BIRDS IN GENERAL.

IN ſevere weather, fieldfares, red wings, ſky larks, and tit larks reſort to watered meadows for food; the latter wades up to its belly in purſuit of the pupae of inſects, and runs along upon the floating graſs and weeds. Many gnats are on the ſnow near the water, theſe ſupport the birds in part.

Birds are much influenced in their choice of food by colour, for though white currants are a much ſweeter fruit than red, yet they ſeldom touch the former till they have de⯑voured every bunch of the latter.

[58] Red-ſtarts, Fly-catchers and Black-caps arrive early in April. If theſe little delicate beings are birds of paſſage, (as we have rea⯑ſon to ſuppoſe they are, becauſe they are never ſeen in winter) how could they, feeble as they ſeem, bear up againſt ſuch ſtorms of ſnow and rain, and make their way through ſuch meteorous turbulencies, as one ſhould ſuppoſe would embarraſs and retard the moſt hardy and reſolute of the winged nation? Yet they keep their ap⯑pointed times and ſeaſons; and in ſpite of froſts and winds return to their ſtations pe⯑riodically as if they had met with nothing to obſtruct them. The withdrawing and appearance of the ſhort winged ſummer birds is a very puzzling circumſtance in natural hiſtory!

When the boys bring me waſps neſts, my bantam fowls fare deliciouſly, and when the [59] combs are pulled to pieces, devour the young waſps in their maggot ſtate with the higheſt glee and delight. Any inſect-eating bird would do the ſame; and therefore I have often wondered that the accurate Mr. Ray ſhould call one ſpecies of buzzard buteo apivorus ſive veſpivorus, or the honey buzzard, becauſe ſome combs of waſps happened to be found in one of their neſts. The combs were conveyed thither doubtleſs for the ſake of the maggots or nymphs, and not for their honey: ſince none is to be found in the combs of waſps. Birds of prey occaſionally feed on inſects: thus have I ſeen a tame kite picking up the female ants full of eggs, with much ſatisfaction.

ROOKS.

ROOKS are continually fighting and pulling each others neſts to pieces: theſe proceed⯑ings [60] are inconſiſtent with living in ſuch cloſe community. And yet if a pair offers to build on a ſingle tree, the neſt is plun⯑dered and demoliſhed at once. Some rooks rooſt on their neſt trees. The twigs which the rooks drop in building ſupply the poor with bruſh-wood to light their fires. Some unhappy pairs are not permitted to finiſh any neſt till the reſt have completed their building. As ſoon as they get a few ſticks together, a party comes and demoliſhes the whole. As ſoon as rooks, have finiſhed their neſts, and before they lay, the cocks begin to feed the hens, who receive their bounty with a fondling, tremulous voice, and fluttering wings, and all the little blan⯑diſhments that are expreſſed by the young while in a helpleſs ſtate. This gallant de⯑portment of the males is continued through the whole ſeaſon of incubation. Theſe birds [61] do not copulate on trees, nor in their neſts, but on the ground in open fields.

THRUSHES.

THRUSHES during long droughts are of great ſervice in hunting out ſhell ſnails, which they pull in pieces for their young, and are thereby very ſerviceable in gardens.

Miſſel thruſhes do not deſtroy the fruit in gardens like the other ſpecies of turdi, but feed on the berries of miſſeltoe, and in the ſpring on ivy berries which then begin to ripen. In the ſummer, when their young become fledge, they leave neighbourhoods, and retire to ſheep walks and wild com⯑mons.

The magpies, when they have young, de⯑ſtroy the broods of miſſel thruſhes, though the dams are fierce birds, and fight boldly in defence of their neſts. It is probably to [62] avoid ſuch inſults, that this ſpecies of thruſh, though wild at other times, delights to build near houſes, and in frequented walks, and gardens.

POULTRY.

MANY creatures are endowed with a ready diſcernment to ſee what will turn to their own advantage and emolument; and often diſcover more fagacity than could be ex⯑pected. Thus my neighbour's poultry watch for waggons loaded with wheat, and running after them, pick up a number of grains which are ſhaken from the ſheaves by the agitation of the carriages. Thus, when my brother uſed to take down his gun to ſhoot ſparrows, his cats would run out before him, to be ready to catch up the birds as they fell.

The earneſt and early propenſity of the [63] gallinae to rooſt on high is very obſervable; and diſcovers a ſtrong dread impreſſed on their ſpirits reſpecting vermin that may annoy them on the ground during the hours of darkneſs. Hence, poultry, if left to them⯑ſelves and not houſed, will perch the winter through on yew-trees and fir-trees; and turkies, and guinea fowls, heavy as they are, get up into apple-trees: pheaſants alſo in woods ſleep on trees to avoid foxes; while pea fowls climb to the tops of the higheſt trees round their owner's houſe for ſecurity, let the weather be ever ſo cold or blowing. Partridges, it is true, rooſt on the ground, not having the faculty of perching; but then the ſame fear prevails in their minds; for through apprehenſions from pole-cats and ſtoats, they never truſt themſelves to co⯑verts; but neſtle together in the midſt of large fields, far removed from hedges and [64] coppices, which they love to haunt in the day, and where at that ſeaſon they can ſculk more ſecure from the ravages of rapacious birds.

As to ducks and geeſe, their awkward, ſplay, web feet forbid them to ſettle on trees; they therefore, in the hours of darkneſs and danger, betake themſelves to their own ele⯑ment, the water, where, amidſt large lakes and pools, like ſhips riding at anchor, they float the whole night long in peace and ſe⯑curity.

HEN PARTRIDGE.

A HEN Partridge came out of a ditch, and ran along ſhivering with her wings, and cry⯑ing out, as if wounded and unable to get from us. While the dam acted this diſ⯑treſs, the boy who attended me ſaw her brood, that was ſmall and unable to fly, run []

[65] for ſhelter into an old fox-earth under the bank. So wonderful a power is inſtinct!

A HYBRID PHEASANT.

LORD Stawell ſent me from the great lodge in the holt a curious bird for my in⯑ſpection. It was found by the ſpaniels of one of his keepers in a coppice, and ſhot on the wing. The ſhape, and air, and habit of the bird, and the ſcarlet ring round the eyes, agreed well with the appearance of a cock pheaſant; but then the head and neck and breaſt and belly were of a gloſſy black: and though it weighed 3 lb. 3½ oz.^* the weight of a large full grown cock pheaſant, yet there were no ſigns of any ſpurs on the legs, as is uſual with all grown cock phea⯑ſants, who have long ones. The legs and feet were naked of feathers; and therefore it could be nothing of the grous kind. In [66] the tail were no long bending feathers, ſuch as cock pheaſants uſually have; and are cha⯑racteriſtic of the ſex. The tail was much ſhorter than the tail of a hen pheaſant, and blunt and ſquare at the end. The back, wing-feathers, and tail, were all of a pale ruſſet curiouſly ſtreaked, ſomewhat like the upper parts of a hen partridge. I returned it, with my verdict, that it was probably a ſpurious or hybrid hen bird, bred between a cock pheaſant and ſome domeſtic fowl. When I came to talk with the keeper who brought it, he told me that ſome peahens had been known laſt ſummer to haunt the coppices and coverts where this mule was found.

Mr. Elmer, of Farnham, the famous game painter, was employed to take an exact copy of this curious bird.

N. B. It ought to be mentioned, that ſome good judges have imagined this bird to have been a ſtray grous or black-cock; it is [67] however to be obſerved, that Mr. W. re⯑marks that its legs and feet were naked, where⯑as thoſe of the grous are feathered to the toes.

LAND RAIL.

A MAN brought me a land-rail or daker-hen, a bird ſo rare in this diſtrict, that we ſeldom ſee more than one or two in a ſea⯑ſon, and thoſe only in autumn. This is deemed a bird of paſſage by all the writers: yet from its formation ſeems to be poorly qualified for migration; for its wings are ſhort, and placed ſo forward, and out of the centre of gravity, that it flies in a very heavy and embarraſſed manner, with its legs hanging down; and can hardly be ſprung a ſecond time, as it runs very faſt, and ſeems to depend more on the ſwiftneſs of its feet than on its flying.

When we came to draw it, we found the [68] entrails ſo ſoft and tender that in appearance they might have been dreſſed like the ropes of a woodcock. The craw or crop was ſmall and lank, containing a mucus; the gizzard thick and ſtrong, and filled with ſmall ſhell ſnails, ſome whole, and many ground to pieces through the attrition which is occaſioned by the muſcular force and mo⯑tion of that inteſtine. We ſaw no gravels among the food: perhaps the ſhell ſnails might perform the functions of gravels or pebbles, and might grind one another. Land-rails uſed to abound formerly, I remember, in the low wet bean fields of Chriſtian-Malford in North Wilts, and in the mea⯑dows near Paradiſe gardens at Oxford, where I have often heard them cry crex, crex. The bird mentioned above weighed 7½ oz. was fat and tender, and in flavour like the fleſh of a woodcock. The liver was very large and delicate.

FOOD OF THE RING DOVE.

ONE of my neighbours ſhot a ring-dove on an evening as it was returning from feed and going to rooſt. When his wife had picked and drawn it, ſhe found its craw ſtuffed with the moſt nice and tender tops of turnips. Theſe ſhe waſhed and boiled, and ſo ſate down to a choice and delicate plate of greens, culled and provided in this extraordinary manner.

Hence we may ſee that graminivorous birds, when grain fails, can ſubſiſt on the leaves of vegetables. There is reaſon to ſuppoſe that they would not long be healthy without, for turkies, though corn fed, de⯑light in a variety of plants, ſuch as cabbage, lettuce, endive, &c. And poultry pick much graſs; while geeſe live for months to⯑gether on commons by grazing alone.

HEN HARRIER.

MR. WHITE of Newton ſprung a phea⯑ſant in a wheat ſtubble, and ſhot at it; when, notwithſtanding the report of the gun, it was immediately purſued by the blue hawk, known by the name of the hen⯑harrier, but eſcaped into ſome covert. He then ſprung a ſecond, and a third, in the ſame field, that got away in the ſame manner; the hawk hovering round him all the while that he was beating the field, conſcious no doubt of the game that lurked in the ſtubble. Hence we may conclude that this bird of prey was rendered very daring and [71] bold by hunger, and that hawks cannot al⯑ways ſeize their game when they pleaſe. We may farther obſerve, that they cannot pounce their quarry on the ground where it might be able to make a ſtout reſiſtance, ſince ſo large a fowl as a pheaſant could not but be viſible to the piercing eye of a hawk when hovering over a field. Hence that propenſity of cowring and ſquatting till they are almoſt trod on, which no doubt was intended as a mode of ſecurity: though long rendered deſtructive to the whole race of gallinae by the invention of nets and guns.

GREAT SPECKLED DIVER, OR LOON.

As one of my neighbours was traverſing Wolmer foreſt from Bramſhot acroſs the moors, he found a large uncommon bird fluttering in the heath, but not wounded, [72] which he brought home alive. On exami⯑nation it proved to be Colymbus glacialis Linn: the great ſpeckled diver or loon, which is moſt excellently deſcribed in Wil⯑lughby's ornithology.

Every part and proportion of this bird is ſo incomparably adapted to its mode of life, that in no inſtance do we ſee the wiſ⯑dom of God in the creation to more ad⯑vantage. The head is ſharp, and ſmaller than the part of the neck adjoining, in order that it may pierce the water; the wings are placed forward and out of the center of gravity, for a purpoſe which ſhall be noticed hereafter; the thighs quite at the podex, in order to facilitate diving; and the legs are flat, and as ſharp backwards almoſt as the edge of a knife, that in ſtriking they may eaſily cut the water; while the feet are palmated, and broad for ſwimming, yet ſo [73] folded up when advanced forward to take a freſh ſtroke, as to be full as narrow as the ſhank. The two exterior toes of the feet are longeſt; the nails flat and broad re⯑ſembling the human, which give ſtrength and increaſe the power of ſwimming. The foot, when expanded, is not at right angles to the leg or body of the bird: but the ex⯑terior part inclining towards the head forms an acute angle with the body; the intention being not to give motion in the line of the legs themſelves, but by the combined im⯑pulſe of both in an intermediate line, the line of the body.

Moſt people know, that have obſerved at all, that the ſwimming of birds is nothing more than a walking in the water, where one foot ſucceeds the other as on the land; yet no one, as far as I am aware, has re⯑marked [74] that diving fowls, while under water, impel and row themſelves forward by a mo⯑tion of their wings, as well as by the impulſe of their feet: but ſuch is really the caſe, as any perſon may eaſily be convinced who will obſerve ducks when hunted by dogs in a clear pond. Nor do I know that any one has given a reaſon why the wings of diving fowls are placed ſo forward: doubtleſs, not for the purpoſe of promoting their ſpeed in flying, ſince that poſition certainly impedes it; but probably for the increaſe of their motion under water, by the uſe of four oars inſtead of two; yet were the wings and feet nearer together, as in land birds, they would, when in action, rather hinder than aſſiſt one another.

This Colymbus was of conſiderable bulk, weighing only three drachms ſhort of three [75] pounds avoirdupois. It meaſured in length from the bill to the tail (which was very ſhort) two feet; and to the extremities of the toes four inches more; and the breadth of the wings expanded was 42 inches. A perſon attempted to eat the body, but found it very ſtrong and rancid, as is the fleſh of all birds living on fiſh. Divers or Loons, though bred in the moſt northerly parts of Europe, yet are ſeen with us in very ſevere winters; and on the Thames are called ſprat loons, becauſe they prey much on that ſort of fiſh.

The legs of the Colymbi and Mergi are placed ſo very backward, and ſo out of all center of gravity, that theſe birds cannot walk at all. They are called by Linnaeus compedes, becauſe they move on the ground as if ſhackled, or fettered.

STONE CURLEW.

ON the 27th of February 1788, Stone Cur⯑lews were heard to pipe; and on March 1ſt, after it was dark, ſome were paſſing over the village, as might be perceived by their quick ſhort note, which they uſe in their nocturnal excurſions by way of watch-word, that they may not ſtray and loſe their com⯑panions.

Thus, we ſee, that retire whitherſoever they may in the winter, they return again early in the ſpring, and are, as it now appears, the firſt ſummer birds that come back. Perhaps the mildneſs of the ſeaſon may have quickened the emigration of the cur⯑lews this year.

They ſpend the day in high elevated fields and ſheep-walks; but ſeem to deſcend in the night to ſtreams and meadows, perhaps for [77] water, which their upland haunts do not afford them.

THE SMALLEST WILLOW WREN.

THE ſmalleſt uncreſted or willow wren, or chiff chaf, is the next early ſummer bird which we have remarked; it utters two ſharp piercing notes, ſo loud in hollow woods as to occaſion an echo, and is uſually firſt heard about the 20th of March.

FERN OWL, OR GOAT SUCKER.

THE country people have a notion that the fern owl, or churn owl, or eve-jarr, which they alſo call a puckeridge, is very injurious to weanling calves, by inflicting, as it ſtrikes at them, the fatal diſtemper known to cow⯑leeches by the name of puckeridge. Thus does this harmleſs, ill-fated bird fall under a double imputation which it by no means [78] deſerves; in Italy, of ſucking the teats of goats, whence it is called caprimulgus; and with us, of communicating a deadly diſorder to cattle. But the truth of the matter is, the malady above mentioned is occaſioned by the Oeſtrus bovis, a dipterous inſect which lays its eggs along the chines of kine, where the maggots, when hatched, eat their way through the hide of the beaſt into the fleſh, and grow to a very large ſize. I have juſt talked with a man, who ſays, he has more than once ſtripped calves who have died of the puckeridge; that the ail or complaint lay along the chine, where the fleſh was much ſwelled, and filled with purulent matter. Once I myſelf ſaw a large rough maggot of this ſort ſqueezed out of the back of a cow.

Theſe maggots in Eſſex are called wornils.

The leaſt obſervation and attention would convince men, that theſe birds neither injure [79] the goatherd nor the grazier, but are per⯑fectly harmleſs, and ſubſiſt alone, being night birds, on night inſects, ſuch as ſcarabaei and phalaenae; and through the month of July moſtly on the ſcarabaeus ſolſtitialis, which in many diſtricts abounds at that ſeaſon. Thoſe that we have opened, have always had their craws ſtuffed with large night-moths and their eggs, and pieces of chaffers: nor does it anywiſe appear how they can, weak and unarmed as they ſeem, inflict any harm upon kine, unleſs they poſſeſs the powers of animal magnetiſm, and can affect them by fluttering over them.

A fern owl, this evening (Auguſt 27), ſhowed off in a very unuſual and entertaining manner, by hawking round and round the circumference of my great ſpreading oak, for twenty times following, keeping moſtly cloſe to the graſs, but occaſionally glanc⯑ing [80] up amidſt the boughs of the tree. This amuſing bird was then in purſuit of a brood of ſome particular phalaena belonging to the oak, of which there are ſeveral ſorts; and exhibited on the occaſion a command of wing ſuperior, I think, to that of the ſwallow itſelf.

When a perſon approaches the haunt of fern-owls in an evening, they continue fly⯑ing round the head of the obtruder, and by ſtriking their wings together above their backs, in the manner that the pigeons called ſmiters are known to do, make a ſmart ſnap: perhaps at that time they are jealous for their young; and this noiſe and geſture are intended by way of menace.

Fern-owls have attachment to oaks, no doubt on account of food; for the next evening we ſaw one again ſeveral times among the boughs of the ſame tree; but it [81] did not ſkim round its ſtem over the graſs; as on the evening before. In May theſe birds find the Scarabaeus melolontha on the oak; and the Scarabaeus ſolſtitialis at Mid⯑ſummer. Theſe peculiar birds can only be watched and obſerved for two hours in the twenty-four; and then in a dubious twilight, an hour after ſun-ſet and an hour before ſun-riſe.

On this day (July 14, 1789) a woman brought me two eggs of a fern-owl, or eve-jarr, which ſhe found on the verge of the hanger, to the left of the hermitage under a beechen ſhrub. This perſon, who lives juſt at the foot of the hanger, ſeems well acquainted with theſe nocturnal ſwallows, and ſays ſhe has often found their eggs near that place, and that they lay only two at a time on the bare ground. The eggs were oblong, duſky, and ſtreaked ſomewhat in the [82] manner of the plumage of the parent bird, and were equal in ſize at each end. The dam was ſitting on the eggs when found, which contained the rudiments of young, and would have been hatched perhaps in a week. From hence we may ſee the time of their breeding, which correſponds pretty well with that of the ſwift, as does alſo the period of their arrival. Each ſpecies is uſually ſeen about the beginning of May. Each breeds but once in a ſummer; each lays only two eggs.

July 4, 1790. The woman who brought me two Fern-owls eggs laſt year on July 14, on this day produced me two more, one of which had been laid this morning, as ap⯑pears plainly, becauſe there was only one in the neſt the evening before. They were found, as laſt July, on the verge of the down above the hermitage under a beechen ſhrub, [83] on the naked ground.—Laſt year thoſe eggs were full of young, and juſt ready to be hatched.

Theſe circumſtances point out the exact time when theſe curious nocturnal migra⯑tory birds lay their eggs, and hatch their young.

Fern-owls, like ſnipes, ſtone curlews, and ſome other birds, make no neſt. Birds that build on the ground do not make much of neſts.

SAND MARTINS.

MARCH 23, 1788. A gentleman who was this week on a viſit at Waverley, took the opportunity of examining ſome of the holes in the ſand banks with which that diſtrict abounds. As theſe are undoubtedly bored by bank-martins, and are the places where they avowedly breed, he was in hopes they [84] might have ſlept there alſo, and that he might have ſurpriſed them juſt as they were awaking from their winter ſlumbers. When he had dug for ſome time, he found the holes were horizontal, and ſerpentine, as I had obſerved before; and that the neſts were depoſited at the inner end, and had been occupied by broods in former ſummers: but no torpid birds were to be found. He opened and examined about a dozen holes. Another gentleman made the ſame ſearch many years ago, with as little ſucceſs.

Theſe holes were in depth about two feet.

March 21, 1790. A ſingle bank or ſand martin was ſeen hovering and playing round the ſand pit at Short heath, where in the ſummer they abound.

April 9, 1793. A ſober hind aſſures us, that this day, on Wiſh-hanger common be⯑tween [85] Hedleigh and Frinſham, he ſaw ſeve⯑ral bank-martins playing in and out, and hanging before ſome neſt holes in a ſand hill, where theſe birds uſually neſtle.

This incident confirms my ſuſpicions, that this ſpecies of hirundo is to be ſeen firſt of any; and gives great reaſon to ſuppoſe that they do not leave their wild haunts at all, but are ſecreted amidſt the clefts and caverns of thoſe abrupt cliffs where they uſually ſpend their ſummers.

The late ſevere weather conſidered, it is not very probable that theſe birds ſhould have migrated ſo early from a tropical re⯑gion, through all theſe cutting winds, and pinching froſts: but it is eaſy to ſuppoſe that they may, like bats and flies, have been awakened by the influence of the ſun, amidſt their ſecret latebrae where they have ſpent the [86] uncomfortable, foodleſs months in a torpid ſtate, and the profoundeſt of ſlumbers.

There is a large pond at Wiſh-hanger which induces theſe ſand-martins to frequent that diſtrict. For I have ever remarked that they haunt near great waters, either rivers, or lakes.

SWALLOWS, CONGREGATING, AND DISAPPEARANCE OF.

DURING the ſevere winds that often pre⯑vail late in the ſpring, it is not eaſy to ſay how the hirundines ſubſiſt: for they with⯑draw themſelves, and are hardly ever ſeen, nor do any inſects appear for their ſupport. That they can retire to reſt, and ſleep away theſe uncomfortable periods, as the bats do, is a matter rather to be ſuſpected than proved: or do they not rather ſpend their [87] time in deep and ſheltered vales near waters, where inſects are more likely to be found? Certain it is, that hardly any individuals of this genus have at ſuch times been ſeen for ſeveral days together.

September 13, 1791. The congregating flocks of hirundines on the church and tower are very beautiful and amuſing! When they fly off all together from the roof, on any alarm, they quite ſwarm in the air. But they ſoon ſettle in heaps, and preening their feathers, and lifting up their wings to admit the ſun, ſeem highly to enjoy the warm ſituation. Thus they ſpend the heat of the day, preparing for their emigration, and as it were conſulting when and where they are to go. The flight about the church ſeems to conſiſt chiefly of houſe-martins, about 400 in number: but there are other places of [88] rendezvouz about the village frequented at the ſame time.

It is remarkable, that though moſt of them ſit on the battlements and roof, yet many hang or cling for ſome time by their claws againſt the ſurface of the walls, in a manner not practiſed by them at any other time of their remaining with us.

The ſwallows ſeem to delight more in holding their aſſemblies on trees.

Nov. 3, 1789. Two ſwallows were ſeen this morning at Newton vicarage houſe, hovering and ſettling on the roofs and out-buildings. None have been obſerved at Selborne ſince October 11. It is very re⯑markable, that after the hirundines have diſ⯑appeared for ſome weeks, a few are occa⯑ſionally ſeen again. Sometimes, in the firſt week in November, and that only for one [89] day. Do they not withdraw and ſlumber in ſome hiding place during the interval? for we cannot ſuppoſe they had migrated to warmer climes, and ſo returned again for one day. Is it not more probable that they are awakened from ſleep, and like the bats are come forth to collect a little food? Bats appear at all ſeaſons, through the autumn and ſpring months, when the thermometer is at 50, becauſe then phalaenae, moths, are ſtirring.

Theſe ſwallows looked like young ones.

WAGTAILS.

WHILE the cows are feeding in moiſt low paſtures, broods of wagtails, white and grey, run round them, cloſe up to their noſes, and under their very bellies, availing themſelves of the flies that ſettle on their legs, and probably finding worms and larvae that are [90] rouſed by the trampling of their feet. Na⯑ture is ſuch an oeconomiſt, that the moſt in⯑congruous animals can avail themſelves of each other! intereſt makes ſtrange friend⯑ſhips.

WRYNECK.

THESE birds appear on the graſs-plots and walks; they walk a little as well as hop, and thruſt their bills into the turf, in queſt, I conclude, of ants, which are their food. While they hold their bills in the graſs, they draw out their prey with their tongues, which are ſo long as to be coiled round their heads.

GROSBEAK.

MR. B. ſhot a cock groſbeak which he had obſerved to haunt his garden for more than a fortnight. I began to accuſe this bird of making ſad havock among the buds [91] of the cherries, gooſeberries, and wall fruit, of all the neighbouring orchards. Upon opening its crop or craw, no buds were to be ſeen; but a maſs of kernels of the ſtones of fruits. Mr. B. obſerved that this bird frequented the ſpot where plum trees grow; and that he had ſeen it with ſomewhat hard in its mouth, which it broke with difficulty; theſe were the ſtones of damſons. The latin ornithologiſts call this bird coccothrauſtes, i. e. berry-breaker, becauſe with its large, horny beak, it cracks and breaks the ſhells of ſtone fruits for the ſake of the ſeed or kernel. Birds of this ſort are rarely ſeen in England, and only in winter.

SHEEP.

THE ſheep on the downs this winter (1769) are very ragged, and their coats much torn; the ſhepherds ſay they tear their fleeces with their own mouths and horns, and that they are always in that way in mild, wet winters, being teaſed and tickled with a kind of lice.

After ewes and lambs are ſhorn, there is great confuſion and bleating, neither the dams nor the young being able to diſtinguiſh one another as before. This embarraſſment ſeems not ſo much to ariſe from the loſs of [93] the fleece, which may occaſion an alteration in their appearance, as from the defect of that notus odor, diſcriminating each individual perſonally; which alſo is confounded by the ſtrong ſcent of the pitch and tar wherewith they are newly marked. For the brute creation recognize each other more from the ſmell than the ſight; and in matters of iden⯑tity and diverſity, appeal much more to their noſes, than to their eyes.

After ſheep have been waſhed there is the ſame confuſion, from the reaſon given above.

RABBITS.

RABBITS make incomparably the fineſt turf; for they not only bite cloſer than larger quadrupeds, but they allow no bents to riſe: hence warrens produce much the moſt delicate turf for gardens. Sheep never touch the ſtalks of graſſes.

CAT AND SQUIRRELS.

A BOY has taken three little young ſquir⯑rels in their neſt or drey as it is called in theſe parts. Theſe ſmall creatures he put under the care of a cat who had lately loſt her kittens, and finds that ſhe nurſes and ſuckles them with the ſame aſſiduity and affection as if they were her own offspring. This circumſtance corroborates my ſuſpicion, that the mention of expoſed and deſerted children being nurtured by female beaſts of prey who had loſt their young, may not be ſo impro⯑bable an incident as many have ſuppoſed; and therefore may be a juſtification of thoſe authors, who have gravely mentioned, what ſome have deemed to be a wild and impro⯑bable ſtory.

So many people went to ſee the little ſquirrels ſuckled by a cat, that the foſter [95] mother became jealous of her charge, and in pain for their ſafety; and therefore hid them over the ceiling, where one died. This cir⯑cumſtance ſhews her affection for theſe foundlings, and that ſhe ſuppoſes the ſquirrels to be her own young. Thus hens, when they have hatched ducklings, are equally attached to them as if they were their own chickens.

HORSE.

AN old hunting mare, which ran on the common, being taken very ill, ran down into the village, as it were to implore the help of men, and died the night following in the ſtreet.

HOUNDS.

THE king's ſtag-hounds came down to Alton, attended by a huntſman, and ſix yeo⯑men [96] prickers, with horns, to try for the ſtag that has haunted Hartley wood and its en⯑virons for ſo long a time. Many hundreds of people, horſe and foot, attended the dogs to ſee the deer unharboured; but though the huntſman drew Hartley wood, and long cop⯑pice, and ſhrubwood, and Temple hangers; and in their way back, Hartley and Ward-Ie⯑ham hangers, yet no ſtag could be found.

The royal pack, accuſtomed to have the deer turned out before them, never drew the coverts with any addreſs and ſpirit, as many people that were preſent obſerved: and this remark the event has proved to be a true one. For as a perſon was lately purſuing a pheaſant that was wing-broken, in Hartley wood, he ſtumbled upon the ſtag by acci⯑dent, and ran in upon him as he lay con⯑cealed amidſt a thick brake of brambles and buſhes.

INSECTS IN GENERAL.

THE day and night inſects occupy the annuals alternately: the papilios, muſcae, and apes, are ſucceeded at the cloſe of the day by phalaenae, earwigs, woodlice, &c. In the duſk of the evening, when beetles begin to buz, partridges begin to call; theſe two cir⯑cumſtances are exactly coincident.

Ivy is the laſt flower that ſupports the hymenopterous and dipterous inſects. On ſunny days quite on to November they ſwarm on trees covered with this plant; and when they diſappear, probably retire under [98] the ſhelter of its leaves, concealing them⯑ſelves between its fibres and the trees which it entwines.

Spiders, woodlice, lepiſmae in cupboards and among ſugar, ſome empedes, gnats, flies of ſeveral ſpecies, ſome phalaenae in hedges, earth-worms, &c. are ſtirring at all times when winters are mild; and are of great ſervice to thoſe ſoft-billed birds that never leave us.

On every ſunny day the winter through, clouds of inſects uſually called gnats (I ſup⯑poſe tipulae and empedes) appear ſporting and dancing over the tops of the ever-green trees in the ſhrubbery, and friſking about as if the buſineſs of generation was ſtill going on. Hence it appears that theſe diptera (which by their ſizes appear to be of diffe⯑rent ſpecies) are not ſubject to a torpid ſtate in the winter, as moſt winged inſects are. [99] At night, and in froſty weather, and when it rains and blows, they ſeem to retire into thoſe trees. They often are out in a fog.

HUMMING IN THE AIR.

THERE is a natural occurrence to be met with upon the higheſt part of our down in hot ſummer days, which always amuſes me much, without giving me any ſatisfaction with reſpect to the cauſe of it; and that is a loud audible humming of bees in the air, though not one inſect is to be ſeen. This ſound is to be heard diſtinctly the whole common through, from the Money-dells, to Mr. White's avenue gate. Any perſon would ſuppoſe that a large ſwarm of bees was in motion, and playing about over his head. This noiſe was heard laſt week; on June 28th.

CHAFFERS.

COCKCHAFFERS ſeldom abound oftener than once in three or four years; when they ſwarm, they deface the trees and hedges. Whole woods of oaks are ſtripped bare by them.

Chaffers are eaten by the turkey, the rook, and the houſe ſparrow.

The ſcarabaeus ſolſtitialis firſt appears about June 26: they are very punctual in their coming out every year. They are a ſmall ſpecies, about half the ſize of the May chaffer, and are known in ſome parts by the name of the fern chaffer.

PTINUS PECTINICORNIS.

THOSE maggots that make worm-holes in tables, chairs, bed-poſts, &c. and deſtroy wooden furniture, eſpecially where there is any ſap, are the larvae of the Ptinus pectinicornis. This inſect, it is probable, depoſits its eggs on the ſurface, and the worms eat their way in.

In their holes they turn into their pupae ſtate, and ſo come forth winged in July; eating their way through the valances or curtains of a bed, or any other furniture that happens to obſtruct their paſſage.

They ſeem to be moſt inclined to breed in beech; hence beech will not make laſting utenſils, or furniture. If their eggs are de⯑poſited on the ſurface, frequent rubbings will preſerve wooden furniture.

BLATTA ORIENTALIS. COCKROACH.

A NEIGHBOUR complained to me that her houſe was over-run with a kind of black beetle, or, as ſhe expreſſed herſelf, with a kind of black-bob, which ſwarmed in her kitchen when they get up in a morning before day break.

Soon after this account, I obſerved an un⯑uſual inſect in one of my dark chimney cloſets, and find ſince, that in the night they ſwarm alſo in my kitchen. On examination, I ſoon aſcertained the ſpecies to be the blatta orientalis of Linnaeus, and the blatta molendinaria of Mouffet. The male is winged; the female is not, but ſhows ſomewhat like the rudiments of wings, as if in the pupa ſtate.

Theſe inſects belonged originally to the warmer parts of America, and were con⯑veyed [103] from thence by ſhipping to the Eaſt Indies; and by means of commerce begin to prevail in the more northern parts of Europe, as Ruſſia, Sweden, &c. How long they have abounded in England I cannot ſay; but have never obſerved them in my houſe till lately.

They love warmth, and haunt chimney-cloſets, and the backs of ovens. Poda ſays that theſe and houſe crickets will not aſſoci⯑ate together; but he is miſtaken in that aſ⯑ſertion, as Linnaeus ſuſpected he was. They are altogether night inſects, lucifugae, never coming forth till the rooms are dark and ſtill, and eſcaping away nimbly at the ap⯑proach of a candle. Their antennae are re⯑markably long, ſlender, and flexile.

October, 1790. After the ſervants are gone to bed, the kitchen hearth ſwarms with young crickets, and young blattae molendinariae [104] of all ſizes, from the moſt minute growth to their full proportions. They ſeem to live in a friendly manner together, and not to prey the one on the other.

Auguſt, 1792. After the deſtruction of many thouſands of blattae molendinariae, we find that at intervals a freſh detachment of old ones arrives; and particularly during this hot ſeaſon: for the windows being left open in the evenings, the males come flying in at the caſements from the neighbouring houſes, which ſwarm with them. How the females, that ſeem to have no perfect wings that they can uſe, can contrive to get from houſe to houſe, does not ſo readily appear. Theſe, like many inſects, when they find their preſent abodes over-ſtocked, have powers of migrating to freſh quarters. Since the blattae have been ſo much kept under, the crickets have greatly increaſed in number.

GRYLLUS DOMEST. HOUSE CRICKET.

NOVEMBER. After the ſervants are gone to bed, the kitchen hearth ſwarms with mi⯑nute crickets not ſo large as fleas, which muſt have been lately hatched. So that theſe domeſtic inſects, cheriſhed by the in⯑fluence of a conſtant large fire, regard not the ſeaſon of the year, but produce their young at a time when their congeners are either dead, or laid up for the winter, to paſs away the uncomfortable months in the profoundeſt ſlumbers, and a ſtate of tor⯑pidity.

When houſe-crickets are out, and running about in a room in the night, if ſurpriſed by a candle, they give two or three ſhrill notes, as it were for a ſignal to their fellows, that they may eſcape to their crannies and lurking holes, to avoid danger.

CIMEX LINEARIS.

AUGUST 12, 1775. Cimices lineares are now in high copulation on ponds and pools. The females, who vaſtly exceed the males in bulk, dart and ſhoot along on the ſurface of the water with the males on their backs. When a female chooſes to be diſengaged, ſhe rears, and jumps, and plunges, like an unruly colt; the lover thus diſmounted, ſoon finds a new mate. The females, as faſt as their curioſi⯑ties are ſatisfied, retire to another part of the lake, perhaps to depoſit their foetus in quiet; hence the ſexes are found ſeparate, except where generation is going on. From the multitude of minute young of all gradations of ſizes, theſe inſects ſeem without doubt to be viviparous.

PHALAENA QUERCUS.

MOST of our oaks are naked of leaves, and even the Holt in general, having been ravaged by the caterpillars of a ſmall phalaena which is of a pale yellow colour. Theſe inſects, though a feeble race, yet from their infinite numbers are of wonderful effect, being able to deſtroy the foliage of whole foreſts and diſtricts. At this ſeaſon they leave their au⯑relia, and iſſue forth in their fly-ſtate, ſwarm⯑ing and covering the trees and hedges.

In a field at Greatham, I ſaw a flight of ſwifts buſied in catching their prey near the ground; and found they were hawking after theſe phalaenae. The aurelia of this moth is ſhining and as black as jet; and lies wrapped up in a leaf of the tree, which is rolled round it, and ſecured at the ends by a web, to pre⯑vent the maggot from falling out.

EPHEMERA CAUDA BISETA. MAY FLY.

JUNE 10, 1771. Myriads of May flies appear for the firſt time on the Alresford ſtream. The air was crowded with them, and the ſurface of the water covered. Large trouts ſucked them in as they lay ſtruggling on the ſurface of the ſtream, unable to riſe till their wings were dried.

This appearance reconciled me in ſome meaſure to the wonderful account that Scopoli gives of the quantities emerging from the rivers of Carniola. Their motions are very peculiar, up and down for many yards almoſt in a perpendicular line.

SPHYNX OCELLATA?

A VAST inſect appears after it is duſk, flying with a humming noiſe, and inſerting its [109] tongue into the bloom of the honey-ſuckle; it ſcarcely ſettles upon the plants, but feeds on the wing in the manner of humming birds.

WILD BEE.

THERE is a ſort of wild bee frequenting the garden-campion for the ſake of its to⯑mentum, which probably it turns to ſome purpoſe in the buſineſs of nidification. It is very pleaſant to ſee with what addreſs it ſtrips off the pubes, running from the top to the bottom of a branch, and ſhaving it bare with all the dexterity of a hoop-ſhaver. When it has got a vaſt bundle, almoſt as large as itſelf, it flies away, holding it ſecure between its chin and its fore legs.

There is a remarkable hill on the downs near Lewes in Suſſex, known by the name of Mount Carburn, which overlooks that town, [110] and affords a moſt engaging proſpect of all the country round, beſides ſeveral views of the ſea. On the very ſummit of this exalted promontory, and amidſt the trenches of its Daniſh camp, there haunts a ſpecies of wild bee, making its neſt in the chalky ſoil. When people approach the place, theſe in⯑ſects begin to be alarmed, and with a ſharp and hoſtile ſound, daſh and ſtrike round the heads and faces of intruders. I have often been interrupted myſelf while contem⯑plating the grandeur of the ſcenery around me, and have thought myſelf in danger of being ſtung.

WASPS.

WASPS abound in woody wild diſtricts far from neighbourhoods; they feed on flowers, and catch flies and caterpillars, to carry to their young. Waſps make their neſts [111] with the raſpings of ſound timber; hornets, with what they gnaw from decayed: theſe par⯑ticles of wood are kneaded up with a mix⯑ture of ſaliva from their bodies, and moulded into combs.

When there is no fruit in the gardens, waſps eat flies, and ſuck the honey from flowers, from ivy bloſſoms, and umbellated plants: they carry off alſo fleſh from butchers ſhambles.

OESTRUS CURVICAUDA.

THIS inſect lays its nits or eggs on horſes' legs, flanks, &c. each on a ſingle hair. The maggots when hatched do not enter the horſes' ſkins, but fall to the ground. It ſeems to abound moſt in moiſt, mooriſh places, though ſometimes ſeen in the up⯑lands.

NOSE FLY.

ABOUT the beginning of July, a ſpecies of fly (muſca) obtains, which proves very tor⯑menting to horſes, trying ſtill to enter their noſtrils and ears, and actually laying their eggs in the latter of thoſe organs, or perhaps in both. When theſe abound, horſes in woodland diſtricts become very impatient at their work, continually toſſing their heads, and rubbing their noſes on each other, re⯑gardleſs of the driver, ſo that accidents often enſue. In the heat of the day, men are often obliged to deſiſt from plowing. Saddle-horſes are alſo very troubleſome at ſuch ſeaſons. Country people call this inſect the noſe fly.

ICHNEUMON FLY.

I SAW lately a ſmall Ichneumon fly at⯑tack a ſpider much larger than itſelf on a [113] graſs walk. When the ſpider made any re⯑ſiſtance, the Ichneumon applied her tail to him, and ſtung him with great vehemence, ſo that he ſoon became dead and motionleſs. The Ichneumon then running backward drew her prey very nimbly over the walk into the ſtanding graſs. This ſpider would be de⯑poſited in ſome hole where the Ichneumon would lay ſome eggs; and as ſoon as the eggs were hatched, the carcaſe would afford ready food for the maggots.

Perhaps ſome eggs might be injected into the body of the ſpider, in the act of ſtinging. Some Ichneumons depoſit their eggs in the aurelia of moths and butterflies.

BOMBYLIUS MEDIUS.

THE bombylius medius is much about in March and the beginning of April, and ſoon ſeems to retire. It is an hairy inſect, like [114] an humble-bee, but with only two wings, and a long ſtraight beak, with which it ſucks the early flowers. The female ſeems to lay its eggs as it poiſes on its wings, by ſtriking its tail on the ground, and againſt the graſs that ſtands in its way, in a quick manner, for ſeveral times together.

MUSCAE.—FLIES.

IN the decline of the year, when the mornings and evenings become chilly, many ſpecies of flies (muſcae) retire into houſes, and ſwarm in the windows.

At firſt they are very briſk and alert; but as they grow more torpid, one cannot help obſerving that they move with difficulty, and are ſcarce able to lift their legs, which ſeem as if glued to the glaſs; and by degrees many do actually ſtick on till they die in the place.

[115] It has been obſerved that divers flies, be⯑ſides their ſharp, hooked nails, have alſo ſkinny palms, or flaps to their feet, whereby they are enabled to ſtick on glaſs and other ſmooth bodies, and to walk on ceilings with their backs downward by means of the preſſure of the atmoſphere on thoſe flaps: the weight of which they eaſily overcome in warm wea⯑ther when they are briſk and alert. But in the decline of the year, this reſiſtance becomes too mighty for their diminiſhed ſtrength; and we ſee flies labouring along, and lugging their feet in windows as if they ſtuck faſt to the glaſs, and it is with the utmoſt difficulty they can draw one foot after another, and diſengage their hollow caps from the ſlippery ſurface.

Upon the ſame principle that flies ſtick and ſupport themſelves, do boys, by way of play, carry heavy weights by only a piece of [116] wet leather at the end of a ſtring clapped cloſe on the ſurface of a ſtone.

TIPULAE, OR EMPEDES.

MILLIONS of empedes, or tipulae, come forth at the cloſe of day, and ſwarm to ſuch a degree as to fill the air. At this juncture they ſport and copulate; as it grows more dark they retire. All day they hide in the hedges. As they riſe in a cloud they appear like ſmoke.

I do not ever remember to have ſeen ſuch ſwarms, except in the fens of the Iſle of Ely. They appear moſt over graſs grounds.

ANTS.

AUGUST 23. Every ant-hill about this time is in a ſtrange hurry and confuſion; and all the winged ants, agitated by ſome violent impulſe, are leaving their homes, and, bent [117] on emigration, ſwarm by myriads in the air, to the great emolument of the hirundines, which fare luxuriouſly. Thoſe that eſcape the ſwallows return no more to their neſts, but looking out for freſh ſettlements, lay a foundation for future colonies. All the fe⯑males at this time are pregnant: the males that eſcape being eaten, wander away and die.

October 2. Flying-ants, male and female, uſually ſwarm and migrate on hot ſunny days in Auguſt and September; but this day a vaſt emigration took place in my gar⯑den, and myriads came forth, in appearance from the drain which goes under the fruit wall; filling the air and the adjoining trees and ſhrubs with their numbers. The fe⯑males were full of eggs. This late ſwarm⯑ing is probably owing to the backward, wet [118] ſeaſon. The day following, not one flying ant was to be ſeen.

Horſe-ants travel home to their neſts laden with flies, which they have caught, and the aureliae of ſmaller ants, which they ſeize by violence.

GLOW WORMS.

BY obſerving two glow-worms which were brought from the field to the bank in the garden, it appeared to us, that theſe little creatures put out their lamps between eleven and twelve, and ſhine no more for the reſt of the night.

Male glow-worms, attracted by the light of the candles, come into the parlour.

EARTH WORMS.

EARTH worms make their caſts moſt in mild weather about March and April; they [119] do not lie torpid in winter, but come forth when there is no froſt; they travel about in rainy nights, as appears from their ſinuous tracks on the ſoft muddy ſoil, perhaps in ſearch of food.

When earth-worms lie out a-nights on the turf, though they extend their bodies a great way, they do not quite leave their holes, but keep the ends of their tails fixed therein, ſo that on the leaſt alarm they can retire with precipitation under the earth. Whatever food falls within their reach when thus ex⯑tended, they ſeem to be content with, ſuch as blades of graſs, ſtraws, fallen leaves, the ends of which they often draw into their holes; even in copulation their hinder parts never quit their holes; ſo that no two, ex⯑cept they lie within reach of each other's bodies, can have any commerce of that kind; but as every individual is an hermaphrodite, [120] there is no difficulty in meeting with a mate, as would be the caſe were they of different ſexes.

SNAILS AND SLUGS.

THE ſhell-leſs ſnails called ſlugs are in motion all the winter in mild weather, and commit great depredations on garden plants, and much injure the green wheat, the loſs of which is imputed to earth worms; while the ſhelled ſnail, the [...], does not come forth at all till about April 10th, and not only lays itſelf up pretty early in autumn, in places ſecure from froſt, but alſo throws out round the mouth of its ſhell a thick operculum formed from its own ſaliva; ſo that it is perfectly ſecured, and corked up as it were, from all inclemencies. The cauſe why the ſlugs are able to endure the cold ſo much better than ſhell ſnails is, [121] that their bodies are covered with ſlime as whales are with blubber.

Snails copulate about Midſummer; and ſoon after, depoſit their eggs in the mould by running their heads and bodies under ground. Hence the way to be rid of them is to kill as many as poſſible before they be⯑gin to breed.

Large, grey, ſhell-leſs, cellar ſnails lay themſelves up about the ſame time with thoſe that live abroad; hence it is plain that a defect of warmth is not the only cauſe that influences their retreat.

SNAKES SLOUGH.

ABOUT the middle of this month (Sep⯑tember) we found in a field near a hedge the ſlough of a large ſnake, which ſeemed [122] to have been newly caſt. From circum⯑ſtances it appeared as if turned wrong ſide outward, and as drawn off backward, like a ſtocking or woman's glove. Not only the whole ſkin, but ſcales from the very eyes, are peeled off, and appear in the head of the ſlough like a pair of ſpectacles. The rep⯑tile, at the time of changing his coat, had entangled himſelf intricately in the graſs and weeds, ſo that the friction of the ſtalks and blades might promote this curious ſhifting of his exuviae.

It would be a moſt entertaining ſight could a perſon be an eye-witneſs to ſuch a feat, and ſee the ſnake in the act of chang⯑ing his garment. As the convexity of the ſcales of the eyes in the ſlough is now in⯑ward, that circumſtance alone is a proof that [123] the ſkin has been turned: not to mention that now the preſent inſide is much darker than the outer. If you look through the ſcales of the ſnake's eyes from the concave ſide, viz. as the reptile uſed them, they leſſen objects much. Thus it appears from what has been ſaid, that ſnakes crawl out of the mouth of their own ſloughs, and quit the tail part laſt, juſt as eels are ſkinned by a cook maid. While the ſcales of the eyes are growing looſe, and a new ſkin is form⯑ing, the creature, in appearance, muſt be blind, and feel itſelf in an awkward uneaſy ſituation.

TREES, ORDER OF LOSING THEIR LEAVES.

ONE of the firſt trees that becomes naked is the walnut; the mulberry, the aſh, eſpe⯑cially if it bears many keys, and the horſe⯑cheſtnut, come next. All lopped trees, while their heads are young, carry their leaves a long while. Apple-trees and peaches re⯑main green till very late, often till the end of November: young beeches never caſt their leaves till ſpring, till the new leaves ſprout and puſh them off: in the autumn the beechen-leaves turn of a deep cheſnut [125] colour. Tall beeches caſt their leaves about the end of October.

SIZE AND GROWTH.

MR. Marſham of Stratton, near Norwich, informs me by letter thus:

The circumference of trees planted by myſelf at 1 foot from the ground (1790).

The great oak in the Holt, which is deemed by Mr. Marſham to be the biggeſt [127] in this iſland, at 7 feet from the ground, meaſures in circumference 34 feet. It has in old times loſt ſeveral of its boughs, and is tending to decay. Mr. Marſham com⯑putes, that at 14 feet length this oak con⯑tains 1000 feet of timber.

It has been the received opinion that trees grow in height only by their annual upper ſhoot. But my neighbour over the way, whoſe occupation confines him to one ſpot, aſſures me, that trees are expanded and raiſed in the lower parts alſo. The reaſon that he gives is this; the point of one of my firs began for the firſt time to peep over an oppoſite roof at the beginning of ſum⯑mer; but before the growing ſeaſon was over, the whole ſhoot of the year, and three or four joints of the body beſide, became viſible to him as he ſits on his form in his ſhop. According to this ſuppoſition, a tree [128] may advance in height conſiderably, though the ſummer ſhoot ſhould be deſtroyed every year.

FLOWING OF SAP.

IF the bough of a vine is cut late in the ſpring, juſt before the ſhoots puſh out, it will bleed conſiderably; but after the leaf is out, any part may be taken off without the leaſt inconvenience. So oaks may be barked while the leaf is budding; but as ſoon as they are expanded, the bark will no longer part from the wood, becauſe the ſap that lubricates the bark and makes it part, is evaporated off through the leaves.

RENOVATION OF LEAVES.

WHEN oaks are quite ſtripped of their leaves by chaffers, they are clothed again ſoon after Midſummer with a beautiful [129] foliage: but beeches, horſe-cheſtnuts and maples, once defaced by thoſe inſects, never recover their beauty again for the whole ſeaſon.

ASH TREES.

MANY aſh trees bear loads of keys every year, others never ſeem to bear any at all. The prolific ones are naked of leaves and unſightly; thoſe that are ſteril abound in foli⯑age, and carry their verdure a long while, and are pleaſing objects.

SYCAMORE.

MAY 12. The ſycamore or great maple is in bloom, and at this ſeaſon makes a beau⯑tiful appearance, and affords much pabu⯑lum for bees, ſmelling ſtrongly like honey. The foliage of this tree is very fine, and [130] very ornamental to outlets. All the maples have ſaccharine juices.

GALLS OF LOMBARDY POPLAR.

THE ſtalks and ribs of the leaves of the Lombardy poplar are emboſſed with large tumours of an oblong ſhape, which by in⯑curious obſervers have been taken for the fruit of the tree. Theſe galls are full of ſmall inſects, ſome of which are winged, and ſome not. The parent inſect is of the ge⯑nus of cynips. Some poplars in the garden are quite loaded with theſe excreſcences.

CHESTNUT TIMBER.

JOHN CARPENTER brings home ſome old cheſtnut trees which are very long; in ſe⯑veral places the wood-peckers had begun to bore them. The timber and bark of theſe [131] trees are ſo very like oak, as might eaſily deceive an indifferent obſerver, but the wood is very ſhakey, and towards the heart cup-ſhakey, (that is to ſay, apt to ſeparate in round pieces like cups) ſo that the inward parts are of no uſe. They were bought for the purpoſe of cooperage, but muſt make but ordinary barrels, buckets, &c. Cheſtnut ſells for half the price of oak; but has ſome⯑times been ſent into the king's docks, and paſſed off inſtead of oak.

LIME BLOSSOMS.

DR. CHANDLER tells that in the ſouth of France, an infuſion of the bloſſoms of the lime tree, tilia, is in much eſteem as a re⯑medy for coughs, hoarſneſſes, fevers, &c. and that at Niſmes he ſaw an avenue of limes that was quite ravaged and torn in pieces by people greedily gathering the [132] bloom, which they dried and kept for theſe purpoſes.

Upon the ſtrength of this information we made ſome tea of lime bloſſoms, and found it a very ſoft, well-flavoured, pleaſant, ſaccha⯑rine julep, in taſte much reſembling the juice of liquorice.

BLACKTHORN.

THIS tree uſually bloſſoms while cold N. E. winds blow; ſo that the harſh rugged weather obtaining at this ſeaſon, is called by the country people, blackthorn winter.

IVY BERRIES.

IVY berries afford a noble and providen⯑tial ſupply for birds in winter and ſpring! for the firſt ſevere froſt freezes and ſpoils all the haws, ſometimes by the middle of No⯑vember; ivy berries do not ſeem to freeze.

HOPS.

THE culture of Virgil's vines correſponded very exactly with the modern management of hops. I might inſtance in the perpetual diggings and hoeings, in the tying to the ſtakes, and poles, in pruning the ſuperflu⯑ous ſhoots, &c. but lately I have obſerved a new circumſtance, which was a neighbour⯑ing farmer's harrowing between the rows of hops with a ſmall triangular harrow, drawn by one horſe, and guided by two handles. This occurrence brought to my mind the following paſſage.

Hops are diécious plants: hence perhaps it might be proper, though not practiſed, to leave purpoſely ſome male plants in every [134] garden, that their farina might impregnate the bloſſoms. The female plants without their male attendants are not in their natural ſtate: hence we may ſuppoſe the frequent failure of crop ſo incident to hop-grounds; no other growth, cultivated by man, has ſuch frequent and general failures as hops.

Two hop gardens much injured by a hail ſtorm, June 5, ſhew now (September 2) a prodigious crop, and larger and fairer hops than any in the pariſh. The owners ſeem now to be convinced that the hail, by beat⯑ing off the tops of the binds, has increaſed the ſide-ſhoots, and improved the crop. Query. Therefore ſhould not the tops of hops be pinched off when the binds are very groſs, and ſtrong?

SEED LYING DORMANT.

THE naked part of the Hanger is now co⯑vered with thiſtles of various kinds. The [135] ſeeds of theſe thiſtles may have lain pro⯑bably under the thick ſhade of the beeches for many years, but could not vegetate till the ſun and air were admitted. When old beech trees are cleared away, the naked ground in a year or two becomes covered with ſtrawberry plants, the ſeeds of which muſt have lain in the ground for an age at leaſt. One of the ſlidders or trenches down the middle of the Hanger, cloſe covered over with lofty beeches near a century old, is ſtill called ſtrawberry ſlidder, though no ſtraw⯑berries have grown there in the memory of man. That ſort of fruit did once, no doubt, abound there, and will again when the ob⯑ſtruction is removed.

BEANS SOWN BY BIRDS.

MANY horſe-beans ſprang up in my field-walks in the autumn, and are now grown to [136] a conſiderable height. As the Ewel was in beans laſt ſummer, it is moſt likely that theſe ſeeds came from thence; but then the diſtance is too conſiderable for them to have been conveyed by mice. It is moſt proba⯑ble therefore that they were brought by birds, and in particular by jays and pies, who ſeem to have hid them among the graſs and moſs, and then to have forgotten where they had ſtowed them. Some peaſe are growing alſo in the ſame ſituation, and pro⯑bly under the ſame circumſtances.

CUCUMBERS SET BY BEES.

IF bees, who are much the beſt ſetters of cucumbers, do not happen to take kindly to the frames, the beſt way is to tempt them by a little honey put on the male and fe⯑male bloom. When they are once induced to haunt the frames, they ſet all the fruit, and [137] will hover with impatience round the lights in a morning, till the glaſſes are opened. Probatum eſt.

WHEAT.

A NOTION has always obtained, that in England hot ſummers are productive of fine crops of wheat; yet in the years 1780 and 1781, though the heat was intenſe, the wheat was much mildewed, and the crop light. Does not ſevere heat, while the ſtraw is milky, occaſion its juices to exſude, which being extravaſated, occaſion ſpots, diſcolour the ſtems and blades, and injure the health of the plants?

TRUFFLES.

AUGUST. A truffle-hunter called on us, having in his pocket ſeveral large truffles found in this neighbourhood. He ſays theſe [138] roots are not to be found in deep woods, but in narrow hedge-rows and the ſkirts of cop⯑pices. Some truffles, he informed us, lie two feet within the earth, and ſome quite on the ſurface; the latter, he added, have little or no ſmell, and are not ſo eaſily diſcovered by the dogs as thoſe that lie deeper. Half a crown a pound was the price which he aſked for this commodity.

Truffles never abound in wet winters and ſprings. They are in ſeaſon in different ſituations, at leaſt nine months in the year.

TREMELLA NOSTOC.

THOUGH the weather may have been ever ſo dry and burning, yet after two or three wet days, this jelly-like ſubſtance abounds on the walks.

FAIRY RINGS.

THE cauſe, occaſion, call it what you will, of fairy-rings, ſubſiſts in the turf, and is con⯑veyable with it: for the turf of my garden-walks, brought from the down above, abounds with thoſe appearances, which vary their ſhape, and ſhift ſituation continually, diſcovering themſelves now in circles, now in ſegments, and ſometimes in irregular patches and ſpots. Wherever they obtain, puff-balls abound; the ſeeds of which were doubtleſs brought in the turf.

BAROMETER.

NOVEMBER 22, 1768. A remarkable fall of the barometer all over the kingdom. At Selborne we had no wind, and not much rain; only vaſt, ſwagging, rock-like clouds, appeared at a diſtance.

PARTIAL FROST.

THE country people, who are abroad in winter mornings long before ſun-riſe, talk much of hard froſt in ſome ſpots, and none in others. The reaſon of theſe partial froſts is obvious, for there are at ſuch times par⯑tial [141] fogs about; where the fog obtains, little or no froſt appears: but where the air is clear, there it freezes hard. So the froſt takes place either on hill or in dale, where⯑ever the air happens to be cleareſt, and freeſt from vapour.

THAW.

THAWS are ſometimes ſurpriſingly quick, conſidering the ſmall quantity of rain. Does not the warmth at ſuch times come from be⯑low? The cold in ſtill, ſevere ſeaſons ſeems to come down from above: for the coming over of a cloud in ſevere nights raiſes the thermometer abroad at once full ten de⯑grees. The firſt notices of thaws often ſeem to appear in vaults, cellars, &c.

If a froſt happens, even when the ground is conſiderably dry, as ſoon as a thaw takes [142] place, the paths and fields are all in a batter. Country people ſay that the froſt draws moiſture. But the true philoſophy is, that the ſteam and vapours continually aſcending from the earth, are bound in by the froſt, and not ſuffered to eſcape till releaſed by the thaw. No wonder then that the ſurface is all in a float; ſince the quantity of moiſture by evaporation that ariſes daily from every acre of ground is aſtoniſhing.

FROZEN SLEET.

JANUARY 20. Mr. H.'s man ſays that he caught this day in a lane near Hackwood park, many rooks, which, attempting to fly, fell from the trees with their wings frozen together by the ſleet, that froze as it fell. There were, he affirms, many dozen ſo diſ⯑abled.

MIST, CALLED LONDON SMOKE

THIS is a blue miſt which has ſome⯑what the ſmell of coal ſmoke, and as it always comes to us with a N. E. wind, is ſuppoſed to come from London. It has a ſtrong ſmell, and is ſuppoſed to occaſion blights. When ſuch miſts appear they are uſually followed by dry weather.

REFLECTION OF FOG.

WHEN people walk in a deep white fog by night with a lanthorn, if they will turn their backs to the light, they will ſee their ſhades impreſſed on the fog in rude gigantic pro⯑portions. This phenomenon ſeems not to have been attended to, but implies the great denſity of the meteor at that juncture.

HONEY DEW.

JUNE 4, 1783. Vaſt honey dews this week. The reaſon of theſe ſeem to be, that in hot days the effluvia of flowers are drawn up by a briſk evaporation, and then in the night fall down with the dews with which they are entangled.

This clammy ſubſtance is very grateful to bees, who gather it with great aſſiduity, but it is injurious to the trees on which it hap⯑pens to fall, by ſtopping the pores of the leaves. The greateſt quantity falls in ſtill cloſe weather; becauſe winds diſperſe it, and copious dews dilute it, and prevent its ill effects. It falls moſtly in hazy warm wea⯑ther.

MORNING CLOUDS.

AFTER a bright night and vaſt dew, the ſky uſually becomes cloudy by eleven or twelve o'clock in the forenoon, and clear again to⯑wards the decline of the day. The reaſon ſeems to be, that the dew, drawn up by eva⯑poration, occaſions the clouds; which, to⯑wards evening, being no longer rendered buoyant by the warmth of the ſun, melt away, and fall down again in dews. If clouds are watched in a ſtill warm evening, they will be ſeen to melt away, and diſappear.

DRIPPING WEATHER AFTER DROUGHT.

No one that has not attended to ſuch matters, and taken down remarks, can be aware how much ten days dripping weather [146] will influence the growth of graſs or corn after a ſevere dry ſeaſon. This preſent ſum⯑mer, 1776, yielded a remarkable inſtance; for till the 30th of May the fields were burnt up and naked, and the barley not half out of the ground; but now, June 10, there is an agreeable proſpect of plenty.

AURORA BOREALIS.

NOVEMBER 1, 1787. The N. aurora made a particular appearance, forming it⯑ſelf into a broad, red, fiery belt, which ex⯑tended from E. to W. acroſs the welkin: but the moon riſing at about ten o'clock, in unclouded majeſty, in the E. put an end to this grand, but awful meteorous pheno⯑menon.

BLACK SPRING, 1771.

DR. JOHNSON ſays, that "in 1771 the ſeaſon was ſo ſevere in the iſland of Sky, that it is remembered by the name of the black ſpring. The ſnow, which ſeldom lies at all, covered the ground for eight weeks, many cattle died, and thoſe that ſurvived were ſo emaciated that they did not require the male at the uſual ſeaſon." The caſe was juſt the ſame with us here in the ſouth; never were ſo many barren cows known as in the ſpring following that dreadful period. Whole dairies miſſed being in calf together.

At the end of March the face of the earth was naked to a ſurpriſing degree. Wheat hardly to be ſeen, and no ſigns of any graſs; turneps all gone, and ſheep in a ſtarving way. All proviſions riſing in price. Farmers cannot ſow for want of rain.

ON THE DARK, STILL, DRY, WARM WEATHER
OCCASIONALLY HAPPENING IN THE WINTER MONTHS.