288 CORRESPONDENCE OF GILBERT WHITE. 



LETTER XIV. 



MARSHAM TO WHITE. 



Stratton : Oct r 20. 1792. 



My dear Sir, 

 Ever since i received your very entertaining letter of the 7 th 

 of August, i have had intentions of offering my thanks ; but 

 added to the Demon, i have suffered other delays from infir- 

 mities of old age, such as Rheumatism, &c &c, which make 

 me abhor the sight of a pen & paper. But i am resolved to 

 tell you a piece of Stratton history, viz. my wife has a Turkey 

 that layed 15 eggs, & reared her brood ; then she layed 63 

 eggs, & ceased ; & then layed 20, then ceased, & has now laid 

 8, one on this day. She was of Spring twelvemonth. The 

 old women round us think this extraordinary. Of the Swal- 

 lows i can only say they left us on y e 18 h of Sep r & on y e 25 th 

 we had a large flight appeared & off then a large flight on y e 

 14 & 15 of Oct r & one Bird on y e 16. One of my men told 

 me yesterday, that he saw a young Cuckow. This for tor- 

 pidity ! Perhaps it was a fern Owl : but that will answer the 

 same purpose, only, you should owe me sixpence for it. I 

 long for your account of that pleasing & harmless bird. — 

 Except the first ten days of August, our Summer has seemed 

 to me very cold & watery. 



Sir, as my old friend (for as such i esteem you) you must 

 have been troubled with my Tryals to increase the common 

 ordinary growth of Trees. I have plagued the R. S. more 

 than once on this subject, so i will hope for your pardon for 

 this my half madness. My last tryal has been digging round 

 my Trees. This is a circle as far as the small roots extend 

 from the trunk; & this is done two spades deep. In Beeches 

 about 50 years old, this circle will be about 20 yards diameter. 

 Last Winter i enlarged the circle digged the year before, 8 or 

 9 yards in diameter, as i found the small roots required it. <t 



