222 



MEANS OF DESTROYING THE GRASSHOPPER. 



Fig. 1. 



In order to increase the amount collected and to facilitate the opera- 

 tion, various auxiliary devices have been contrived and put into 

 practice. 



It is the custom with us in Southern Kussia to gather both the footed 

 and the winged locusts at night with the aid of a sieve, and to throw 

 them into sacks, where they are crushed by trampling upon them or 

 by pounding them with beetles. 



In the south of France they use for this purpose a breadth of cloth. 



which is held at the corners so as to 

 form an inclined plane. By running 

 the cloth rapidly along the grass or 

 grain, the locusts are made to jump 

 or fall upon the cloth, from which 

 they are shaken off into sacks, and 

 then crushed. In this manner, ac- 

 cording to Solier, from four to six 

 ^^^^K kilograms of locusts may be cap- 

 ' tured in a day. 



In July, 1826, one Arnold Thompson, of New Hampshire, succeeded 

 in catching, in a single evening, between the hours of eight and 

 twelve^ five bushels and three pecks of locusts. The. contrivance 

 used by him was the followinsr : Havino; attached to2;ether two sheets, 

 he formed of them a sort of bag, which was fastened to a cross-pole, 

 to permit the locusts to enter into the bag, and so that two men could 

 take hold of the two ends of the pole and draw it rapidly along the 

 pj„_2. grain. From these two ends also 



two braces extended to the back 

 knot of the sack, in order that the 

 hinder end of the apparatus might 

 be held as high as possible above 

 the ground, so as not to break 

 down the grain with the knot. 

 With this apparatus the fields 

 were swept over in the evening, 

 whejithelocicsts arepet^ched quietly 

 upon the grain, in such manner 

 that the striking of the ears 

 against the edge of the sheet 

 % ;/ "^-- ^ shook off the locusts into the bag. 



''^^ ''''''''■ ■ Bulging out with the pressure of 



" "^;^::::2s£il=iS^=^ tho air, it would not suffer the 



insects to escape, but all passed on towards the knot. After moving 

 the drag rapidly a dozen rods, the braces were taken out, and the 

 sheets doubled over ; the knot was then put into a common sack, 

 and untied, and the locusts poured out. The emptied bag was again 

 tied up, and the catching proceeded. The locusts in the sack were 

 destroyed by plunging it into boiling water. 



In the year 1824 we employed in the Crimea a still more convenient 

 apparatus. To the mouth of a sack three feet and a half in length 



