THE PHYLLOXERA 



green louse of the rosebush. Like that species, the 

 phylloxera has a special division of winged trav- 

 elers, and it is these that propagate the race through- 

 out the grape-growing district. 



"At the time of the greatest midsummer heat 

 there make their appearance, amid the throng of 

 yellow lice covering the roots, certain individuals 

 with longer bodies, which soon change their skin and 

 then bear on their sides two pairs of black stumps, 

 the sheaths of four future wings. These are the 

 nymphs destined for emigration. These nymphs 

 leave their subterranean abode and climb up to the 

 foot of the vine-stock, or s'ometimes even out upon 

 the surface of the ground. There another change 

 of skin takes place, whereupon we behold the winged 

 insect, superior in form to its underground relatives. 



"It measures a little more than a millimeter in 

 length, not including the wings. These latter, trans- 

 parent and iridescent, extend far beyond the length 

 of the body, and the upper ones are wide, rounded, 

 and slightly smoke-colored at the end, the lower ones 

 narrow and shorter. They are supported by strong 

 sinews that denote great power of flight. With its 

 large, diaphanous wings, its broad head and big eyes, 

 its belly ending in a blunt point, and its yellowish 

 color, the traveling insect bears some resemblance 

 to a very small cicada. Such, in brief, is the phyl- 

 loxera commissioned to propagate the race at a dis- 

 tance. 



"We have here no longer to do with the sluggish 

 pot-bellied creature that needs all its strength to 



