1>SECT< INJURIOUS To VEGETaTIO.N. 



459 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO VEGETATION 



EEPOET OK THE 



HSECTS OF MASSACHUSEHS INJURIOUS TO VEGETATION, BY THADDECS \ni. EARRIS. 



0\ nndertakin? to conduct a periodical de- ' character? on which this classification is foTitd- 

 signed to be useful, not only bv illustrating- ed. and the peculiarities of the various sroaps 

 practical Asriculrure and detailins the result of »*" i^^^^ts under «jnsideraticaj, it has been mv 



^, ". -li^ij.",. ,_ ■ ' endeavor to treat the subject in a Dlain and fa- 



acmal experiments in the held, but by exbortine miliar way. >-o more of the technical lansua-e 

 young farmers to extend the range of their read- of Entomolosy has been intro5-e.= 1 thin v. as 

 jng and to cultivate a fondness for the srudv of absolutely necessary to delii 



the different insects, -whose 



described. and in nsost cases -.l, - _ii 



and terms have been explained whenever tney 

 occurred." 



The following passages ane all for which we 

 can find room : but the« are full of instruction 

 for those who have not rumed their anention to 

 this inter esdng branch of Natural Hisiory. and 

 -will of themselves awaken the voune reader to 



sciences and literature that bear relaacai to 

 practical Agriculture, -we considered it to be one 

 of our first duties to recommend, in the strong- 

 est terms -we could employ, the ftudy of £nto- 

 mology. or the character and habits of InsecU. 

 For motives to prompt the young farmer to this 

 field of investigation, -we need so no &nher 

 than to the very first sentence in the book before 



a*-a work which we earnestly ^mmend on some sense of the vast field which displavs 

 its own merits, and for the benefit of the agri- | i^^if for hb amusement and instruction-one 

 cultunsL and not to serve any mterest of either j fo^ ^hjeh he has no distance to travel ibr it is 

 author or publisher. | open to him oa everv side, with objects innu- 



'• The benefits which we derive Irom msects." merable to occupv in the most a-reeable mat- 

 says Doctor Harris, -though neither few in nmn- j ^er manv moment of leisure for which the un- 

 ber nor inconsiderable in amount, are. if we ex- ! instructed can find no emplovmenL and hence 

 cept those of the silk-worm, the bee and the ; are liable every day 'jo be overcome wi± lis:- 

 cochineal, not very obvious, and are whoUy be- ! jg^g ennuL 

 yond our influence. On the contrary, the inju- 

 ries that we suffer 6iom them are becoming 

 yearly more apparent and are more or less 

 within our control. Before suitable remedies 



• The primrose by the rivers "orin 

 A simple primrose is to ""tr^ 

 And it is Eothins more." 



As this Beport is designed for the use of per- 

 can be discovered and effectually applied, it is sons who may no: have" elementarv and othe 



necessary- that our insect enemies should be 

 recognized, and their habits generally known." 

 This account of the insects injurious to vege- 

 tation in Massachusetts, which appears to have 

 been prepared under instructions from Governor 

 Everett, is doubtless applicable in a great de- 

 gree to the whole Union. The very suggesdon 

 of such a work showed enlarged and liberal 

 views on the part of a Chief Magistrate of a 

 State, and is enough, in connection with the 

 general knowledge of kis various and elegant 

 attainments, to warrant the supposition or in 



works on this branch of Xarcral Histort- at their 

 command, it may be proper to be^in with some 

 brief remarks on insects in sreneral. in order to 

 show bow they are formed.'and wherein they 

 differ essentially from other animals. 



The ^\-o^d Iniect* -which, in the Latin lan- 

 guage, whence it was derived, means cut 

 into or notched, was desi^med to express one 

 of the chief characters of this aronp of animals, 

 whose body is marked by several cross-lines or 

 incisions. The pans between these cross-lines 

 are called segments or rinys. and consist of a 

 number of jointed pieces, more or less movable 

 on each other. 



Insects have a very small brain, and. instead 



quiry whether these instructions themselves "f « fP"»?l marrow, a kind of knotted cord, ex- 



, , , . , - . ^ ,- tendms !rom the bram to the hinder extremitv ■ 



would not have lormed an mteresong prelace and numerous small, whitish threads. whTcTS^' 



or appendage to a perlbrmance -wihich in our ^ the nerves, spread from the brain and knots, in 



humble opinion seems to have been executed I ''^rious directions. Two lone air-pipes, within 



with the iudsmect and zeal of a dismterested I ^"^ ^^J^s-. together with an" immense number 



,- ■ J 1- I. 1 L 1 I *" smaller pipes, supplv tne want of lun"^ ar.1 



naturahst and accomphshed scholar. ^airy the air to ever:^ part. Insecu> do ^-. 



As to the general plan of the work, the au- breathe through their months, but tivronsh lin'.e 



thor obser%es — holes, called spiracles, generally nine m noin- 



•• While I liave not thought it expedient to 

 avoid the use <H a scientific classification, and 



' Instctum is an abbreviation of ixta-ta^m • and 

 , , • - . ■ ^^"^ ''^^ **°^^ souire we have -.ie •aro.-i mrpr-^-r 

 have even been at some pains to pomt out the i to cui or divide. "" 



