AGRICULTURE. 91 



diately, sails, rigging, cabin, &c. It is a little singular how they 

 could have supported themselves in the air so long, as there was 

 no land to the northwest for several thousand miles 



But notwithstanding these and numerous other seemingly au- 

 thentic reports: so uncertain is almost every point connected with 

 this subject that even yet it is a matter of doubt with some whether 

 they are capahle of any such extended flights, either by sea or 

 laud. 



According to some accounts, these African locusts were de- 

 sirous of being on sociable terms with all surrounding countries. 

 During four successive years, from 174-1 to 1747. they ravaged the 

 southern portion of Spain and Portugal. 



Pliny say that : " .Many a time have the locusts been known to 

 take their flight out of Africa' and with whole armies to infest 

 Italy. Many a time have the people of Rome, fearing a great fam- 

 ine and scarcity, been forced to have recourse to the Sibyl's hooks 

 for remedies, to avert the ire of the gods. In the Cyrenaic region 

 it is ordained by law to wage war against them every three years, 

 to conquer them. ** 



This Gyrenaic region is the present Barea and lies directly 



south of and opposite to Greece, and may possibly have been the 

 breeding place of the Grecian locusts, as the more western Bar- 

 bary region was of the Spanish, French and Italian : it being a. 

 matter of serious doubt whether they are really indigenous in any 

 part of Europe. And it may be as well to state just here, that it 

 is not a perfectly sure thing where the locusts came Prom that have 

 appeared at different times in Europe. Hassehpiist, for example, 



says that "they migrate, in a direct meridian line, from south to 



north, passing from Arabia, which is it"' great cradle of them, to 

 Palestine, Syria, Carmania, NatoUa, Bythnia, Constantinople, 

 Poland, &C. This is evidently u fanciful and unreliable theory, as 

 to their north and south flight, but; still it throws a shade of doubt 

 on the origin of the Danubian or neighboring Russian locusts, 

 which is more generally Located in northwestern Asia. 



Passing from the north to the south in Africa. Dr. Shaw states 

 that a space Of 2,000 miles was covered with them at one time; 



and travelers like Drs. Barth and Livingstone speak of meeting 



them in the interior. The islands of Madagascar, .Mauritius and 



Bourbon on its eastern coast, which lie beyond the Mozambique 



Channel* are visited in the same manner as are the < 'anaries on the 

 west. 



Herodotus speaks of a very numerous people, called Xasamones, 

 who were known as locust-eaters. Their abode was in Cyrenaic 



