104 
NATURE NOTES. 
and broke down with the weight of its own foliage ; but after the 
fashion of olive trees abroad, the root has sent up a multitude of 
branches, which now form a tree of profuse foliage sixty feet 
across. It seems to have taken a new lease of life, and may 
again go on to a green old age. It was hard to say farewell to 
such a lovely spot ; the ivy-clad house, with its touching associa- 
tions ; the peaceful garden, bathed in sunlight ; the pleasant 
converse as we paced to and fro beneath the grand old trees, 
will ever remain amongst my happiest memories. 
On our homeward drive we passed through the village of 
Greatham, and there I was glad to see numbers of sand martins, 
busily at work in a yellow sandstone quarry. Gilbert White 
speaks of several colonies of these birds in the sand-banks of 
Woolmer Forest, but does not happen to mention this one, 
which is close to the high road, and extensively populated 
by these interesting birds. Further on we came to the wide 
open heaths, where, at certain times in the year, the soldiers 
from Aldershot are encamped. They have left a trace of their 
presence in a certain bridge of most curious construction, made 
by them in their leisure time. It is thrown across a valley 
in the woods, and is made entirely of fir trunks, cut down near 
by, and braced together so as to form a firm substantial structure 
of picturesque appearance. The camp is quiet enough at this 
season, tenanted only by partridges and pheasants, which were 
running about quite at their ease, not at all disturbed by the 
sound of passing wheels. 
Our pleasant day is nearly over, and as we drive up under 
the shade of the mighty chestnut which graces the front of our 
hotel, we feel we have had an ideal day of pure enjoyment, long 
to be remembered. 
Eliza Brightwen. 
[For the two illustrations accompanying this paper we are indebted to the 
kindness of Mr. E. J. Appleby, the Librarian of the Bath Branch of the Selborne 
Society. — E d. N.N.'\ 
GILBERT WHITE’S ANCESTORS. 
[The Earl of Stamford has kindly sent us the following notes of that portion of 
his speech at the Annual Meeting of the Selborne Society which referred to the 
ancestry of Gilbert White. The facts have, we believe, not hitherto been pub- 
lished, and are antecedent to the genealogy given by Prof. Bell in his edition 
of The Natural History of Selborne. — Ed. N.N.^ 
FEEL that I scarcely have time to write a note or 
article for Nature Notes, but I will endeavour briefly 
to indicate the points on which I touched at the 
Annual Meeting. 
(i) As to fresh sources of information as to Gilbert White, 
Dr. J. T. White, of Campden Hill, is a mine of wealth hitherto 
almost unworked. He distinctly remembers his father (Gilbert’s 
