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ion widely circulated, I express&d my belief, a year ago, that in Missouri, 

 Kansas, and Nebraska, first, there would not hatch as many locusts in the 

 spring as would naturally hatch in ordinary seasons from indigenous spe- 

 cies ; second, that, compared with other parts of the country, those States 

 ravaged by locusts in the spring and early summer of 1875 would enjoy the 

 greater immunity, during the same season of 1876, not only from locust 

 injuries, but from the injuries of most other noxious insects ; that, in short, 

 the people of the ravaged section had reason to be hopeful rather than 

 gloomy ; that they certainly would not suffer in any general way from 

 locust injuries in the early season; and that the only way in which they 

 could suffer from the migrating pest was by fresh swarms, later in the year, 

 from the far Northwest. 



Like the other opinions as to the future doings of this insect which I 

 had on previous occasions expressed, this last was fully warranted by sub- 

 sequent events, and the States mentioned have seldom enjoyed such immu. 

 nity from insect depredations as in the spring and summer of 1876. Later 

 in the year, however, the Rocky Mountain locust overran a large part of 

 the western country, and, while in most instances they came too late to 

 seriously affect maturing crops, they have laid eggs over large parts of 

 Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado, and in more restricted por- 

 tions of Iowa, Missouri, Texas, and Arkansas. Throughout the region 

 named, injury, more or less serious, may be expected next spring. Should 

 nine-tenths of the eggs be destroyed, there will yet hatch enough young 

 insects to devour everything green, if no steps be taken to prevent the 

 injury. 



The winter has so far been favorable to the preservation of the eggs, 

 which, with few exceptions, are yet sound ; and while much alternately , 

 thawing and freezing weather between now and spring may destroy the 

 large bulk of these eggs, such a favorable result will not do to rely on. 

 Our farmers should expect the worst, and be prepared for it. "Forewarned, 

 forearmed." Indeed, I am glad to say that they are very generally antici- 

 pating and preparing, where two years ago they were comparatively indif- 

 ferent. They are profiting by the experience of 1874-5, ^"^ ^J what has, 

 of late years, been written upon the subject. This is more particularly the 

 case in Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa, — and, I regret to say, less so in Mis-r 

 souri; for, in some of our counties that are threatened, there is no organ- 

 ization, and little preparation, to meet the enemy next spring. In our own 

 State the injury will be confined, as it always has been, and, I believe, ever 

 will be, to the western counties. The middle western counties, which most 

 suffered in 1875, i.e. the portion of the State in which the winged insects 

 reached farther east in 1874, and laid most eggs, will not suffer next spring. 

 Such are the counties of Platte, Clay, Jackson, Lafayette, Cass, Johnson, 

 Bates, Henry, Pettis, and Benton. In these counties the farmers have 

 little or nothing to fear, except as they receive a few straggling and com- 

 paratively harmless bevies of the winged locusts in June and July from the 

 neighboring country. 



