480 



THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



How to Control.— The practice of fall plowing and cultivation will 

 destroy a large proportion of the hibernating insects ; this is particularly 

 true of those sections of California where the temperature falls below 

 freezing during the winter time. Thorough plowing, besides killing a 

 great many of the insects outright will turn them under so deeply that 

 they are unable to emerge the following spring. 



Grasshoppers. 



What the Insects Are. — Everyone is familiar with the work of 

 grasshoppers so that a description here is unnecessary. During the 

 late summer and early fall the grasshoppers deposit their eggs for the 

 most part in waste places, such as along ditch banks, fences, and par- 

 ticularly in the hard ground along the roadsides. The eggs are also 



Fig. 103. — The Rocky Mountain Locust Melanoplus spretus, 

 laying eggs. (After Riley.) 



deposited, to some extent, in alfalfa fields. The following spring the 

 eggs hatch and the young hoppers soon begin their devastating work. 



How to Control. — A thorough cultivation of the waste places during 

 the winter season will break up and destroy large numbers of the egg 

 pods; disking and renovating alfalfa during this season of the year 

 will not only materially benefit the alfalfa itself, but will destroy any 

 egg masses which were deposited in this location. 



Insects in Stored Seeds. 



Stored grains and other seeds, such as beans, are subject to the 

 attack of the various grain moths and weevils which, if allowed to 

 breed without interruption, will render the seed practically unsalable. 

 In a circular just issued from the College of Agriculture of the Uni- 

 versity of Missouri, by T. J. Talbert, the necessity of prompt action is 

 pointed out. The use of carbon bisulfide, which can be purchased at 

 any drug store, is recommended in this circular. The liquid, when 

 poured on rags or into shallow saucers or pans on the top of the grain, 

 rapidly forms a heavy gas, which goas down between the kernels and 

 suffocates any insects present. The bins or granaries should be as 

 tight as possible, and should be kept closed for 36 to 48 hours, while 



