218 
LETTERS FROM ALABAMA. 
reptiles ; the cicadm that sit on the trees and fill 
the air with their deafening crink ; the large dra- 
gon-flies that hawk to and fro over the fields and 
pools ; the locusts and katedids that jump about 
the herbage and shrubs ; the savage brown wasps 
that build huge nests of grey paper on old trees 
and posts, and many species of beetles, form the 
insect-diet ; while nimble lizards, small slender 
snakes, and frogs, aflbrd a frequent and agreeable 
variety. The contents of the stomach in my Mis- 
sissippi Kite confirmed, in part, at least, this report ; 
for it was stufled with a couple of cicadse, and a 
large dragon-fly, mercilessly crumpled up, to be 
sure, but otherwise little damaged. 
In one of my former letters I alluded to the 
assaults of tiny, but bloodthirsty, and far from 
despicable enemies, the Ticks. ■ The young ones 
of the present season are just now exceedingly 
numerous ; they congregate in great masses on the 
tips of leaves, and at the extremities of the stalks 
and blades of grass that grow beside the roads, or 
overhang the paths of the woods, waiting for an 
opportunity of selecting some more exalted animal 
to become their prey. On the slightest touch of 
any extraneous body they adhere .to it, so that in 
walking through the woods we become almost 
covered with them. The utmost care is required ‘ 
lo avoid touching the herbage ; and if Ave sit down 
on a prostrate log in the forest, though only for a 
moment, myriads are presently crawling over our 
clothes. They are very minute, from the size of a 
small pin’s head to that of a grain of sand, so that 
they can scarcely be brushed off when once at- 
tached. They soon insinuate themselves beneath 
the clothes, and seeking out some protected part of 
