OF SELBORNE. 167 



ring-dove (Palumbus, RAII) , stays with us the whole year, 

 and breeds several times through the summer. 



Before I received your letter of October last, I had just 

 remarked in my journal that the trees were unusually green. 

 This uncommon verdure lasted on late into November ; and 

 may be accounted for from a late spring, a cool and moist 

 summer, but more particularly from vast armies of chafers, 

 or tree-beetles, which, in many places, reduced whole 

 woods to a leafless, naked state. These trees shot again at 

 Midsummer, and then retained their foliage till very late in 

 the year. 



My musical friend, at whose house I am now visiting, has 

 tried all the owls that are his near neighbours with a pitch- 

 pipe set at concert-pitch, and finds they all hoot in B flat. 

 He will examine the nightingales next spring. 



LETTER X. 



TO THE HONOURABLE DAINES BARRINGTON. 



SELBORNE, Aug. 1, 1771. 



ROM what follows, it will appear that neither 

 owls nor cuckoos keep to one note. A friend 

 remarks that many (most) of his owls hoot 

 in B flat, but that one went almost half a note 

 below A. The pipe he tried their notes by 

 was a common half-crown pitch-pipe, such as masters use 

 for tuning of harpsichords ; it was the common London 

 pitch. 



A neighbour of mine, who is said to have a nice ear,, 

 remarks that the owls about this village hoot in three 

 different keys, in G flat or F sharp, in B flat and A flat. 



have seen pairs throughout the summer and have repeatedly found the 

 nest in the neighbourhood of Uppark near Petersfield, which is at no 

 great distance from Selborne. ED. 



