The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-06-11
THE CICADA.
Habits Of the Seventeen Year Fly,
Miscalled Locust"
EMINENT ENToMoLoGIsTs' VIEWS
The Remedy Against Their Rayases-Burn
Infested Twigs.

For more than week now the sslocusts." as they
are called, have been buzzing and drumming In the
Jersey woods and orchards, and such Ia the interest
In their temperance. after absence Of seventeen
years. that although the HERALD has already printed
exhaustive story OF their coming their character
stics and their habits. there is still that 90
said about them that will instruct and profit The
'.locust" not without history, aud ms periodical
visits have been noticed ever since The year 1885, when
they appeared At Plymouth, Mass, 10 greet tho Pill
grms Of the Maynowsr OF course, IL IL no news 70
the intelligent reader that they are real locusls
but cicada, and that the cicsdH belong TO
very different family from the locust In
spite Of this greater curiosity follows the
coming OF the cicada because OF its strange habits
and It's seventeen years OF existence grub, than
II the real article especially imported from Asia
and the East for exhibition In America. With view
TO gathering all the information atsainabs regard
to this insect reporter was sent to visit Mr. A s.
Fuller, OF the Rural Nev Yorker. the we'll known
eutomologs and tho result OF this visit proved mex.
poctedly interesting and Instructive ~ 81
LET us SAT cicADA
Tho coming Of the seventcen.year locust In New
Jersey this year may DO DOT Of compliment TO Mr.
Fuller. VINO rcsdes In that State and takes the great
interest In the visit OF this singular 1y For many
years Mr.. Fuller has been making collection Of
beetles and othcr insects At bis Now Jersey home,
near Ridgcwood. and when no showed tho reporter
his study yesterday 1t was plain In an instant that
an entomologH had been found Al last who would
know something Of tho character and habits Of tho
"locust" worth relating.
"And FIRST OF ALL" said Mr. Fuller, ~ must protest
against the use Of tho word 'locust Al u. Tho alb
surdi,y Of calling ny locust ought to be rdiculed by
ntnl avrAR Are
sometimes, when they mislead they pernclous
Because they made humming noise, as IN Europe
the FIRST settlers America a. once said ocusts and
the name has chung to Thorn evor since. Why not call
IL cicada and be accuratef locust reality grass
hopper, but these things are only dies."
TO make this plain Mr.. Fuller went to bookcase
and taking down old volume turned to an engrav-
Ing OF real locust, which differed in every respect
from the cicadg which are swarming in tho Jcr-
soy woods and orchards.
sAlshough those seventeen-year ocusts. as prefer
10 call tem in spite OF your criticisms, have already
appeared twice within the recollection Of most
persons. there Is still widespread fear concerning
themn s4#
Scan they stingY" the reporter asked.
s4tingf certainly not,' said Mr.. Fuller, and he
laughed hearty laugh at tho chronological ignorance
Of tho world in general. listing! They haven't any.
thing to sting with, like wasp or a hornet"
sTheu they can't do the hornet busincss?' inquired
the reporter.
.sNot At ALL" and the naturalist laughed again
heartily II hts time aud thoughts fully toc-
cupied by tho melancholy subject OF bVgoogy
STORIES THE SINGING LOCUST.
"The cicad@ mover appear in any part Of the coup-
try without these stories OF their snging somebody
getting into tue newspapers. have looking for
the rcvveI Of the old bite story since their reap
pearance IN New Jersey, ana am quite II will
come yetlhe story tho boy who put locust in his
hat 10 carry home and fatally stung on the way
| am on tho lookout for that boy, can tell you"
..By tho way" continued Mr.. Fuller, new idea
seeming 10 strike HIM, 'Ihe general ignorance on
the subject OF natural history reminds OF story OF
William ". Tweed, Jr. who happened to look over
COLUMBIA College some years ago. and, secIug that
the society was 70 have capital Of $4,000, put his
own name down as one OF tho ncorporators on the
chance OF making something out It."
In this tho reporter thought the iocusts had sting
for W. NJ. T., Jr
.srhe elder Tweed, you know, took away poor old
Fitch's place from him. although the salary only
ST. 500 and The naturalist had rendered the state
valuable service and while he was preparing TO steal
squelcned this old bngologIsL"
is clcADA INJURIOUS?
CIV the cicada prove injurious 10 any way?" asked
so the fruit trees, ycs, by acarifying them. The
easily withstand their ravagcs AT tho
most, tho oaks and hckores will only be disfgurcd
but they sometimes Kill young and tender frUit
The peach 10 iavor1to Tree, and our Jcrdcy peach
growers will have TO be on the lookout Tor them"
what would you recommend as a remedy 7"
.'There is no preventing the coming Of the cicada
this time for they ara hero now but If the farmers do
not want them their orchards seventeen years from
they ought to clip on all the young branches of
'.Provding against an event that is not to happen
again Tor seventeen years s asking even Jersey
farmer Tor too much wise forethought, is IL noty'
probably; but II would be better cven now. II only
for appearance sake. TO cut off the twigs with pair
Of shears than To let the fiy scnrfy them
You believe, then, that this would be an chectua
Certainly; mono OF the cicadm have appeared ON
my place here this summer because seventeen years
ago there were no trees here
TIKI Hgoops oY THE cicADA
s'what Is the history Of this species OF ay?" the
Before you 20 into that you ought to understand
clearly that IN this country there not fewer than NJ
teen distinct broods OF the ccada although two or three
Of these broods belong TO the cdecim OF
the cicddo ssptcndccmthe thirteen year instead Of
the scvcneon-ycar ccada The seventeen-year CT
ces in tho south, although the latter appear far
north as Southern Illinois Those IN southern ILL.,
appeared last in 1872 and will appear again In
1855 The Mississippi brood OF the same variety
always appear a year earlier. Sometimes Two broods
overlap and such thing has been known MS
for the cicddn scptemdccim and the cicdda ire
d<cm appear simultaneously In tho same locality.
in 647 the seventcenyear locus,s appeared quito gen.
orally over the country, and with them the thirteen
year brood The two varieties again appeared together
IN 1868 and is calculated that they Will again APP
pear together until 2o.9 The brood oil seventeen year
cicada, which Is now appearing in Saratoga county
and both sides o the Hudson down TO Staten Island
extending cast to Now Haven, Conn., anu west across
New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, appeared in 1860
over the region OF country. According To Pro-
lessor Potter this same BROOD has occurred at North a
ven Conn., at Intervals of seventeen years since 1874
If the records these cicadas
should appear this year IN parts OF Indiana, Michigan
yiyania, North Carolina Virginia and Maryland
| DO not think, however, We eau trust en-
trely 10 tho records owing TO the over
tapping The brood which appeared on Long
Island In ls6s will again appear IN 1856. suppose,
thoii, that some OF the brood appearing staten
Island should ny over TO Long lsiand-a thing likely
10 occur--it Is evident that they would not
in 1885, but 1884, and consequently, Long Island
would cicadh al intervals OF cight and years
in tho overlappcd districts II tho thirteen. year and
The seventeen varieties should overlap they would
come still closer together"
history or THE cicADA.
"What is the history oil The cicada IN this countryfn
.Here II isn said Mr. Fuller; sgathcr 1t for your.
SELL and lie handed the reporter copy OF the
Ert, far TIM