with them wherever they pafs, and in the fhort fpace 
of a few hours change the moft fertile provinces into 
the appearance Of a barren defart ; while the air is 
darkened by their numbers. Nay even when dead 
they are ftill terrible, fince the putrefaction which ari- 
fes from their inconceivable number, is fuch that it has 
been regarded as one of the principal caufes of a be¬ 
ginning peltilence. There are a great many different 
fpecies of locufls. One of the moft deftruCtive is the 
Gryllus Migratorius of Linnaeus, or the Wandering 
Locuft, here reprefented. It is generally of a brownifh 
color, varied with foots of a deeper call, and in fome 
parts with pale red or flcfh-color, and the legs are 
commonly blueifh. In the year 1748 this fpecies ap¬ 
peared in irregular flights in feveral parts of Europe ; 
as in Germany, France, and England, and in London 
in particular, and its neighbourhood, great numbers 
were feen : they perifhed however in a fhort time, and 
were not productive of any mifchief. The largeft fpe¬ 
cies of locuft yet known is the Gryllus Criftatus of 
LiNXiEus, which is five or fix times as large as the fpe¬ 
cies juft defcribed; and which, together with fome 
other of the larger kind, is made ufe of in fome parts 
of the world as an article of food. They are eaten both 
frefh and falted, in which Iaft ftate they are publickly 
fold in the markets in fome parts of the Levant. 
The quantity of edible fubltance which they afford is 
but fmall, efpecially in the male'infefts ; but the fe¬ 
males, on account of the ovaries, afford a more nutri¬ 
tious fuftenance. It is well known that different in¬ 
terpretations have fornetimes been given of the paffage 
in 
