OF SELBORNE. 243 



larly but once ; since, was the contrary the case, the occur- 

 rence above could neither be new nor rare. 



P. S. One swift was seen at Lyndon, in the county of 

 Rutland, in 1782, so late as the third of September. 



LETTER LIII. 



TO THE SAME. 



As I have sometimes known you make inquiries about several 

 kinds of insects, I shall here send you an account of one sort 

 which I little expected to have found in this kingdom. I had 

 often observed that one particular part of a vine growing on 

 the walls of my house was covered in the autumn with a 

 black dust-like appearance, on which the flies fed eagerly ; 

 and that the shoots and leaves thus affected did not thrive ; 

 nor did the fruit ripen. To this substance I applied my 

 glasses ; but could not discover that it had any thing to do 

 with animal life, as I at first expected : but, upon a closer 

 examination behind the larger boughs, we were surprised to 

 find that they were coated over with husky shells, from whose 

 sides proceeded a cotton-like substance, surrounding a multi- 

 tude of eggs. This curious and uncommon production put 

 me upon recollecting what I have heard and read concerning 

 the coccus vitis viniferce of Linn&us, which, in the south of 

 Europe, infests many vines, and is an horrid and loathsome 

 pest. As soon as I had turned to the accounts given of this 

 insect, I saw at once that it swarmed on my vine ; and did 

 not appear to have been at all checked by the preceding 

 winter, which had been uncommonly severe. 



Not being then at all aware that it had any thing to do 

 with England, I was much inclined to think that it came 

 from Gibraltar among the many boxes and packages of 

 plants and birds which I had formerly received from thence ; 

 and especially as the vine infested grew immediately under 



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