(i.-l 



--^'*^»-*> 



Fic. 3(5. 'I'he Olive ()r:iSNlio|i|]cr- ( MrlnnophtH 'liffur- 

 enlialis). Natural fiize. 



tliiis hlasliiifi, tlic car. At l()ii<;- inlcrvals, when <'i scries of dry years 

 has favored th(! multiplication of tlicsc ins(;cts, they become locally 

 destructive in midsummer to grass and small grain, and later lo corn. 

 Under these circumstances several of our native species may liy from 

 place lo place for short distances in considerable swarms, imitating 

 in a small way the habits of Ihe noloi'iously destructive Rocky Mountain 

 locust. This lattei- species docs not occur in Jllinois, and no grasshopper 

 injui-y lo which w(! are sul)ject af)proximates that wliich sometimes 

 overtakes tlu; agri(nilturist of the Western States. Our Illinois gi-ass- 

 hopp(!rs are subject to 

 destruction by a multi- 

 tude of (Miemies, wiiich 

 b(K;ome, of course, mon; 

 nunuirous as the grass- 

 hojjpers themselves in- 

 ciease in number. As a 

 consequence, two "grass- 

 liopper years," so called, rarely succecul eacli other in the sanu; locality, 

 'i'he standard means for destroying grasshoppers has been until 

 quite recently the use of a long, nai-row, shallow pan or ti'ay of slu'ct- 

 iron, commonly called a " hf)ppej--dozer," with a high l)a(;k of iron or 

 cloth, dragged across the field by hand oi- by horse-] )Owei-, after a little 

 kerosene has })een placed in th(! hollom of the pan. Rfscently, howevei-, 

 a poison mixture particularly attractive to grassho|)i)ers is taking the 

 place of this apparatus, and is doubtless more likely to be used in Illinois 

 wherever active measures against these insects are found ii(!cessary. 



This mixture, known as the Criddk; mixture, is composed of f)ne part, 

 })y measui'ement, of ]*aris green to 120 parts of horse droppings, prefera- 

 l)ly fresh; or about a ])ound of Paris green lo half a ker-osene barrel of ihe 

 dro|)pijigs, with a pound of salt additional if the material is not fresh. 



l<]nough water is added to 

 make the m"xture soft without 

 being sloppy, and it is then 

 scattered al)Out the field in 

 (juantities according to tlu; 

 number of the insects which 

 will be attracted to it for a 

 distance of forty feet. This 

 |)oison' is most effective when 

 \ic>\t, 1)1 1 1 if will do ('xcellent work when^sevc^ral weeks old. 



In speaking of the use of the Griddle mixture. Dr. Fletcher, Dominion 

 hjitomologist of Canada, says: " In this section all used the poison and 

 on'y a few acres of crops were destroyed .'' f I atn convinced that had we 

 begun the lest earlier, hardly a bushel of grain \\<»iil(| have been lost,. 



. -57. Ihe rwo-striped (imsMhopper {Melano- 

 iiInh hinUatua). Natural size. (Riley, U. S. Dept. of 

 Ai^ricuHure.) 



