81 



from about the 25th of May to the middle of June, is wonderful. It is not deafening, 

 as many describe it ; even at its height it does not interrupt ordinary conversation. 

 It seems like an atmosphere of wild monotonous sound, in which all other sounds float 

 with perfect distinctness. After a day or two, this music becomes tiresome and dole- 

 ful, and to many very disagreeable. To me it was otherwise, and when I heard the 

 last note on the 25th of June, the melancholy reflection occurred — shall I live to hear 

 it again ? 



" Probably the first indication many persons will have of the approach of the lo- 

 custs, will be the industry with which they will find the hogs rooting up the ground 

 in the woods and fields. It is a great festival for them : and as soon as the insects 

 appear above ground, chickens, turkeys, and all poultry will also have their feast. So 

 fond are all fowls of these insects, that they will scarcely touch other food during the 

 locust-season. This has a remarkable effect upon all hens' eggs laid after the locusts 

 appear — their yolks are nearly white. The chicken become very fat, and of fine fla- 

 vour. Even the little wren will be seen flying off with a locust in its mouth, and all 

 insectivorous birds have a great festival. 



" From the 1st to the 20th of June, all shrubbery of value should be protected, ei- 

 ther by covering it with cheap gauze, or in case of pot-plants, by keeping them in the 

 house. About the 15th of June, the insects commence depositing their eggs ; and 

 about the 25th of June, the old locusts will have disappeared altogether." 



" In conclusion, people ought not to be alarmed. The insect has neither means 

 of offence nor defence, and all the stories told of children being killed by their sting or 

 bite are fabulous.'' 



May 5, 1851. 

 J. O. Westwood, Esq., President, in the chair. 



The following donations were announced, and thanks ordered to be given to the 

 respective donors: — ' The Zoologist' for May; by the Editor. 'On the Probable 

 Relation between Magnetism and the Circulation of the Atmosphere;' from the 'Ap- 

 pendix to the Washington Astronomical Observations for 1846: ' Washington, 1851. 

 ' Bericht tiber die Leistungen in der Entomologie wahrend des Jahres 1848, von Dr. 

 H. Schaum ; Berlin, 1850:' presented by the author. ' Entomologische Zeitung' for 

 March and April ; presented by the Entomological Society of Stettin. ' The Athe- 

 naeum ' for April ; by the Editor. 



The President announced a Resolution of the Council, that during the Great Ex- 

 hibition any foreign entomologist might see the Society's collection on any day of the 

 week, if accompanied by a member or subscriber. 



Mr. S. Stevens exhibited a species of Curculionidae, of which he had not been able 

 to determine the name, but which was new to Britain ; also an Adela cuprella, the se- 

 cond known British specimen : both captured recently on sallows at Fenny Stratford. 

 He likewise exhibited a living specimen of Callidium sanguineum, caught at Bow, 



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