Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/512

 I take Uiis opportunity, also, of woniiug paleon- Eulogiau Hcalnat Ibc acceptancs of the numerous new species, which, without either descripUoa or proper ciiaparisoD, are claimed b; Dr. Meyer.

ANOELO HBn.PRlN.

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���Od the morning of Oct. 12, 1B84, when I chanced to be Id Vii^inia, uear Cliftoii station on the Midland railroad, my attention was attracted by hearing at some distance the charactarlatlc, and to me perfectly familiar, note of the periodical cicada (C. septen- decim). Regarding this a» a somewhat novel occtir-

- ce at that time, 1 decided to investigate it. and at a proceeded in the direction from which the sound emanated. Though the notes were, as usual, inter- mpled by short Intervals, I found it easy to correct my direction with each recurrence of the sound, and was soon at the foot of some small oaks In which the insects were located. There were at least tliree males, and the interval between the notes was quite short, I stationed myself umler one of the trees, and care- folly locoled the spot from which the sound of one of Uie insects proceeded. Although it was not pos- sible, from any position I could assume, to see the in- sect itself, hidden as it was in the dense foliage, and at the height of some twenty feet, yet I soon knew within a few square feet the precise part of the tree occupied by it. I remained some Qtteeu minutes listening to the peculiar murr-i^r-r-r-row with which I had been deeply Impressed when a boy (1854 or 1855) In my native state (Illinois) at the time of the great swarm that left Its withering blight on alt the vegetation, but wlilch I have since heard for days together as late as 1S73. 1 think all who are really familiar with this sound will agree with me that It has no counterpart in the whole range of sound- producing creatures. The body of the note lasts, on an average, about two seconds, upon a uniform key, when, without being interrupted, the pitch rapidly drops, with wliat musicians call a ' slur, for, as near as I can judge, a full octave or more, and the note abruptly terminates. This peculiar termlnalion is difficult to detect where the trees are full of the sing- ing Insects, but it is always present; and in Uils case it was clearly marked, affording me a fine opportunity for studying the phases of the note, and timing its length. Had I been an enloiaologlsl^ and aware how anomalous this occurrence was, I should doubtless have persisted until I had secured a specimen, and should have searched for exuviae, etc.; but as 1 felt abiiolutely certain as to what I heard, and did not know but that it might be a somewhat ordinary occurrence, I merely made a note of the facts, and leisurely left the spot.

Several days afterwards, happening Co be in conver- sation with Prof. C. V. Kiley, I casually mentioned the circumstance as a fact In his line, fully expecting him to reply that it was no very unusual thing. To my great surprise, he pronounced it impossible, and wholly discredited the accuracy of my observation. He said I must have beard some other species of cicada; and, when lasked him what other specieshad a note precisely like that of the periodical one, he could do no better than to name the common harvest, fly (Cicada pruinosa), the sharp, shrill note of which was also perfectly familiar to me, and so different that I could no more confound It with the other than I could the chirp of a sparrow with the cooing of a

��dove. My attempts to convince him by describing the sound were as ineffective as though I had been speaking to one who was himself unfamiliar with it. Having the courage of my convictions, I made hold, on the first opportunity, to lay the subject before a Washington scientific body in the form of a verbal statement of the case, whereupon the learned profes- sor surprised me, not only by no longer positively gainsaying It, but by propounding a theory aooonling to which he admitted the poBSibility of my observa- tion having been correct. His theory was, that, owing to the exceptional heat of the latter part of that sea- son, a tew of the brood of 18S5 which were nearest the surface might have l>een prematurely brought out the autumn before. This seemeil very reasoniu ble to me, and I promptly (and seriously) congratu- lated Professor Riley on having discovered a tb«ory to explain my fact.

Here I supposed the matter was to reat: aiid hers it did rest until a few days ago, when to my further surprise, at the close of an exceedingly interesting paper which Professor Kiley read before the same so- ciety, nn the brood of cicadas which has just appeared, he took occasion lo bring up the subject of my Vir- ginia observation, and to pronounce it utterly n-orth- less, and the occurrence impossible as contrary to all the canons of entomology. On being reminded of bis own theory, above stated, which be seemed to have forgotten, he could not disclaim It, and vlrtoaUT renewed It, leaving himself In the position of both denying and admitting the possibility of the erect.

1 do not make these statements with it view to arousing a controversy, but solely in the hope that some of your many observant readers may be able to confirm and perfect the confessedly incomplete record which I hereby make of this singular Incident.

I will, however, venture a suggestion drawn from a field with which I am better acouainted. The theory of Professor Riley might, I think, be greatly sirengiii- Bued by facts derived from plants. The effect of a protracted warm spell in autumn upon the vegetation of this climate has been the subject of invesiigation on my part for a series of years; and the autumnal flowering of strictly vernal species is b fact attested by a score or more of species, most of which have beea recorded and published. It is not contrary to the canons of botany, but consonant to a rational under- standing of causes and effects. .4nd why should not. slmilarcauseeproducesimilareffects on Insects? Par one, Icannotdoubt that they doso; and lam asflrmly convinced now, as I was at the time, that the sound 1 heard proceeded from veritable seventeen -year locusts that were thus prematurely brought from their long subterranean dungeons Into the genial sunlight ot that wann October day. Lesteb F. Wakd.

��The recent Chicago atorm and the Bun-BJoir.

The telegraph reports a very violent thimder-stonD at Chlci^io during the night of June 3; the ligbtnlug striking many buildings, and causing the loss of five lives. 1 was In Chicago during a part of Monday, June 1. At that time the reddish glow around the sun which I have recently described in yoiircolumns, was almost as Intense as I have ever seen it even in Colorado. In Colorado any great increase in the depth of lint of the circumsolar glow portends a fall in temperature with conditions favorable for coM electrical slorma. The rule would seem to be about the same at Chicago, though the Great Lakes may lend to prevent the formation of hall near them.

Q. H. STo:fs.

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