﻿OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 117 



I send you, by to-day's mail, specimens of grasshopper eggs procured on my 

 farm, as follows : Specimen No. 1 was procured in house yard, where exposed to con- 

 stant tramping; No. 2 from loose soil, in an exposed position ; No. 3 from a foot-path, 

 on south side of hedge. Please examine and report upon condition of the several 

 specimens, and oblige. Dr. W. F. RUTBOTTOM. 



Rhea's Mill, Collin Co., Texas, January 16. 



All three lots were sound, and the embryon so far advanced that a week's mild 

 weather would hatch the young. — [Since this was written they have all hatched.] 



I have for sometime past been carefully examining the deposits of locust eggs in 

 this vicinity, and find them nearly addled, very few indeed being found, and those only 

 upon sod, in which segmentation cannot be detected with the aid of a small magnify- 

 ing glass. Other observers here report the same condition, and we are satisfied that no 

 fears need be entertained of damage from the young brood, provided the addled eggs 

 do not hatch. Can the development within the egg be arrested, and yet go on ppon the 

 return of proper comlitions? Some of us have been led to fear that such might be the 

 case, by the plump, fresh appearance of the little rascals, after repeated freezing and 

 thawing. Your answer to the above question will be thankfully received by many of 

 us here, who depend upon our farm crops for a living. A. ROBERTS. 



Lincoln, Nebraska, January V6, 1877, 



It is difficult to get at what Mr. Roberts exactly means. Eggs once "addled" of 



c(»urse never hatch, but " segmentation " does not indicate an addled condition. On 



the contrary, it indicates development. The best way to get positive information is to 



send me specimens. 



Herein find eggs of Rockv Mountain Locust. "What is their condition? 

 Lamar, Barton county, Mo. A. A. DYE. 



The eggs are below the average sijze, and part of them dead. The probabilities are 



that few of them will hatch. 



I am very much interested in this "hopper question," as great quantities of eggs 

 were deposited in this section last Fall. I have read carefully the proceedings of the 

 Conference in Omaha. Also, some of your articles in the New York Ti-ibune ; but find 

 nothing on the point of what advancempnt the eggs make towards hatching in the 

 Fall. Of all the egg sacks examined (which were not addled), the ej^e of the hopper 

 could be discerned through his particular covering; and, on removing the covering, 

 the hind legs could be raised clear of the body, by the aid of a pin. The question Is, 

 after making that advancement, will they live through the Winter and hatch out in 

 the Spring? S. C. BASSETT. 



Gibbon, Neb., January 10, 1877. 



Yes ! I have had them in that advanced condition ; kept them till the first of the 

 year; then brought them int© a hatching temperature, and they hatched. 



I have just been reading the report of your meeting at Omaha, on the grasshopper, 

 and as I live in this great grasshopper country, and am a firm believer in your treatise 

 and sayings on the pest, I have some questions to ask. 1 made some observations last 

 Fall, and up to the time the ground froze up, of their eggs ; and would ask, if young 

 eggs will hatch that were so far advanced that, in breaking open the egg-sack, you 

 could distinguish the hopper's eyes and the shape of his legs? Now, it seems to me, 

 that eggs that far advanced must certainly be destroyed by the cold weather we have 

 had of late. Am I correct? By answering this, you will confer a favor upon one who 

 is greatly interested. It is the "prevailing opinion of most of the people that vve won't 

 be hurt much in the Spring. Thus far there has been very little prairie burned, and 

 am in hopes by your advice and others, who understand the nature of the hopper, to 

 give them a warm reception in the Spring, if they hatch to any great number. 



Minneapolis, Ottawa county, Kansas. M. A. ARNOTT. 



I would not dare to give hope without examining specimens. Send some along. 

 Little hope can be built on the advanced condition of the eggs. Better prepare to give 

 the young fellows a warm reception in Spring. 



I have sent vou by mail to-day some hopper eggs, taken out of the ground on 

 December 25. They have been in my store ever since. I have some eggs that have 

 never been outside my store since September, and also some taken out of the ground 

 the same day that the ones I send you were. I am watching them as closelv as I 

 can. ■ WM. C. RALLS. 



Le Seuer, Minn. 



