48 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 



amount were killed it would well pay for the work. Kerosene has this 

 additional advantage : it leaves a strong odor behind, which is very apt 

 to spoil the appetite of the grasshoppers which escape destruction and 

 which drives them away to less heavily scented pastures. As this oil 

 kills plants as well, proper care in handling must be had, otherwise much 

 injury can be caused by careless work. 



Hopper-dozers, though very good machines upon level ground cannot 

 be used in all places. Some farmers living upon newly cleared land 

 managed their machines very ingeniously. Instead of moving the hopper- 

 dozers, they drove the hoppers themselves into the pan which in this case 

 was used in the same way as a coral is used to capture cattle or horses. 

 Though much slower they still succeeded in killing the greater number 

 of their enemies and saved their crops. 



But after all, no matter how useful hopper-dozers may be against grass- 

 hoppers, they are only a make-shift to be employed when other remedies 

 can no longer be employed. In many places they cannot be used at all — 

 for instance the hill-sides of Duluth upon which immense numbers of 

 grasshoppers have found a home. Here other remedies might be used 

 to capture the grasshoppers in bags, and in which the insects are ground 

 up by rollers. Poison could also be applied where cattle or chickens can 

 be kept away. The true remedy consists in plowing, as has been shown 

 before, and wherever grasshoppers are numerous this method must be 

 resorted to. Of course it would be best to plow the soil containing eggs 

 during the Autumn, as by so doing the surface of the plowed ground 

 becomes thoroughly compacted by rain and snow. Plowing in Spring, 

 if well done and as early as possible, will also be successful, though in 

 most cases a few grasshoppers may succeed in reaching the surface. 



In regard to the " Rocky Mountain Locust." it is possible that a small 

 swarm of this destructive species has again settled in our State. At least 

 it was stated in some newspapers published in the Red River Valley that 

 a swarm had been observed, some time during the middle of August, 

 flying in a southeasterly direction over Polk County. Inquiry failed to 

 decide positively whether they had settled in our State or not. If they 

 have they will be found south of Crookston, and farmers located in that 

 region should watch carefully and give timely warning of their presence 

 so that steps can be taken to prevent their increase. 



Inasmuch as Anthononius grandis Boh. has now thoroughly established 

 itself as a member of the south Te.xan fauna, collectors of American Co- 

 leoptera will naturally be glad to get specimens. We have now in the 

 Department of Agriculture a large series, and will be glad to send speci- 

 mens to Coleopterists. — L. O. Howard, United States Department of 

 Agriculture, Division of Entomology, Washington, D. C. 



