No. 149.] 253 



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hay was considerably higher than it was in cities on the sea board. 

 Could not this evil have been greatly mitigated, if not entirely 

 prevented, through the exertions of man, with the aid of the 

 natural enemy of insects, birds, and some other animals ? If the 

 evil could have been lessened one-half or one-quarter the public 

 at large would have been great gainers ! This will have to be 

 done at some future day throughout our land, to organise in 

 bodies and fight the enemy, and protect the birds and other 

 animals, his natural enemies, by penal laws. A volume, or 

 volumes, could be written on this subject, as there has been in 

 Europe within a century or two, so great has been the devas- 

 tations committed, and such the terror excited by this ap- 

 parently insignificant animal at different periods of the world. 

 To show the character and habits of insects more strik- 

 ingly we will quote a few sentences from M. V. Kollar, 

 a European entomologist of reputation, says : " The food of 

 insects is indeed procured from an extensive pasture. From 

 the majestic oak to the invisible fungus or insignificant 

 wall moss, the whole race of plants is a stupendous meal 

 to which the insects set down as guests. The larger plant con- 

 suming animals, limit their attacks to leaves, seeds, and stalks j 

 not so insects, to the various families of whicli every part of a 

 plant yields suitable provender. Some which live under the 

 earth attack roots, others choose the stem and branches, a third 

 division live on the leaves, a fourth prefers the flower, while a 

 fifth selects the fruit or seed. Of tliose which prefer the foliage, 

 some take nothing but juice out of the sap vessels, as the aphides, 

 or plant lice ; others only the upper or under surface of the 

 leaves, like the leaf-rollers j" witli numerous other branches ot the 

 great family. This is only a small sample. 



In Europe the farmers sometimes complain that their lands 

 will not bear clover, they get tired of it, or what they call clover 

 sick: high manuring they say will not cure this sickness. This 

 happens occasionally in Great Britain and on the continent. 

 Whether it has ever occurred in America we do not know, very 

 likely it has rarely, though as yet, as we advance in years as a 

 nation, probably we will be afflicted in a similar way. We have 

 a great variety and abundance of ground at our command, and 



