The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1860-06-28

Juices from the leaves of trees, and thus de-
stroy the latter, is but common and POI u
lar falacy, as is also the theory of the sting.
No such malignant weapon exists in either
male or female.
When the proper period arrives, the fe-
male proceeds to discharge her great duty to
posterity, which fitly closes life which had
but one object. She chooses a tender twig
e prefcrring one of recent growth always, and
when it can be procured, limb of young
cherry, peach or apple is preferred to either
;, Of the forest trees; and of the latter, maple
is chosen before oak or walnut Pine they
ton goes, nor will they likely be found to
any extent at least, in the sandy soils or pine
hills lying to the north and west OF this city.
Before depos:ting her eggs she makes her
Encst, and carefully lines it with soft cush-
ion for t'm ecftina.f fl e~i u,s'e'l aEe
depoSitaa rs iieariy as i,ossiblcto the centfe
Of the taic. To accomplish this she uses
both grmbles and chissel, which natures
Coz, has given her mp carelully-.-she is per-
fectly harmless and you will find proceed
ing from her abdominal rings an apparent,
solid tube, ola black horny material, as hard
but more brittle than steel. Examine it with
n good ordinary magnifer, and you will see
that the point is surrounded with thread
like screw gimblet, ana on further examin,
alton you will discover that this instrument
is in two parts, so constructed that each can
act to certain extent independent Of the
other. If you take pains on can find this
visitor from the neither world some where at
work. Ifyou have an orchard of young
fruit trees, and have taken no precautions,
you will find on some favorite young peach,
plum or cherry an excellent opportunity of
witnessing her modus operandi, where, un-
conscious of wrong she will let you approach
within point where you can use your glass
and make the closes scrutiny in the manner
inwhich she is destroying the cherished
hopes Of years. The point Of the gimblet is
inserted into the tender wood and gradually
driven to the required depth. Then to pre-
pare soft cushion for the egg, the curious
, me ;hanism of the double sliding ginblet-
chissel-rasp all united in one, is set in mo
ton, and all the adjacent fibre is converted
into fine pulpy dowu. Then annother Gu
rious phenomena manifest itselss. This sin
+, gular instrument is found to be hollow its
: entire length, and containing long sack,
through which, by muscular pressure, the
eggs are propelled one after the other and de-
posted by his singular apparatus, with reg
ularity Of books on the shelf, until the apart
ment is full You viii now see her move up
ward on the linib, perhaps half an inch, when
the same process is gone through with, and
; again, until the limb is full As this cutting
and boaring is done on small twigs, not more
than quarter of an inch in diameter, it is
by this time about one-half cut through, and
either dies or breaks off thus often DESTROYING
whole trees, If not entire nurseries. Her
task being completed the female dies, follow
ed in a few days by the male, and the woods
and groves for weeks vocal with unwonted
music, resume their sombre quite, not to be
similarly broken for seventeen years.
The gentle warmth of an autmnal sun soon
quckens into active life the young grub in
the twig, which emerging falls to The ground
: enters it, and commences its downward
. course, which it follows until it reaches the
Temperature and consistency of soil most IA
vorabe to its proper development Whether
it reaches certain point and there remains
. for years until its appointed time for revis-
iting the surface where its existance com.
j.. menced, or passes one half of its time in de-
scending and the remainder in ascending
. | must leave to those who have gone deeper
E into the matter than myself to determine
know that three years before their emerge
; ment have found them twenty one feet below
the surface Others may have found them
lower. But am satisfied that in the pre-
else point where the small maggot went
down in l843, at that point the full grown
grub emerged in 1860, sometimes, no doubt
thourghly astonished at the physical changes
the surface had undergone in his long ab
sence have seen them emerge in the cellars
: Of houses built within seven or eight years,
and often in other positions yet more awk.
ward
o When the grub is near the surface as it is
y for a year or more before its last chance, il
J. is o Eat oily substance much sought for by
q swine, which root up many acres of wood
S land in search of them in our western woods,
o and elsewhere, where swine run at large
a and also at later peri DIS when breaking COW
e or, fowls will greedily fatten on them, catch
: ing them when first dying in the air. This
: oily matter appears to be consumed by the
II daily life ofthe insect while above ground,
a until at TIE close of their season their bodies
IS appear but mass of dry dust, the whole
!, abdomen, from the brest backward, being of,
h ten found wanting
] have alluded to the fact that doubt We,
i existed to some extent whether these insects
e were periodical in their appearance, and
d whether their period was seventeen, fourteen
n or some other term of years. This is owing
+ I think, solely to the fact of different fami
lies occupying different sections of the
y country, each having its own period of ap.