OCTOBER. 
827 
F. — The frogs have not yet retired to their dormitories 
beneath the mud ; to spend their half-year in sleep, or a 
state still nearer death than even sleep itself. A curious 
state is that of torpidity ! in which the respiration, digestion, 
circulation, and all the vital functions are suspended for so 
long a time, and yet, that time being past, resume their sway 
with the same precision and regularity, as if they had never 
been intermitted. We may say of these animals that their 
life is all summer : since during winter they can scarcely be 
said, with propriety, to live at all. — Those little dancing 
motes, the Tipulidan Gnats, are playing over the brooks, and 
may occasionally be noticed in the sheltered woods, in fine 
days, even in the depth of winter. They must have a great 
power of resisting the effects of cold. 
C. — I saw a flock of Blue-birds ( Sylvia Sialis J, a few 
mornings ago, perched on the fence of the garden, close to the 
house. It was a cold morning, and they might have been 
attracted by the hope of picking up some of the minute 
crumbs and scraps, &c., which might be lying about : for I 
suppose insectivorous birds can upon occasion feed on farina- 
ceous substances, such as bread, &c. 
jP. — The severe frost on the night of the 4th spoiled my 
store of apples, by freezing most of them on the trees. The 
effect of frost on this fruit is singular ; the pulp of the apple 
seems to be all turned to juice, which may be squeezed from 
it in abundance at every pore, after it is thawed : I suppose 
the cellular texture has in some measure been broken and 
destroyed by the expansive power of the frost, so that the 
juices which before were held in minute cells now lie loose 
as it were among them, like a saturated sponge. They very 
soon rot, but it is said, that if they are pressed immediately, 
they are as suitable for making cider as unfrozen apples. A 
very slight covering will often protect fruit from the effects 
of frost : I have known a number of apples to be preserved 
