FARMERS' REGISTER- THE LOCUST. 



69 



give a few svvalloAvs of waler; ibrsome houses will 

 not eat without, particularl.y if leverish at night. 

 Give three quarts of com soon after the water; he 

 should not be limited in tbdder, but let him have if 

 before liim from tlie time he is put up at night till 

 you start. Give him as much wate"r as he \^[[\ 

 drink belbre you start, travel very slow for the first 

 hour, lor many horses are foundered from the body 

 becoming suddenly hot when lull ot cold water, 

 just as when the re-yerse hajipens, filling the body 

 with cold water when it is hot. Give about -a 

 gallon of water frequently, for by giving a small 

 quantity ollen, the stomach is kept more cool, and 

 there is less danger. Twice or three times during 

 the day, put about a j",int of corn-meal and a little 

 salt into the water, and stir it well in. Whenever 

 you wateron the road, move off the horse imme- 

 diately; to stand still afier drinking is very wi'ong. 

 When you stop lor any time, say an hour or so, 

 do not water till you are gomg off. I never give 

 corn during the day — three or lour quarts of oats 

 may be given, and fodder or ha}-, for the quantity 

 he will eat will not injure him. In hot dusty 

 weather it is very gratilying to the horse to wash 

 or wipe the lace, and the inside of the nostrils with 

 a sponge and cold water, and if you add a Uttle 

 \-inegar, it is better; — do this at the time of anci. 

 before Avatering. When you stop for the night", 

 let the horse- go into a lotto wallow and walk 

 about for half an hour, then let a few bundles of 

 fodder or hay be "given to.hiin while he is rubbed, 

 cunied, and brushed, and aftenvards as plentifully 

 as can be given. When cool have his legs wash- 

 ed with soap and cold \\'ater, and the feet ]ncked 

 out, and then let him have his fill of water, but 

 without salt. Be careilil that the horse always eats 

 some tbdder before he gets his corn: give a strong 

 large horse eight quarts of corn at night, or as 

 many eare as are equal to it — it is better to teed on 

 the ear than to shell it, as the horse eats not so 

 last and will perhaps eat less. ' If the corn is new, 

 give but half the quantity; always give oats in the 

 morning if to be got, six quarts will not injure a 

 horse. If the horse gets galled, wash the parts 

 with s<ro7j£; whiskey and water. If your horse 

 becomes dull and hea\'>' on the journey, or loses 

 his appetite, tie a lump of gimi assatoBtida on his 

 bit, covered or wnapj)ed in a strong rag. This 

 may be continued tbi" the whole journe)', and Ibe- 

 iieve prevents, liis taking uny distejiiper if.j)ut with 

 .sick horses, or in stables Avhere they, have been: 

 it also is a preventive of fouiirler. Hgrses some- 

 times get lame on th<J road without any" apparent 

 cause. It is generally Ironi being improperly shod. 

 There are such various notions as to the treatment 

 of a horse when foundered, that it is difficult to 

 laiow what to ?ay' on the subject. I "would bleed 

 IVeely iTom the neck — give a pint of whiskey wifh 

 'a little Avarm water aisd molasses, with a luntjr of 

 alum about the size^ "of a nutmeg, dissolved in it, 

 and urge the horse on his journey. 



- 1 have now, my ^rood sir, said what I would do 

 •with my horse on the road, and it^ any i")art of it is 

 worth your consideration, you are .welcome to it. 

 Hoping that yoowill excuse great hurry and blun- 

 ders, and with my best wishes^ Ibr -your liaving a 

 eale and pleasant time of it, 



I remain, yours, with regard, 



THK LOCUST. 



The locust bclono-s to that class of insects which 

 naturalists distinguish by the name of grylhis. 

 The common grasshopper is of this genus, and in 

 its general appearance resembles the "migratory 

 locust," of which we have. to speak. The body 

 of this insect is long in proportion to its size, and 

 is defended on the back by a .strong corslet, either 

 of a greenish or light brown hue. The head, 

 which is vertical, is very large, and furnished with 

 two antennas of alsout an inch in length: tlie eyes 

 are very prominent, dark, androlling: the jaws are 

 strong, and tenninate in three incisive teeth, the 

 sharp points of which traverse each other Hke 

 scissors. The insect is furnished with four wings, 

 of which the exterior pair, which are properly 

 cases to the true wings, are tough, straight, and 

 larger than those which they cover, which are 

 pliant, reticulated, nearly transparent, and told up 

 in the manner of a fim. The lour anterior legs 

 are of middling size, and of great use in climbing 

 and leeding; but the posterior pair are much larger 

 and longer, and of such strength that the locust is 

 enabled by their means to leap more than two 

 hundred times the length of its own body, which 

 is usually Irom two to three inches. Locusts, as 

 the writer of this article has seen them in the East, 

 are generally of a light brown or stone color, with 

 dusk}' spots on the corslet and wingcases; the 

 mouth and inside of the thighs tinctured with blue, 

 and the wings with green, blue, or red. These 

 Avings are of' a delicate and bcaulitiil texture; and 

 in the fine fibres, by v\diich the transparency is tra- 

 versed, the Moslems of Western Asia fancy that 

 they can decypher an Arabic sentence, which sig- 

 nifies "We are the destTO3u-ig army of God." 



The female locust lays about forty eg^Sj which 

 in appearance are not unlike oat-grains, but small- 

 er. She covers them with a viscid matter, by 

 which they are sometimes attached to blades of 

 grass, but are more usually deposited in the ground. 

 For this purpose she prefers light sandy earths, 

 and wiU not lea,ve the eggs in compact, moist, or 

 cultivated grounds, unless she has been brought 

 down on them by rain, wind or fatigue, and ren- 

 dered incapable of seeking a more eligible situation. 

 Having performed this, the female dies; and the 

 e^gsi remain in the ground throughout the Avinter. 

 If much" ram occurs, the wet spoils them, by de- 

 stroying the viscid matter in which they are en- 

 veloped, and which is essential to their preserva- 

 tion. Heat also seems necessary to their produc- 

 tion, for 'the Uttle w^orm which proceeds from the 

 egg sometimes appears so -early as February and 

 sometimes not until JMay, according to the state of 

 the season.. This, in the usual course, b.ecomes 

 a njmiph, in which state it attains its full growth 

 in about tAventy-four days. ' After having for a 

 feAv days abstained from food, it then biu-sts its 

 skin, comes forth a perfect animal, and immediate- 

 ly begins to unlbld " and trim its Avings with the 

 hinder feet. • Tire insects which first attain this 

 stftte do not immediately fly off, but Avait in the 

 neighborhood fbrthose AA'tiose deAa^lopement is more 

 tard}'; but when th-eir arm.y ts formed, they take 

 their flight from the district. 



To those Avho haA^e not seen a flight of locusts, 

 it is difficult by description to convey an idea of the 

 appearance it presents. As seen approaching in 

 the distance it resembles a vast opaque cloud, and 

 as it advances a clatterioa: noise is heard, which is 



