100 ^ji Account of the Americcm Cantharis. 



the mouth is ai'med with jaws, and furnished with pal- 

 pi," &c. 



After reading the above account, together with the 

 successful experiments made by Dr. Chapman, its au- 

 thor, I began, early in the summer of A. D. 1800, to 

 search potatoe patches in Farmington, to see if I could 

 discover the insect ; but my endeavors were fruitless, 

 till some time in August. I had, indeed, seen a few 

 which were gathered in the city of Hartford, early in the 

 month of July, which answered to Dr. Chapman's de- 

 scription, in every particular. Had this proved the case 

 in my subsequent endeavors, I should have rested con- 

 tented with his account ; but since it was far otherwise, 

 I ' have taken the liberty to communicate the result of 

 my enquiries on the subject. 



In the latter part of August, I was applied to by a 

 man in Bristol to visit his daughter ; and when riding to 

 his house, he commenced a conversation about the Span- 

 ish flies, which induced me to suggest the sum of Dr. 

 Chapman's account (above referred to) to him. He re- 

 plied, " I believe I can show you enough of them on my 

 potatoes ; for they have been almost destroyed by a bug 

 this year; and some of my neighbors' are much worse 

 than mine." . I was glad to embrace the opportunity; 

 and after visiting the child, we took a walk together into 

 his garden, where, to my great astonishment, and no lit- 

 tle mortification, I saw the potatoes almost covered with 

 an insect entirely black. On examination, however, I 

 perceived that they answered perfectly to the a]:)ove de- 

 scription by Dr. C. except in color. Looking a little 

 farther, I found a few which came still nearer to his ac- 

 count; and still these varied very materially. They 

 had their elytra margined v/ith a narrow stripe of a light 

 dirty brov/n. In every other respect they were like the 

 •others. 



This suggested to me the probability that they were 

 subject to change their color as the season advanced; 

 but it is only a probability still, since I have not had any 

 opportunity to determine it by fact. This probability is 

 strengthened by analogy. 



