268 Kansas Academy of Science. 



Inspection of other cotton fields bordering the bayou dis- 

 closed the fact that the ravages committed by the grasshoppers 

 were far less severe than in the first field, the damage being 

 mainly confined to plants standing nearest to the heavily in- 

 fested weedy banks. These observations tended to modify the 

 prospect of a very serious situation with respect to extent of 

 injuries. Nevertheless the hordes of young hoppers occurring 

 in the weeds were looked upon as presenting a threatening at- 

 titude of danger, owing to their liability to spread into the 

 fields, particularly on acquiring wings. Altogether the owner 

 claimed that he had lost from his stands of cotton enough 

 plants to cover eight acres. 



On visiting the farm of the planter who first called for as- 

 sistance, whose place adjoined the town of Oscar, situated at a 

 distance of several miles in a northeasterly direction from 

 the station on the railroad, the grasshoppers were found to be 

 swarming in the weeds on roadsides, along ditch banks and 

 fences, and throughout weedy areas extending over hundreds 

 of acres of surrounding uncultivated fields. All of the country 

 that had been overflowed was said to be similarly infested with 

 the hoppers, this assertion being sustained by the statements 

 of neighboring planters who had gathered for a conference. 



The conditions on this place were declared to be fairly repre- 

 sentative of most plantations in the district. With one or two 

 partial exceptions, none of the planters had ever before ex- 

 perienced such an occurrence of the insects. 



The invasion of fields with growing crops was looked upon 

 with considerable alarm, particularly as the depredations com- 

 mitted by the insects on corn had already caused a general 

 ragged appearance of the leaves, as was observed in the im- 

 mediate field. Cowpeas that had started to grow between the 

 com rows were being rapidly consumed. Many of the grains 

 on the heads of maturing oats plants, also growing on the 

 plantation, were found to be gnawed and ruined, and the 

 growth of lespedeza, which had gained a good start following 

 the oats, was being fed upon to a perceptible extent. Despite 

 the abundance of the grasshoppers in the latter field, the pests 

 seemed to prefer the weeds rather than the crop plants, yet 

 the problem remained to be faced as to what amount of 

 harm the insects might do to the lespedeza after the harvest- 

 ing of the oats, when the weeds would likewise be cut. In a 



