ORTHOFFKRA OF NO\A SCOTIA 1>IE1;S. 21*7 



place. This would be a serious matter, for the sod prevents the 

 'jand 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 case 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 wh : ch 

 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 

 w r hich appeared to differ from those already examined. In 

 November I received a pint bottle full of locusts preserved in 

 alcohol. All were utlanis, 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 rernark- 



* 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 moixth later 

 than last year Th6 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." 



