94 



Sl)e iavmer'0 illontl)lij llisitor. 



ihe disliicts; we do not know vvlietlier those a- 

 bove iiiclicaled covtr the «hole extent of onr 

 coiinliy, or whether there i\re others not vet re- 

 conled". If editors of newspapers and postmas- 

 ters would take npon themselves the trouhle of 

 iiiformiii!; me of the lin-t wlieiiever and wlierev- 

 er the iocnst occnrs I sliould be ahle to make 

 tlie table complete. It is not uncommon in some 

 pans of om- counny for this insect to appear at 

 periods dilferin;.' mure or less from 17 years. 

 VVe account for this iu this way. Loudon Coun- 

 ty, Virjiinia. is on the borders of two districts, 

 that of Maryland, etc. (1633.J and that of Faqnier 

 county, etc." (18:26-43) and these districts lap over 

 ei;ch other in London county, and probably for a 

 long e.\tent ol' territory. Hence on this border- 

 belt the inject ajipears every eijihtli and ninth 

 year alternately. This circumstance has led the 

 ])eople in that scciion of the country to disbe- 

 lieve in the seventeenth year character ol' this 

 insect, assertins; that it is not true, at least so far 

 as their section of country is concerned. Other 

 sections present other deviations from the same 

 cause. For example, in the south part of Henri- 

 co county Va., ihey have the locust this year, 

 and they" will have tlieni a^ain in 1846; the bor- 

 ders of the two dislrirts lapped as above. 



These insects make their way out of the ground 

 as soon as the weather becomes warm in the 

 spring— say from the 15th of Ai>ril in the South, 

 to the 15th of Ma) in the North — makinga round 

 hole, like a three fonrth-inch augur hole, in the 

 ground. In a grove of shrubbery, that was oc- 

 cupied by trees or shrubs seventeen years be- 

 tbre there will he several of these holes in a 

 square foot. The insect, when it leaves the 

 ground is in a chrysalis state. He seeks a tree 

 of shrub, inniiediately attaches himself to it a 

 few feet from the ground, until he becomes dry, 

 when he ruptures his shell on the back, works 

 himself out of ii, gradually expands his delicate 

 wings to the sun and air, and in the course of an 

 hour or two is rea<ly for flight. They are near- 

 ly a month hclbie they leave the ground after 

 they have reached near the surface, having form- 

 ed a kind of chamber at the top of their holes, 

 apparently for the purpose of availing themselves 

 ol' llie v.arnjtii of the siin, as they descend to the 

 bottom at night and iit cold weather, and ascend 

 to the top in day time in warm, dry \\eatlier. 

 The top oi'the.chamber or hole, and its sides, are 

 nicely cemented (or the purpose of excluding 

 water. 



Soon after the insect has taken flight, as above 

 uieiitioneil. the lufioii of the sexes takes place 

 and in a lew days i seneraliy only one or two,) the 

 females begin to chqiosit their eggs in the small 

 branches of trees and shrubs. They generally 

 <-hoose hianchesaliont the size of their own bod- 

 ies. It will be inqiossihle to describe the ntode 

 ofdeposilin!,' the eggs «iiliout the aid of draw- 

 ings. The fetn;ilK has an iustjument called an 

 ovipositor, (egg dejiositor,) by means of which 

 she ujakes an excaration in the branch, to the 

 depth oi' about half way between the baik and 

 |iith ; iu each excavation she tle|iosites t«o eggs; 

 and then withdraws the ovi|)ositor, makes anoth- 

 er excavation, de|josits two moie, ai:<l thus pro- 

 ceeds till all .-ire deposited. If she has not room 

 enough on one side, she goes round to the other, 

 and when she does so the branch is apt to perish 

 from the interriq)tion of the sap; hence we see 

 so many dead branches on the trees and shrub- 

 bery in the summer of •' locust years." 



In from three to five days after depositing the 

 eggs the female dies. The male dies a day or 

 two sooner. They always select living wood in 

 which to deposite the eggs. They are not par- 

 ticular as to the kind of tree or shrub, except that 

 they generally avoid all Tesebinthenate trees 

 such as pines, etc. In six to seven weeks after 

 they are depnsiteil as above, they hatch ; the lit- 

 tle insects, citepruir out of the excavations, fall 

 to the ground and iunncdiately enter the earth 

 in search of food, attaching themselves to the 

 tender ritdicals of grass or other vegetable 

 growtii, and feeding on the exudation from their 

 surfaces. They have no other mode of feeding. 

 They have a trunk or proho.scis with three capil- 

 laries or hairs; which they extend over the sur- 

 face of the roots, and njerely take up the exuda- 

 tion above mentioned, and this is their only food 

 at any period of their lives. Even the full grow n 

 insect takes its food in the same way. The 

 vonng insect is so small it can scarcely be seen 



by the naked eye. After having descended into 

 the groimd they remain there until their advent, 

 seventeen years afterwards. The locust is greedi- 

 ly sought after by all sorts of birds, and hogs 

 from the first time they leave the groimd; and 

 the young insect is jiursned with equal avidity by 

 rats, and other devourers of insects as soon as 

 they leave the egg. 



It ought to be stated that this insect is not 

 properly called a locust. There is an insect of an 

 entirely different character that has borne that 

 name for more than a thousand years; viz: the 

 Egyptian locust, and several other insects of the 

 same genus. The locust (properly so called) is a 

 grasshopper, resembling our large grasshoppers 

 in all respects. Onr locust possesses not one 

 feature belonging to the true locust. How ridic- 

 ulous is it then, for us to give a name to an in- 

 sect that has been appropriated to an entirely 

 diflferent one forages ! The proper name for our 

 insect is tdligonia sepltnninm. As it is unques- 

 tionably the most interesting insect of the world, 

 or at least that has yet been discovered, I think 

 we should give it a new name, aiid not intrude it 

 upon a company where it cannot by any |)Ossi- 

 bility be a welcome guest, and wherein it loses 

 all the clair)is to distinction that its natural char- 

 acter is entitled to. 



It is not possible to give a full description of 

 the insect in a newspaper without the aid of 

 drawings. It is a very curious insect in many 

 respects. As to its peculiar character, requiring 

 seventeen years for maturity, I can say nothing. 

 So far as I know, and 1 have taken great pains to 

 inform myself, this is peculiar to this insect. 

 Natmalists make no mention of any other with a 

 similar habit. Then, again, as to its appearing 

 in families or communities in different paits of 

 our country in different years. How wonderfully 

 strange is this! How can it be accounted tor? 

 Dare we presume to ex()lain it ? That it is so, I 

 know; and all may know by a little attention to 

 the subject. 



It will be seen th.t I have indicated the locali- 

 ties of sixteen distinct districts of the country in 

 which these insects ajipenred in different years, 

 or if any two or more in Ihe same year, widely 

 sejiaratcd from each other, and I have no doubt 

 there are others that I have not discovered, snfli- 

 cient to cause the advent of the insect in some 

 portion of the continent every year. 1 have often 

 thought it was a most heautil'nl natural emblem 

 of our republican institnlions, or rather a natural 

 iiulication of the peculiar political geographical 

 divisions into which our nation should be parti- 

 tioned. It has been suggeste<l that the difference 

 of climate was the cause of their appearing at 

 the South one time and at the North at another; 

 but this cannot be so, because they appear the 

 same year in Marylanil and Pennsylvania, and in 

 .Mississippi; iu Massachusetts and Kentucky ; in 

 Georgia atid Illinois. But I must have fatigued 

 both you and your readers by this tedious essay. 

 Should any of your readers desire a more per- 

 fect aicount of this extraordinary insect, I can 

 send them a pamphlet pidilished in 1834, with a 

 plate representing the insect in all its stages of 

 existence, the jiricc of which, owing to the cost 

 of the plates, is one dollar for two co/)i'cs, wliich 

 shoulil be sent free of postage by applicants. 



Will editois atid postmasters do ine the favor 

 of informing me of the appearance of the locust, 

 whenever and wherever it may appear ? If all 

 V. ill do so it will enable me to inform the public 

 of Ihe exact time of ihiir ap[iearance and of the 

 number of districts, :md their boundaries. 



GIDEON B. SMITH, M. D. 



For the Farmer's Monthly \'isitor. 

 Washington's favorite Supper. 

 It was said of Washington that his favorite 

 meal for sujiper was a nimbler of milk and a 

 piece of corn meal bread newly baked. This 

 we think can be reconnnended for those who 

 are desirous of sound sleep and good health ; and 

 to those whose appetites have not been vitiated 

 by high seasoned food, nothing can sur|iass it as 

 acceptable to the palate. For those who labor 

 hard, and require something substantial to restore 

 spent strength, it is strong food ; to the man of 

 leisure it is liglif food ; to the disorded powers, it 

 is simple food, and iu milk is found a great cor- 

 rective of an inihin?ed appetiff : to the feeble it 



is light and r i tricious food, and dreams and night- 



mare leave undisturbed the repose of those who 

 lie down after such a composing supper. 



It was among the anecdotes of Washington 

 that after he became President of the United 

 States he had occasion to make a short journey 

 from Philadelphia, and although he desired rath- 

 er privacy than notoriety, people would gather to 

 the roadsides and |)laces of his stopping for the 

 jiurpose of beholding him. He had ridden till 

 night and had been frequently under the neces- 

 sity of returning and reciprocating attentions. 

 This with the ride had fatigued him, and he was 

 desirous of a quiet supper and retirement to bed 

 as soon as he should reach the tavern. But as he 

 dievv towards the village the people were becom- 

 ing more numerous, iiiid an address and supper 

 in company awaited him. To avoid this with 

 his oidy attendant he took a retired road and 

 pushed at a gallop to reach the stopping place 

 i(ir the night. In the darktiess he alighted from 

 his horse unknown, went in, and his friend that 

 accompanied him aiiplied for supper and lodg- 

 ings. It was the house where preparations were 

 making, and the answer was that no supper 

 could be prepared at present, for every body was 

 fully occupied in the preparations lor Gen. Wash- 

 ington who was expected every nniiute. "'All 

 we want is a pitcher of new milk and a piece 

 of corn bread if you have it." '' You can have 

 that at once," was the reply ; and Washington 

 and his friend took their supper quietly and 

 without other company. The innkee|)er was 

 then told that the general having supped was 

 fiitigued, and wished to retire at once to his bed; 

 that he wished to be excused to those whose 

 kindness had brought them together to see him, 

 but that without refreshing sleep he apprehended 

 that he would be unfit to proceed in the morning, 

 when it woulrl be light and he would he happy 

 to see his friends before his departure. 



The tavern keeper who had an idea that a 

 great man must have a great supper, after Wash- 

 ington had retired, made known what is above 

 related, and the next tnorning the chief rose, re- 

 freshed and aifimated to greet his countrymen, 

 and pursue his jomney. 



Ye farmers of the Granite and other States, 

 who fioni your own efforts ami the iulbrmation 

 obtained fiom the Visitor, shall become rich, 

 keep, I admonish you, to your plain habits and 

 Washington suppers, and thereby promote health 

 and increase your days. Many who become af- 

 fluent leave oft' exercise and go to eating high 

 seasoned food, heavy meat or lobster sup 

 pers, and are first in tlie hands of the doctors, 

 and then the undertaker. Avoid this, we beseech 

 yon; and whenever your pride shall whisper 

 these things to you, turn away with the recollec- 

 tion of Washington, whose wisdom was shown 

 here as in every thing else. P. 



For the Farmer's Monthly Visitor. 

 Premium Crops. 

 It is a matter of regret expressed over and 

 over again by the conductors of agricultural 

 periodicals, that iu the lists of competition the 

 nuud)ers are so few. What can be the cause of 

 this.' Is it modesty, dilEdeiice, or want of con- 

 fidence in success? And how does it happen 

 that the spirit of emulation, the desire of noto- 

 riety seems to animate almost every other pur- 

 suit and calling in society? In different States 

 where societies for the promotion of agriculture 

 exist, there seems to have been a few individuals 

 who share among them the prizes annually 

 awarded; and few seem disposed to wrest (lorn 

 them the tiime and reward of iheir exertions. 

 Is this not owing in some degree to the fact that 

 we cultivate too nuich land, and farmers are 

 unwilling to bestow the care and time necessary 

 to obtain premiums? If this be so, should we 

 not do well, iu many cases, to sell a portion of 

 onr liirms, or induce onr children to marry and 

 set them oft' portions, and then concentrate our 

 manure and our labor on what would remain? 

 Every year New England sends out her swarm 

 from a soil capable of sustaining a population 

 equal to the whole United States. Can any one 

 doubt this, if he or she tuins to the records of 

 the civil anri social state of the Chinese; and 

 even at the point mentioned we are not yet half 

 filled up with numbers. No one, we suppose, 

 will imagine that the Chinese are set up as wor- 

 thy of our imitation ; of course that is not meant ; 

 but the fact is adduced to show of what our soil 



