132 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ September 



THE LOCUST. 

 The term •' I^ocust" is a common name ap- 

 plied to many different species of this insect, 

 and tlierefore to designate any of tlieni as the 

 Locust, must necessai-ily lie very indefinite. It 

 would be better to say a locust, or add a specific 

 prefix, as the " Carolina Ijocust" {Lociiata rnr- 

 olina,) The " Red-legged Locust" (C'aZo^rfmus 

 femer-ruhrum,) Tlie "Yellow-winged Locust" 

 (I^ucusta gul^mrca,) The Ainericnn Lontitt 

 (Acridiurii aniericaintm,) &c., &c., which would 

 convey a specific idea of what jiarlicular species 

 we mean, when we speak or write about these 

 insects. Although all, or nearly all the species 

 in the United States, that were formerly in- 

 cluded in the genus j^onista, liave l.ieen refer- 

 red toother genera, (the two mentioned above 

 being now referred to the genus (Edqmda) 

 still, as a common name, witli tlie qualilications 

 we have mentioned, they may properly he 

 called I>0CUSTS. The illustration accompany- 



ing this paper was probalily intended to repre- 

 sent the Locust of .Scrijiture — the migratorial 

 locust of Africa and Asia, [Locuslainigratorid) 

 and whicli has lieen so destructive to the vege- 

 tation, where it aliounds. In tlie absence of' a 

 local figure, we introduce it liere, in order to 

 impress upon the niiuds of our readers the true 

 form of a LocuM; for, from what we often hear 

 and read in the newspapers, we are confident 

 that many, otherwise intelligent people, have 

 their minds very much muddled as to the 

 form and haViits "of Locusts. 



We well remember, somewhere along in the 

 years 1827, 18-28, or 1829, when we first read 

 "Capt. IvIley's Nai!i:.\tive " of his great 

 sufferings in Africa; the liook contained an 

 illustration of an ''African Locust," (similar 

 to the above Mgure, only larger.) and how very 

 much astonished we were to lind tliat animal 

 so much like a grasshopper. We found great 

 difficulty in realizing it, and yet our mind had 

 not been pre-occupied by any definite idea of 

 ihcform of an African Locust. Previous to that 

 period, and judging from the record of their 

 destruction in the land of the Pharaohs, in 

 Egypt, we could not have told whether a locust 

 was the size of a flea or Fish-hawk. We 

 imagined it, however, to be something very 

 horrible— a sort of German "PHiar-Wolf," 

 that gorged itself on anything that came in 

 its way, animate or inanimate, and no doubt, 

 nmp, about nine out of ten, when they hear 

 the term locust, associate it with an insect in 

 the form of a huge cJCftcTri, or English " Harvest 

 Fly." 



We have a large species of locust in Lan- 

 caster county (Acridiwn amrriranmn,) tliat 

 measures fully three inches in length, a half 

 inch longer tlian the figure at the head of 

 thispa|ier, a few of which are seen every sum- 

 mer, sometimes m<u'e and sometimes less, but 

 never, so far, very numerous; and whenever 

 the "Rocky Mountain Locust," {Caloiitintis 

 S2)retiis,) becomes numerous ami destructive, 

 and iieople liappen to find one of our large 

 species, they become alarmed, and think it 

 may be an "advance guard " from the west. 



If this species should ever become as numer- 

 ous as the Roeky Mountain species in the West- 

 ern States, and if size means anything, it must 

 necessarily become more destructive than that 

 species. The most numerous, and therefore 

 the most destructive species we have ever had 

 in Lancaster county is our common Red-legged 

 Locust (Cnloptimis fcmrr-ruljrmn) which is 

 about the size and shape of the Rocky Mountain 



Locust, and onlyabouthalf thesizeof our illus- 

 tration. On one occasion (in the summer of 

 18.'i9) wc have seen this species very numerous 

 and very destructive in the county of Lancas- 

 ter, and ill fact, in all eastern Pennsylvania. 

 Corn, grass, and green herbage in general was 

 fairly eaten up with tliem, but tliey came too 

 late ill the season (August and September) to 

 effect the total destruction so cliaracteristic of 

 the visitations of the Rocky Mountain Locust, 

 or the African Ijocust. On the occasion we al- 

 lude to the air swarmed with them as far up and 

 out as vision extended, and their expanded 

 wings glittered in the sun like snowtlakes. 



The best time to destroy these insects is be- 

 fore their wings are developed and they are 

 able to fly. Then, if ditches, orholes with per- 

 pendicular sides are dug, the insects may be 

 driven into them and destroyed. Prof. Riley 

 relates a case that occurred at " Daniet's 

 Ferry, " on the Platte River, INIo. , where twelve 

 . men attacked the locusts w^th clubs, 

 M^Kt, when they attempted to cross that 

 /./> / ^ stream, and destroyed at least jive 

 kunih-(tl bushds of these insects, and 

 thus saved about one hundred acres 

 of as line wheat as was ever raised. 

 In another instance fifteen barrels 

 of locusts were one evening shoveled 

 up and hauled from the base of the 

 Court House at Independence, Mo., 

 each barrel weighing two hundred 

 and twenty pounds, a total of three 

 tliimtid.iKl thrte hundred pounds. Two 

 thousand bushels of locusts were paid 

 for by the authorities of Blue-earth 

 county, Min.; and in all the counties 

 in the State, where the locusts occurred, more 

 than /?/'(// tJionsand huaheh were destroyed. 



To show the voraci<:)us character of these 

 insects, it is stated that they ate off every- 

 thing that was green in some places, including 

 the castor oil beans, tobacco, potato tops and 

 the milk weed, even to the roots an inch or 

 more below the surface of the ground ; and 

 when these failed they gnawed off the 

 surface of old fences and buildings, as 

 well as old textile fabrics, and finally, 

 that they turned iiiion and ate their 

 own ppecies, the stronger devouring the 

 weaker. 



We, however, do not think that our 

 climate is favorable to the propagation 

 of the Rocky Mountain Locust, even if 

 it should, in its migrations, come so far 

 eastward. It appears that it only leaves 

 its own native breeding grounds, high 

 up in the northwest, after it has (>aten 

 up all the vegetation there, and has at- 

 tained wings; and it appears to us that 

 on that line it ought to be fought, and 

 Congress ought to authorize a commission for 

 that purpose, assisted by men, money and 

 means to effect their destruction up there.-ED. 



plantigrade, with five toes and armed with 

 sharp claws ; the head broad, ending in a nar- 

 row muzzle ; the ears short and rounded ; the 

 tail moderate. These animals are all of simi- 

 lar habits, and indeed some naturalists regard 

 them as only varieties of the same species. 

 The first writer who has descrilied this animal 

 was Olaus ^Magnus. "Among all the ani- 

 mals," he says, "which arc regarded as iii- 

 satiaiily voracious, tlie glutton in the northern 

 parts of Sweden has received an express appel- 

 lation, being called, in the language of the 

 country, 'Jerff,' and in the German, ' Viel- 

 frass,' which means an excessive or ravenous 

 eater, a glutton, or a gormandizer, and is very 

 characteristic." 



It is said tliat the Glutton is indeed a vora- 

 cious animal, but by no means formidable to 

 man or the larger quadrupeds, in proportion 

 to its size; however, its strength is very great. 

 Slow in its movements, it makes up by" perse- 

 verance and industry for this defect, and at a 

 steady pace pursues its pre}' for many miles; 

 hunts out weak or dying animals, and destroys 

 hares, marmots, young foxes and birds, which 

 it seizes unawares. Bullbn, and also other 

 more recent authors, relying on the autliority 

 of Magnus, Isbrandt and others, have contri- 

 bided to the currency of the statement that 

 the Glutton has recourse to the most subtle 

 artifices in order to surprise its victims, and 

 that it lurks in the branches of trees until the 

 reindeer apiiroaehes to browse beneath, when 

 it throws itself upon the unsuspecting animal 

 with unerring rapidity, fixes its strong claws 

 in the skin, and proceeds to tear the neck and 

 throat, till the wretched victim falls exhausted 

 and dies, when the victor devours his prey at 

 leisure. And this is not all; it is said to gather 

 moss or lichens, and drop tliem down from the 

 tree wliereon its secreted in order to decoy the 

 deer to the place, and bring it within easy 

 reach. Although Gnieleii, in his account of 

 his journey through Siberia, says that "this 

 address of the Glutton managing to seize aui- 



ARCTIC WOLVERINE, OR GLUTTON. 

 Otili) Arctieus. 



Some of the early authors on natural his- 

 tory referred the Glutton to the genus Ursus, 

 or Bears ; it belongs, however, to the Muste- 

 l-iD^E, or 'Weasels. Linn;eus rightly regarded 

 it as a Miisli'li. In their general port and 

 figure the gluttons are intermediate between 

 the Polecats and the Badgers. They have no 

 decided scent-pouch, however, but instead 

 thereof a glandular fold of the skin. 



Two. perliajis three, varieties or species of 

 the glutton ar<^ known; (Gulo urctictit:, G. 

 rtdijaris, and (i. Jiiscus,) the first named is a 

 native of the liigh northern latitudes of the 

 old world, esjiecially Russia ; the hist named, 

 of the cold regions of North America. The 

 common Wolverine (ridaiiris,) belongs to 

 Northern Eurojie, but this is iiroliably only a 

 variety. The old world species (areticus,) is 

 the "Rossomak " of the Russians, and is of a 

 deep chcstnui color, passing into black on the 

 limbs, with a lirowu disk on the back. The 

 American Wolverine {lusciis,) is of a jialer 

 color, and has a much longer and more liushy 

 tail. The Glutton is nocturnal in its habits"; 

 the limbs are strong and short ; the feet sub- 



inals liy surprise, is confirmed by all hunters," 

 yet Dr. Godman and Dr. Richardson, in their 

 able histories of the American Glutton or 

 Wolverine, positively affirm tliat no such arti- 

 fice is resorted to by tliat species, to entrap or 

 capture its prize at any time. 



Authors generally agree that the Glutton is 

 extremely annoying to the fur hunter, visiting 

 their traps, and devouring the animals taken 

 in them. In Siberia it ritles the traps of the 

 Sable and the Corsac Fox, and in Northern 

 America, it is said, it will follow the Marten- 

 hunter's path around a line of traps extending 

 forty, fifty or sixty miles, and render the whole 

 unserviceable merely to secure the baits, which 

 are generally the head of a partridge or a bit 

 of dried venison. They are not fond of the 

 Martens themselves, but never fail tearing 

 them in pieces, or of burying them in the snow 

 by the side (3f a path at a considerable dis- 

 tance from the trap. Snow drifts often con- 

 ceal the reijositories thus made, in which case 

 they furnish a savory meal to hungry foxes, 

 whose sagacious nostrils guide them unerringly 

 to the savory spot, ami two or three fo.xes, it 

 is said, may often be seen following the Wol- 

 verine for this special purpose. During the 

 summer the beaver becomes the common prey 

 of this voracious animal. The Glutton is cun- 

 ning and determined ; it fights very resolutely, 

 and is more than a match for a single dog, its 

 strength being great. Its fur is in much re- 



