272 Kansas Academy of Science. 



friends, if inhabiting the country at all, would naturally have 

 been expected to congregate from miles around to feast on the 

 grasshoppers. In reality, not even the few birds that did show 

 themselves in the fields appeared to pay the least attention to 

 the hoppers. 



Though the efforts so far made for repression of the pests 

 had proved to be of little avail, the facing of this situation 

 still left hope for a resort to other measures. Considering that 

 reoccurrences of the grasshoppers in destructive numbers 

 might be possible during the following year or two, if not 

 longer, unless some practical means could be applied to check 

 any outbreak, an appeal was again referred to the Federal Bu- 

 reau of Entomolog>% proposing the introduction of a fungus 

 disease, providing this plan would be considered feasible. This 

 proposition M^as based on the fact that the fungus under favor- 

 able conditions has attacked and killed grasshoppers in trials 

 made of it as reported in the publication cited farther ahead. 

 The matter, however, did not reach the attention of the chief 

 f^ntomologist, Dr. L. O. Howard, until July 18, when he wrote 

 that hy had requested Dr. John R. Mohler, of the Bureau of Ani- 

 mal Industry, to sond a tube of culture of the South African 

 fungus. Doctor How^ard remarked that, "Possibly, in the 

 moist climate of Louisiana, the fungus will be of some effect.'" 



At the time of receiving the culture, on August 4, word had 

 come to hand from Mr. J. L. Webb stating that the planter had 

 recently written that his corn had not suffered greatly from the 

 grasshoppers, which, in fact, had mostly disappeared. Yet a 

 visit to the locality was planned for the purpose of making an 

 im.mediate trial of the fungus in case enough insects would be 

 found to justify an introduction of the disease. The manner 

 of procedure was adopted in accordance with directions given 

 in an article entitled "Experimental work with fungus diseases 

 of grasshoppers," by Dr. L. O. Howard, appearing in Year- 

 book of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, for 1901, pp. 459- 

 470. 



After preparing the culture on the morning of August 6, and 

 keeping it in a warm place until evening, it was then corked in 

 a wide-mouthed bottle and carried in this way to the field on the 

 following morning. However, no growth of the fungus had 

 appeared on the floating corks, but its absence was thought to 

 be due to agitation of the contents produced by carrying the 



