NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 



The village stands in a sheltered spot, secured by the Hanger 

 from the strong westerly winds. The air is soft, but rather moist 

 from the effluvia of so many trees ; yet perfectly healthy and free 

 from agues. 



The quantity of rain that falls on it is very considerable, as 

 may be supposed in so woody and mountainous a district. 1 As 

 my experience of measuring the water is but of short date, I am 

 not qualified to give the mean quantity.* I only know that 



Inch. Hund. 



From May , 177.9, to the end of the year there fe 1 ! . . 28 37 ! 



Jan. , 1780, to Jan. I, 1781 . . . . 27 32 



Jan. , 1781, to Jan. I, 1782 . . . . 30 71 



Jan. , 1782, to Jan. I, 1783 . . . . 50 26 ! 



Jan. , 1783, to Jan. i, 1784 . . . . 33 71 



Jan. , 1784, to Jan. i, 1785 . . 33 80 



Jan. , 1785, to Jan. I, 1786 . . . . 31 55 



Jan. , 1786, to Jan. i, 1787 . . . . 39 57 



The village of Selborne, and large hamlet of Oakhanger, with 

 the single farms, and many scattered houses along the verge of 

 the forest, contain upwards of six hundred and seventy inhabi- 

 tants, t 



* A very intelligent gentleman assures me (and he speaks from upwards of 

 forty years' experience), that the mean rain of any place cannot be ascertained 

 till a person has measured it for a very long period. " If I had only measured 

 the rain," says he, "for the four first years, from 1740 to 1743, I should have 

 said the mean rain at Lyndon was 165 inches for the year; if from 1740 to 

 1750, i8J inches. The mean rain before 1763 was 20 J inches, from 1763 and 

 since 25^ inches, from 1770 to 1780, 26 inches. If only 1773, 1774 and 1775, 

 had been measured, Lyndon mean rain would have been called 32 inches." 



f A STATE OF THE PARISH OF SELBORNE, TAKEN OCTOBER 4TH, 1783. 



The number of tenements or families, 136. 



The number of inhabitants in the street is 313 ) Total 676 ; near five inhabi- 

 In the rest of the parish . . . 363 f tants to each tenement. 

 In the time of the Rev. Gilbert White, Vicar, who died in 1727-8, the 

 number of inhabitants was computed at about 500. 



Average baptisms for 60 years. 

 From 1720 to^ -. i 



1729. both I Males 6, 9 

 years inclus. ) 



^S^I^M Sf3 



years inclus. j Fem ' 8 > 2 f 



Wind./*' ^| I8 ' 

 From, 770 W. 10 ,5) 



o 



1779 incl. 



20, 3 



