Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-08-21

the waters edge and begin jumping IN,
one upon another, until they pontooned
the stream, so as to effect a crossing.
Two of these mighty hosts also met, one
moving east and the other west, on the
river bluff in the same locality, and,
both turning their course together down
ward from a perpendicular cliff thirty
feet high, they passed over 1t in sheet
six or seven inches thick, causing a roar
ing noise like that of cataract of water.
1t is related on excellent authority that
they have been seen to swim over the
Dneister River in Europe for stretch Of
one and quarter miles in layers more
than half foot thick.
For the purpose of instructing the far
mer as to methods by which he may fight
this interesting pest the Department Of
Agriculture is now issuing an elaborate
report on the grasshopper, which is
scientifically known as the "locust." In
the first place, the pamphlet gives de-
tailed information regarding the manner
in which the insect is propagated. The
female, when about TO lay her eggs,
makes hole in the ground with the
horny extremity of her abdomen, the pro-
cess being a sort OF drilling. In this
way she is able within few moments to
dig deep enough to bury nearly the
whole of her hinder part in the earth.
This accomplished she permits to exude
from the tip of her body a quantity Of
mucous matter, which fills up the bot
tom of the hole. In the secretion thus
prepared she lays ono egg. Then she
deposits some more mucous and another
erg, continuing in this fashion until sac
has completed her clay which consists
of about twenty eggs, the mucous matter
binding them all in mass. Eaouga OF
the same material is put in finally to fill
up the neck of the burrow, which is thus
rendered more or less imperyious to
water.
The egg: of the locust arc not thrust
Unfortunately in the hole made for
their reception. On the contrary, the
female takes great pains in arranging
them so as to economic space and also
to facilitate the escape of the young
when they come to be batched. They
are placed side by side in four rows,
each row usually containing seven. Each
egg has very tough covering, so that a
very strong pressure between ones thumb
and finger is required to break it, and it
might seem quite pulling how the en-
bryo. which fills it so compactly that
there is scarcely room for motion, sue
ceeds in making its escape from such a
prison. The brittle she'll OF the birl's
egg is easily cracked by the beak OF its
tenant; the Matching caterpillar, curled
within its little tenement, has space
enough to move its jaws and eat its way
out the egg coverings of many insects
are so delicate that the mere swelling of
the occupant affords means OF
release; those of others arc
so constructed that door flies
open or lid lifts by spring whenever
pressure IS brought to bear; in some the
little creature is furnished with special
apparatus called the egg buster, the use
of which is TO cut or rupture the shell.
But the young locust has no such con
trivances and so nature provides that
warmth and moisture shall decompose
the material Of its inclosing walls, thus
enabling the embryo to secure its free
dom by the AID of its muscular efforts
aud the swelling of its body. The whole
process may, in fact, be likened to the
termination Of hard.coyerei seed. All
the eggs in one egg mass burst very
nearly at the same time, the lowermost
individuals awaiting the escape of those
above, which first push their way out a:
the neck OF the burrow.
Once on the surface of the ground the
newborn insect rests for few minutes.
It's limbs are still limp and it is yet
cuveloped in very delicate film, which
is presently split along the back, worked
off behind and finally kicked from the
hind feet in little white crumpled
pellet Though pale and colorless when
first freed from this inclosing pellicle,
the full-born locust is at once capable of
considerable activity, and IN the course
Of an hour it assumes its natural color
ing. So long as there is plenty of food
in the neighborhood where they sec the
light the young insects remain almost
stationary. But as soon as the edible
supply is exhausted they begin to
migrate, frequently in body mile
wide, devouring as they advance all the
grass, grain and garden truck in their
path. They travel in armies, to no par.
ticular point of the compass, but merely
in search of food, the same body of them
one day often pursuing different route
from that followed the day previous. A
person going along road may often see
one army marching in one direction on
the right side, while another marches in
the opposite direction on the left side.
Sometimes two armies going in different
directions will cross one another, the in
dividuals of each keeping to their own
course and presenting singular spec