late into November; and may be accounted for from 

 a late spring, a cool and moist summer; but more 

 particularly from vast armies of chafers, or tree- 

 beetles, which, in many places, reduced whole woods 

 to a leafless naked state. These trees shot again at 

 Midsummer, and then retained their foliage till very 

 late in the year. 



My musical friend, at whose house I am now vis- 

 iting, has tried all the owls that are his near neigh- 

 bours with a pitch-pipe set at concert-pitch, and finds 

 they all hoot in B flat. He will examine the nightin- 

 gales next spring. 



Fyfield, «^ar Andover, Feb. 12, 1771. 



LETTER XLIII. 

 To Thomas Pennant, Esq. 



There is an insect with us, especially on chalky 

 districts, which is very troublesome and teasing all 

 the latter end of the summer, getting into people's 

 skins, especially those of women and children, and 

 raising tumours which itch intolerably. This animal 

 (which we call a harvest bug) is very minute, scarce 

 discernible to the naked eye ; of a bright scarlet col- 

 our, and of the genus of acarus."^ They are to be met 



* Leptus autumnalis of Latreille. 

 161 



