321 
XXIII. 
OCTOBER 16th. 
Indian Summer. — Peculiar Weather — Supposed Causes. — Lepidoptera.-— 
Freezing of the River. — Winter Wren. — Wasps. — Nest of Leaf-cutting 
Bee. — Moths. — Snake. — Insects on fallen Leaves. — Pearlfly. — Grakles. 
— Ignorance of Natural History hurtful to the Farmer. — Anecdote. — 
Crossbills. — Day-flies. — Caddis-flies. — Torpidity. — Blue Bird. — Frozen 
Apples. — Effect of Frost in loosening Leaves. — Beech Nuts. — Fruit of 
the Maple — Of the Birch — ^Ash — Basswood. 
Charles. — The weather^ for a few days past^ has been 
delightful^ and more like summer than autmnn : if it were 
not for the nakedness of the leafless trees^ we might easily 
fancy ourselves removed a month or two back in the ca- 
lendar. 
Father. — Have you not noticed, since this warm wea- 
ther commenced^ a peculiar haze around the horizon^ a misti- 
ness in the atmosphere, which is not common in summer ? 
there is an indistinctness about distant objects which^, in or- 
dinary weather^ are clearly seen ; the sun is shorn of his 
beams," and the air appears filled with a light thin smoke. 
This characterises the '^^ Indian summer," a very remarkable 
phenomenon^ and peculiar^ I believe, to North America. It 
never appears till after the summer has yielded to cold wea- 
ther, and generally follows a series of wintry days^ and often 
pretty severe frosts. It is hailed with pleasure when it 
comes^ as a slight and brief relaxation from the horrors of 
p 5 
