108 CORRESPONDENCE WITH HIS FAMILY. 



service to men's hogs, which were half fat before they were 

 shut up. Between mast and potatoes, poor men killed very 

 large hogs at little expence. Tom Berriman's hog weighed 

 16 scores, yet ate only seven bush, of barley-meal; whereas 

 without the help above mentioned, he would have required 

 20 bush 5 . 



Dame Berriman is much disordered in her mind, and very 

 violent. I sent a woman to scatter some beech seed in every 

 bush on the down. 



Mrs. J. White joins in respects. 



Barom r has been very high for some days ; on Monday it 

 was 30*3. 



LETTER XLVI1. 



TO SAMUEL BAKKER. 



Seleburne, Jan. 8, 1788. 



Dear Sir, 

 It is to be hoped that you are not so punctual a man as to re- 

 gister all the letters that you write to your friends, because the 

 distant date of y r last epistle to me would reproach me with 

 neglect and negligence towards one of my near relations. I 

 have been very busy of late, and have at length put my 

 last hand to my Nat. Hist, and Antiquities of this parish. 

 However, I am still employed in making an Index — an occu- 

 pation full as entertaining as that of darning of stockings, 

 tho' by no means so advantageous to society. My work will 

 be well got up, with a good type and on good paper, and 

 will be embellished with several engravings. It has been in 

 the press some time, and is to come out in the spring. It 

 pleases me much to find that you still pursue y r botany. I 

 had reason to suspect that y 1 ' noble neighbour had a propen- 

 sity to the same enquiries, because I have sometimes met him 

 at Curtis's garden. Bro. Tho. thinks it may be best to cover 

 the Gingko * a little in severe weather. We have had a very 

 deep snow, which began on Sunday, Dec r 23, and lasted for 

 * [Salisburia adiantifolia. — T. B.] 



