182 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



of this storm in the south, many have occurred of greater vio- 

 lence in the north. Indeed, only two weeks later we were warned 

 to " hoist the cold wave flag" and notified that at St. Paul they 

 were having several degrees lower temperature than they had 

 during the time of the storm under consideration, but we (in 

 Indiana) did not realize its increased severity, while in Florida 

 they were scarcely disturbed, the temperature there changing 

 but slightly from the normal. On consulting the Signal Service 

 records for this second storm we discover that the low barometer, 

 the disturbing cause, originated very near the location of the 

 preceding storm, viz., in Colorado, but instead of the very un- 

 usual route taken by the first it followed the more general course, 

 in an almost direct line towards the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 

 hence the succeeding high barometer and cold wave were only 

 invited as far south as the track of the preceding low. 



In the present state of meteorological knowledge, there exists 

 no known preventive against the sweeping disaster of such storms 

 as this. A single one may, however, suggest itself to the thought- 

 ful. Extensive tree-planting on the great plains of the west 

 will certainly have a salutary influence in modifying and retard- 

 ing the free and unbroken sweep of these disastrous storms. 

 Perhaps the people of no portion of the United States are more 

 deeply interested in the remedy than the people of these great 

 plains themselves. The simple thought of a so-called "norther" 

 is a terror to the inhabitants of the Llano Estacado. Let them 

 hasten the day when the dry and leafless Yucca stalk shall give 

 place to the comforting forest of living trees. Then horticul- 

 ture will, indeed, have contributed its share towards " temper- 

 ing the winds to the shorn lambs" of our whole country. 



A PEN SKETCH OF PROF. S. A. FORBES— FOURTH 



STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



BY DR. F. W. GODING, RUTLAND. 



The special qualifications of our several State Entomolgists 

 have been varied. There is no doubt that Walsh, the friend 

 of Darwin, was the most scholarly, and perhaps the near- 

 est a philosopher, at the same time ranking high as an ento- 

 mologist. LeBaron, the friend of Harris, possessing consider- 

 able literary training and a peculiar mental aptitude for the work, 

 if not wholly original, was of such a character as to place him 

 among our best independent and closely observing naturalists. 

 Thomas, with his vast fund of entomological learning, will stand 

 among our eminent entomologists rather as a judicious compiler 

 and wise teacher, though we cannot forget his fine original work 

 among the Orthoptera and Hemiptera. Prof. Forbes, our pres- 

 ent State Entomologist, has qualifications different from any of 



