THE HUTS, OR TONES. 65 
a record is a rather remarkable one, and is driven by Prof. J. S. New- 
berry. 1 These cones appeared in May and Jane, 1877, in a shallow 
cellar of a house which had been erected on the site of an old orchard 
at Rahway, X. .1. The cellar had been dug to the depth of about a foot, 
and had been closed until about the time of the emergence of the Cica- 
das, when it was opened and the bottom was found to be thickly beset 
with mud cones or tubes from 6 to 8 inches high. The explanation for 
these curious structures suggested by Professor Xewberry is that the 
Cicadas, finding a dark chamber, were apparently attempting to work 
up to daylight. What is probably the true explanation of their occur- 
rence will be given later. An excellent photograph of one of these 
structures, which considerably exceeds 6 inches in length, accompanies 
Professor Xewberry's paper. 
The references cited include all the records of the occurrence of these 
cones up to 1894. In that year, however, these structures were noticed 
in many localities in Xew York and Xew Jersey, on the appearance of 
Brood XII, and excellent opportunities were afforded for their study, 
advantage of which was taken by several competent observers who 
were so situated that careful examinations could be made. The results 
of these investigations have cleared up much of the obscurity which 
has hitherto surrounded these elevated burrows. 
The first person to note these structures in 1894 was Mr. William T. 
Davis, who reported their occurrence in April on Staten Island, Xew 
York, stating that the pupae had been found on the 8th of that month 
under boards on the edge of a meadow, where they had been erecting 
cones of earth above the damp ground. In a later article he says: 
On the 22d of April many pnpse were found in the woods along Willow Brook 
under stones, logs, and the chips about stumps of trees cut down in winter. Many 
more were without protection of this kind, and their presence was indicated by the 
small irregular cones of earth among the dead leaves. A heavy footfall near the cone 
was sufficient to cause the insects to retreat, but if they were approached silently 
and suddenly knocked over their constructors would be found within. 
Some of the cones were 3 inches high, but they did not average more 
than 2 inches. The experience of Mr. Davis corroborates the theories 
of Professor Potter and Mr. Eathvon that the Cicada cones, occurring 
in moist situations, are designed to lift the insect above such undesirable 
conditions. 
Early in the spring of L894 the attention of Dr. Lintner. the >Yw 
York State entomologist, was called to the occurrence of these cones by 
correspondents, and an investigation of the subject was undertaken. 
A preliminary report was published in L895, 2 but his final report was 
not published until May of the present year. In describing the phe- 
nomenon in his Tenth Report, he says that the cones frequently occurred 
1 School «,t' Mines Quarterly, vol. 7. Jannarj . 1886, -J pp, 
'Tenth Report, Insects. New York. ]>)). 120-423. 
'Twelfth Report, Insects. New York. pp. 279-286. 
