the outer edges of the orchards and vineyards, but later in the season 

 they gradually spread all over the plantation. They seemed to prefer 

 the leaves of poplar trees and grape-vines to any others, and were espe- 

 cially fond of the tender bark of grape-vines. While they would eat 

 the leaves of almost every kind of tree, shrub, and plant growing* upon 

 the plantation, yet they manifested an evident preference for certain 

 kinds. The leaves of peach trees were not much relished by them, but 

 the fruit was eagerly eaten, and upon bearing peach trees that had been 

 much infested by the locusts it was no uncommon sight to see nothing 

 but the leaves and naked pits remaining. Fig and pomegranate trees 

 suffered but little from their attack, as did also gum and evergreen 

 trees. I saw a small, barrel-shaped cactus which had its inside eaten 

 out by the locusts. H 



Plants covered with sacking did not escape the attacks of the locusts, 

 which gnawed holes into the sacking and then entered and devoured 

 the leaves of the inclosed plant. One lady sought to save a favorite 

 plant by turning a washtub over it, but upon removing the tub a few 

 days later she found that the leaves had been entirety stripped from the 

 plant. 



Fields of alfalfa suffered very severely from the attack of the locusts ; 

 the latter were also very destructive to beans, cabbage, and tomatoes, 

 but corn, melon, and pumpkin vines were not much injured by them. 



The pyrethrum plants from the flowers of which the insect powder 

 known as " Buhach" is produced were not much injured by the locusts. 

 In places where the plants had been considerably eaten I found many 

 locusts which acted very much as those do that have been sprayed with 

 a solution of buhach and water ; they had completely lost the use of 

 their legs and were lying upon the ground in a very helpless condition, 

 occasionally jerking a leg or moving a foot. Several of them were dead, 

 evidently having partaken too freely of the leaves of the pyrethrum 

 plants, as no poison had been put out up to this time. 



Wheat fields, as a rule, were but little injured by the locusts, the 

 principal injury being done by biting off' a small proportion of the heads 

 and allowing them to fall upon the ground. Late-sown wheat suffered 

 the most, and several fields were injured to such an extent that they 

 were not harvested. 



Eye fields were generally much injured by the locusts, which devoured 

 the exposed kernels in the heads ; I have examined many heads of rye 

 in which every kernel had been devoured. Mr. D. W. Swain estimated 

 that he had lost fully one third of his crop of rye on COO acres through 

 the attacks of locusts. The reason that they were more destructive to 

 rye than to either wheat or barley is to be found in the fact that the 

 kernels of wheat and barley are wholly inclosed in a husk, whereas the 

 kernels of rye are exposed to view. 



SPECIES OF LOCUSTS MOST DESTRUCTIVE. 



I captured in the San Joaquin Valley no less than twenty different 

 species of locusts belonging to the subfamilies Acridinct' and (Edipodince, 

 but the principal damage was committed by four species, three of which 

 belonged to the Acridincv or Spine- breasted Locusts. 



The species which appeared in the greatest numbers was the Devas- 

 tating Locust (Melanoplus devastator Scudder), which outnumbered all 

 of the other species combined, in the proportion of at least seven to one. 

 It was accompanied by the Ash colored Locust (Melanoplus cinereus 



