Entomology in N.W. Spain. 149 
Here, at 3,300 feet, we found we were in the middle of a 
wide plateau of which the highest accessible point some 
four or five miles off only gave us another 1,000 feet. 
Brafiuelas is some way beyond the boundary of Galicia in 
the province of Leon. 
At El Barco (de Valdeorras) we had an experience that 
was quite new to us in Spain, and though not altogether 
pleasant, was of considerable interest entomologically, 
anthropologically and probably in several other directions. 
We made a short excursion on the afternoon of our arrival, 
and on the next day tried a rather longer one to the ridge 
at the top of a side valley, with very similar country to 
that we afterwards more fully examined some twenty miles 
off (as the crow flies) at Casayo. We thought several of 
the people we met were less civil and: friendly than had 
been our universal experience previously, and at our 
evening meal one of the other guests asked us pointedly as 
to how we found the people disposed towards us. This 
seemed a very curious and unusual question, but that 
evening and the following day we had no difficulty in 
ascertaining from our landlord and from visitors at the 
inn what was alluded to, a remarkable delusion of a great 
majority of the inhabitants, a delusion of whose existence 
we had abundant evidence in the virulent abuse one lady 
bestowed on Mr. Champion on our excursion the next 
morning, which we purposely made a short one, and which 
was elucidated and explained to us in detail by Mr. 
Edward Jones, an English gentleman long settled in El 
Barco, of whose kindness to us we have most genial 
recollections, as well as by his brother, Mr. H. Jones, whom 
we remember with pleasure. It appeared that (twenty- 
five to thirty ?, I forget the exact date) years ago, the 
Phylloxera reached El Barco and caused widespread 
disaster amongst the vine-growers, more or less the whole 
population. Incidentally, it may be noted that Mr. E. 
Jonas was one of the largest of these, and that he made 
further sacrifices as a pioneer in ascertaining what remedies 
were available, and introducing American vine-stocks and 
otherwise restoring the vine culture of the district to 
prosperity. The natives, it appears, were convinced that 
the Phylloxera had been wilfully introduced by some 
Frenchmen with a view to their ruin, and to destroy 
Spanish competition in the wine trade. No doubt we did 
not hear all the history of this delusion, and what we did 
