24 EAIH'. 



The manor of Selbome, were it strictly looked after, witli 

 all its kindly aspects, and all its sloping coverts, would 

 swarm with game : even now, hares, partridges, and phea- 

 sants, abound ; and in old days, woodcocks were as plentiful. 

 There are few quails, because they more affect open fields 

 than enclosures ; after harvest some few land-rails are seen. 



The parish of Selbome, by taking in so much of the 

 forest, is a vast district. Those who tread the bounds are 

 employed part of three days in the business, and are of 

 opinion that the outline, in all its curves and indentings, 

 does not comprise less than thirty miles. 



The village stands in a sheltered spot, secured by the 

 Hanger from the strong westerly winds. The air is soft, 

 but rather moist from the eiHuvia of so many trees ; yet 

 perfectly healthy, and free from agues. 



The quantity of rain that falls on it is very considerable, 



as may be supposed in so woody and mountainous a district. 



As my experience in measiuring the water is but of short 



■ date, I am not qualified to give the mean quantity.* I only 



know that 



From May 1, 1779, to the end of the year, there fell 



From Jan. 1, 1780, to Jan. 1, 1781 



From Jan. 1, 1781, to Jan. 1, 1782 



From Jan. 1, 1782, to Jan. 1, 1783 



From Jan. 1, 1783, to Jan. 1, 1784 



From Jan. 1, 1784-, to Jan. 1, 1785 



From Jan. 1, 1785, to Jan. 1, 1786 



From Jan. 1, 178li, to Jan. 1, 1787 



The village of Selbome, and large hamlet of Oakhanger, 

 with the single farms, and many scattered houses along the 



among the rocky strata, — the quantity of -wild flowers, — the pretty mosses 

 covering the roolcs and roots,— the trickling water over head, — and the shade 

 afforded by overhanging trees and shrubs. — Ed. 



• A very intelligent gentleman assures me, (and he speaks from upwards of 

 forty years' experience), that the mean rain of any place cannot bo ascertained 

 till a person has measured it for a very long period. " If 1 had only measured 

 the rain," says he, " for the four first years from 1740 to 1743, 1 should have 

 said the mean rain at Lyndon was 16^ inches for the year; if from 1740 to 

 1750, 18J inches. The mean rain before 1763 was 20i ; from 1763 and since 

 25|; from 1770 to 1780, 26. If only 1773, 1774, and 1776 had been 

 measured, Lyndon mean rain would have been called 32 inches, — increasing 

 from 16'6 to 32. 



