The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-06-20

life and make no noise IN the World.
This song is made up of one long
drawn.out note, shrill but soft at first,
gradually increasing in its crescendo,
and maintained for a few seconds,
when it gradually loses its force and
subsidies into O low note until it is
heard no more, until, at an interval
of minute or so, it begins again, and
so continues the whole day long.
This sound is the effect of vibrat-
ing septum drawn tightly over frame
like semi-g -globular drum, or, in fact,
a pair of them, under the wings of the
insect, and this membrane, acted
upon probably by air drawn in and
forced out of the drum, makes the
strident sound uttered by this insect.
This sound is the effect of several hun
dred vibrations of the parchment-like
septum per second. 1t may be bear
able by strong nerves when there are
but a few in the concert, but when
there are millions in it, and the per-
formers occupy every branch and twig
of every tree and bush for miles
around, the hubbub is indescribable,
except as sound that shakes the
ground and pervsdes the whole air,
drowning ones voice and deafening the
ear. Fortunately, it comes but once
in seventeen years.
It's last appearance was in 1877, when
it extended from Troy, on the Hud-
son, through Connecticut, New Jer-
sey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the
District of Columbia. 1t has again
returned in due time, has completed
its term of imprisonment and come to
perpetuate its race and revisit the
scenes of it's birth. For it has not
been far away. It has been quietly
feeding upon the roots of the apple
and the oak trees, probably never
straying from its first selected tree,
doing no harm, but fulfilling It's curl
GUS purpose in nature of making up
for seventeen years of silence by q
terrible din when it gets the chance.
And then it dies happy.
It is a stout-bodied insect, with
broad gauzy wings, as may be seen in
the illustration. It is far better look
ing in its few days of maturity than in
its previous stage, in which it is q
honely grub or IN ugly pupa. But it
has the advantage of being well be.
haved and q modest, silent creature,
strictly devoted to its own business,
which is to burrow in the ground for
seventeen long years. During this
time it crawls along the roots of the
trees, to which 1t attaches itself, pune
turing them and sucking the sap. 1t
has not been certainly known that the
locust do any serious damage, although
a we'll known entomologist, a lady,
discovered them quite numerously in
a pear tree, which had been dug up on
account of it's mysterious failure to
grow, and her report states that "the
larvae of this insect were found ID
countless numbers on the roots, en-
gagged in sucking the sap, and twenty:
three were taken from root yard
long and On inch in diameter" But
as it has not been found that any
special local injury is apparent IN
places where they appear in great num-
bers, this case may be taken as excep'
tional. Doubtless the moles in their
burrowing find and devour them in
great numbers and thus keep them IN
safe subsection.
The grubs stay near the surface, no'
descending more than six or eight feet,
making circuitous burrows with thell