Royal Society. 235 
penetrated into the more inland parts, towards Bedford, about 
12 miles north of the town o^ Galway-y here and in the adjacent 
country vail numbers of them appeared amongft the trees and 
hedges in the day-time, hanging from the boughs in cluiters, 
like bees when they fwarmj and in this clinging poflure they 
continued, with little or no motion, during the heat of the fun j 
but towards evening, or fun-let, they would all arife, difperie, 
and fly about, with a llrange humming noife, much like the 
beating of drums at fome diftance, and in fuch incredible num- 
bers, that they darkned the air for the fpace of two or three 
miles fquare : Such, as were travelling on the roads, or abroad in 
the fields, found it very uneafy to make their way thro' them, 
they would lb beat and knock themfelves againft their faces in 
their flight, and with fuch a force, as to make t"he place fmart, 
and leave a flight mark behind them: In a little time after their 
coming, they had fo entirely eaten up and dellroyed all the leaves 
of the trees for fome miles round about, that the whole country, 
tho' it was m the middle of fummer, was left as bare and naked 
as if it had been the depth of winter ; and their gnawing of the 
leaves made a found very much refembling the fawing of timber: 
They alfo came into the gardens, and deftroyed the buds, blof- 
foms, and leaves of all the fruit trees, fo that they were left per- 
fectly naked 5 nay, many of them, that were more delicate and 
tender than the reft, loll their fap as well as leaves, and quite 
withered away, fo as never to recover again: Their numbers 
fpread fo exceedingly that they infefted houfes, and proved very 
troublefome and offenfive : Their numerous creeping fpawn, 
which they had lodged under ground, next the upper lod of the 
earth, did ftill more harm, in that clofe retirement, than all the 
flying fwarms of their parents had done abroad j for this young 
deftrutlive brood, lying under ground, devoured the roots of the 
corn and grals, and thus deftroyed both the fupport of man and 
beaft: This fpawn, when firft it gave figns of life, appeared like 
a large maggot, and by taking food, and cncreaflng every day, 
became a bigger worm, till at length it grew as big as a large 
white caterpillar j and from this, according to the ufual trani- 
formation, natural to theie fmaller animals, there fprang this tiy- 
ing infea : This plague was happily checked leveral ways^ high 
winds, wet and miflingr weather deftroyed many millions of them 
in a day 3 whence we may conclude, that tho' we have them m 
thole northern moift climates, yet they are more natural and pe- 
culiar to warm and dry countries : Whenever this bad conftitution 
of the air prevailed, their bodies were fo enfeebled, that they 
