IN THE PINE FORESTS OF GERMANY. 45 



by it first become yellow, the trees themselves then die at the 

 top, and soon perish entirely. The ravages of this insect have 

 long been known in Germany under the name of Wurm trok- 

 niss (decay caused by worms); and in the old liturgies ot that 

 country the Divine interposition to check its ravages is formally 

 besought ; it being mentioned in them under its vulgar appella- 

 tion of " the Turk," a name bestowed upon it, probably, in 

 allusion to the devastations which had before been committed in 

 Hungary, and the adjacent eastern countries of Europe, by 

 the Mohammedan conquerors of Constantinople : the appli- 

 cation of that name to this species of decay is a circumstance 

 which in itself sufficiently evinces the extent of its ravages, and 

 the apprehensions entertained of them. 



This pest was particularly prevalent, and caused incalcula- 

 ble mischief, about the year 1665. In the beginning of the 

 last century it again showed itself in the Hartz forests it re- 

 appeared in 1757, redoubled its injuries in 1769; again 

 appeared in 1780, and was neglected, and in three years 

 afterwards had destroyed whole forests ; the number of indivi- 

 dual trees destroyed by it, in the Hartz alone, being calculated 

 at a million and a half. The inhabitants of this extensive 

 range of country were thus threatened with a total suspension 

 of their mining and metallurgic operations, for want of fuel, 

 and consequently with ruin itself, entirely dependent, as they 

 were, upon those branches of the useful arts. At this period 

 these Bostrichi, when arrived at their perfect state, in the 

 form of winged beetles, migrated in swarms like bees into 

 Suabia and Franconia, there to commit similar ravages. At 

 length, after these repeated injuries, the powers of nature 

 interfered to mitigate the evil, which want of scientific know- 

 ledge, (as we shall presently show,) had allowed to gain so 

 alarming a head. Between 1784? and 1789, in consequence 

 of a succession of cold and moist seasons, the numbers of this 

 scourge were sensibly diminished. It appeared again, how- 

 ever, in 1790, and so late as 1796 there was great reason to 

 fear for the few Fir-trees that were left*. 



We will now turn our attention to another insect, belonging 

 to the same natural family as the Bostrichus Typographies, the 

 ravages of which were nearly producing similar though less 

 extensive effects in our own country, until checked by the re- 

 sults of scientific knowledge. 



Of the evil which we have just reviewed as affecting the fo- 

 rests of Germany, St. James's Park and Hyde Park, in Lon- 



* Kit-by and Spence, in " Introduction Co Entomology," edit. 1816. vol. i. 

 p. 211 ; from Wilhelm, as quoted by Latreille, Hist. Nat. xi. 194. 



