47 



In the next issue of t}ie Prairie Farmer (June 5th) a further account is given of the 

 locust ravages, as follows :— 



" Though in many localities the locusts have begun to try their wings, they do not 

 yet seem ready for a prolonged or general flight. They seem to fly short distances in all 

 directions, though we hear little of encroachments on new ground to the eastward. A few 

 days more will settle the question as to direction and probable damage. All we know 

 now is that in Missouri there is already considerable suffering among the people. A 

 meeting was held at Independence on the 31st. From all portions of the county there 

 came sad accounts of suffering. A relief committee was appointed. From Lexington we 

 hear that the locusts are still at work, with no immediate prospect of leaving. A com- 

 mittee for relief purposes has been appointed. At Fort Scott, Kansas, the pests are re- 

 ported as on the wing for the north-west. At Olathe they are moving northward. We 

 have few particulars from Nebraska, but from what we do hear, conclude that there is 

 little cause for alarm. The same may be said of Minnesota. In Nebraska, however, 

 there is developing disease among the people, resulting from the privations of the pa.st few 

 months. Scurvy prevails to a considerable extent." 



The July " Monthly Report of the Department of Agriculture " at Washington gives 

 a record of the plague of locusts, from which we gather the following : — 



" They appeared in several counties of Minnesota. Blue earth off'ered a bounty for their 

 destruction. About 20,000 bushels were collected and destroyed at a cost of $32,000, 

 without perceptibly diminishing their numbers." They were very destructive in three other 

 counties, but were comparatively innocuous in the rest from which reports had come. In 

 Iowa, Montgomery County had a very destructive visitation in the western part, the great- 

 est injury being to the corn crop. They are also noted in eight other counties. In Mis- 

 souri they did serious damage in several of the counties mentioned in the preceding 

 month's report. " They swept away all the crops in Clay County ; in Carroll they chewed 

 tobacco." In Texas they were injurious to the cotton-plant. In Kansas they inflicted a 

 very serious amount of damage ; in three counties, three-fourths of the crops were de- 

 stroyed ; they were " very bad " in fourteen more counties ; while lighter visitations were 

 reported from six others. In Nebraska they are reported as more or less injurious in 

 thirteen counties. 



After this the various records show a brighter state of things, the numerous ravages 

 already referred to proviug, in many instances, much less serious than was at first appre- 

 hended. A correspondent of the Prairie Farmer, writing from Johnson County, Nebraska, 

 on the 29th of July, states that " the grasshoppers hatched and commenced eating the 

 wheat on April 28th, and stayed with us until June 13th. Tiiey commenced flying when 

 the wind was north-west, and contiiuied to fly up to the 27th of June — some days partly 

 in clouds that could be seen when three miles off", but they did not light much in our 

 county. As to wheat, there may be one-third of a crop of inferior quality, but potatoes 

 and grass never looked better. If nothing happens to the corn, it will be the largest crop 

 raised in the county." Another correspondent from the same State, writing a fortnight 

 later, says : " We have splendid prospects for crops of all kinds planteil since the gra.ss- 

 hoppers left. Most of our small grain has been harvested, threshed and marketed by the 

 grasshoppers, and so far we have not received an) returns ; but we have the best j)rairie 

 grass I ever saw. If the frost holds off' as late as usual, we shall have a large quantity of 

 corn and buckwheat." The "Monthly Report " from Washington, for August and Sep 

 terabcr, mentions locust ravages in a few counties of the States of Minnesota, Iowa, Mis- 

 souri, Kansas and Nebraska, but notices a great decrease in the reported devastations. 

 "The pest," it states, " is evidently declining vcrj- fast, and the earnest hopes of a cessa- 

 tion of their ravages expressed by our correspondents appear to have a solid foundation 

 in facts." The very perceptible reduction in the extent of the plague is attributed to the 

 immense development of parasites ujion tlie bodies of the locusts. The reports for the three 

 remaining months of the year all show that " the plague was stayed " before it caused the 

 utter ruin that was so widespread duiing the previous year. To give a few instances out 

 of many : — A writer from Minnesota says, " I cannot report in comparison with last year, 

 as we then produced nothing of any account, owing to destruction by gra.sshoppers. This 

 year all kinds of crops raised here are generally good. The end of the sea.son finds the 

 farmers in better condition than for three or four years." Another from Clay County, 



