146 THE PERIODICAL CICADA, 
its underground life. It will be necessary, however, except in the first 
year or two of the existence of the larvae, to inject it to a depth of at 
least 12 inches below the surface. It should not be introduced into the 
soil closer to the crown of young plants than 14 feet, and not more than 
an ounce of the chemical should be introduced into each hole, which 
should be immediately closed. An injection should be made to about 
every square yard of surface. The bisulphid rapidly evaporates and 
penetrates throughout the soil, and is very deadly to insects. It is 
highly inflammable, and should not, therefore, be poured from one 
vessel to another near a fire. It may be introduced into the soil by 
means of injecting machines. This treatment is not expensive, and 
will be valuable for orchards, small groves, or private grounds. 
THE PERIODICAL CICADA IN LITERATURE. 
As would naturally be inferred of an insect as interesting as the 
periodical Cicada, the writings which have been devoted to it from 
the time of its tie coming to the attention of the colonists to the 
present have been most voluminous in number and extent; much 
of this literature, however, is of a fugitive character and scattered 
through publications not now obtainable. 
The earliest published account of the periodical Cicada which 
has come under my own observation was brought to my attention 
by Prof. E. A. Andrews, of the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 
Md. It is contained in Volume I, No. 8, page 137, of the Phas 
sophical Transactions of the Royal Society of desman published 
January 8, 1666, and is reported, unsigned, by the ‘‘ publisher,” 
Henry Oldenburg. The portion of ume communication relating to 
the Cicada is quoted below: 
SoME OBSERVATIONS OF SWARMS OF STRANGE INSECTS AND THE MIscHIEFS DONE 
BY THEM. 
A great Observer, who hath lived long in New England, did, upon occasion, relate 
toa Friend cf his in London, where he lately was, That some few years since there was 
such a Swarm cf a certain sort of Insects in that English Colony, that for the space of 200 
Miles they poyson’d and destroyed all the Trees of the Country; there being found 
innumerable little holes in the ground, out of which those Insects broke forth in the 
form of Maggots, which turned into F'lyes that had a kind of tail or sting, which they 
stuck into the tree, and thereby envenomed and killed it. * * * 
The rest of the article referred to a plague of locusts (grasshoppers) 
in Russia, with which the Cicada is confused. The brood referred to 
here is very likely No. XIV, which appeared in 1651. No other 
brood coincides with this narrative and No. XIV not very closely, 
but as the quotation states the relation was “upon occasion,” &nd 
was ‘‘some few years since,’ there is ample warrant for assigning 
the account to the brood of fifteen years before. 
