﻿PREDICTIONS. 
  129 
  

  

  ^'As 
  the 
  Army 
  Worm 
  appears 
  in 
  vast 
  numbers 
  cluriog 
  certain 
  years 
  

   only, 
  and 
  at 
  irregular 
  intervals, 
  and 
  as 
  this 
  appearance 
  is 
  rather 
  sudden, 
  

   and 
  seldom, 
  if 
  ever, 
  anticipated 
  by 
  tlie 
  farmer, 
  burning 
  as 
  a 
  remedy 
  

   loses 
  much 
  of 
  its 
  importance, 
  except 
  where 
  it 
  is 
  practiced 
  annually,- 
  and 
  

   in 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  beneilt 
  of 
  such 
  burning 
  in 
  destroying 
  chinch-bugs 
  and 
  

   other 
  insects 
  it 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  regretted 
  that 
  the 
  i^ractice 
  of 
  winter 
  burning 
  of 
  

   fields, 
  prairies, 
  straw-piles, 
  wetds, 
  and 
  other 
  litter 
  and 
  rubbish 
  does 
  not 
  

   more 
  generally 
  prevail; 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  injurious 
  insects 
  by 
  such 
  a 
  

   system 
  would 
  far 
  outweigh 
  the 
  benrfit 
  derived 
  from 
  x)lowiiig 
  these 
  stalks 
  

   and 
  weeds 
  under 
  or 
  leaving 
  them 
  to 
  gradually 
  decay." 
  — 
  [8^/^ 
  ilfo. 
  Mit 
  

   Eep., 
  p. 
  55. 
  

  

  Predictions; 
  meteorolooical 
  influences 
  on 
  the 
  species. 
  — 
  

   What 
  we 
  still 
  need 
  to 
  know, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  make 
  the 
  burning 
  over 
  of 
  much 
  

   avail, 
  is 
  some 
  method 
  of 
  actually 
  predicting 
  the 
  coming 
  of 
  the 
  worms. 
  

   That 
  meterological 
  changes 
  have 
  much 
  to 
  do 
  with 
  disastrous 
  years 
  is 
  

   indubitable, 
  yet 
  it 
  is 
  evident 
  from 
  facts 
  we 
  have 
  given 
  that 
  Fitches 
  

   theory 
  Aviil 
  not 
  hold. 
  We 
  have 
  shown 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  no 
  practical 
  knowl- 
  

   edge 
  of 
  the 
  subject, 
  and 
  that 
  his 
  theory 
  was 
  not 
  well 
  considered. 
  We 
  

   are 
  also 
  not 
  inclined 
  to 
  admit 
  the 
  truth 
  of 
  Professor 
  Thomas's 
  weather 
  

   arguments 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  Army 
  Worm. 
  We 
  can 
  only 
  say, 
  after 
  a 
  

   careful 
  review 
  of 
  past 
  years, 
  that 
  all 
  or 
  nearly 
  all 
  of 
  the 
  years 
  of 
  Army 
  

   Worm 
  abundance 
  have 
  followed 
  dry 
  years, 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  in 
  which 
  

   such 
  abundance 
  actually 
  occurred 
  having 
  little 
  to 
  do 
  with 
  it. 
  This, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  helps 
  us 
  only 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  to 
  enable 
  us 
  to 
  say 
  that 
  after 
  a 
  year 
  of 
  ex- 
  

   ceptional 
  drought 
  the 
  worms 
  may 
  appear 
  in 
  injurious 
  numbers. 
  We 
  are 
  

   still 
  very 
  far 
  from 
  saying 
  that 
  after 
  such 
  a 
  year 
  the 
  Army 
  Worm 
  is 
  a 
  

   necessary 
  consequence, 
  so 
  that 
  for 
  practical 
  purposes 
  we 
  are 
  almost 
  as 
  

   far 
  in 
  the 
  dark 
  as 
  formerly. 
  

  

  In 
  short, 
  however 
  interesting 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  to 
  speculate 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  weather, 
  

   no 
  well-informed 
  person 
  will 
  pretend 
  to 
  a 
  sufficient 
  sibylline 
  insight 
  into 
  

   the 
  future 
  to 
  enable 
  him 
  to 
  act 
  with 
  absolute 
  confidence 
  as 
  to 
  results. 
  

   The 
  pretensions 
  of 
  a 
  Tice 
  or 
  a 
  Yennor 
  must 
  be 
  classed, 
  in 
  the 
  light 
  of 
  

   whatever 
  there 
  is 
  of 
  science 
  in 
  meteorology, 
  among 
  the 
  utterances 
  of 
  

   charlatans 
  and 
  quacks, 
  and 
  whatever 
  the 
  tendency 
  may 
  be 
  for 
  history 
  

   to 
  rei^eat 
  itself, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  weather 
  and 
  season 
  are 
  concerned, 
  the 
  records 
  

   sufficiently 
  show 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  absolutely 
  relying 
  upon 
  the 
  weather 
  of 
  

   the 
  future. 
  Insect 
  probabilities, 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  meteorological 
  spec- 
  

   ulation, 
  offer 
  a 
  most 
  inviting 
  field 
  for 
  theory 
  and 
  speculation 
  for 
  those 
  

   who 
  have 
  few 
  facts 
  to 
  lean 
  upon, 
  but 
  it 
  can 
  never 
  be 
  safe 
  to 
  anticipate 
  

   for 
  more 
  than 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  month 
  s 
  ahead 
  at 
  the 
  most. 
  It 
  is 
  quite 
  i^ossible. 
  

   from 
  the 
  observed 
  facts 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  and 
  early 
  spring, 
  to 
  form 
  

   pretty 
  accurate 
  conclusions 
  as 
  to 
  what 
  may 
  happen 
  the 
  ensuing 
  summer 
  

   so 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  Army 
  Worm 
  is 
  concerned, 
  and 
  this 
  is 
  especially 
  true 
  when 
  

   the 
  preceding 
  summer 
  and 
  autumn 
  have 
  been 
  exceptionally 
  dry. 
  This 
  

   may 
  be 
  illustrated 
  by 
  the 
  following 
  opinion, 
  quoted 
  from 
  an 
  article 
  which 
  

   9 
  EG 
  

  

  