﻿PACKARD.] 
  THE 
  LOCUST 
  IN 
  COLORADO. 
  597 
  

  

  circle 
  into 
  the 
  upper 
  air 
  and 
  resume 
  their 
  flight. 
  They 
  may 
  tarry 
  for 
  sevtral 
  days, 
  

   their 
  march 
  depending 
  upon 
  the 
  weather 
  and 
  the 
  sun's 
  warmth 
  — 
  the' 
  warmer 
  the 
  better 
  

   for 
  them. 
  

  

  The 
  " 
  canons 
  of 
  the 
  mountains" 
  (a 
  very 
  prevalent 
  idea 
  in 
  the 
  East) 
  produce 
  but 
  

   very 
  few 
  grasshoppers 
  — 
  probably 
  not 
  5 
  per 
  cent.; 
  the 
  higher 
  caiious 
  none 
  that 
  ever 
  

   leave 
  them. 
  

  

  I 
  suppose 
  that 
  the 
  swarms 
  that 
  devastated 
  Nebraska 
  and 
  Kansas 
  in 
  1874 
  were 
  na- 
  

   tives 
  of 
  the 
  plains 
  of 
  the 
  Upper 
  Missouri 
  branches, 
  the 
  Yellowstone, 
  Powder 
  River, 
  

   and 
  the 
  North 
  Platte 
  — 
  that 
  great 
  plateau-land 
  lying 
  between 
  the 
  Black 
  Hills 
  and 
  

   Ro(»ky 
  Mountain 
  chains 
  in 
  Montana 
  and 
  Northern 
  Wyoming. 
  

  

  The 
  same 
  flights 
  overspread 
  Eastern 
  Colorado 
  in 
  1874, 
  destroyed 
  the 
  late 
  crops 
  and 
  

   deposited 
  their 
  eggs. 
  The 
  latter 
  hatched 
  out 
  in 
  May 
  and 
  June 
  (very 
  irregularly), 
  and 
  

   the 
  young 
  ate 
  up 
  the 
  early 
  crops, 
  and 
  one, 
  two, 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  three 
  subsequent 
  

   plantings. 
  In 
  July 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  took 
  flight, 
  but 
  frequent 
  swarms 
  have 
  appeared 
  

   since 
  in 
  various 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  Territory, 
  aud 
  they 
  are 
  now 
  doing 
  considerable 
  damage 
  in 
  

   several 
  counties. 
  Their 
  movements 
  this 
  year 
  have 
  been 
  very 
  erratic 
  and 
  entiiely 
  un- 
  

   certain. 
  These 
  various 
  flights— 
  none 
  of 
  them 
  very 
  numerous 
  — 
  have 
  been 
  in 
  various 
  

   directions, 
  and 
  there 
  seems 
  as 
  yet 
  little 
  disposition 
  to 
  deposit 
  eggs. 
  I 
  am 
  told 
  that 
  

   most 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  afflicted 
  with 
  parasites, 
  and 
  if 
  so 
  they 
  will 
  soon 
  disappear. 
  They 
  

   perished 
  from 
  that 
  cause 
  in 
  18G5. 
  It 
  would 
  be 
  easy 
  to 
  learu 
  exactly 
  the 
  nature 
  aud 
  

   habits 
  of 
  this 
  plague, 
  provided 
  observers 
  can 
  be 
  secured 
  all 
  over 
  this 
  arid 
  region. 
  

   They 
  afflict 
  some 
  portion 
  of 
  it 
  every 
  year. 
  The 
  scourge 
  only 
  moves 
  from 
  place 
  to 
  

   place. 
  If 
  Government 
  can 
  secure 
  report, 
  for 
  instance, 
  from 
  every 
  district 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  

   hatch 
  next 
  spring, 
  then 
  trace 
  the 
  flight 
  of 
  the 
  moving 
  swarms 
  during 
  the 
  summer 
  and 
  

   fall, 
  their 
  habits 
  can 
  be 
  accurately 
  determined. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  far 
  more 
  simple 
  task 
  than 
  the 
  

   operations 
  of 
  the 
  Signal 
  Service 
  Bureau. 
  

  

  If 
  at 
  any 
  time 
  I 
  can 
  serve 
  you 
  furrher, 
  or 
  if 
  you 
  desire 
  more 
  definite 
  report 
  this 
  fall 
  

   of 
  the 
  season's 
  results, 
  please 
  let 
  me 
  know. 
  

  

  Meantime, 
  believe 
  me, 
  very 
  truly, 
  your 
  obedient 
  servant, 
  

  

  WM. 
  N. 
  BYERS. 
  

  

  A. 
  S. 
  Packard, 
  Jr., 
  M. 
  D., 
  Salem, 
  Mass. 
  

  

  Hot 
  Sulphur 
  Springs, 
  Colo., 
  Octoher 
  1, 
  1875. 
  

  

  Dear 
  Sir 
  : 
  In 
  response 
  to 
  your 
  postal 
  card 
  of 
  August 
  30, 
  I 
  have 
  but 
  little 
  more 
  to 
  

   report 
  respecting 
  the 
  grasshopper. 
  I 
  have 
  studied 
  them 
  with 
  some 
  care 
  here 
  this 
  fall, 
  

   find 
  will 
  give 
  in 
  brief 
  the 
  result. 
  The 
  first 
  flights 
  came 
  to 
  this 
  neighborhood 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  

   week 
  of 
  August 
  — 
  not 
  numerous 
  — 
  and 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  disappeared 
  in 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  days. 
  

   In 
  the 
  second 
  week 
  of 
  August 
  others 
  came 
  and 
  in 
  great 
  numbers, 
  and 
  they 
  have 
  remained 
  

   ever 
  since. 
  I 
  w.as 
  absent 
  the 
  latter 
  half 
  of 
  August. 
  In 
  the 
  first 
  week 
  of 
  September 
  

   I 
  was 
  again 
  here 
  and 
  found 
  them 
  pairing. 
  Many 
  of 
  the 
  females 
  were 
  boring 
  holes 
  and 
  

   appeared 
  to 
  be 
  depositing 
  eggs, 
  but 
  on 
  examination 
  it 
  was 
  found 
  that 
  very 
  few 
  actu- 
  

   ally 
  were 
  deposited. 
  The 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  hole 
  generally 
  contained 
  a 
  small 
  quantity 
  of 
  

   frothy, 
  gelatinous 
  matter, 
  such 
  as 
  accompanies 
  the 
  eggs; 
  but 
  I 
  think 
  in 
  only 
  two 
  in- 
  

   stances 
  during 
  that 
  week 
  did 
  I 
  find 
  eggs, 
  and 
  then 
  only 
  six 
  to 
  ten. 
  The 
  next 
  week, 
  

   however, 
  brought 
  on 
  the 
  height 
  of 
  the 
  season. 
  Myriads 
  were 
  boring 
  in 
  the 
  ground 
  

   everywhere, 
  aud 
  from 
  one-half 
  to 
  two-thirds 
  of 
  the 
  perforations 
  were 
  found 
  to 
  contain 
  

   from 
  15 
  to 
  30 
  eggs 
  each, 
  from 
  one 
  inch 
  to 
  two 
  inches 
  below 
  the 
  surface. 
  In 
  many 
  

   places 
  the 
  earth 
  was 
  perfectly 
  honeycombed 
  by 
  their 
  nests. 
  At 
  this 
  time 
  (the 
  second 
  

   week 
  in 
  September) 
  they 
  had 
  begun 
  dying 
  quite 
  rapidly, 
  and 
  the 
  living 
  were 
  feeding 
  

   largely 
  upon 
  the 
  dead. 
  As 
  the 
  season 
  advances 
  they 
  subsist 
  more 
  and 
  more 
  upon 
  the 
  

   dead 
  and 
  eat 
  less 
  vegetation. 
  Now 
  (October 
  1) 
  they 
  are 
  eating 
  the 
  dead 
  and 
  dying 
  

   when 
  not 
  too 
  torpid 
  to 
  care 
  about 
  eating 
  at 
  all. 
  

  

  I 
  was 
  again 
  absent 
  the 
  last 
  half 
  of 
  September, 
  and 
  have 
  returned 
  but 
  two 
  days 
  ago. 
  

   There 
  are 
  still 
  plenty 
  of 
  grasshoppers 
  here, 
  but 
  most 
  are 
  dead. 
  Occasionally 
  a 
  couple 
  

   are 
  seen 
  paired, 
  but 
  I 
  have 
  found 
  none 
  depositing 
  eggs. 
  

  

  I 
  learn 
  that 
  last 
  year 
  eggs 
  were 
  deposited 
  in 
  North 
  Park 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  hatched 
  

   there 
  in 
  countless 
  swarms 
  the 
  present 
  season. 
  I 
  presume 
  our 
  flights 
  came 
  from 
  there. 
  

   At 
  any 
  rate 
  we 
  are 
  certain 
  of 
  the 
  young 
  ones 
  here 
  next 
  year. 
  The 
  altitude 
  here 
  is 
  

   7,725 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  sea. 
  The 
  west 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  park 
  escaped 
  them. 
  They 
  extended 
  but 
  

   five 
  or 
  six 
  miles 
  west 
  of 
  this 
  point; 
  that 
  is, 
  the 
  swarms 
  that 
  deposited 
  eggs. 
  The 
  first 
  

   swarms 
  (1st 
  to 
  5th 
  of 
  August) 
  were 
  more 
  general, 
  but 
  did 
  not 
  stay. 
  

  

  About 
  Denver, 
  and 
  over 
  a 
  large 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  agricultural 
  country 
  in 
  that 
  neighbor- 
  

   hood, 
  the 
  flying 
  swarms 
  were 
  bad 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  August, 
  but 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  

   moved 
  on. 
  Only 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  and 
  comparatively 
  limited 
  neighborhoods 
  were 
  many 
  eggs 
  

   deposited. 
  

  

  Of 
  those 
  that 
  died 
  here 
  a 
  few 
  were 
  killed 
  by 
  a 
  parasite, 
  developing 
  a 
  maggot 
  which 
  

   eats 
  out 
  the 
  body 
  of 
  the 
  grasshopper 
  ; 
  but 
  the 
  great 
  majority 
  perished 
  from 
  exhaustion 
  

   and 
  cold 
  — 
  old 
  age, 
  perhaps. 
  

   Very 
  trulj', 
  yours, 
  

  

  WM. 
  N. 
  BYERS. 
  

  

  A. 
  S. 
  Packard, 
  Jr., 
  M. 
  D., 
  Salem, 
  Mass. 
  

  

  