﻿PREFACE. 



To the President and Members of the State Board of Agriculture : 



Gentlemen: The following pages constitute my Eighth Annual lleport on the 

 Noxious, Beneficial and other Insects of the State of Missouri. 



The year 1875 was notable in the annals of our State by the ravages of two in- 

 sects more particularly, viz. : the Army Worm and the llocky Mountain Locust, and 

 the present Eeport is, consequently, largely devoted to them. Of the former species 

 I have been fortunate enough to ascertain, by direct observation, the mode, place and 

 time of oviposition, which have hitherto remained unknown, notwithstanding the 

 insect is at times so very abundant and destructive, and notwithstanding that on our 

 knowledge of when and where the eggs are laid, depends our most successful and 

 simple means of preventing its injuries. I have deemed the matter of sufficient im- 

 portance to delay the closing of the Report in order to add some supplementary notes, 

 giving an account of the eggs and of the early stages of the worm. 



On the llocky Mountain Locust I have dwelt at length, embodying the dear- 

 bought experience of the year. The fearful ravages of this pest and the destitution 

 and suffering which it caused in our western counties, in the Spring of 1875, are too 

 fresh in the minds of our people to need further notice. They warrant the large 

 amount of space devoted to the subject in the following pages ; and I trust that in the 

 event of a repetition of such visitations as those of 1874 and 1875, the record of ex- 

 perience, the suggestions and recommendations in this and the preceding Eeport, by 

 being placed before our farmers in available form for reference, will enable them to 

 suecessfuriy cope with the enemy and avoid the loss and suffering experienced the past 

 year. I would especially call the attention of the members of our next Legislature to 

 what 1 have said on pp. 32-40, where I hope that the necessity for some action on their 

 part is demonstrated. 



It is gratifying to know that my conclusions and predictions published last Spring 

 were justified by subsequent events, and, so far as we can judge from the indications, 

 it is shown in the following pages that our farmers are not likely to seriously suffer 

 during the year 1876 from any of their three worst insect enemies — the Army AV'orm, 

 the Chinch Bug and the Eocky Mountain Locust — and I hope that the apprehensions 

 that exist, regarding this last more particularly, will be allayed by what I have re- 

 corded. 



Once more I must refer to the inconvenience of having these Entomological 

 Eeports bound in the same volume with that of your Secretary. Instead of being 

 distributed in April, when it was out, and when the information contained in it was 

 most being sought for, my last, as I am informed by the Secretary of State, was not 



