252 INSECTS AFFECTING GRASS. 



Remedies. — The time when grasshoppers can 

 most successfully be fought is when they are either 

 in the egg or young larval states. Shallow plowing 

 and harrowing, during autumn, of fields where they 

 are deposited will break up many of the egg pods, 

 exposing them to enemies and the weather. The 

 methods by which young locusts may be destroyed 

 have been classified by the United States Entomo- 

 logical Commission as follows: (1), burning; (2), 

 crushing ; (3), trapping ; (4), catching ; (5), use of de- 

 structive agents. By the first method old hay or 

 straw is scattered " over and around the field in 

 heaps and windrows, into which the locusts for some 

 time after they hatch may be driven and burned." 

 When the weather is cold and damp the locusts will 

 seek the shelter of the hay or straw, and may easily 

 be burned before escaping. This method is well 

 adapted to upland pastures, where the eggs are usu- 

 ally deposited in the greatest numbers. 



For the successful application of the second meth- 

 od mentioned above, it is necessary that the surface 

 of the fields on which it is applied should be smooth 

 and hard. Here, again, the upland pastures present 

 unusually favorable opportunities for successful work. 

 Dr. Riley states that " Where the surface of the 

 ground presents this character, heavy rolling can be 

 successfully employed, especially in the mornings 

 and evenings of the first eight or ten days after the 

 newly hatched young have made their appearance, 

 as they are generally sluggish during these times, 

 and huddle together until after sunrise." 



