New Jtrfiy, Raccoon. 379 



numbers in the woods, at the beginning of win- 

 ter, the people look upon it as a fign of a pretty 

 mild winter. 



Picus varius, the leffer* fpotted, yellow-bellied 

 Wood-pecker. Thefe birds are much more nu- 

 merous than many people wiflied ; for this, as 

 well as the preceding and fucceeding fpecies, 

 are very hurtful to apple-trees. 



Picus pubefcensy or the lea ft f potted Wood-pecker. 

 This fpecies abounds here. Of all the wood- 

 peckers it is the moft dangerous tb orchards, be- 

 caufe it is the moft daring. As foon as it has 

 pecked a hole into the tree, it makes another 

 clofe to the firft, in a horizontal direction, 

 proceeding till it has pecked a circle of holes 

 round the tree. Therefore the apple-trees in the 

 orchards here havo^feveral rings round their 

 ftems, which lie very clofe above each other, 

 frequently only an inch diftant from each other. 

 Sometimes thefe wood-peckers peck the holes 

 fo clofe, that the tree dries up. This bird, as 

 Catefcy remarks, is fo like the lefler fpotted 

 wood-pecker, in regard to its colour and other 

 qualities, that they would be taken for the fame 

 bird, were not the former (the Picus pubefcens) 

 a great deal lefs. They agree in the bad quality, 

 which they both poflefs, of pecking holes into 

 the apple-trees. 



Rana ocellata are a kind of frogs here, which 

 the Swedes call, Sill-boppet offer, i. e. Herring- 

 boppers, and which now began to quack in the 

 evening, and at night, in fwamps, pools, and 

 ponds. The name which the Swedes give them 

 is derived from their beginning to make their 



noifc 



