208 HEMIPTERA. 



to forget. The remembrance of all, though fixed by differ- 

 ent events, concurred in establishing the same years for the 

 appearance of the locusts. 



" I first took notice of them in 1821, on the 17th of June, 

 from their noise. They appeared chiefly in the forests, or 

 in thickets of forest-trees, principally oak. Their nearest 

 distance from my dwelling cannot be far from a mile ; yet, 

 at a still hour, their music was distinctly heard there. On 

 going to visit them, I found the oak-trees and bushes swarm- 

 ing with them in a winged state. They came up out of the 

 ground a creeping insect. Very soon after they had ar- 

 rived on the surface of the earth, the skin, or rather the 

 shell of the insect, burst upon the back, and the winged 

 insect came forth, leaving the skin or shell upon the earth, 

 in a perfect form, and uninjured, saving at the rupture on 

 the back ; showing an entire withdrawing of the living ani- 

 mal, as much so as does the snake's skin after he has left it. 

 Thus these skins lay in immense numbers under the trees, 

 entirely empty, and perfect in shape. The winged insects 

 did not, so far as I could ascertain, eat anything. Motion 

 and propagation appeared to be the whole object of their 

 existence. They continued about four or five weeks, and 

 then died." Previous to this event " the females laid their 

 eggs in the tender parts of oak branches, near the extremi- 

 ties, making a longitudinal furrow, and depositing rows 

 of eggs therein (Fig. 86). They then sawed the branch 

 partly off below the eggs, so that the wind could twist off 

 the extreme part containing the eggs, and let it fall to the 

 ground. In this way they injured the trees extensively. 

 The forest had a gloomy appearance from the number of 

 these extremities partially twisted off, and hanging, with 

 their dead leaves, ready to fall. In a few weeks they were 

 nearly all separated from the trees, and carried their vital 

 burdens to the earth, which was, certainly, well seeded for 

 a harvest in 1838. I know of no other damage which they 

 did I believe the locusts appear in different places, in 



