4 MONTANA BULLETIN 170 



mainly to what could be done from the office. In past years a system 

 had been built up by which we have been able to get good results 

 in cooperating against the ravages of insect pests. The State Ento- 

 mologist's office outlines the campaign for the year, and communicates 

 with the county agents and the county commissioners where there are 

 no county agents. This office gets information regarding sources of 

 supplies and prices and takes the leadership in eampaigns. We have 

 had material assistance from the county insect pest law of 1921. It 

 being impossible to put an assistant in the field in 1923, it was decided 

 to do what we could through correspondence and continuation of the 

 organization that had been built up. Accordingly, mimeographed cir- 

 culars of information were sent out and a correspondence was kept up 

 with the various counties and as good a campaign put on as possible 

 under the circumstances. However, the situation became rather alarm 

 ing during the season and there were those in the State who believed 

 that a catastrophe was impending because of the great hordes of 

 grasshoppers that had appeared, notably in the north central portion of 

 the State. Grasshoppers, after feeding to maturity and mowing wings, 

 had risen into the air until it was reported to us that they had hazed 

 the sun. Great clouds of them had passed over but no one could tell 

 just where they had come from or where they were going. The sur- 

 rounding country was all seriously infested. 



It was courteously brought to our attention also by represen 

 tatives of the Canadian government that in their opinion grasshoppers 

 were migrating from Montana northward across the international 

 boundary into the Canadian provinces and reinfesting territory which 

 had been practically cleared of grasshoppers. The province of Alberta 

 had in the season of 1923 put on a very extensive campaign in which 

 approximately three-quarters of a million dollars was expended. Th*.\ 

 were alarmed over the prospect that their land might be reinfested 

 and they would have the work to repeat. Bankers and others interested 

 in the welfare of the State, with heavy investments at stake, were 

 interested in knowing whether or not the grasshopper outbreak would 

 he repeated in 1924 and what steps were being taken to prevent such 

 an outbreak. Reports of a very discouraging nature were received from 

 various points in the northern part of the State. 



