PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 121 



CICADAE SUMMER FLY OR SEVENTEEN YEAR LOCUST. 



Prof. Mapes. — This peculiar insect appears once in 17 years; 

 but the year of its appearance differs in every part of the country. 

 In 1855 it infested Southern Illinois. In 1800, 1817 and 1834, the 

 trees of Delaware and Maryland were literally covered by them, 

 and in 1843 many of the river counties on the Hudson were 

 infested with the Cicadie. The male insect has a pair of drums 

 on each side of the head, and when infesting an orchard or woods 

 the noise is frequently so great that no conversation can be heard 

 in the vicinity. The insect appears about the 25th of May, and 

 remains six weeks. The female is armed with an ovipositor, with 

 which she inserts her eggs in the smaller portions of limbs of 

 fruit trees, oaks, chestnuts, &c., always selecting new growth of an 

 eighth to a quarter of an inch in diameter. The incisions, about 

 twelve in number, are made at an angle of forty to fifty degrees, 

 with an egg in each, and sometimes the twig is girdled near the 

 eggs, so that when the end of the twig dies it falls to the ground, 

 and the eggs are carried in by dews and rains. Miss Morris, of 

 Germantown, Pa., a well known entomologist of close observation, 

 claims that she found them attached to the roots of pear trees. 



" While plowing at our place, May 10, these insects were thrown 

 out in large quantities. The holes through which they ascend 

 in the soil may be traced to a depth of four feet or more. This 

 locust is not to be dreaded, as they do but little harm; are not 

 known to feed, and the shortening in of limbs by the depositing 

 of their eggs, may give a useful hint to those who do not under- 

 stand the benefits of the shortening-in process." 



INQUIRIES FROM IOWA. 



Solon Robinson. — I have just received a letter from Mr. H. 

 Howard, of Decorah, Iowa, Avho looks to us for information upon 

 the cultivation of several garden plants, and other matters. 



" First, in relation to the cultivation of pie-plant. Is upland 

 or lowland soil most congenial to its nature ? Would mulching 

 or atop dressing of coarse manure be beneficial? Should the 

 stalks be cut off, or dislocated from the root by pulling off? How 

 often is it proper to reset and divide the root ? What is the 

 process of making wine from pie-plant juice? Will the seed of 

 any variety bring forth the same variety ? 



"Second — What is the most profitable variety of Strawberry 

 to cultivate on a somewhat extensive scale ? Does Hovey's seed- 



