Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-06-27

CHICAGO Special to the New York World, June 81.
The much-dreaded seventeen-year locusts have
arrived on time. and dispatches from all sections
OF Illinois and Iowa show that the air is full of
them. The first invasion that created consterna-
ton was In 1854, and again seventeen years later
In 1877, the pest made It's appearance with1ncreased
numbers. The insect now comes to time lust as
expected, and the farmers are Mortified at the
overwhelming army OF ruthless plunderers that
huns and sings about their ears waiting calmly
for the crops TO get in condition to be eaten
visitor and his appearance Is predicted with pre-
cisely the same certainty as the planets In their
orbits The entomolOgists all know him inti-
mately, and have never made mistake In putting
their fingers on the year when the pest will make
its appearance. The seventeen-year locust is q
large Insect, which Is born. lives and dies without
pearance in bingham County, III They came
from the ground In such numbers that the holes
OF perforations ous Of which they came were 50
show ths clesn.cut holes Of the the t mUSic
Surface e'unS the for SaySh Rsaens the
fully felt its way to the frst perpendicular object
weed. shrub, bush or trunk OF tree. Crawling up
distance OF to inches, its feet were glued fast
10 whatever It was clingng, and then OF a SUDDEN
and sometimes with disttnguishable sound u space
OF over an inch opened along the back. and out OF
THIS soon came the full winged locust, prepared to
ny, to sing and TO die. the timber tracts were the
homes OF the ephemeral visitors, and their united
song was painfully monotonOus, varied only by
cadences or rise or luli In the breeze While eat.
Ing nothing themselves, except foliage and tender
parts OF shoots OF trees and shrubs they were
nevertheless, eaten with avidity by hogs. II did
not take much Imagination TO discover well-de.
lined letter "W" on the wings OF these locusts at
That time and, by the wiseacres OF the day, that
was interpreted TO be asgn OF war before the next
locust coming
The female locust Is supplied with 'chisel, I"
and Is also born with knowledge Of how to use It.
Inc 'chise" or sting, as some called IL in those
Gays, was a half inch In length, attached 10 the
under part OF the body and extending backward.
IL was the size OF stout needle, nearly as hard,
ana terminated In a sharp point. Taking position
on the under side OF the twig selected for
Ing. the locust would shack up" until an incisiOn
was made downward and inward nearly q half
incn; then, moving far enough ahead for another,
IL was made In the same way, and so ON to the
END OF the tw1g with almost mechanical precision.
Inc eggs deposited were oval-oblong In shape,
white In color, and about the size OF clover seed.
Under the invasion OF foreign substances the twigs
Ole and break on. While on the ground the lava
match from the eggs and crawl Into the ground,
where they thrive and grow for seventeen years.
Reaching maturity, the pupa energies from the
ground, climns up the nearest tree or shrub and
attaches itself TO the bark. Then It's back splits
open, and the winged insect works its way out "a
noerty, leaving the nfeless case attached 70 the
| snruo. Within an hour or two from the time the
bug crawls out OF the ground and up tree the
locust Is In perfect shape TO begin Its work OF de-
| struction. The insects hatch out In the evening
| usually, and when the farmer wakes up In the
morning he nnds his fields, orchards and crops COW
| cred with them. They are numberiess, and there
| u no use 70 try to night them.