Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/803

COCKCHAFER COCKERELL 787 constructing a kind of lodge, smoothly lined by some glutinous silky substance thrown from the mouth ; in this it is changed into a pupa or nymph, casting off its skin, displaying through the new envelope the parts of the perfect in- sect. In the month of February the cock- chafer pierces this envelope, and three months afterward makes its appearance during the night in its final form. The ravages committed by these larva? are often as extensive as those of the locust tribe. According to Kirby and Spence, they destroy whole acres of grass by devouring the roots, undermine the richest meadows, and eat the roots of wheat and other grains, and those of young trees ; in England, Ireland, and France whole crops have been repeatedly destroyed by them. They are equ'ally destructive in their perfect state. Du- ring the month of May they come forth from the ground, whence they have been called May bugs and May beetles. They are sometimes called also dor bugs. They pass the greater part of the day in a quiet state, attached to the branches and leaves of trees ; as evening Cockchafer. approaches, they become active, buzzing about from tree to tree in search of food, and for the purpose of pairing. Their flight is dull, heavy, and irregular ; they fall against objects in their way with a force which often brings them to the ground ; they continue their flight till about midnight, and they frequently fly in at the window, being attracted and bewildered by the light of a lamp. In the "Philosophical Transactions " for 1697, it is stated that a few years before they were so numerous in Galway, Ireland, that they filled the hedges and trees, clinging to each other like swarms of bees, and when flying darkening the air like a cloud ; in a short time all the foliage for miles around was consumed, and the trees in midsummer were as bare as in winter. Mouffet, in his "History of Insects," says that in 1574 so many cockchafers were driven into the river Severn that the wheels of the mills were stopped. To check these ravages many meth- ods have been employed, but nature has pro- vided better means in the numerous animals and birds which feed upon them. In America there are several melolonthians, whose ravages are nearly as great as those of the European cockchafer. The most common is the May beetle (phyllophaga quercina, Knoch). This is of a chestnut-brown color, smooth, and finely covered with little impressed dots ; each wing case has two or three slightly elevated longitudinal lines ; the breast is clothed with a yellowish down ; its length is about nine tenths of an inch. The perfect insect feeds on the leaves of trees, particularly on those of the cherry. It flies at night in May and June, and often enters houses, attracted by the light. The grub is a white worm with a brownish head, and when fully grown is nearly as thick as the little finger ; it devours the roots of grass and other plants, in some cases complete- ly undermining the turf; it is,.in turn, greedily eaten by crows and domestic fowls, and the skunk is very fond of the full-grown insects. The best way to get rid of them is to shake the trees in the morning, when they do not attempt to fly, and collect them on cloths spread below ; they should then be thrown into boiling water to kill them, when they may be given as food to swine. This insect is also called dor bug. There are several other species of melolonthians in America, va- rying in size from seven tenths to nine tenths of an inch, all nocturnal in their habits, and more or less injurious to gardens, nurseries, and orchards ; they also devour the leaves of many forest trees. COCKE, an E. county of Tennessee, bounded N. W. by the Nolichucky river; area, about 270 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 12,458, of whom 1,274 were colored. It borders on North Caro- lina, and is traversed by French Broad and Big Pigeon rivers. The surface is mountainous and well wooded. Iron or Smoky mountain, on the S. E. border, is the principal range. It is traversed by the Cincinnati, Cumberland Gap, and Charleston railroad. The chief pro- ductions in 1870 were 79,007 bushels of wheat, 388,867 of Indian corn, 45,259 of oats, and 88,263 Ibs. of butter. There were 1,994 horses, 2,830 milch cows, 4,866 other cattle, 9,730 sheep, and 19,297 swine. Capital, Newport. COCKER, Edward, an English arithmetician, born about 1632, died about 1675. He was long supposed to be the author of the cele- brated arithmetical work called by his name, but an attempt has been made to transfer its authorship to another. Cocker was an en- graver as well as a teacher of writing and arithmetic. He is said to have published 14 books of exercises in penmanship, some of which were engraved on silver plates. He excelled as a calligrapher, and Evelyn asserts that his style rivalled that of the Italians. COCKERELL, Charles Robert, an English archi- tect, born in London, April 27, 1788, died in 1863. In 1811-'12 he excavated, with Baron Haller and others, the ruins of the temple of Jupiter in JEgina, and that of Apollo near Phigalia in Arcadia, the antiquities of the former being transferred to the British mu- seum, and of the latter to the museum of