The Natural History of Selborne

Timothy Turner cuts Baker’s hill, the crop of which he has bought.  It is St foin run to seed, the 17th crop.

On this day my Godson, Littleton Etty discovered a young Cuckow in one of the yew hedges of the vicarage garden, sitting in a small nest that would scarce contain the bird, tho’ not half grown. By watching in a morning we found that the owners of the nest were hedge-sparrows, who were much busied in feeding their great booby. The nest is in so secret a place that it is to be wondered how the parent Cuckow could discover it. Tho’ the bird is very young it is very fierce, gaping, & striking at peoples fingers, & heaving up by way of menace, & striving to intimidate those that approach it. This is now only the fourth young cuckow that I have ever seen in a nest: three of those h. sparrows, & one in that of a tit-lark. As I rose up the N. field-hill lane I saw young partridges, that were about two or three days old, skulking in the cart-ruts; while the dams ran hovering & crying up the horse-track, as if wounded, to draw off my attention.

Began to cut my meadow-grass; a good crop.  Mr & Mrs Richardson left us.  Low creeping mists.  Yellow even.

Mr & Mrs Richardson came.

Fire in the parlor.

Towards the end of June they haad snow in Austria, & the vines were frozen.

The wind broke-off a great bough from Molly White’s horse-chestnut tree.

Dark & chilly, rain.  Cold and comfortless.

Narrow-leaved iris, cornflag, & purple martagons blow.  Butter-fly orchids in the hanger.

Phallus impudicus, a stink-pot comes up in Mr. Burbey’s asparagus-bed.  Received a Hogsh: of port-wine, imported at Southampton.