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ORTHOPTERA OF NOVA SCOTIA—PIERS. PAU 
place. This would be a serious matter, for the sod prevents the 
sand from being shifted by the winds. Should the grass become 
destroyed, nothing could prevent the island from ultimately dis- 
appearing beneath the sea, in which ease this dreaded spot 
would become a hundredfold more dangerous to shipping. 
Last year, 1895, these pests were more numerous than ever, 
and it was necessary to import a quantity of hay for the purpose 
of supporting the ponies, which were suffering from want of 
grass. It also became necessary to send to the mainland more 
of these animals than is usual, in order to reduce the stock which 
had to be fed. I am told that the insects could be swept in 
bucketsful from the doorsteps, and I have the superintendent’s 
positive assurance that they even entered the half-closed window 
of an unused room and ate considerable portions of a cotton 
blind, a piece of which was sent to me. No means have been 
taken to keep them in check, and the probability is that during 
the coming summer the plague will be worse than ever.* 
Thinking that possibly there might be more than one species 
upon the island, I asked Mr. Boutilier to send me, upon his 
return, a larger number of the insects, and particularly any 
which appeared to differ from those already examined. In 
November I received a pint bottle full of locusts preserved in 
alcohol. All were atlanis, mostly females, Mr. Boutilier informed 
me that upon his return to the island on October 12th, he found 
that many of the insects had disappeared owing to the lateness of 
the season, and at the time he wrote (November 10th) they were 
all dead, although in 1894 they had survived very cold weather 
if not frost. So far, he said, the season had been very mild with 
no frost. 
It therefore cannot be doubted that Melanoplus atlanis is 
responsible for all the extraordinary damage upon the island. 
Their sudden appearance in a place previously without such 
‘insects, and so many miles from the mainland, is most remark- 
*In a letter dated May 28th, 1896, received since the preparation of the above paper, 
Mr. Boutilier writes as follows: ‘*‘ The locusts are with us again, but are a month later 
than last year The season, however, is that much late—very cold and backward, and 
vegetation is greatly retarded. The young have appeared as yet only at the east end 
of the island, whereas they were much more plentiful at the west end last year.” 
