cellars.
• 1783: February 18, 1783 – Cleaned-up the borders in the garden.  Sowed radishes, & a few carrots under the fruit-wall.
• 1781: February 18, 1781 – The storms in the beginning of the week did great damage by sea, & land.
• 1773: February 18, 1773 – Lambs fall strong, & thrive very fast.  Last year numbers perished.
• 1769: February 18, 1769 – The missel-bird, turdus viscivorus (called by the country people the storm-cock) sings.  Some flies appear in the windows.  Gnats abound.

A thousand apoligies for the hiatus– I’ll try not to let that happen again!

• 1792: February 9, 1792 – Tubbed, & pickled a fat porker: weight nine scores, & eleven pounds: price 8s & 4d, from farmer Hoar.
• 1791: February 9, 1791 – Sowed cucumber-seeds in pots plunged in the hot-bed: bed heats well.
• 1783: February 9, 1783 – Vast rain in the night, with some thunder, & hail.  Peter Well’s well runs over.
• 1782: February 9, 1782 – Venus sheds again her silvery light on the walls of my chamber, &c. & shadows very strongly.
• 1779: February 9, 1779 – The garden works well: sowed pease, & planted beans.  Crocus’s blow.
• 1777: February 9, 1777 – Very harsh day.  The fieldfares now feed on sloes, which abound on the hedges.  ‘Til now I never observed that any birds touched the sloes.
• 1775: February 9, 1775 – Many species of Insects are stirring thro’ every month in mild winters.
• 1774: February 9, 1774 – Jupiter & Venus approximate very fast. Venus is very bright, & makes strong shadows on the floors, & walls.
• 1773: February 9, 1773 – Made hot bed.
• 1772: February 9, 1772 – Red-breasts and hedge-sparrows whistle.  Snow gone, save under hedges.  Ravens seem paired.
• 1771: February 9, 1771 – A Decanter of water froze in my chamber. Thermomr abroad 28. Eggs in the ovary of a turkey-pullet about the size of mustard-seeds. Mem: to enquire when the pullets of the same brood will begin to lay.

Notes:

It’s hard to believe in this light-polluted age that Venus could cast visible shadows, but it does!

• 1793: February 8, 1793 – War declared & letters of Marque granted against the french Republic.
• 1792: February 8, 1792 – The hasels in my hedges are illuminated by numbers of catkins.  Bantam lays.
• 1789: February 8, 1789 – The open catkins illuminate the hazels; these are the male blossoms: the fameal are so minute as to be scarce discernible.
• 1782: February 8, 1782 – Venus shadows very strongly, showing the bars of the windows on the floors & walls.
• 1775: February 8, 1775 – Many species of muscae come-out. Earth-worms lie out at their holes after ’tis dark.
• 1774: February 8, 1774 – Freezes sharply all day.  The cones of last year fall very fast from ye spruce-firs.
• 1773: February 8, 1773 – Severe frost. Ground hard all day.
• 1770: February 8, 1770 – Bunting, emberiza alba, in small flocks.

Notes:

A “Letter of Marque”, as all Patrick O’Brian fans know, authorizes a private vessel to undertake what was essentially legal piracy, harassing, sinking, and capturing ships provided they belonged to the enemy. From a 1799 Letter of Marque: “These are to certify that Joseph Freeman of Liverpool in the Province of Nova Scotia Master of the Ship called the Duke of Kent a British Ship Navigated by one hundred men including officers Mounting Twenty Carriage Guns having Applied to me for an Authority to cruise against all His Majesty’s Enemies & having received his Majesty’s Commands to encourage all His Majesty’s Subjects by every means in their power to distress and annoy the Trade of all His Majestys Enemies.”

• 1791: February 7, 1791 – Bull-finches make sad havoc among the buds of my cherry, & apricot trees they also destroy the buds of the goos-berries, & honey-suckles!  [Later note:] These birds were not observed at the time, nor do they seem to abound.  It appeared afterward, that this damage was done by a flight of gross-beaks.
• 1786: February 7, 1786 – Driving rain.  Strong flaws, & gusts with rain, hail, & thunder.
• 1783: February 7, 1783 – Much rain in the night.  Flood at Gracious street.
• 1779: February 7, 1779 – Lambs come very fast.  Bats appear.  Field-pease are sowing.
• 1776: February 7, 1776 – Great rains, & vast floods thro’ the month of February.
• 1774: February 7, 1774 – Continual vicissitudes from frost to rain.  Land-floods advance.
• 1772: February 7, 1772 – Cole-mouse picks bones in the yard.  The snow has lain on the ground this evening just 21 days; a long period for England!
• 1770: February 7, 1770 – Most vehement wind, with snow!!! Wind blows off tiles & thatch.
• 1769: February 7, 1769 – Helleborus viridis, planted in my orchard from the stony-lane, begins to spring.  It rises from the earth with it’s flower-buds formed: & differs from Helleborus foetidus, that it dies down to the ground in the autumn, while that maintains a large handsome plant all winter.

We don’t do a whole lot of announcements on this blog, as there isn’t really much news on the Gilbert White front. Of great interest to UK White fans though: on March 8 at the Jermyn Street Theater, Ronnie Davidson-Houston, editor of the Thames and Huston edition of The Illustrated Natural History of Selborne and occasional consultant on this blog, is reprising his one-man show on Gilbert White and his works. Get your tickets early as it sold out last year!

• 1792: February 6, 1792 – Fairey-rings encrease on my grass-plot.
• 1790: February 6, 1790 – The great titmouse, or sit-ye-down, sings.  One crocus is blown-out.  Insects abound in the air: bees gather much on the snowdrops, & winter-aconites.  Gossamer is seen streaming from the boughs of trees.
• 1785: February 6, 1785 – Young sheep suffer much by the weather, & look poorly.
• 1784: February 6, 1784 – Sowed 48 bushels of peat-ashes on the great meadow, which covered more than half.  31 bush: were bought of my neighbours.
• 1778: February 6, 1778 – Ravens carry over materials & seem to be building.
• 1776: February 6, 1776 – Part of the snow gone at Selborne.  It lay for many weeks in deep hollow lanes.
• 1774: February 6, 1774 – Bees play much about their hives.
• 1773: February 6, 1773 – Snow all melted in the morning.  Vast flocks of hen chaffinches.
• 1772: February 6, 1772 – Hard frost, sunshine.  Deep snow covers the ground.  Beautiful winter-pieces.
• 1771: February 6, 1771 – Frost, sun, fog, rain, sown.  Bunting twitters.
• 1770: February 6, 1770 – Crocus vernus.  Hedge-sparrow, curruca, sings. Vast halo round the moon.

• 1793: February 5, 1793 – Mrs. J. White set out for Kingston on Thames.
• 1791: February 5, 1791 – Thaw, sun, grey.  Hot-bed heats.
• 1789: February 5, 1789 – As one of farmer Spencer’s cows was gamboling, & frisking about last summer on the edge of the short Lythe, she fell, & rolled over to the bottom.  Yet so far was she from receiving any injury by this dangerous tumble, that she fattened very kindly, & being killed this spring proved fine beef.
• 1788: February 5, 1788 – A couple of woodcocks were given me.
• 1782: February 5, 1782 – Knee-holly, or butcher’s bloom, blows.
• 1775: February 5, 1775 – Helleborus viridis emerges out of the ground, budding for bloom.  Laurustine blooms.
• 1774: February 5, 1774 – Frost, sun, yellow evening.
• 1773: February 5, 1773 – Primula vulgaris.  Ground hard frozen.
• 1771: February 5, 1771 – Warm fog.  Grey crows. Creeping mist over the meadows.

• 1793: February 4, 1793 – Venus is very bright, & shadows.
• 1792: February 4, 1792 – Spring-like: crocus blows: gossamer floats: musca tenax comes forth: blackbird whistles.
• 1791: February 4, 1791 – Benham finished mending the hedges.
• 1789: February 4, 1789 – Green rye has a delicate soft tinge in its colour, distinguishable from that of wheat at a considerable distance.
• 1788: February 4, 1788 – Bror. Thomas left us, & went to London.
• 1786: February 4, 1786 – Sowed a good coat of ash on Baker’s hill, & also on the great meadow.  Bought 40 bushels of ashes of Mrs Etty, & 36 bushels of sundry others.  Sowed my own also.
• 1785: February 4, 1785 – Arbutus’s, Cypresses, Ilex’s seem to be dead: even Portugal-laurels are injured, & Cedars of Libanus, American, & Swedish Junipers, & firs, Scotch & Spruce untouched.
• 1784: February 4, 1784 – Hard frosts.  Paths thaw.  Fleecy clouds.  Sky muddled.  Halo.
• 1780: February 4, 1780 – Wag-tails appear about the streams thro’ all the severe weather.
• 1773: February 4, 1773 – Larks congregate.
• 1772: February 4, 1772 – Considerable driving snow in the night, which powdered the trees & woods in a most beautiful, & and romantic manner.  Ground all covered.
• 1769: February 4, 1769 – Fog, rain, sun, grey.  Hedge sparrows sing vehemently.

• 1793: February 3, 1793 – A strong gust in the night blew down the rain-gage, which, by the appearance in the tubs, must have contained a considerable quantity of water.
• 1791: February 3, 1791 – Covered the asparagus beds, & the artichokes with muckle: these were grown out very tall.
• 1786: February 3, 1786 – The marsh-timouse begins his two harsh, sharp notes.
• 1784: February 3, 1784 – A near neighbour of mine shot at a brace of hares out of his window; & at the same discharge killed one, & wounded another.  So I hope our gardens will not be so much molested.  Much mischief has been done by these animals.
• 1777: February 3, 1777 – The Planet Mercury is now to be seen every evening: it is nearer to the horizon than Venus, & more to the right hand, setting somewhat S. of the W. about six in the evening.  Will be visible about six days longer.
• 1773: February 3, 1773 – Ice within doors.  Some flakes of snow.
• 1772: February 3, 1772 – In the evening of Feb. the 3rd the sheep were ravenous after their hay & before bed-time came a great flight of snow with wind.  Sheep are desirous of filling their bellies against bad weather: & are by their voraciousness prognostic of that bad weather.  They also frolic & gambol about at such seasons.
• 1771: February 3, 1771 – Hens sit.  Soft, spring-like weather.  Rooks resort to their nest-trees.

Owl by T. Bewick

• 1792: February 2, 1792 – Grass-walks are very verduruous.
• 1791: February 2, 1791 – Prodigious high tide at London & in it’s environs!  it did much damage in various parts.
• 1788: January 2, 1788 – Second Bantham pullet lays.  Cucumbers sprout.
• 1787: February 2, 1787 – Storm-cock sings.  Brown wood-owls come down from the hanger in the dusk of the evening, & sit hooting all night on my wall-nut trees.  Their note is like a fine vox humana, & very tunable.  The owls probably watch for mice about the buildings.  White owls haunt my barn, but do not seem to perch often on the trees.
• 1785: February 2, 1785 – The scorched laurels cast their leaves, & are almost naked.
• 1780: February 2, 1780 – Vast condensations, drippings from the trees.
• 1775: February 2, 1775 – Much damage at Portsmouth by unusual tides, & at the isle of Wight.  * A rook should be shot weekly the year thro’, & it’s crop examined: hence perhaps might be discovered whether in the whole they do more harm or good from the contents at various periods.  Tho’ this experiment might show that the birds often injure corn, & turneps; ye the continual consumption of grubs, & noxious insects would rather preponderate in their favour.
• 1774: February 2, 1774 – The land-springs have not been so high since spring 1764.
• 1773: February 2, 1773 – No snow lies.
• 1772: February 2, 1772 – Much old snow remaining, & the bare places now covered again.  Tom-tit attempts it’s spring note.

Frost Fair of 1814, Luke Clenell

• 1793: February 1, 1793 – The Republic of France declares war against England & Holland.
• 1792: February 1, 1792 – Turner’s heifers feed down the dead grass in my great mead.
• 1791: February 1, 1791 – My apricot trees were never stripped of their buds before; & therefore seem to have suffered from a casual flight of gross-beaks, that came into these parts.
• 1790: February 1, 1790 – A fine young hog salted & tubbed; weight 7 scores, & 18 pounds.
• 1789: February 1, 1789 – Boys play at taw on the Plestor.  Two of the Bantam hens lay each an egg.
• 1788: February 1, 1788 – Received a brace of pheasants from Woodhouse farm.
• 1786: February 1, 1786 – The hazels are finely illuminated with male bloom.  Female bloom of hazels appears, & the male-bloom sheds it’s farina.
• 1785: February 1, 1785 – On this cold day about noon a bat was flying round Gracious street-pond, & dipping down & sipping the water, like swallows, as it flew: all the while the wind was very sharp, & the boys were standing on the ice.
• 1782: February 1, 1782 – The wheatfields so hard that they carry a waggon & horses.
• 1776: February 1, 1776 – Snow now lying on the roofs for 26 days!  Thames frozen above and below bridge; crowds of people running about on the ice.  The streets strangely encumbered with snow, which crumbles & treads like bay salt– Carriages run without any noise or clatter.  Thaws,  have observed, frequently take place immediately from intense freezing; as men in sickness often begin to mend from a paroxysm.
• 1775: Feburary 1, 1775 – Vast rain, stormy.  Much damage was done by sea & land; & on the river at London.
• 1774: February 1, 1774 – Considerable snow.
• 1768: February 1, 1768 – Jack-daw, monedula, chatters on churches.  Went to London.

Notes:

A nice page with many images and period reportage on the history of freezes on the Thames.