206 EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



— Connecticut — which lies east of the Connecticut River has 

 a different period from the western side. On the 22d of June, 

 1835, while traveling through Tolland County, Conn., in a 

 stage coach, I passed through woods swarming with this Cicada 

 septendecim/' Also in Alonzo B. Chapin's " History of Glas- 

 tonbury " we read of their occurrence in Glastonbury in 1818, 

 1835 and 1852. This is the most southern j^oint in the Con- 

 necticut valley at which this brood has been reported. With the 

 exception of the swarm at Suffield, Conn., no record can be found 

 of the appearance of this brood in the Connecticut valley since 

 1852, and none in the Massachusetts part since 1835. Mr. Geo. 

 Dimmock, who has made a special study of the swarm at Suf- 

 field, says that " These cicadas, of which there are records going 

 back about a century, seem to be dying out. In 1869 they were 

 so abundant that small bushes and underbrush of the rather 

 sparse woods in which they occur were weighted down by them." 

 In 1886 and 1903 he was unable to visit that region, but " was 

 informed that very few of the insects appeared in 1886, and 

 none in 1903." 



The Bristol County swarm was observed at Freetown, near 

 Fall River, in 1818, 1835, 1852 and 1869. " In 1818 they were 

 very numerous, in 1852 still less, and in 1869 were quite scat- 

 tering as compared with 1818." Since which time there is no 

 record of their appearance. 



In Rhode Island there seem to have been three visitations of 

 this brood; in 1869, 1868 and certainly in 1903, when they 

 were very abundant. It appeared near Coventry, East Green- 

 wich and Washington, in isolated places, but not continuously 

 over an extensive area. As far as we know this brood was most 

 widely distributed in 1818, when it extended from Iladley, 

 Mass., to Glastonbury, Conn., with a widely separated swarm 

 at Fall River. Since then there has been a steady decrease of 

 numbers, due probably to the cutting off of wooded lowlands 

 and the extension of cultivated land. In 1869 they appeared 

 only at Fall River, Mass., SufReld, Conn., and near Coventry, 

 East Greenwich and Washington, R. I. 



In 1903 the only occurrence of this brood was near Coventry, 

 R. I., none being found in Massachusetts or Connecticut, 



