GRASSHOPPERS 97 



of them to watch. They found that they molted 

 about every two weeks, and after the fifth time a 

 full-grown grasshopper with full-grown wings would 

 appear. 



In the meantime the boys learned that the grass- 

 hoppers had begun to do very much damage to the 

 farm crops and gardens of that section and people 

 spoke very unkindly about them. The little hordes 

 of grasshoppers that had hatched along the edges of 

 fields, in pastures and in waste places, had grown 

 and spread to near-by fields, so that some farmers 

 were worried about their crops. It was getting worse 

 every day, and the boys lost their love for these 

 creatures. They began to look upon them as enemies 

 to every man. John Conelly said that they ate 

 every kind of plant that came within their reach, 

 and he had even seen them gnaw the wooden parts of 

 his mowing-machine. George Hyde said they had 

 nibbled on the hard handle of his garden fork which 

 had been left in an upright position in the garden 

 for several days. 



The boys became very bitter against the insects 

 which they had given such protection and sympathy 

 during the winter. One day they noticed that the 

 food in one of their cages had been eaten or dried 

 up long ago. 



"Say, Freddie," Willie called, "we forgot to feed 

 them in this cage and they must surely be dead." 



