Another query. Did the hard winter, that punished the birds,
diminish insects ? We shall not know till the wasps appear how the balance falls, but have already many instances. That abominable little plague the apple sawfly is worse than I ever knew it ; and the colonies of " tent " caterpillars are as many and as big as ever they were. The numbers of those useful, comely, but not savoury insects the ladybirds are unusually great, though their proper prey, the green-fly, is less than usually prevalent. Some water-bred insects seem to have suffered. Scarcely a single mayfly has appeared in some streams, though blue dun and such caddis fly have enjoyed at least a normal season. Though fishermen have had one of the worst experiences of their memory, the fish themselves have multiplied well. Among a host of coarse fish, just a few trout have appeared for the first time for a dozen years on ¶he
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