In the vicinity of the German colonies, few snakes are now seen ; but in the more remote parts of the steppe there are still districts in which they abound to such a degree, that no herdsman will venture to drive his cattle there.
The snake, however, is an enemy of little moment when compared to a small insect that visits the steppe from time to time, and often marks its presence by the most fearful devastation. This insect is the locust. It is sometimes not heard of for several years in succession, and then again it shows itself, more or less, every season for four or five years together. When the German colonists first came into the country, about thirty years ago, the locusts had not been heard of for many years. There were two species of them known to exist, but they lived hke other insects, multiplied with moderation, and were never spoken of as objects of dread. About 1820 it was first observed that the locusts had become decidedly more numerous. In 1824 and 1825 they began to be troublesome ; but in 1828 and 1829 they came in such enormous clouds, that they hid the sun, destroyed the harvests, and in many places left not a trace of vegetation behind them. The poor colonists were in despair, and many of them thought the Day of Judgment must be at hand. They applied for advice as to what they oug-ht to do, but their Russian and Tartar neighbours could suggest nothing, the oldest among them having no recollection of such scenes of devastation, though they remembered to have heard of similar calamities as havingoccurred in the days of their fathers. Under these circumstances, the Germans set their wits to work, and devised a system of operation, by means of which many a field was rescued from the devouring swarms. In 1830^ 1831, and 1832, the locusts continued to honour Bessarabia and the rest of Southern Russia witli their presence, but not in such appalling masses as during the two preceding years. In 1833 the damage done by them was comparatively trifling ; and since 1 834 they have ceased altogether to show themselves in swarms.
The colonists have established for themselves a kind of locust police. Whoever first sees a swarm approaching is bound to raise an immediate alarm, and to give the earliest possible information to the schidze, who immediately orders out the whole village, and every man, woman, and child, comes forth, armed with bells, tin kettles, guns, pistols, drums, whips, and whatever other noisy instraments they can lay their hands on. A frightful din is then raised, which often has the effect of scaring away the swarm, and inducing it to favour some quieter neighbourhood with its presence. When the Empress of Russia visited Odessa in 1828, she had an opportunity of seeing a swarm of locusts scared away from M. Reynaud's garden, by a i)arty armed only with drums.
If the locusts have an aversion to noise, they are still greater enemies to smoking, against which Royal James himself did not entertain a morc