REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTAXIST 185 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



nearly all in the pupal condition, and that in every case these had been broken in some 

 way ; and tlie oiliness was apparently due to the fat of the body running between the 

 two halves of the pea and saturating the skin. If it be found by others that peas can 

 be thieshed with horses conveniently and that they get peas which are worth five cents 

 a bushel more, which is the price offered by Mr. Nilcs in his last circular to growers, 

 this may be an inducement to thresli at once and not wait for the threshing machine. 



Substitute Crops. — In those localities where the cultivation of peas has been aban- 

 doned, there is a constant demand for advice as to the best similar cro]-) to grow as a 

 substitute. Of the leguminous or nitrogen-collecting plants, perhaps the most popular 

 is the pea-like plant known by the name of the Grass Pea, or Chickling Vetch 

 (Lctlhi/1'us sativus, L.). This has b(!en largely grown and has, given considerable satis- 

 faction in certain sections. It is not favoured by the grain merchants, because there is 

 no demand for it for export ; but, when grown for feed, it has given such satisfaction 

 that in some counties of western Ontario it is used for all purposes for which field peas 

 were formerly grown. It is also claimed to give a crop of excellent seed entirely free 

 from the Pea Weevil, of from 10 to 30 bushels to the acre. The season of 1902 v/as 

 not at all suited to the best development of this plant, but it should not for this reason 

 be condenmed. Messrs. John A. Bruce &. Co., of Hamilton, Ont., who have handled 

 much of this grain, inform me that ' the Grass Pea has been grown to a limited extent 

 in Wentworth, Lincoln and Haldimand for half a century or more, and the acreage has 

 been largely increased the past three seasons, from its having been grown as a substitute 

 for the field pea. This increased interest is due to the fact of its being bug-proof. The 

 crop in this vicinity is a comparative failure this season. There was an abundance of 

 vine but few peas.' This was a pretty g^heral report from all sections, and, as stated 

 above, the field crops in some places were attacked late in the season by the Destructive 

 Pea Aphis. Other leguminous crops which may be grown instead of peas are tares or 

 vetches, and various kinds of clover. Early varieties of Soja Bean have also given 

 good results, and Mr. Zavitz, of the Ontario Agricultural College, strongly recommends 

 farmers to grow the grain which formerly was grown in Canada under the name of 

 Speltz, but which is now designat.ed by its proper name of Emmer. 



LOCUSTS. 



Locusts or grasshoppers appeared again in Manitoba in the same districts as during 

 the past two years, but, owing to the season, except in certain districts as around Sewell, 

 the injury was not excessive. They appeared early in May, and Mr. H. IMcKellar, who 



is well informed on the subject, at once published 

 articles in all the Winnipeg newspapers, advising 

 farmers in infested localities what to do to counteract 

 their attacks. Later in the year the cz"op of the pro- 

 -4iS:» "^'i^ce was so enormous that little was heard of tlieir 

 depredations, at the same time, where careful observations 



' TJ''e(f Locust °'" ^^^' '^^'^^'^ made, it was abundantly evident that Manitoban 



farmers will require to be on the alert and be prepared 

 in ordinary years to follow the example of those farmers who have saved their crops in 

 the worst districts by practising the methods which have been advised. Mr. Norman 

 Criddle, of Aweme, has continued his experiments in the use of poisoned mixtures. His 

 experience during the past season in improving these is of so much importance to 

 farmers who may have their crops attacked by locusts, that I reproduce in full a valu- 

 able report which he has sent me. This is equally ai)plicable in Manitoba and in the 

 other provinces. Considerable injury was done by grasshoppers in some sections of 

 Ontario in 1902, and I would earnestly urge Ontario farmers to try the Criddle mixture 

 described below, should these insects again appear next year. I have seen on several 

 occasions the beneficial effects of this tieatment and commend it most heartily. It 

 should be applied promptly on the first appearance of grasshoppers in undue numbers. 



