Hot. A very few drops of rain in the evening.
Red mite is bad in the henhouses, partly no doubt owing to one or two hot days. Dealt with them with boiling water & sulphur afterwards, hoping this will be effective. NB. That plumber’s blowlamp would be the best thing. Hen’s appetite is off as usual in hot weather. Planted out a few cos lettuce, otherwise nothing except weeding. The pumpkin has now taken hold but is still a small plant. The watersnail has laid some eggs. Don’t [know][1] whether these creatures are bisexual or not.
NB. That for storage purposes in tanks etc., 20 gallons[a] space will hold about 1 cwt of meal, or more of grain (say 1¼cwt.)
14 eggs (2 small – believe 1 pullet is now laying).
[a] NB. That apparently 20 galls. equals almost exactly 3 cubic ft. [Orwell’s note]
[1] Orwell omitted ‘know’ in starting a new page. Peter Davison
Orwell Diaries 1938-1942 
Now it’s Reds under the hen’s beds!
Boiling water, sulphur and torchfire – Eric certainly knows how to deal with those devilish llittle mites.
Max
Watersnail Egg production/marketing details intentionally vague—“Mostly because they are Top Secret,” Agent 86 reported.
Winking at Agent 99, Agent 86 hoisted a megaphone and went on to say, “Neither should one infer that the red mite is, otherwise, well-behaved.” [applause]