﻿OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 65 



millions more people, and are glad to have them come, and with us occupj' and utilize 

 the broad fertile acres God has bequeathed to the Far "West, those who have not "sand 

 and grit " enough to clean out a crop of young locusts are not the men wanted ! I repeat 

 what I said to you at the Convention in Omaha, and am prepared to demonstrate the 

 truth of the assertion : that any thrifty, energetic farmer can exterminate the most 

 extensive stock of locusts, on any one farm known, witli less labor and expense than 

 he can get rid of an ordinary crop of weeds." 



Prof. A, D. Williams, of Kenesaw, Adams county, writes : 



It is safe to say that eggs were laid in every one of our sixty settled counties. Not 

 one has escaped. But the amount of eggs in the western part of the State, where they 

 appeared earliest, is much less than in the eastern portions of the State. There is un- 

 doubtedly a gradual increase of eggs, all the way from the western to the eastern line of 

 the State — the river counties suffering much the more severely. The amount depo- 

 sited there is beyond all estimation, while west of Kearney there is not a very large 

 amount. 



* * * Upon the whole, I incline to the opinion that the casualties 



of the season, the depredations of the birds and the eff'orts of the homesteaders will so 

 diminish the number of locusts in the Spring, that small grains will be raised in the 

 western part of the State. But I fear that unless Px'ovidence is unusually favorable, 

 and the people bestir themselves unusually to fight the locusts, very little, save corn 

 and late crops, will be raised in the river counties. * * * -;;• 



The actual damage done by the locusts last year, in Nebraska, was fully equal to 

 that done in 1874. But the greater abundance of small grains, and the greater reliance 

 of the people upon stock and a more diversified industry, have saved us from the desti- 

 tution of that year, and largely disarmed Caloptenus spretus of his terrors. 



Kansas.— A review of the invasion in Kansas shows it to have been in the main 

 Irom the north and northwest. The insects came into the northwest part of the State late 

 in July and early in August and were seen flying about in many directions, but mainly 

 southward, during the whole month. Early in September the swarms thickened, and 

 the wind blowing almost a gale from the west on the 7th and 8th of the month, and 

 strong from the west and northwest for two or three days subsequently, the insects 

 during that time swept down in darkening clouds over tlie greater portion of the State 

 from the 98th meridian to beyond the 96th. The following extracts from ray corres- 

 pondence indicate the nature of the invasion : 



I drop you these lines to let you know that the locusts called on us to-day in force. 

 This morning the wind was blowing from the northwest, and as the day advanced the 

 air was filled with a cloud of locusts as thick as any I ever saw before. Toward even- 

 ing they came down and are resting to-night. They do not manifest much tendency to 

 eat, but may by to-morrow. * * * [Robert Milliken, Emporia, Lyon 



county, Sept. 9, 187G. 



* * * I am sorry to say that the locusts are still with us, more 



plentiful than I ever saw them before. As I wrote you before, they made their first call 

 on the 9th, and more plentifully on the 11th, the wind blowing from the north and 

 northwest most of the time from the 9th to the 14th; they traveled before it, except 

 ',«hen it was too cool for them to fly, as was the case on the 12th and partly the 13th, 

 but on the 14th they were so thick that the cloud fairly darkened the sun. The 16th, 

 17th and to-day the wind has blown from the south and they have not flown to amount 

 to anything. They are pairing almost universally and are commencing to deposit 

 eggs. Not enough eggs are yet left to make any serious trouble in the Spring, but if 

 they stay another week I tremble for our prospects. — [Ibid, Sept. 18, 187G. 



The locusts came to the line of the Santa Fe Railroad from Hutchinson as far 

 west as Grenada, about the 25th day of August, 1876, brought by a north' by northeast; 

 wind. They came in great dark clouds for one day (the 24th) at this place, Sterling, 

 Rice county, Kansas. They mostly passed over here to the south and southwest. A 

 few lit upon us and devoured corn blades, potato leaves and some other toothsome 

 herbage. Little real damage is done as yet to crops. Some of the early wheat is eaten 

 and killed and larmers are generally holding oft" to sow after the locusts leave. A few 

 returned with south winds, but outhe 31st, at 2 v. m., the wind changed to north and 



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