ipopuTar IBicttonarj) of ^mmatetf ^lattice. 387 \ 



baited with garbage ; they are then at- 

 tached to a cord thrown into the sea, and 

 their stations marked by means of buoys. 

 Lobsters are esteemed a very rich and 

 nourishing aliment ; and they are generally 

 in their best season from the middle of 

 October till the beginning of May. There 

 are several varieties ; with some differences 

 in the claws, the size, and the places of re- 

 sort, but few in the habits or conformations. 



LOBSTER MOTH. [See STAUROPUS.] 



LOCUSTS. (Locustidce.) These noxious 

 insects, whose numbers and voracity consti- 

 tute one of the severest pests of the hotter 

 regions of the globe, are classed with the 

 Grasshoppers by Linnaeus, under the genus 

 Gryllus; but more modern entomologists 

 have applied the term Saltatvria to them, 

 on account of the power of leaping which 

 the species possess ; and in this instance, as 

 in many others where the scientific names 

 of genera and subgenera (of insects in par- 

 ticular) differ, some unavoidable confusion 

 exists. They have coloured elytra, and 

 large wings, disposed when at rest in straight 

 folds, covered by the long narrow wing- 

 cases, and frequently exhibiting blue, green, 

 or red colours : the antennae are short ; the 

 feet have only three joints ; and the hind 

 legs are long, strong, and formed for leap- 



iire most celebrated species is the MIORA- 

 TOUY LOCUST (Gryllus miyratorms\ which, 

 of all the animals capable of injuring man- 

 kind, seem to possess the most dreadful 

 powers of destruction. In Syria, Egypt, and 

 almost all the south cf Asia, these insects 

 make their appearance in legions, and carry 



(OBYT 



desolation with them, in a few hours changing 

 the most fertile provinces into barren de- 

 serts, and darkening the air by their num- 

 bers. This formidable Locust is generally 

 of a brownish colour, varied with pale red, 

 and the legs are of a bluish cast. Happily 

 for mankind, this awful visitation is not 

 frequently repeated ; for they are often not 

 only the precursors of famine, but, when 

 they die, the putrefaction which arises from 

 their inconceivable number is so great, that 



I it is justly regarded as the cause of some of 

 those desolating pestilences which almost 

 depopulate whole districts of country. Mr. 

 Barrow, in his " Travels," states, that in the 

 southern parts of Africa the whole surface 

 of the ground might literally be said to be 

 covered with them for an area of nearly 2000 

 square miles. When driven into the sea 

 by a north-west wind, they formed upon the 

 shore for fifty miles a bank three or four 

 feet high, and when the wind was south- 

 east the stench was so powerful as to be 

 smelt at the distance of 150 miles : the air, 

 in short, became poisoned by their fetid ex- 

 halations. Mr. Darwin, in his " Kesearch.es," 

 has the following graphical description of 

 a swarm of Locusts, closely resembling the 

 species (Gryllus migrator ius) which he saw 

 in South America, in 1835. It was at the 

 passage of the Cordilleras, near the village 

 and river of Luxan. " Shortly before we 

 arrived at this place, we observed to the 

 southward a ragged cloud of a dark reddish- 

 brown colour. For some time, we had no 

 doubt but that it was thick smoke pro- 

 ceeding from some great fire on the plains. 

 Soon afterwards we found it was a pest of 

 locusts. The insects overtook us, as they 

 were travelling northward, by the aid of 

 a light breeze, at the rate, I should sup- 

 pose, of ten or fifteen miles an hour. The 

 main body filled the air from a height of 

 twenty feet, to that, as it appeared, of two 

 or three thousand above the ground. The 

 noise of their approach was that of a strong 

 breeze passing through the rigging of a ship. 

 The sky seen through the advanced guard 

 appeared like a mezzptinto engraving, but 

 the main body was impervious to sight ; 

 they were not, however, so thick but that 

 they could escape from a stick moved back- 

 ward and forward. When they alighted 

 they were more numerous than the leaves 

 in a field, and changed the green into a red- 

 dish colour : the swarm having once alighted, 

 the individuals flew from side to side in any 

 direction. Of course this swarm cannot even 

 be compared to those of the Eastern world, 

 yet it was sufficient to make the well-known 

 descriptions of their ravages more intel- 

 ligible." 



But to recount the various devastations 

 which these famished insects have at differ- 

 ent times occasioned, would be endless. 

 They have several times visited Poland and 

 the south of Europe in amazing numbers ; 

 and instances have been known of their 

 reaching our own coasts : happily for us, 

 however, the cold and humidity of the cli- 

 mate are by no means favourable to their 

 production. 



One of the largest Locusts known is the 

 Gri/llus cristatus of Linnaeus, a highly beau- 

 tiful species ; being of a bright red, with 

 the body annulated with black, and the legs 

 varied with yellow : the upper wings marked 

 alternately with dark and pale green ; the 

 lower with transverse wavy streaks : its 

 length is about four inches ; and the ex- 

 panse of wings when fully extended about 

 seven and a half. These, with other large 

 kinds, are made use of in some parts of the 

 world as an article of food ; and sold, both 



