FOES AND FRIENDS OF THE PLANT 203 



DRAGON FLIES 



Everywhere in the brooks and ponds you find the 

 curious larvas of dragon flies and caddice flies, which 

 are very interesting to watch if brought home and 

 placed in a small aquarium. The dragon fly larvas 

 help to destroy the mosquitoes, gnats, and flies. They 

 are so well described in the insect books that nothing 

 more need be said about them here. 



Every schoolroom should have an aquarium, even 

 though it be only a fruit jar or tumbler. Directions 

 for making aquaria are found in Hodge's " Nature 

 Study and Life," Chapter 24. 



GRASSHOPPERS 



A great amount of damage is done each year by 

 grasshoppers. The eggs are laid in the ground in late 

 summer or fall, and hatch the following spring. The 

 young grasshopper is without wings at first, but acquires 

 them as it grows. After getting their wings the grass- 

 hoppers sometimes fly in enormous numbers. Many 

 farmers find turkeys^ the best protection against the 

 grasshopper; others use poisoned bait (bran, molasses, 

 and arsenic) or spray or put poison all around the 

 edge of the field. A large shallow pan (about six by 

 three feet) containing crude oil, known as a " hopper 

 dozer/ 7 has been used with success. It is dragged 



