208 
It E M I P T E R A . 
to forget. The remembrance of all, though fixed by differ- 
ent events, concurred in establishing the same years for the 
appearance of the locusts. 
“ I first took notice of them in 1821, on the 17th of June, 
from their noise. They appeared chiefly in the forests, or 
in thickets of forest-trees, principally oak. Their nearest 
distance from my dwelling cannot be far from a mile ; yet, 
at a still hour, their music was distinctly heard there. On 
going to visit them, I found the oak-trees and bushes swarm- 
ing with them in a winged state. They came up out of the 
ground a creeping insect. Very soon after they had ar- 
rived on the surface of the earth, the skin, or rather the 
shell of the insect, burst upon the back, and the winged 
insect came forth, leaving the skin or shell upon the earth, 
in a perfect form, and uninjured, saving at the rupture on 
the back ; showing an entire withdrawing of the living ani- 
mal, as much so as does the snake’s skin after he has left it. 
Thus these skins lay in immense numbers under the trees, 
entirely empty, and perfect in shape. The winged insects 
did not, so far as I could ascertain, eat anything. Motion 
and propagation appeared to be the whole object of their 
existence. They continued about four or five w^eks, and 
then died.” Previous to this event “ the females laid their 
eggs in the tender parts of oak branches, near the extremi- 
ties, making a longitudinal furrow, and depositing rows 
of eggs therein (Fig. 86). They then sawed the branch 
partly off below the eggs, so that the wind could twist off 
the extreme part containing the eggs, and let it fall to the 
ground. In this way they injured the trees extensively. 
The forest had a gloomy appearance from the number of 
these extremities partially twisted off, and hanging, with 
their dead leaves, ready to fall. In a few weeks they were 
nearly all separated from the trees, and carried their vital 
burdens to the earth, which was, certainly, well seeded for 
a harvest in 1838. I know of no other damage which they 
did I believe the locusts appear in different places, in 
