﻿PACKARD.] 
  THE 
  INVASIONS 
  OP 
  THE 
  LOCUST 
  IN 
  1876. 
  609 
  

  

  here 
  that 
  the 
  insects 
  took 
  flight 
  from 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Fort 
  Pellyon 
  the 
  10th 
  of 
  July, 
  

   and 
  then 
  followed 
  a 
  fortnight 
  of 
  intense 
  suspense." 
  

  

  There 
  is, 
  of 
  course, 
  in 
  all 
  this 
  a 
  failure 
  to 
  connect 
  by 
  any 
  direct 
  chain 
  

   of 
  continued 
  observations 
  the 
  swarms 
  that 
  left 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  Valley 
  in 
  

   1875 
  and 
  those 
  which 
  finally 
  disappeared 
  in 
  the 
  region 
  of 
  the 
  mouutains 
  

   and 
  in 
  British 
  America 
  ; 
  still 
  less 
  is 
  it 
  shown 
  that 
  those 
  swarms 
  were 
  

   the 
  parents 
  of 
  those 
  which 
  are 
  known 
  to 
  have 
  hatched 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  re- 
  

   gions 
  in 
  1876, 
  or 
  even 
  that 
  those 
  which 
  are 
  known 
  to 
  have 
  hatched 
  

   there 
  were 
  those 
  which 
  descended 
  upon 
  the 
  lower 
  country 
  in 
  July 
  and 
  

   August. 
  But 
  there 
  is, 
  at 
  least, 
  a 
  strong 
  series 
  of 
  probabilities. 
  

  

  THE 
  INVASIONS 
  OF 
  THE 
  LOCUST 
  IN 
  1876. 
  

  

  Beginning 
  with 
  the 
  southeasternmost 
  point 
  of 
  the 
  locust 
  region 
  — 
  

  

  Texas 
  : 
  I 
  learn 
  from 
  G. 
  W. 
  Belfrage, 
  of 
  Cliftoo, 
  Bosque 
  County, 
  in 
  a 
  

   letter 
  dated 
  December 
  14, 
  1876, 
  that 
  the 
  locusts 
  have 
  for 
  "two 
  years 
  

   made 
  their 
  visits, 
  the 
  first 
  without 
  serious 
  results, 
  the 
  second 
  this 
  fall^. 
  

   so 
  we 
  cannot 
  yet 
  know 
  what 
  the 
  offspring 
  will 
  do." 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  extracts 
  from 
  the 
  Monthly 
  Weather 
  Eeports 
  give 
  some 
  

   idea 
  of 
  their 
  movements 
  : 
  " 
  Flying, 
  at 
  Fort 
  Richardson, 
  Texas, 
  from 
  14th 
  

   to 
  18th 
  September; 
  Corsicana, 
  Texas, 
  flying 
  south 
  21 
  st 
  and 
  22d, 
  west 
  23d. 
  

   On 
  30th 
  were 
  destroying 
  everything, 
  and 
  depositing 
  millions 
  of 
  eggs." 
  

  

  In 
  Texas, 
  at 
  Belmont 
  farm, 
  the 
  grasshoppers 
  remained 
  alive 
  all 
  winter, 
  

   and 
  were 
  found 
  on 
  wheat 
  February 
  10 
  and 
  March 
  25. 
  

  

  October 
  3 
  to 
  5, 
  numerous 
  at 
  Corsicana; 
  disappearing 
  about 
  9th 
  ; 
  abun- 
  

   dant 
  at 
  Belmont 
  farm 
  1st 
  to 
  9th. 
  "In 
  Texas 
  a 
  dense 
  cloud 
  of 
  grass- 
  

   hoppers 
  appeared 
  during 
  the 
  last 
  ten 
  days 
  of 
  November." 
  

  

  '■'■Palo 
  Pinto: 
  The 
  grasshoppers 
  appeared 
  on 
  the 
  17th 
  of 
  September^ 
  

   and 
  are 
  as 
  thick 
  as 
  they 
  ever 
  were 
  here, 
  destroying 
  everything 
  as 
  they 
  

   go. 
  Uvalde 
  : 
  Appeared 
  September 
  22, 
  in 
  quantities, 
  arriving 
  from 
  the 
  

   north, 
  and 
  causing 
  some 
  alarm. 
  McLennan 
  ; 
  Reached 
  here 
  on 
  the 
  20th 
  

   of 
  September, 
  and 
  have 
  materially 
  damaged 
  the 
  cotton-crop 
  by 
  cutting 
  

   otf 
  unripe 
  bolls. 
  Bell 
  : 
  Made 
  their 
  appearance 
  in 
  great 
  numbers 
  about 
  

   a 
  week 
  since, 
  and 
  are 
  destroying 
  all 
  gardens 
  and 
  every 
  sward 
  of 
  grain. 
  

   They 
  have 
  cut 
  off 
  the 
  late 
  corn 
  and 
  the 
  young 
  bolls 
  on 
  the 
  late 
  cotton. 
  

   Dallas 
  : 
  Have 
  cut 
  short 
  the 
  cotton-crop. 
  Gillespie 
  : 
  The 
  first 
  grasshop- 
  

   pers 
  arrived 
  on 
  the 
  18th 
  of 
  September. 
  Three 
  days 
  later 
  they 
  left, 
  going 
  

   west, 
  being 
  driven 
  by 
  an 
  east 
  wind." 
  — 
  (Agricultural 
  Report, 
  October.) 
  

  

  On 
  applying 
  to 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  Ball, 
  a 
  well-known 
  entomologist 
  residing 
  in 
  . 
  

   Dallas, 
  Tex., 
  for 
  information 
  regarding 
  the 
  appearanceof 
  thelocust 
  in 
  that 
  

   State, 
  he 
  kindly 
  sent 
  me 
  the 
  Heue 
  Ziircher 
  Zeitung 
  for 
  November 
  1 
  and 
  

   2, 
  1876, 
  containing 
  two 
  letters 
  written 
  by 
  him, 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  condensed 
  

   as 
  follows 
  : 
  In 
  October, 
  1874, 
  the 
  locusts 
  appeared 
  in 
  Texas, 
  but 
  were 
  

   not 
  one-tenth 
  as 
  abundant 
  as 
  in 
  1876. 
  At 
  Dallas, 
  at 
  noon 
  September 
  

   20, 
  1876, 
  the 
  air 
  was 
  filled 
  with 
  the 
  first 
  swarm 
  of 
  locusts 
  ; 
  by 
  5 
  o'clock 
  

   in 
  the 
  afternoon 
  none 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  air. 
  Previous 
  to 
  this 
  date 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  

   night 
  of 
  the 
  19th 
  the 
  wind 
  had 
  been 
  south 
  ; 
  it 
  changed 
  on 
  the 
  20th 
  to 
  

   the 
  northwest, 
  and 
  this 
  wind 
  brought 
  the 
  locusts 
  in 
  a 
  swarm 
  which 
  must 
  

   have 
  been 
  many 
  miles 
  long 
  and 
  broad, 
  and 
  from 
  1,000 
  to 
  2,000 
  feet 
  high, 
  

   as 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  eye 
  could 
  see. 
  At 
  10 
  o'clock, 
  September 
  21, 
  the 
  air 
  was 
  

   again 
  filled 
  as 
  at 
  noon 
  of 
  the 
  preceding 
  day, 
  the 
  northwest 
  wind 
  still 
  

   blowing, 
  and 
  the 
  grasshoppers 
  passed 
  on 
  as 
  the 
  day 
  before, 
  until 
  4 
  p. 
  m. 
  

   On 
  the 
  22d 
  the 
  wind 
  veered 
  to 
  the 
  south, 
  and 
  the 
  locusts 
  flew 
  during 
  the 
  

   day 
  in 
  large 
  numbers 
  irregularly 
  about, 
  like 
  a 
  swarm 
  of 
  bees. 
  This 
  con- 
  

   tinued 
  until 
  noon 
  of 
  the 
  23d, 
  when 
  a 
  southwest 
  wind 
  bore 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  

   to 
  the 
  northwest. 
  Until 
  the 
  27th 
  they 
  remained 
  engaged 
  in 
  egg-laying. 
  

   39 
  OS 
  

  

  