302 [Assembly 



in the potato, and young locusts ia the large potatoes. Theylo- 

 custs never touch poplar, pine, or eedar trees. They make inci- 

 sions in tlie under side of slender branches of some trees, and put 

 into the incision about nine eggs in one row. I- have seen them 

 backing out of their holes in the ground, and procreating within 

 twenty-four hours. The large potatoes containing the locusts had - 

 the skin hard and dry, the locusts under that. 



Richard Bacon, of Simsbury, Conn, on visiting the repository a 

 few days ago, examined the potato bug sent by Mr. Riggs, and 

 now writes to the club as follows : 



SiMSBURT, Angnst 16, 1862. 



Sir: Your esteemed favor of the 12th was duly received, to" 

 which in reply I say : The bug to which you refer is evidently a 

 new comer here ; I can find no one who has even noticed it be- 

 fore, still they may have been here in small numbers,. but now 

 they are confined to the potatoes. I have not, neither have others, 

 so far as J can learn, found them elsewhere thaii on or about po- 

 tatoes. Tiiey vary in size from one-half an inch to a full inch ia 

 length; ajs you see them on the potato tops, they appear striped 

 down the middle, and on each side of the Ikrd jet •. black covers 

 over their wiugs. Their bodies are of an ash color. Those here 

 are precisely like those which you showed me at the Institute. 

 Here they are confined to the mountain, or near it ; are not gen- 

 eral, and I cannot learn on enquiry that they are scattered over a 

 large extent 3 I only hear of them in this locality and Granby,say 

 eight miles north, and there on the mountains. Query ? Did 

 not the mountains bring them up? They appear shy, and if dis- 

 turbed hide themselves in the ground about the hill. They ai-e 

 much engaged in the act of copulation. I can learn of but one 

 piece of potatoes of much size, which they have materially in- 

 jured, that is, say3 1 to 1 acre, directly at the base of the moun- 

 tains, new land, on which the leaves are entirely eaten oft', aud 

 the bug is still there, but not so numerous as two or thi'ee weeks 

 since. In other pieces of potatoes the bug is gone and the plant 

 appears to have nearly recovered from the attack ; other pieces, 

 within 200 rods, I could not discover a bug, or any signs of their 

 having been there. Query "? Will they not be much increased 



