February, '17] 



BALL: GRASSHOPPER CONTROL 



137 



to $28.25 while the total cash outlay necessary for a machine would be 

 from $8 to $12. Even this amount could be materially reduced by 

 using material at hand for, the frame of the machine and oilcloth in 

 place of the tin. The writer in an emergency case once built one of 

 these machines in four hours and constructed it entirely from waste 

 material found in the farmer's yard. 



The relative efficiency of the two methods is probably about the 

 same. There are weather conditions in which poisoning is difficult — 

 winds and frequent showers among the worst. There are other condi- 

 tions in which the machine is not successful — extremely hot days and 



Fig. 4. A. An end view of the grasshopper machine showing construction. 

 (Front upright cut out to show curve of catching device.) B. Front view (re- 

 duced) to show attachment of runners and horses. , 



windy nights, for example. In general, poisoning is most successful 

 on warm, bright days; while the machine works best on cool mornings 

 and cool, dark days. 



A combination of the two methods is the ideal arrangement; using 

 the poison bait along fences and ditches or on crops like tomatoes, 

 beans and corn that will not stand the machine. The machine taking 

 twenty-four feet at a sweep will cover forty acres per day and can thus 

 take care of a large acreage very cheaply. On such crops as alfalfa, 

 sugar beets, timothy and grain, before flowering time, it can be used 

 without danger. By leaving two or three strips in a meadow when 

 mowing, all the grasshoppers will gather on these and the machine will 

 pick them up at a very rapid rate, thus saving the migration into other 

 crops which so often occurs. 



