before. In two hours they devour all the corn, wherever they settle: and oftentimes a famine ensues. At night, when they repose upon the earth, the ground is covered with them four inches deep, and more. And if a carriage goes over them, and they are mashed under foot, the smell of them is scarcely to be borne, especially when they are reduced to a state of putrefaction. They come from Circassia, Mingrelia, and Tartary: on which account the natives rejoice in a north or northeast wind; which carries them into the Black Sea, where they are intercepted and perish. The Sieur de Beauplan has afforded us a similar account of this country (the Ukraine) and of the frequent inroads of these destructive animals.---"Next to the flies let us talk of the grasshoppers, or locusts: which are here so “ numerous, that they put one in mind of the 66 Scourge of God sent upon Egypt, when he punished Pharaoh. I have seen this plague several years, one after another; particu larly in 1645, and 1646. These creatures "do not only come in legions; but in whole 66 clouds, five or six leagues in length: and generally come from Tartary, especially in 1Churchill's Collect. v. 1. p. 471, 472. "a dry spring. For Tartary and the coun"tries east of it, such as Circassia, and Min 66 grelia, are seldom free from them. These "vermin being driven by an east wind, or a "south-east wind, come into the Ukraine, "where they do much mischief; eating up "all sorts of grain and grass: so that wheresoever they come, in less than two hours "they crop all they find; which causes great "scarcity of provisions. It is not easy to 66 express their numbers; for all the air is full, " and darkened and I cannot better repre"sent their flight to you, than by comparing "it to the flakes of snow driven by the wind "in cloudy weather. And when they alight "to feed, the plains are all covered. They "make a murmuring noise as they eat and "in less than two hours they devour all close "to the ground. Then rising they suffer "themselves to be carried away by the wind, "When they fly, though the sun shines never "so bright, the air is no lighter, than when "most clouded. In June 1646, having staid in 66 a new town called Novogrod—I was asto"nished to see so vast a multitude: for it was 66 prodigious to behold them. They were "hatched here last spring: and being as yet "scarcely able to fly, the ground was all co"vered: and the air so full of them that I 66 1 could not eat in my chamber without a "candle all the houses being full of them, even the stables, barns, chambers, garrets, 66 cellars, &c. After they had consumed all "that grew in the country for a fortnight, and “having gathered strength to fly, the wind "took them up, and carried them away to do "as much mischief in another place. I have seen at night, when they sit to rest them selves, that the roads have been four inches "thick of them one upon another.By 66 the wheels of our carts, and the feet of our "horses bruising these creatures, there came "from them a stink, which not only offend-" ed the nose, but the brain. I was not able "to endure the stench; but was forced to 66 66 66 wash my nose with vinegar and to hold an handkerchief dipped in it to my nostrils perpetually.. These vermin increase " and multiply thus. They generate in Oc"tober: and with their tails make an hole "in the ground; and having laid three hund"red eggs in it, and covered them with their "feet, die for they never live above six “months and an half. And though the rains Y "should come, they would not destroy the 66 66 eggs; nor does the frost, though never so sharp, hurt them. But they continue to the "spring; which is about mid April: when "the sun warming the earth, they are hatch"ed, and leap about; being six weeks old "before they can fly. -When stronger "and able to fly, they go wherever the wind "carries them. If it should happen, that the "north-east prevails, when they first take "their flight, it carries them all into the Black "Sea. But if the wind blows from any other 66 66 quarter; they go into some other country "to do mischief.. I have been told, by persons who understand the languages well, "that these words are written in Chaldee cha"racters upon their wings, Boze Guion, the 66 Scourge of God. For the truth of which I "rely on those who told me so, and under"stand the 'language." The vast region of Asia, especially the southern part, is liable to the same calamity: as we learn from Nieuhoff, Bouvet, Le Bruyn, Russel, and others. China is particularly infested; and the natives use various means to 'Norden mentions, that there were supposed to be hiere glyphical marks upon their heads, v. 1. p. 58. obviate the evil, which is generally too powerful to be evaded. But the most fearful accounts are from Africa; where the heat of the climate, and the nature of the soil in many places, contribute to the production of these animals in astonishing numbers. The consequences are so terrible, that they would not gain belief, were it not, that authors of very different countries, and likewise of different ages, afford so particular, and uniform evidence, that it cannot be called in question. Ludolphus, speaking of the serpents with which Ethiopia abounds, adds---* “ But much more pernicious than these are the locusts: "which do not frequent the desert and sandy places, like the serpents; but the places best manured, and orchards laden with fruit. They appear in prodigious multitudes, like a thick cloud, which obscures the sun nor plants, nor trees, nor shrubs appear untouch"ed and wherever they feed, what is left appears, as it were, parched with fire. Some→ 66 66 66 66 times they enter the very bark of trees: "and then the spring itself cannot repair the damage. A general mortality ensues and regions lie waste for many years.* 'Hist. of Ethiopia, b. 1. c. xiii. p. 67. 291 * See Purchass, v. 2. book vii. c. 5. p. 1046, 7, 8. 2 |