1846.] Insects Injurious to Vegetation. 253 



farm in his town." If this insect, observed by Col. Brookins in 

 1776, was the genuine destructor, it is a little singular that to be- 

 tray its real character, it patiently awaited some fourteen years, 

 to be reinforced by its kindred from Long Island, who reached it 

 hy regular advances made year after year — that on their arrival, 

 and not till then, it acquired the skill and courage to go forth and 

 lay waste the crops through all this section of country for several 

 successive years. The strong probability is, that it was some 

 other insect which was found by Col. Brookins. 



Its Civil History and Bibliographi/. 



We now proceed to adduce such facts as we have been able to 

 collect, respecting the devastations of this insect in different years, 

 or in other w^ords, to trace out with as much precision as the data 

 before us will enable us to do, its civil history, from the period of 

 its first appearance, down to the present time; and in connection 

 with this, to notice the different memoirs and other papers of va- 

 lue that have been published respecting it, so far as we have had 

 an opportunity of becoming acquainted with them. 



Anterior to the revolutionary war, the Hessian fly was unknown 

 in this country. No allusion to an insect of this kind has been 

 found in any American work, or in the journal of any foreign tra- 

 veler, nor since its appearance has it been intimated that any of 

 our citizens had ever observed it previous to that time. 



All accounts concur in stating that its first appearance was up- 

 on Staten Island, and the west end of Long Island. There is some 

 discrepancy between different writers, as to the particular year in 

 which it was first observed. Dr. Mitchell states {Encyc. Britan.) 

 that " it was first discovered in the year->1776." The ravages of 

 the insect, however, are so much more conspicuous and liable to 

 attract attention from the broken and tangled condition of the 

 straw as it approaches maturity in June, than they are when a 

 portion of the young shoots are discolored and withered in Octo- 

 ber, that there can be little doubt but it would first be observed 

 at the former period. Had Dr. Mitchell, therefore, received de- 

 finite information upon this point, it would doubtless have been 



