328 NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE 



Planted four curious gooseberry-trees from Waltham, 

 & two basons of rag- wort from Funtington. 



Nov r " ii. Great snow. 



Planted some very small Coss-lettuce against the fruit- 

 wall. 



Shut-up the Alcove l with straw doors for y e winter ; & 

 took-in the urns. 



13. Severe frost with very thick Ice. 



Eat the last Grapes. 



19. The frost still continues very fierce. Bearing Ice 

 for many days. Uncommon early frost. 



The fierce frost continued eleven nights. 



24. Trimm'd & tack'd the vines, whose shoots are both 

 smaller & shorter than usual : perhaps owing to the vast 

 Crop, & very burning Year. However there is wood 

 enough to fill the walls. 



29. Planted the border by the necessary full of tulips, 

 Polyanth-Narcissuss, Double daffodils, & Jonquils. 



Moved the two plum-trees from the melon-border to the 

 rasp-border. They had taken poor root. 



Decem r - 5. Planted one hundred & a Quarter of stocky 

 Cabbage-plants, to stand the winter. Made a strong rod- 

 hedge against Parsons's Yard. 



10. Sowed three pints of small early beans. The 

 ground was in fine order ; there having been hardly any 

 rain for a month past. 



1 8. By the favour of the long, dry weather I prevailed 

 on Parsons to set-about cleansing the river course from 

 Gracious-Street to Webbs bridge, which was quite choak'd, 

 & in great rains occasion'd a very troublesome flood. We 

 threw out about 50 loads of mud, & have open'd so free a 

 channel, that the road is quite dry, & the water will have 

 an easy passage as fast as it comes to those parts. 



1 Mr. Grant Allen assigns the site of the Alcove to the Bostal. I believe 

 that it was at the end of Gilbert's mead, and the foundation is still to be seen 

 in Gracious Street. Mr. Maxwell pointed out this piece of stone work, and 

 related that Professor Bell had informed him that it was the foundation of one 

 of Gilbert White's summer-houses. [R. B. S.] 



