392 The Zoologist — September, 1866 



from Bavaria, and the rest had been collected by Mr. Albert Miiller in the neighbour- 

 hood of Basle. Amongst them were some remarkable forms of ihe case of Halesus 

 digitalus, the case (formed of sand) of Enoicyla pusilla, of which the larva is non- 

 aquatic, and a singular case, of uncertain genus, formed of vegetable matter arranged 

 transversely so as to form a partially angular tube closed by a solid operculum, in the 

 centre of which were four small holes to admit the water. 



The Secretary read a communication respecting the recent plague of locusts in 

 Algeria, the serious character of which was confirmed by an official circular issued by 

 Marshal Canrobert. The creatures first appeared during the month of April; coming 

 from the gorges of the mountains, and the fertile valleys of the littoral, they descended 

 first on the plain of the Mitidja and the Sahel of Algiers. Their mass, at certain 

 points, intercepted the light of the sun, and produced an effect similar to that of the 

 snow storms which, in the winter season, fall in Europe, and blot out even the nearest 

 objects from the sight. The vegetation of the country offered an attractive bait to the 

 destructive insects. A large portion of the colza, oai, late barley and vegetable crops 

 were immediately destroyed, and in some parts even the interiors of houses were 

 invaded. The Marshal used all his endeavours in encouraging the population in 

 their efforts against the invaders; by his orders the troops were culled out to help the 

 colonists to combat the plague, and the Arabs, whose interests were also at stake, 

 joined their efforts against the common enemy. In a few days enormous quantities of 

 the insects were destroyed ; but human efforts had little effect against those winged 

 multitudes, which fled over the country, and only abandoned one field to fall upon 

 another. It was impossible to prevent fecundation and the deposit of eggs, which 

 quickly gave life to larvaj innumerable, so that the first swarms were soon replaced and 

 centupled by new generations. The appearance of these young locusts is especially to 

 he dreaded, on account of their voracity; the hungry myriads fell upon everything 

 which had escaped the depredations of their predecessors. They filled up the water- 

 courses, the canals, and the rivulets, and the troops had the greatest difficulty in 

 preserving the water from infection. Almost at the same time the provinces of Oran 

 and Constantine were invaded. At Tlemcen, where no locusts had appeared within 

 the memory of the oldest inhabitants, the soil was covered with them. At Sidibel- 

 Abbes, at Sidi-Brahim, and at Mostaganem,they attacked not only the tobacco planta- 

 tions, the vines, and the fig trees, but also the olive trees, notwithstanding the bitter- 

 ness of the leaves of the latter. At Kelizabe and at Ilarba they inva<ied the cotton 

 grounds. The road between Mostaganem and Mascara was literally covered with 

 them along its entire course of fifty miles. In the province of Constantine the locusts 

 appeared simultaneously from the Sahara to the sea, and from Bougie to Calle. . At 

 Batna, at Selif, at Constantine, at Gelma, at Bone, at Pliilippeville, and at Djidjelly, 

 the people acted energetically against the invasion, but neither fire nor other obstacles 

 offered to the progress of the insects were sufficient to prevent the destruction, which 

 fell principally upon the European settlemeuls. The damage done is immense, 

 though it is impossible at present to ascertain the whole extent of the mischief, for the 

 work of devastation is going on daily ; such a terrible visitation has not been known 

 in modern limes.— J. W. D. 



