190 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



tained its leaves, and gave a thin scattering of 

 green to the hedges ; while the berries of the wild 

 rose, the euonymus, and the hawthorn, along with 

 the pretty red dog-wood, gave every thing a 

 cheerful look. 



I have often thought of the walk I had with 

 my uncle in November, and of the quantity of 

 things which he taught me might be found to 

 observe, even in the worst seasons. 



. All this winter we have observed great 

 numbers of the pretty little lady-bird, or coccinella, 

 clustered together in a privet-hedge : they are 

 generally collected at the joints of the branches, 

 and at "first I imagined they were red berries. 

 Mary never observed so many before, and she 

 therefore supposes that the aphis must have been 

 uncommonly abundant last autumn. She tells me 

 that the lady-bird is of great service for in its 

 larva state, it feeds entirely on aphides; and when 

 these mischievous grubs are very numerous, 

 the multitudes of their pretty little destroyers 

 always seern to increase in proportion. In 1807, 

 they covered the cliffs at Brighton in such 

 swarms, that the inhabitants were almost alarmed, 

 not being aware that they came from the neigh- 

 bouring hop-grounds, where their larvae had 

 been usefully employed in preying on the aphis, 

 which had committed such ravages among the 

 hop plants, and which is there called the fly, 



