436 
Observations on the various Insects 
burrows first, and then a few drops of oil, which killed the insects 
by stopping their respiration probably, was actually purchased by 
Louis XV. By burying small garden-pots, into which about 30 
drops of oil of turpentine must be previously poured, and co- 
vering them over with boards to keep out the earth, the Mole- 
crickets may be driven from their quarters, and the vapour will 
kill those that are near it, for their scent is so acute that it is said 
if a dead crab be introduced into their burrows, the effluvia will 
destroy them. M. Robert, of Toulon, places fresh turves on the 
borders where traces of the Mole-crickets are observed ; they are 
watered every night, and the insects secrete themselves beneath, 
and are easily caught in the morning.* By persisting in this 
method, especially in April, May, and June, an infested place 
will soon be freed from them ; this seems to be a good and avail- 
able plan, especially in dry seasons, for Mr. Brackenridge says, 
" From the circumstance of these insects seldom appearing on 
the surface, and the rapidity with which they breed, no method 
has been fallen upon whereby they are likely to be eradicated, 
although hundreds of thousands are caught yearly by means of 
flower-pots plunged with their brims about two inches below the 
level of the surface, into which the insects fall during their 
nightly rambles." j In June and July the eggs may be de- 
stroyed in hundreds, by digging up the nest of the Mole-cricket, 
which an experienced gardener discovers with little trouble by 
tracing their winding burrows; or boiling water poured over 
affected parts in meadows will kill them, and urine or salt and 
water might be used advantageously. 
However useful these suggestions may be, especially to the 
gardener, the following plan, recommended by Kollar, is the one 
to be adopted by the farmer on a larger scale. When there is a 
flat area of 500 or 600 yards, dig three or four pits in September, 
2 or 3 feet deep and a foot wide ; then fill them with horse-dung 
and cover them over with the earth: attracted by the warmth, all 
the Mole-crickets will resort to these pits from the surrounding 
neiglibourhood on the first frost, and may then be easily de- 
stroyed. J 
Secure in their subterranean habitations from insect parasites 
to reduce their numbers, what a singular provision is made to 
keep the Mole-crickets in check, namely, the destruction of the 
young by their parent, to the amount of 90 per cent, and upwards, 
otherwise they would, first, cause such destruction to the various 
* Annales de la Soc. Ilor. tie Paris. 
t Mr. Brackenridge's observations were published some years before 
M. Robert's plan was promulgated. 
X Kollar's Naturgeschichte der schadlichen Insecten, p. 154, and 
Loudon's Translation, p. 147. 
