NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 103 



vast continents and oceans as distant as the equator. So soon 

 does iN ature advance small birds to their -^Xi/aa, or state of perfec- 

 tion ; while the progressive growth of men and large quadrupeds is 

 slow and tedious ! 



I am, etc. 



LETTER XXII. 



SELBORNE, Sept. 13^, 1774. 



DEAR SIR, By means of a straight cottage chimney I had an 

 opportunity this summer of remarking, at my leisure, how swallows 

 ascend and descend through the shaft ; but my pleasure in con- 

 templating the address with which this feat was performed to a 

 considerable depth in the chimney, was somewhat interrupted by 

 apprehensions lest my eyes might undergo the same fate with 

 those of Tobit.* 



Perhaps it may be some amusement to you to hear at what 

 times the different species of hirundines arrived this spring in 

 three very distant counties of this kingdom. With us the swallow 

 was seen first on April 4th, the swift on April 24th, the bank- 

 martin on April i2th, and the house-martin not till April 3oth. 

 At South Zele, Devonshire, swallows did not arrive till April 25th, 

 swifts in plenty on May ist, and house-martins not till the middle 

 of May. At Blackburn, in Lancashire, swifts were seen April 28th, 

 swallows April 29th, house-martins May ist. Do these different 

 dates, in such distant districts, prove anything for or against 

 migration ? 



A farmer, near Weyhill, fallows his land with two teams of asses ; 

 one of which works till noon, and the other. in the afternoon. 

 When these animals have done their work, they are penned all 



* " The same night also I returned from the burial and slept by the wall of 

 my courtyard, being polluted, and my face was uncovered. 



" And I knew not that there were sparrows (swallows ?) in the wall, and 

 mine eyes being open, the sparrows muted warm dung into mine eyes, and a 

 whiteness came in mine eyes ; and I went to the physicians, but they helped 

 i.it not." TOBIT ii. io. 



