EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 207 



of brown. In our State the pellucid and lesser migratory locusts some- 

 times work together, the most serious of the Michigan outbreaks being 

 brought about in this way. 



The life-history of our native hoppers is quite simple. There is but 

 one generation each year, the young coming out in May or June. When 

 first out of the eggs, the little creatures are so small that they easily 

 escape detection, but as time goes on, and they become larger, they 

 require so much food that their work becomes noticeable. When full- 

 grown, the grasshoppers lay their eggs in pods in the soil, selecting dry 

 situations in sod where possible. They like old slashings, lanes, etc 

 The eggs are laid in pods of twenty or thirty, each pod being coated with 

 a thin covering of brittle material which consists of dried mucus ejected 

 with the eggs. This covering is waterproof. It is replaced at the upper 

 end by a plug of frothy material through which the young can make 

 their way in the spring. The egg pods are placed in the soil or among 

 the grass roots, never more deeply than the length of the mother's abdo- 

 men. 



REMEDIES. 



Three methods of combating grasshoppers are feasible in Michigan, 

 each being suited to its own conditions. Other methods are practical 

 elsewhere but do not seem to com.mend themselves in our State. 



Fall 2)lowing. — This is most 'efficient where it is possible at all. Plow 

 the egg-pods under, burying some, and breaking open others so that 

 moisture can get in, and exposing still others to the attacks of their 

 enemies, — birds, shrews, etc. 



Poisoned halts. — The second method is that of poisoned baits. Use 

 either poisoned bran or the Criddle mixture. Poisoned bran can be used 

 only in situations where stock and poultry are excluded. Neither should 

 they be used where partridge and quail are likely to feed. It is merely 

 bran poisoned with paris-green or arsenic, two pounds of paris-green to 

 twenty -five of bran, moistened with water and a little molasses, so that 

 the bran will just stick together when taken up with a spoon. 



Criddle mixture is horse-manure mixed with arsenic and slightly 

 salted. It is to be distributed about the fields in small masses. We 

 all know of the fondness of grasshoppers for anything containing salt. 

 They will even roughen fork handles in their efforts to get at the salt 

 deposited on them with the perspiration. This mixture is recommended 

 in Canada and in some of the western states. The proportions are 

 about as follows: Paris-green, one pound; salt, two pounds; fresh 

 horse-droppings, 100 pounds. The horse-droppings are usually measured 

 out in a three-gallon pail. Five pailfuls being taken as the right amount 

 for one pound of the poison. The salt is dissolved in a pail of water, 

 the poison stirred in, and the whole mixed with the droppings in a 

 half barrel. The writer has not had an opportunity to test this bait as 

 yet, but if it turns out to be as effective as some have claimed, it should 

 be preferable to bran, because of its comparative safety, if for no other 

 reason. 



Eop'perdozers. — A hopperdozer is a long, shallow pan of sheet-iron, 

 set on runners and having behind it a banner or sail made of canvas or 

 muslin stretched on a wooden frame. The bottom of the pan is covered 

 with rags or old carpet, previously wetted with water. When all is 



