and I remember going out into the woods and see- 

 ing the foliage densely packed with them, in many 

 cases two or three deep, so that the branches of 

 the trees were bent down and also frequently 

 broken by their weight. The little street boys 

 used to eat the beetles. 



I once also witnessed, what I believe is an un- 

 common occurrence, a storm of crickets. They 

 were suddenly blown, like a squall, into the town 

 in Ecuador, where I was residing, in dense masses 

 and heaped against the bases of the walls like hail- 

 drifts. They were carried into verandas and 

 open doors and windows ; and the houses, where 

 they did considerable damage, were not entirely 

 free from them for a month or more afterward. 

 Walking in the streets, for some hours after the 

 downpour, it was impossible to avoid scrunching 

 crickets at every step. 



During the early part of the month the paddock 

 looked very pretty with its patches of small blue- 

 bells, purple orchids, speedwell, and a bright little 

 vetch. I sowed some cowslip seed in the early 

 spring and harebell the year before, but neither 

 have come up. The latter graceful little flower I 

 148 



