132 GILBERT WHITE OF SELBOENE nu 



but there came lately to Mr. Mulso's at Meon-stoke, some 

 two-legged dogs, who stripped his apricot-trees of all their 

 fruit; and the next night carryed away two of his large 

 goose-berry-trees laden with fruit. This fruit was taken for 

 sale at cricket-matches, and ass-races. As Mr. Wools was 

 playing last week at cricket, his knee-pan was dislocated by 

 the stroke of a ball: and at the same time Mr. Webb was 

 knocked down, and his face and leg much wounded by the 

 stroke of a ball. Mr. Yalden is better, and talks much of 

 shooting ; but the fields are full of corn : much wheat 

 abroad, and no spring -corn housed. We hope business 

 will not detain you now for any long time: for when once 

 September commences, we may truely say, "Apace the 

 wasting summer flies." Miss Heckey Mulso has written a 

 long letter in verse to Timothy ; which, with great labour, 

 and pains, he has answered in prose. 



Pray let me have early information of your motions. 



Hops innumerable, but small. y^^ &c 



Gil. White. 



The summer has been so bad, that we have had no white 

 kidney-beans, and few Cucumbers : the scarlet kidney-beans 

 have born a little. 



The hops smitten by the hail are likely to have a good 

 crop : their tops were broken off, but they soon threw out 

 fresh runners. The damage done to the wheat is more 

 permanent. The Crop of Hops at Farnham is vast! We 

 hardly see two fine days together, and very little sun. Miss 

 Butler was lately married to a Mr. Cox, who has taken the 

 parsonage-house at Trotton, near Midhurst. Here is fine 

 after-grass for your father's horses. Please to send me a 

 good large ham. Neighbour Hale and I have been both 

 walking in his hop-garden, and in the contiguous one of 

 Spencer, both of which were smitten by the hail: and we 

 both agree that the seeming calamity of the hailstorm has 



