82 



THEILANCASTERIFARMER 



[June, 



Eiley, State Entomologist of Missouri, wrote 

 as follows : 



" ' In the year 1877, and at intervals of 

 seventeen years thereafter, they will, in all 

 probability, appear in the vicinity of Schuy- 

 lerville and Fort Miller, in New York. From 

 thence along both sides of tlie Hudson to its 

 mouth, where they extend at least to New 

 Haven, in Connecticut, and west across the 

 north pait of New Jersey and into Pennsyl- 

 vania. Also, in Dearborn county, Ind. ; Kal- 

 amazoo, Mich.; iu Pennsylvania, North 

 Carolina, Virgiaia and Maryland. ' 



"'This brood is recorded by Prof Potter 

 as having occurred at Nortli Haven, Conn., 

 iu 1724, 1741, 1758, 1792, 1808 and 1820. It 

 was also recorded by the same writer us hav- 

 ing occurred in 1826 in Middlesex county, N. 

 J., and by Dr. Fitch as having occurred in 

 1843 tliroughout the whole country mentioned 

 above. In 1800, agaui, it was siioken of iu 

 the old series of the Pmirie Farmer (Vol. 22, 

 p. 110), as havuig occurred that year in New 

 Jersey, and Dr. Smith records it throughout 

 tlie whole State in 1775, 1792, 1800, 1820 and 

 1843. Mr. James Angus, of West Farms, 

 Westchester countj', N. Y., has himself wit- 

 nessed its recurrence in the years 1843 and 

 I860.' 



" 'In Pennsylvania, Mr. Rathvon, found a 

 few individuals in 1800, and Dr. Smith says 

 it extends from the Susquehanna to tlie Dela- 

 ware river, bounded by Peter's momitain on 

 the south. In Virginia it occurred from the 

 soutli part of Loudon county to the Roanoke 

 river, and from the Blue Ridge to the Potomac 

 in 1820, 1843 and 1860. In Maryland from 

 Ami Arundel county to the north part of St. 

 Mary's and from the Potomac to Chesapeake 

 Bay, in 1809, 1820, 1843 and 1800. Iu Rock- 

 ingham, Stokes, Guilford, Rowan, Surry and 

 adjacent counties. North Carolina, in 1792, 

 1809, 1820 and 1843. In Dearborn county, 

 Ind., in 1843 and iu 1800, and iu Kalamazoo, 

 Mich. , during the same years. ' 



' 'Tliis year the locusts have put iu an appear- 

 ance in the exact localities predicted by Prof 

 Riley, and will doubtless spread into others 

 before the season is over. We know very 

 little about this chap, who, it seems, comes of 

 age but once iu seventeen years, as he has 

 never troubled New England much, but we 

 take it that he does not stop loug enough to 

 prove very destructive. He seems to be a rare 

 and curious bird, but our farmers will be 

 willing to Inive him coutmue to pass us by 

 while they rely on Prof Eiley aud their news- 

 papers for iirformatiou concerning him." 



The above, from the columns of the Mirror 

 and Farmer, New Hampshire, was sent to us 

 "marked," and we feel an interest in it, as 

 well as others, althougli perhaps, on a differ- 

 ent ground ; for, althougli we have a distinct 

 recollectiou of having witnessed four appear- 

 ances of the above-named insect, in Lancaster 

 county, yet tlie consequences which followed 

 their visits, would hardly entitle them to the 

 name of "pests" — indeed it is on record tliat 

 in some instances they have done .some service 

 to trees that were sadly in need of pruning. 

 As this l)rood of 1877 (on account of only 

 recent and imperfect observation, and the 

 long intervals between their aiipearings) is not 

 .so well defined in its geographical limits, and 

 its general history, as the one we witnessed iu 

 1817, 1834, 1851 aud 1808, we hope our pa- 

 trons and our exchanges, in the localities 

 where it appears, will make a careful record 

 of its presence and its doings. Tliis insect, 

 under the influence of numbers, posse.s.ses the 

 possibilities of being exceedingly injuiious to 

 the branches (and even the small trunks) of 

 young fruit trees, but large trees are usually 

 never very seriously affected by tliem, or only 

 temporarily so. But between their appear- 

 ances, a new generation of human beings 

 spring up and occupy the places of the past 

 one, and tlierefore at every recurrence the 

 same old stories are revamped, aud there is 

 much misapprehension in reference to them 

 that is altogether unfounded and unnecessary. 



Send iu your subscriptions. 



MORE ABOUT THE LOCUSTS. 



"Richmond county, N. Y., swarms with 

 locusts, the trees and shrubbery are covered 

 with them, and the monotonous singing of 

 the insects is lieard all day long. Some of the 

 locusts are two inches in length and have 

 large ijink eyes. The letter V is on their 

 backs." 



Of course, our readers will understand that 

 the " letter V" alluded to in the extract 

 above, means Var! What else could it meanV 

 It cannot possibly mean Wictory, for Wictory 

 begins with a W. 



" Such portents met tlie eye 

 When CaeBar fell, 

 And cautioned him in vain ; 

 Aud who can tell, whether 

 These artful notices of fate, 

 Are meant for kings or ministers of state." 



AVe cannot but admire tlie penetration and 

 tlie commendable industry of the paragrapliic 

 scribbler, who not only records a/aci in natural 

 history, but who also so succinctly indicates 

 the siynijicance of that fact. 



Time was when locusts were content to 

 display a W near tlie ends of their forewings, 

 but now, forsooth, (as if there was not enougli 

 of terror in a IF, ) they must defiantly flaunt 

 a ''letter V on their backs." W^e wonder if 

 ever a seventeen-year locust was born, upon 

 whose back and wings a fertile imagination 

 could not decipher a portentous W or V .' 

 We wonder also, wlietlier ever a period will 

 arrive in tlie history of this insect, when an 

 ominous allusion will not be made to these 

 cabalistic letters. 



CRESS. 



We have been frequently surprised to find 

 persons whom we should have supposed, iu 

 their rural experience, would be perfectly 

 familiar with this plant, aud yet, who have 

 confessed that tliey know notliiug at all about 

 it — nothing aboiit its quality — notliing about 

 its uses — who had never tasted it, and who 

 could not even recognize it when then saw it 

 — and this, too, among persons wlio were 

 professionally engaged in Horticulture, Flori- 

 culture and gardening. There are, however, 

 tliree or four kinds of plants that are recog- 

 nized under the name of Cress in books on 

 the culture of garden vegetation, and one of 

 these, at least, we have been familiar with 

 from our very boyliood — more familiar with 

 it then than now — and liad eaten of, as a 

 salad, very frequently, although we do not 

 know that there had been made a general use 

 of it for tliat purpose, even at that time ; but 

 there were some persons who manifested a 

 special partiality for it, and gatliered it eveiy 

 Summer in abundance. This kind was the 

 common " Wild Cress, " perhaps better known 

 under the name of "Wild Mustard," or 

 " Pepper Grass. " These different kinds of 

 Cress do not belong to the same geims of 

 plants, although, with the exception of the 

 " Indian Cress," they all belong to the Crucif- 

 erous family of plants, to which, also, belong 

 the different kinds of cabliages, radishes, 

 turnips, mustard and others. "Common 

 Cress (Lepidiurn sativtim) has been a subject 

 of garden culture iu England and on the con- 

 tinent of Europe, for more than three hun- 

 dred years. It has also been cultivated in 

 the vicinity of New York for many years,and, 

 we believe, also in the vicinity of Philadel- 

 phia, and we do not see why it should not be 

 so in I^ancaster county. It is far preferable 

 to Dandelion as a spring salad, or to mix with 

 lettuce salad, and adds to its flavor. Some 

 people also claim that it is a better diuretic, 

 and, tlierefore, more healthful than dande- 

 lion ; and, tliat it is more pleasant and pala- 

 table to the taste, we tliink will be acknow- 

 ledged by any one who makes a trial of it. 



The most common species in tliis country is 

 Lepidiurn inrgijmum, which, in some localities, 

 is very plentiful, and, in fact, by those wlio do 

 not know its use, is regarded as little better 

 than a common weed. There is another spe- 

 cies {Lepidiurn intermedium) more abundant 

 farther southward, than it is in Pennsylvania; 

 and two others, which are supjiosed to have 

 been Introduced from Europe. 



Our native species thrives best in shaded, or 

 moderately moist localities, but, under culti- 

 vation, the seed may be sowed on open ground 

 in March, or the early part of April, and 

 when once allowed to bed well, it will come 

 up every Spring from seeds dropped the pre- 

 vious season. An early crop may, however, 

 be .secured by sowing the seeds in a bed, under 

 glass, on loose, finely powdered soil, and cov- 

 ering them shghtly, removing the paues to 

 give them sun and air, during such days as 

 are warm and genial. By "cropping" a sup- 

 ply may be liad all Summer and late in the 

 Autumn. 



But, by far the best kind is the ''Water 

 Cress," (Sisymhrimu nasturliinn) of the En- 

 glish gardeners, of which our native species is 

 Sisymbrium ojficinale, sometimes also called 

 "Scm-vy Grass." An ancient proverb was, 

 "Eat cress and learn more wit," applied spe- 

 cially to this kind of cress. This is mildly 

 stimulating, and its medicinal properties are 

 said to be antiscorbutic, and a pmifier of the 

 blood; we know it is very perceptibly benefi- 

 cial as a diuretic; and we really think it ought 

 to be more extensively a subject of cultivation 

 and use than it now is. There are three or 

 four species of it in this country, but they are 

 generally supposed to have been introduced 

 from Europe. Of course, as its name implies, 

 this kind of cress can only be grown success- 

 fully in fresh spring water. There are seve- 

 ral localities near the city of Lancaster where 

 it grows in profusion, in the flow from springs 

 and where we have obtained it in abundance, 

 of a most excellent quality; and also where it 

 may may be obtained all summer, and until 

 late in winter. 



"Indian Cress" {Trop<xo1ium majus) is not a 

 cruciferous plant, but belongs to a family, or 

 is the type of a group, between the balsam 

 and the geranium families. It is that climb- 

 ing plant, which grows easily in almost any 

 soil, popularly known under the name of 

 "Nasturtion," sometimes abbreviated into 

 the vulgar name of "stertion." Although 

 its spicy aud pleasantly pungent fruit enters 

 largely into pickles and other condiments, yet 

 it is not so well known that its leaves and 

 flowers make an excellent salad, or add an 

 excellent flavor to other less pronounced sal- 

 ads. This plant is said to have been intro- 

 duced here from South America, where it is 

 found growing in a wild State. 



There is a striking similarity in the taste of 

 all these different kinds of cress, but there are, 

 perhaps, none of them that is so tender, so 

 crisp, and so edible as the " Water Cre.ss. " 

 This grows best, as before intimated, Ln a 

 clear, moderately swift stream, and loves a 

 clean sandy or gravely bottom, where the 

 water is from one inch and a-lialf to two 

 inches deep, and the nearer the source of the 

 stream, the better it will grow. Where the 

 bottom is naturally muddy, it .should be cov- 

 ered with a coat of gravel. It ma^' also be 

 cultivated on low ground that can be irri- 

 gated. If the seeds are thrown on the water, 

 they will sink to the bottom, germinate, root, 

 and grow. — Ed. 



A NEW INSECTICIDE. 



A fruit-grower iu Valparaiso, South Amer- 

 ica, writes to his local paper that he has dis- 

 covered a singular jn'operty in tomato leaves. 

 It appears that, having cut down some 

 tomato vines, he used them as a "mulch" 

 around his peach trees. He soon discovered 

 that the curctdio, which had been destroying 

 his fiTiit, had abandoned the trees surrounded 

 by tomato vines. Following up this accidental 

 discovery, he found that a free use of tomato 

 vines proved a perfect protection, not only 

 against the ctircidio, but against other noxious 

 insects. He found, also, that by steeping in 

 water some fresh leaves of the tomato, and 

 sprinkling the infusion upon the plants, such 

 as roses and orange trees, the innumerable 

 insects which covered them were driven 

 away. We commend this to our Horticultu- 

 ral friends." — Midland Farmer. 



The above was sent to us, coiisjiicuously 

 marked, in the June number of the Nebraska 



