1 6 December 1748. 



victuals. Sometimes they bite people's 

 nofes or feet, whilft they are afleep. An 

 old Swede, called Sven Laock, a grandfon 

 of the Rev. Mr. Laockenius, one of the 

 firft Swedi/h clergymen that came to Pen- 

 fylvania, told me, that he had in his 

 younger years been once very much fright- 

 ened on account of a cock-roach, which 

 crept into his ear whilft he was afleep. 

 He waked fuddenly, jumped out of bed, 

 and felt that the infect, probably out of 

 fear, was endeavouring with all its ftrength 

 to get deeper. Thefe attempts of the 

 cock-roach were fo painful to him, that he 

 imagined his head was burning, and he 

 was almoft fenfelefs ; however he haftened 

 to the well, and bringing up a bucket full 

 of water, threw fome into his ear. As 

 loon as the cock-roach found itfelf in dan- 

 ger of being drowned, it endeavoured to 

 fave itfelf, and puflied backwards out of 

 the ear, with its hind feet, and thus hap- 

 pily delivered the poor man from his 

 fears. 



The Wood-lice are difagreeable infects, 

 which in a manner are worfe than the pre- 

 ceding ; but as I have already defcribed 

 them in a peculiar memoir, which is 

 printed among the memoirs of the Royal 



Academy 



