280 INJURIOUS INSECTS 



of large areas. Where the ground is light and porous, 

 prolonged and excessive moisture will cause most of the 

 eggs to perish, and irrigation in autumn or in spring 

 may prove beneficial. 



4th. TRAMPING. In pastures or in fields where hogs, 

 cattle, or horses can be confined when the ground is not 

 frozen, many if not most of the locust-eggs will be de- 

 stroyed by the rooting and tramping. 



5th. COLLECTING THE EGGS. The eggs are frequently 

 placed where none of the above means for destroying 

 them can be employed. In such cases they should be 

 collected and destroyed by the inhabitants, and the State 

 should offer some inducement in the way of bounty for 

 such collection and destruction. Every bushel of eggs 

 destroyed is equivalent to a hundred acres of corn saved, 

 and when we consider the amount of destruction caused 

 by the young, and that the ground is often known to be 

 filled with eggs; that, in other words, the earth is sown 

 with seeds of future destruction, it is surprising that 

 more legislation has not been had, looking to their exter- 

 mination. 



One of the most rapid ways of collecting the eggs, es- 

 pecially where they are numerous and in light soils, is to 

 slice off about an inch of the soil by trowel or spade, and 

 then cart the egg-laden earth to some sheltered place 

 where it may be allowed to dry, when it may be sifted so 

 as to separate the eggs and egg-masses from the earth. 

 The eggs thus collected may easily be destroyed by bury- 

 ing them in deep pits, providing the ground be packed 

 hard on the surface. 



THE PROTECTION OF FRUIT TREES. 



The best means of protecting fruit and shade trees de- 

 serves separate consideration. Where the trunks are 

 smooth and perpendicular they may be protected by white- 



