5>fW 



THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



DESTROYING GRASSHOPPERS IN THE FIELDS. 



Any careful observer will soon learn that the grasshoppers breeding 

 throughout the cultivated farming areas first appear in great numbers 

 along the uncultivated ditch banks, roadsides, fence lines and check 

 ridges. It is here, then, that the farmer should at once begin to dis- 

 tribute poison and prevent these small hoppers from working their way 

 out over the entire field. At times, however, hundreds of acres of alfalfa 

 fields become so severely infested with grasshoppers that there are from 



Fig. 68. — The vagrant grasshopper, Schistocerca venusta. Slightly 

 enlarged. (After Essig, In.i. and Ben. Insects of Cal. ) 



one hundred to five hundred of the pests to the square yard. In such 

 instances there is often a complete destrw-tion of the crops in the areas 

 over which the grasshoppers have fed. In the- first place, a farmer 

 should never allow such a condition to develop, but if it does exist, 

 immediate treatment of the entire field is necessary. If, however, the 

 infestation is hardly severe enough to warrant spreading poisons over 

 the entire field, the alfalfa of alternating lands may be cut, thereby 

 crowding the grasshoppers onto the uncut portions or strips, where 

 they may be effectively poisoned by a small expenditure of money and 

 labor. 



MIXING THE POISON. 



The following formula has been found very effective in destroying 

 grasshoppers : 



Paris green 1 lb. 



Molasses (cheap black strap) 2 qts. 



Lemons l doz. 



Water 4 gals. 



Bran 25 lbs. 



Mix the above materials as follows: Stir thoroughly the Paris green, 

 molasses and water first. Grind the lemons in a meat grinder and add 

 to this liquid. Then slowly pour the mixed solution over the bran 

 and stir thoroughly until an even mixture is secured. 



