U- THE FARMERS' HANDBOOK. 



Normally the fiist grasshopper swarms hatch in September from eggs laid 

 the previous March and April ; they grow gradually, and become winged in 

 November and December. These winged swarms lay eggs in the ground, The 

 eggs hatch in three weeks, and the second hopper swarms appear during 

 December, January, and February, and become winged flying swarms during 

 March and April. These second winged swarms lay eggs which remain in 

 the ground unhatched until spring (September). 



Egg-laying is effected by the swarms in comparatively limited patches of 

 ground, varying from a few square yards up to thousands of square yards, 

 according to the size of the swarm. The swarms when laying usually mass 

 together for a day or two on some bare or thinly-grassed lands, and deposit 

 their eggs one to two inches below the surface. By noting the position of 

 the egg-bed areas it is possible to spray the tiny young hoppers immediately 

 they emerge and before they grow and spread. By organising and spraying 

 these patches of young hoppers within the first three weeks after emerging 

 from the ground the majority of hoppers can be killed before they do any 

 appreciable damage, and the pest can be thus be controlled. 



A. — Stage when B. — Stage rather too 



spraying most old for best results 



effective. from spraying. 



Spraying with arsenite of soda is recommended, and is perfectly harmless 

 to stock under practical field conditions. The formula recommended is : — 

 Arsenite of soda, 1 lb. 

 Treacle, 4 lb. 

 Water, 16 gallons. 



An important point in mixing is to dissolve the arsenite of soda in a 

 kerosene-tin or more of hot water, and to dissolve the treacle in a separate 

 quantity of hot water, allowing both mixtures to cool before bringing them 

 together, when the whole can be made up to the 16 gallons. 



The spray should be applied to a strip of grass about 30 feet wide around 

 each swarm, as well as directly on to the hoppers themselves. The spray kills 

 both by direct contact with the bodies of the grasshoppers and by poisoning 

 the grass on which they first feed. 



The spray mixture can be carried to the swarms in petrol-tins, two in a 

 case, with a hole in the top of each tin sufficiently big to admit the foot of 

 the pump ; a large number of tins can thus be carried on a spring-cart from 

 which the infested ground can be sprayed. Spraying may be light, but it 

 should be done thoroughly, and the spray applied in a fine mist.' For this 

 purpose a small bucket pump will be found satisfactory. Twenty-eight pounds 

 of arsenite of soda and 1 cwt. of treacle will make a sufficient quantity of 

 spray to treat 6 acres actually massed with hoppers. 



United action is essential for success in grasshopper control. The coping 

 with an invasion is a community problem, and should be taken up as such. 

 The best results can be obtained only when every landholder is on the lookout 

 for trouble, and is prepared to combat it. The best time to destroy the 

 grasshoppers is before they reach maturity, and particularly during the first 

 two or three weeks after hatching. For this reason landowners should watch 

 their fields for the appearance of the insects, and spray the hoppers while 

 they are in the massed state. 



