ly in bloom on the 15th of May last, together with a number of 

 cherry trees of several of the improved varieties. In the course 

 of two nights afterwards, however, this May beetle suddenly 

 hatched out in such astonishing numbers as to wholly strip these 

 trees of their leaves, buds and blossoms, leaving many of them as 

 naked as in mid-winter, and destroying all hopes of any fiuit the 

 present year. 



But a still more remarkable instance of the excessive multipli- 

 cation and consequent havoc caused by an insect not previously 

 noticed, has occurred in this vicinity, since I received jour letter. 

 Indeed it surpasses every thing of the kind that has been hitherto 

 experienced in this county since the date of its settlement. On 

 the 19th instant, a man from Cambridge inquired of me whether 

 I had observed the worms upon the apple trees, saying that all 

 the orchards in that town were being stripped of their leaves. 

 Next day, on going to my apple trees, I found the worm alluded 

 to, upon all of them, committing great havoc ; and a gentleman 

 from Argyle informed me that within two and three days past 

 they had been observed, overrunning all the apple trees there. 

 Upon the 23d instant, the circuit court being in session in the 

 village of Salem, I saw persons from most towns of the county, 

 and learned that this worm was ravaging every orchard within 

 our borders, without exception. Some idea of the value of our 

 orchards and the amount of damage which this pest threatens to 

 do us, may be formed from the fact, that two years ago, to supply 

 the vacancies produced by trees that had per'shed, and to plant 

 new orchards upon some farms, an agent from one single nursery 

 disposed of young trees in this county, to the amount of $10,000. 

 As it well may, therefore, this worm at present forms the leading 

 topic of conversation in every circle, and our newspapers are 

 giving notices of it in their columns. And the crude and errone- 

 ous notions that are being formed and circulated respecting it, 

 show, in a most humiliating manner, the gross ignorance which 

 pervades our country, upon topics of this kind. One gentleman 

 tells me, that in a conversation with the most noted and experi- 

 enced nurseryman in our county, they had mutually come to the 

 conclusion that this worm had been bred by what in his neigh- 

 borhood is termed " the little green insect." On inquiry, I ascer- 



