252 [Assembly 



to convince tliem that so small, weak, and contemptible an enemy 

 can do so much mischief, such arc Jiis numbers, so quiet, un- 

 tiring, and insidious is he in his attacks. We witnessed in June 

 and July last the ravages of some of them, the Jipkides^ or plant 

 lice, the smallest of the tribe, in myriads on the apple, cherry, 

 pear, and plum tree leaves, and currant bush, aided by another 

 small insect called the leaf-roller ; the surface of the leaves was 

 raised up in little ridges, and these on a close inspection aj^pear- 

 ed to be alive with animalculaj, the leaf brownish in color, 

 something like the rust of iron, and partly rolled up, and some 

 of them apparently dead, sap sucked out of them. Other tribes, 

 large enough to fly, move about, and be seen distinctly, the wing- 

 less tribes too, such as crawl or creep, most of the ant family, 

 some of the worm class, were seen running up and down the 

 bodies and limbs of the trees and eat holes into these, enter them 

 and live in their wood ; others infest the biirk and crevices of 

 trees, all living and breeding in and about the tree, and all 

 equally busy in the work of destruction. The little birds, their 

 great enemy, were not idle, they were equally busy, the wren, 

 the king bird, the woodpecker, and cat bird, catching the flyers 

 and picking the crawlers from the bodies and limbs ; some would 

 thrust their bills under the bark and in tlie crevices and holes 

 and drag out the culprits and devour them or carry them to their 

 young ; others scrape the plaiit lice and pick the leaf-rojiers lio-:;) 

 the leaves in which they were coiled, and make a meal of what 

 appeared so small as hardly to possess life. Tlie crow, black 

 bird, and other kinds, were seen following the plow and scratch- 

 ing the newly plowed earth for the insect foe in the worm state 

 and destroying him. We have it from the most unquestionable 

 authority, as well travelers in whom confidence may be placed, 

 as from journals of tlie west, that some of tlie western states have 

 suSered greatly from insects the last summer, (1850) ; some 

 counties in Ohio have been literally in their grasses, Indian 

 corn, and some other plants laid waste, and tliat chiefly by the 

 common grasshopper, called in Europe tlie locust. We have 

 seen in some of these journals that Indian corn, and grass or iiay 

 have risen greatly in value, and especially the latter, that some 

 of the farmers have been obliged to sell a p::rtion of their stock 

 at greatly reduced prices, not beini^ able to winter them, that 



