164 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



sons "may go forth," as enjoined by the valedictory, "as good Samari- 

 tans, as ministering angels, blending a profound knowledge of their pro- 

 fession, with that cheerfulness which belongs to the consciousness of 

 right principles and the practice of virtue. And when they approach the 

 close of their career^ a course of virtuous prosperity will gild the retro- 

 spect of life, whilst before them will be the cheering prospect due to 

 well-spent time." 



NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BIBLE — THE LOCUST. 



The American reader is very apt to be misled by the word "locust," 

 as that name is so generally but improperly given to a very remarkable 

 insect of our country. Tlie locust of tlie Scriptures is an entirely dif- 

 ferent species of insect. Ours is is a hemiplerous insect, that is, the two 

 upper wings, in the form of crustaceous cases, are membranous at their 

 extremities, or similar to the lower ones, and they feed by means of a 

 sucker, upon nothing but the juices of plants. It is properly called a 

 Cicada, one of the most remarkable species being the Cicada septem- 

 decim, or seventeen-year locust, whose periodical appearance attracts so 

 much attention. But the true locust of the Scriptures is an orthopterous 

 insect, that is, its lower wings are either folded simply lengthv/ise, or 

 only in two directions, and it has mandibles and jaws for mastication. 

 It is the Gryllas locusta of Linnaeus, but is now placed by Latredle (in 

 Cuvier's Animal Kingdom, iv, 17,) under the genus Jlcridium. The 

 wings are frequently colored very prettily, red and blue predominating. 

 The thorax often exhibits large warts or crests of a very singular char- 

 acter. Its length is from two to three inches, and it has nothing of that 

 formidable appearance ascribed to it by the Arabians, when they say that 

 it has "the eyes of the elephant, the neck of the bull, the horns of the 

 stag, the chest of the lion, the belly of the scorpion, the wings of the' 

 eagle, the thighs of the camel, the legs of the ostrich, and the tail of the 

 serpent." Yet it is peculiarly fitted for the work of destruction which 

 has rendered it so famous. "It is armed," says Kirby & S.* "with two 

 pair of very strong jaws, the upper terminating in short, and the lower 

 in long teeth, by which it can both lacerate and grind its food ; its stom- 

 ach is of extraordinary capacity and powers ; its hind legs enable it to 

 leap to a considerable distance, and its ample vans are calculated to 

 catch the wind as sails, and so to carry it sometimes over the sea •, and 

 although a single individual can effect but little evil, yet when the entire 

 surface of a country is covered by them, and every one makes bare the 



* Eiitomolog}', I. 213. 



