OCTOBER. 327 



F. The frogs have not yet retired to their dormitories 

 beneath the mud ; to spend their half-year in sleep, or a 

 state still nearer death than even sleep itself. A curious 

 state is that of torpidity ! in which the respiration, digestion, 

 circulation, and all the vital functions are suspended for so 

 long a time, and yet, that time being past, resume their sway 

 with the same precision and regularity, as if they had never 

 been intermitted. We may say of these animals that their 

 life is all summer : since during winter they can scarcely be 

 said, with propriety, to live at all. Those little dancing 

 motes, the Tipulidan Gnats, are playing over the brooks, and 

 may occasionally be noticed in the sheltered woods, in fine 

 days, even in the depth of winter. They must have a great 

 power of resisting the effects of cold. 



C. I saw a flock of Blue-birds (Sylvia Sialis), a few 

 mornings ago, perched on the fence of the garden, close to the 

 house. It was a cold morning, and they might have been 

 attracted by the hope of picking up some of the minute 

 crumbs and scraps, &c., which might be lying about : for I 

 suppose insectivorous birds can upon occasion feed on farina- 

 ceous substances, such as bread, &c. 



F. The severe frost on the night of the 4th spoiled my 

 store of apples, by freezing most of them on the trees. The 

 effect of frost on this fruit is singular ; the pulp of the apple 

 seems to be all turned to juice, which may be squeezed from 

 it in abundance at every pore, after it is thawed : I suppose 

 the cellular texture has in some measure been broken and 

 destroyed by the expansive power of the frost, so that the 

 juices which before were held in minute cells now lie loose 

 as it were among them, like a saturated sponge. They very 

 soon rot, but it is said, that if they are pressed immediately, 

 they are as suitable for making cider as unfrozen apples. A 

 very slight covering will often protect fruit from the effects 

 of frost : I have known a number of apples to be preserved 



