﻿PACKARD.] 
  THE 
  LOCUST 
  IN 
  IOWA 
  AND 
  MINNESOTA 
  IN 
  1876. 
  617 
  

  

  THE 
  LOCUST 
  IN 
  IOWA 
  IN 
  1876. 
  

  

  In 
  Iowa, 
  Governor 
  Kirkwood 
  states 
  tbat 
  " 
  the 
  eggs 
  have 
  been 
  laid 
  in 
  

   large 
  quantities 
  this 
  season 
  in 
  a 
  wide 
  area 
  of 
  the 
  western 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  

   State, 
  and 
  the 
  fear 
  was 
  expressed 
  that 
  they 
  might 
  come 
  another 
  season 
  

   in 
  swarms. 
  In 
  Northwestern 
  Iowa 
  the 
  people 
  are 
  very 
  careful 
  to 
  pre- 
  

   serve 
  the 
  prairies 
  from 
  burning 
  this 
  fall, 
  so 
  that 
  they 
  may 
  destroy 
  the 
  

   young 
  in 
  the 
  spring." 
  (Proceedings 
  conference 
  of 
  governors, 
  etc.) 
  

   Concerning 
  the 
  grasshopper 
  invasion 
  of 
  1876, 
  I 
  extract 
  the 
  following 
  

   data 
  from 
  the 
  Monthly 
  Weather 
  lie 
  view, 
  August 
  6 
  : 
  "Appeared 
  at 
  Storm 
  

   Lake, 
  Cherokee, 
  and 
  Sioux 
  City, 
  column 
  extending 
  to 
  Lower 
  Dakota 
  and 
  

   Lamar's, 
  Mo. 
  ; 
  at 
  Fonda, 
  Pocahontas 
  County, 
  damage 
  slight 
  ; 
  25th 
  

   at 
  Union 
  ville, 
  Appanoose 
  County, 
  flying 
  in 
  large 
  clouds 
  at 
  a 
  high 
  eleva- 
  

   tion, 
  and 
  Des 
  Moines, 
  Polk 
  County, 
  flying 
  toward 
  the 
  Missouri 
  in 
  im- 
  

   mense 
  numbers. 
  None 
  have 
  yet 
  alighted 
  in 
  Central 
  Iowa." 
  Crawford 
  t 
  

   Injured 
  corn 
  .33 
  per 
  cent. 
  Clay: 
  Have 
  nearly 
  ruined 
  our 
  crops. 
  Har- 
  

   rison: 
  Made 
  their 
  appearance 
  on 
  the 
  17th 
  of 
  August 
  ; 
  reduced 
  an 
  extra 
  

   corn-crop 
  to 
  an 
  average 
  ; 
  destroyed 
  buckwheat 
  and 
  gardens 
  ; 
  are 
  injur- 
  

   ing 
  fruit 
  and 
  depositing 
  their 
  eggs 
  over 
  the 
  whole 
  country. 
  Humboldt: 
  

   Have 
  injured 
  corn 
  and 
  nearly 
  ruined 
  buckwheat 
  and 
  beans. 
  Calhoun: 
  

   Have 
  trimmed 
  around 
  corn-fields 
  and 
  so 
  injured 
  buckwheat 
  that 
  it 
  will 
  

   not 
  be 
  cut. 
  CheroTcee: 
  Came 
  with 
  a 
  north 
  wind, 
  on 
  the 
  6th 
  of 
  August 
  ; 
  

   staid 
  two 
  weeks, 
  and 
  have 
  deposited 
  eggs 
  to 
  some 
  extent 
  ; 
  they 
  damaged 
  

   wheat 
  slightly 
  and 
  a 
  very 
  heavy 
  corn-crop 
  at 
  least 
  25 
  per 
  cent. 
  Sioux: 
  

   Eeduced 
  corn 
  to 
  40, 
  wheat 
  and 
  barley 
  to 
  70, 
  oats 
  to 
  80, 
  and 
  j)otatoes 
  to 
  

   10. 
  Greene; 
  Swarmof 
  grasshoppers 
  are 
  destroying 
  the 
  country. 
  Mont- 
  

   gomery: 
  Came 
  August 
  25; 
  have 
  done 
  no 
  injury 
  as 
  yet, 
  except 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  

   gardens. 
  They 
  seem 
  uneasy, 
  as 
  if 
  they 
  desired 
  to 
  leave. 
  The 
  wind 
  has 
  

   only 
  been 
  favorable 
  for 
  them 
  one 
  day 
  since 
  their 
  arrival. 
  Audubon: 
  

   Cam-e 
  in 
  clouds 
  on 
  the 
  24th 
  of 
  August; 
  are 
  doing 
  some 
  damage 
  on 
  the 
  

   corn 
  and 
  filling 
  the 
  ground 
  with 
  eggs. 
  Guthrie: 
  Coming 
  on 
  us 
  during 
  

   the 
  last 
  week 
  by 
  millions 
  ; 
  looks 
  as 
  if 
  they 
  intended 
  to 
  stay 
  with 
  us, 
  and 
  

   if 
  they 
  do, 
  our 
  crops 
  will 
  suffer 
  greatly. 
  Pottaicattamie: 
  Made 
  their 
  ap- 
  

   pearance 
  in 
  strong 
  force 
  on 
  the 
  23d 
  of 
  August; 
  have 
  done 
  considerable 
  

   damage, 
  and 
  are 
  laying 
  eggs 
  in 
  large 
  quantities. 
  Pocahontas: 
  Have 
  

   come 
  and 
  gone 
  again 
  without 
  doing 
  much 
  damage, 
  except 
  to 
  gardens. 
  

   Sac: 
  The 
  red-legged 
  grasshoppers 
  came 
  about 
  the 
  15th 
  of 
  August 
  in 
  such 
  

   numbers 
  as 
  to 
  materially 
  injure 
  our 
  growing 
  crops. 
  — 
  (Monthly 
  Agricul- 
  

   tural 
  Eeport, 
  August 
  and 
  September, 
  1876.) 
  

  

  " 
  The 
  Hamilton 
  (Iowa) 
  Freeman 
  states 
  that 
  a 
  gentleman, 
  on 
  examin- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  ground 
  on 
  which 
  the 
  insects 
  had 
  deposited 
  their 
  eggs, 
  found 
  52 
  

   deposits 
  in 
  4 
  square 
  inches, 
  or 
  13 
  per 
  inch. 
  The 
  eggs 
  in 
  each 
  deposit 
  

   varied 
  between 
  17 
  and 
  34, 
  averaging 
  about 
  25 
  to 
  the 
  cocoon. 
  If 
  these 
  

   all 
  hatched 
  there 
  would 
  be 
  325 
  grasshoppers 
  on 
  each 
  square 
  inch. 
  But 
  

   most 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  were 
  addled 
  by 
  the 
  warm 
  weather 
  subsequent 
  to 
  their 
  

   deposit. 
  It 
  is 
  proposed 
  to 
  destroy 
  them 
  by 
  burning 
  over 
  the 
  prairies. 
  

   In 
  Woodbury, 
  Iowa, 
  the 
  insects 
  greatly 
  injured 
  the 
  potato 
  crop." 
  — 
  

   (Monthly 
  Agricultural 
  Report, 
  November 
  and 
  December.) 
  

  

  THE 
  LOCUST 
  IN 
  MINNESOTA 
  IN 
  1876. 
  

  

  In 
  Minnesota 
  the 
  eggs 
  hatched 
  out 
  at 
  Breckenridge 
  May 
  23. 
  In 
  

   June 
  the 
  grasshoppers 
  were 
  infested 
  by 
  a 
  " 
  red-fly 
  parasite," 
  mite. 
  In 
  

   July, 
  numerous 
  at 
  Breckenridge, 
  10th, 
  11th, 
  and 
  12th 
  ; 
  left, 
  going 
  

   southeast, 
  13th 
  ; 
  appeared 
  again 
  19th 
  and 
  23d. 
  In 
  August, 
  Brecken- 
  

   ridge, 
  swarms 
  seen 
  on 
  1st; 
  very 
  destructive 
  3d; 
  flying 
  and 
  depositing 
  

  

  