218 GILBERT WHITE OF SELBORNE 1790 



On July 4th, 1790, a note in the Naturalist's 

 Journal draws attention to "p. 274 [original edition, 

 Letter LVL to Barrington] of my natural History," 

 in which he had noted that instinct varied and con- 

 formed to the circumstances of place and period. 

 The entry continues — 



" In confirmation of what has been advanced above, there 

 are now two martins' nests at Tim. Turner's, which are tunnel 

 shaped, and nine or ten inches long, in conformity to the 

 ledge of the wall of the eaves under which they are built." 



The next letter introduces a new correspondent in 

 the well-known Kobert Marsham (1708-1797), a 

 gentleman much interested in arboriculture, who was 

 living on his paternal estate of Stratton-Strawless, 

 near Norwich. He had communicated papers on the 

 growth of trees to the 'Philosophical Transactions' 

 of the Royal Society, of which he was admitted a 

 Fellow in 1 7 8 1 . Altogether, Marsham wrote ten letters 

 to Gilbert White, of which the first is here given. 

 Though the others are in the present writer's posses- 

 sion, it hardly seems necessary to print them here, 

 especially as Mr. Bell has done so. Of the replies 

 from Selborne ten have been preserved, and are 

 now printed. It will be seen that the correspondence 

 was only terminated by the death of Gilbert White. 



From E, Marsham. Stratton, near Norwich, 



July 24, 1790. 

 Sir, — I have received so much pleasure and information 

 from your ingenious Nat. Hist, of Selborne, that I cannot 



