The Natural History of Selborne

Established summer.  Corn-flag blows.

My potatoes do but just sprout above ground.  Sweet Williams blow.  When the hen fly-catcher sits on her eggs, the cock feeds her with great assiduity, even on ’till past nine in the evening.

The late severe winter, & spring seem to have destroyed most of the black snails.  Planted-out all the annuals in general down Baker’s hill, & in the garden.  The plants are strong, & vigorous, & the season very favourable; the earth is well moistened, & the weather warm, still, shady, & dripping.

Planted the bank in the garden, & the opposite border with China asters all the whole length.

Dame’s violets blow, & are very double.

Several halo’s & mock-suns this morning.  Wheat looks black, & gross.  Crickets sing much on the hearth this evening:  they feel the influence of moist air, & sing against rain.  As the great wall-nut tree has no foliage this year, we have hung the meat-safe on Miss White’s Sycomore, which she planted a nut;  where it will be much in the air, & be well sheltered from the sun by leaves.

Abram Loe came.  My well is very low.

Thomas persists in picking the cocci off the vine, and has destroyed hundreds.

Rose-fly, a green scarab.  Tho’ the stream has been dry for some time at Gracious street quite down to Kimber’s mead; yet, when it meets Well-head stream at Dorton, it is little inferior to that.  This shows that there are several springs along the foot of the short Lithe, as well as a constant one at Kimber’s.

Wood-ruff blows.