make his course directly to his dulce domum, without inclining in the least to the right hand or the left. The hunter, who has patience, intelligence, and perseverance on his side, is therefore certain of ultimate success: For the direction which the first bee takes, is infallibly that in which the nest-tree lies; so that when the bees which are subsequently released reverse their flight and seem to go back to the place from which the first flew, the sportsman knows that he has passed by the destined tree. His next great object is, to distinguish the tree which contains the bees, from others which stand in the same direction. This would of course be a difficult task to an uninitiated person; but the ingenuity of the American hunter has supplied him with means, by which he can allure the bees from the tree where they have deposited their honey, when it is not remotely situated. This is effected by placing a piece of honey-comb upon a heated brick, the odour of which, while in the act of melting, is so strong and alluring as to induce the whole tribe to come down from their citadel, in quest of honey, of which the fragrant smell had been the herald. Nothing then remains but to cut down the tree; and the quantity of honey found in its excavated trunk, seldom fails to compensate very amply the perseverance of the huntsman. I have been thus particular in my description of the manner in which honey is discovered and taken, because I thought it would amuse you to hear any thing new, upon a subject the most distantly con

nected with the operations and habits of the bee: You know how much both ancient historians and poets have been concerned to convey to their readers correct information regarding their civil, political, and domestic economy. I have refrained

from giving any account of their internal arrangements, because I conceive the descriptions of these to be sufficiently rife: But I think I have made you acquainted with a mode of carrying the siege more easily than you imagine, and with quite as much effect as that described by Virgil:

When of its sweets the dome thou wouldst deprive,
Diffuse warm spirted water through the hive,

Or noxious smoke thro' all their dwellings drive.

An extraordinary instance of the fatal effects which frequently result from the combined forces of the weakest enemies, occurred recently in the district of Gore. In the Summer of 1820, the Rev. Ralph Leeming, of Ancaster, was possessed of a fine horse: The animal was sent out to grass, at a neighbouring farmer's, who kept about twenty stocks of bees. By some means or other, he got into the lawn where the hives were placed, and while indulging his curiosity, accidentally overturned one of them. The bees, finding themselves disturbed, singled out the horse as the object of their wrath, and attacked him with great virulence. This made the persecuted animal begin to kick: In his agony he overthrew another hive, which only doubled the number of the assailants. The

last hive was falling to the ground, when the horse fell too; and in less than five minutes from the commencement of the affray, the poor animal was literally stung to death by his enraged adversaries.

WASPS are not more common than in England, but hornets and yellow-jackets are very numerous. Nor are fleas more generally found in Canada, than in other parts of the world. A comfortable house, occupied by a cleanly family, is seldom troubled with them; but bed-bugs are the inmates of every dwelling, from the castle of St. Louis, on the elevated promontory of Quebec, to the humblest log-hut on the shores of Lake St. Clair. If these offensive creatures, with the musquito, black-fly, and house-fly, were to continue their attacks throughout the year, they would certainly render the Canadian's existence a heavy curse, rather than a blessing. Indeed, it appears wonderful to me, that man can at all subsist in a land, in which the insects alone appear sufficiently numerous to destroy every production of the earth. I have mentioned only the most remarkable among the different tribes of poisonous and destructive insects in the country: There are many more, whose names I cannot recollect; but whose operations are not so easily forgotten.

On reviewing the preceding pages of this letter, I have been forcibly struck with the idea, that you, who are happily free from such tormenting plagues as those which I have recounted, will probably suspect me of exaggeration. I know that nothing

is more common than for men to magnify an evil at the time when they themselves are enduring it; and with regard to my own case, as few writers have entered deeply into the subject, I shall more readily be charged with hyperbolical minuteness, if with nothing more. But if I were disposed to swell my letter with quotations from the few travellers who have touched on the subject, I think I should be able to avert the particular charge, and to shew that I agree with them in the main of my remarks upon Canadian insects. I have, however, no desire to lengthen my correspondence by the labours of other men, and shall therefore content myself with two quotations,-the one from Mr. Lambert's Travels in Canada, and the other from Stuart's Emigrants' Guide, by which, in your eyes and in the eyes of every of every candid person, I think I shall be amply justified.

Mr. Lambert, in speaking of the months of May, June, July, August and September, observes: "The Spring, Summer and Autumn of Canada, are all comprised in these five months. The rest of the year may be said to consist wholly of Winter. The month of October is sometimes agreeable; but nature has then put on her gloomy mantle, and the chilling blasts from the North-West remind the Canadians of the approach of snow and ice. November and April are the two most disagreeable months. In the one, the snow is falling; and in the other it is going away. Both of them confine the people to their houses; and render

travelling uncomfortable and even dangerous. Nor can the inhabitants enjoy the Summer months with that comfort and pleasure experienced in Europe. One of the greatest plagues to which they are subject is, in my opinion, the common house-fly. It is not decided, whether they are natives of the country, or imported. I think, however, that their boldness and assurance greatly exceed their European brethren, and their number is beyond all conception. Your room must be entirely darkened, or it will be impossible to remain in it undisturbed. The warmer and lighter it is, the more numerous and active the flies will be, and the greater will be your sufferings. The stoves keep them alive in Winter, but the sun restores them to their full vigour and power of annoyance. In Summer, I have sat down to write, and have been obliged to throw my pen aside, in consequence of their irritating bite, which compelled me every moment to raise my hand to my eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, in constant succession. When I could no longer write, I began to read, and was always obliged to keep one hand constantly on the move, towards my head. Sometimes in the course of a few minutes, I could take half a dozen of my tormentors from my lips, between which I caught them just as as they had perched. In short, while sitting quiet in the chair, I was continually worried by them; and, as it has been observed of the same insects in Russia, none but those who have suffered could believe them