﻿648 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SURVEY. 
  

  

  vals 
  afflicts 
  the 
  entire 
  conntry, 
  passing 
  from 
  one 
  end 
  to 
  the 
  other 
  in 
  vast 
  colnmns 
  of 
  

   many 
  millions, 
  literally 
  darkening 
  the 
  air 
  and 
  destroying 
  every 
  green 
  thing 
  in 
  their 
  

   course. 
  I 
  once 
  rode 
  through 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  columns 
  which 
  was 
  fully 
  ten 
  miles 
  in 
  width. 
  

   Not 
  only 
  did 
  the 
  insects 
  cover 
  the 
  ground, 
  rising 
  in 
  clouds 
  on 
  each 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  nuile- 
  

   path 
  as 
  I 
  advanced, 
  but 
  the 
  open 
  pine-forest 
  was 
  brown 
  with 
  their 
  myriad 
  bodies, 
  as 
  

   if 
  the 
  trees 
  had 
  been 
  seared 
  with 
  tire, 
  while 
  the 
  air 
  was 
  filled 
  with 
  them, 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  with 
  

   falling 
  flakes 
  in 
  a 
  snow-storm. 
  Their 
  course 
  is 
  always 
  from 
  south 
  to 
  north. 
  They 
  

   make 
  their 
  first 
  appearance 
  as 
  sallones, 
  of 
  diminutive 
  size, 
  red 
  bodies, 
  and 
  wingless, 
  

   when 
  they 
  swarm 
  over 
  the 
  ground 
  like 
  ants. 
  At 
  this 
  time 
  vast 
  numbers 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  

   killed 
  by 
  the 
  natives, 
  who 
  dig 
  long 
  trenches 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  feet 
  deep, 
  and 
  drive 
  the 
  sal- 
  

   tones 
  into 
  them. 
  Unable 
  to 
  leap 
  oat, 
  the 
  trench 
  soon 
  becomes 
  half 
  filled 
  with 
  the 
  young 
  

   insects, 
  when 
  the 
  earlh 
  is 
  shoveled 
  back, 
  and 
  they 
  are 
  thus 
  buried 
  and 
  destroyed. 
  

   They 
  are 
  often 
  driven 
  in 
  this 
  way 
  into 
  tbe 
  rivers 
  and 
  drowned. 
  Various 
  expedients 
  

   are 
  resorted 
  to 
  by 
  the 
  owners 
  of 
  plantations 
  to 
  prevent 
  the 
  passing 
  columns 
  from 
  alight- 
  

   ing. 
  Sulphur 
  is 
  burned 
  in 
  the 
  fields, 
  guns 
  are 
  fired, 
  drums 
  beaten, 
  and 
  every 
  mode 
  of 
  

   making 
  a 
  noise 
  put 
  in 
  requisition 
  for 
  ihe 
  purpose. 
  In 
  this 
  mode 
  detached 
  plantations 
  

   are 
  often 
  saved. 
  But, 
  when 
  the 
  columns 
  once 
  alight, 
  no 
  device 
  can 
  avail 
  to 
  rescue 
  

   them 
  from 
  speedy 
  desolation. 
  In 
  a 
  single 
  hour, 
  the 
  largest 
  maize-fields 
  are 
  stripped 
  of 
  

   their 
  leaves, 
  and 
  only 
  the 
  stems 
  are 
  left 
  to 
  indicate 
  that 
  they 
  once 
  existed. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  said 
  that 
  the 
  chapulin 
  makes 
  its 
  appearance 
  at 
  the 
  ends 
  of 
  periods 
  of 
  about 
  fifty 
  

   years, 
  and 
  that 
  it 
  then 
  prevails 
  for 
  from 
  five 
  to 
  seven 
  years, 
  when 
  it 
  entirely 
  disappears. 
  

   But 
  its 
  habits 
  have 
  never 
  been 
  studied 
  with 
  care, 
  and 
  I 
  am 
  unprepared 
  to 
  affirm 
  any- 
  

   thing 
  in 
  these 
  respects. 
  Its 
  ordinary 
  size 
  is 
  from 
  two 
  and 
  a 
  half 
  to 
  four 
  inches 
  in 
  

   length, 
  but 
  it 
  sometimes 
  grows 
  to 
  the 
  length 
  of 
  five 
  inches. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Taylor 
  remarks 
  that 
  " 
  this 
  statement 
  is 
  consonant 
  with 
  the 
  

   accounts 
  received 
  from 
  Honduras 
  and 
  Guatemala 
  of 
  the 
  famine 
  and 
  

   pestilence 
  offerer 
  in 
  those 
  countries 
  in 
  1855 
  and 
  1856, 
  caused 
  by 
  clouds 
  

   of 
  locusts 
  devastating 
  the 
  country, 
  and 
  confirms 
  Gage's 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  

   same 
  lands 
  in 
  1632." 
  In 
  1855 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  Oolima, 
  in 
  Southwestern 
  

   Mexico, 
  was 
  visited 
  by 
  locusts. 
  

  

  In 
  1856 
  their 
  ravages 
  extended 
  along 
  the 
  first 
  central 
  mesas 
  or 
  steppes 
  

   bordering 
  eastward 
  the 
  Eocky 
  Mountains, 
  covering 
  the 
  dry 
  soils 
  of 
  

   Texas, 
  and 
  down 
  into 
  the 
  south 
  of 
  Mexico. 
  In 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Cordova, 
  

   in 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  Vera 
  Cruz, 
  the 
  people 
  made 
  a 
  regular 
  campaign 
  against 
  

   them, 
  and 
  succeeded 
  in 
  destroying 
  one 
  hundred 
  and 
  ninety-two 
  arrobas, 
  

   computed 
  as 
  numbering 
  four 
  hundred 
  million 
  grassho[)pers. 
  In 
  tb« 
  

   State 
  of 
  Guerrero 
  they 
  also 
  did 
  great 
  injury, 
  particularly 
  within 
  the 
  dis- 
  

   tricts 
  around 
  Acapulco. 
  

  

  The 
  treeless 
  portions 
  of 
  South 
  America 
  are 
  also 
  not 
  exempt 
  from" 
  

   swarms 
  of 
  locusts, 
  though 
  we 
  have 
  no 
  information 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  tlifterent 
  

   species 
  composing 
  them. 
  Taylor 
  says 
  that 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  visit 
  of 
  

   Darwin 
  to 
  Chile 
  and 
  the 
  adjacent 
  countries 
  of 
  South 
  America 
  he 
  relates 
  

   of 
  the 
  grasshoppers 
  as 
  follows, 
  at 
  the 
  date 
  of 
  March 
  25, 
  1835, 
  when 
  he 
  

   was 
  crossing 
  the 
  dry 
  country 
  which 
  lies 
  between 
  the 
  city 
  of 
  Mendoza, 
  in 
  

   Buenos 
  Ayres, 
  and 
  the 
  opposite 
  side 
  of 
  Chile. 
  This 
  country 
  assimi- 
  

   lates 
  in 
  every 
  essential 
  physical 
  characteristic 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  territories 
  

   within 
  the 
  boundaries 
  of 
  Upper 
  and 
  Lower 
  California 
  prior 
  to 
  the 
  

   American 
  occupation 
  : 
  

  

  "Shortly 
  betore 
  arriving 
  at 
  the 
  village 
  and 
  river 
  of 
  Luxan, 
  we 
  ob- 
  

   served 
  to 
  the 
  south 
  a 
  ragged 
  cloud 
  of 
  a 
  dark 
  reddish-brown 
  color. 
  At 
  

   first 
  we 
  thought 
  it 
  was 
  caused 
  by 
  some 
  great 
  fire 
  on 
  the 
  neighboring 
  

   plains, 
  but 
  we 
  soon 
  found 
  thar 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  swarm 
  of 
  locusts. 
  They 
  were 
  

   flying 
  northward, 
  and 
  with 
  the 
  aid 
  of 
  a 
  light 
  breeze 
  they 
  overtook 
  us 
  at 
  

   the 
  rate 
  of 
  ten 
  or 
  fifteen 
  miles 
  an 
  hour. 
  The 
  main 
  body 
  filled 
  the 
  air 
  

   from 
  a 
  height 
  of 
  twenty 
  feet 
  to 
  that, 
  as 
  it 
  appeared, 
  of 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  

   thousand 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  ground. 
  The 
  sound 
  of 
  their 
  wings 
  was 
  as 
  the 
  

   sound 
  of 
  chariois 
  of 
  many 
  horses 
  running 
  to 
  battle; 
  or 
  rather, 
  as 
  I 
  

   should 
  say, 
  like 
  a 
  strong 
  breeze 
  passing 
  through 
  a 
  ship's 
  rigging. 
  The 
  

   sky, 
  seen 
  through 
  the 
  advanced 
  guard, 
  appeared 
  like 
  a 
  mezzotint© 
  

   engraving 
  ; 
  but 
  the 
  main 
  body 
  was 
  impervious 
  to 
  sight. 
  They 
  were 
  not, 
  

  

  sani' 
  

  

  