﻿PACKARD.] 
  REMEDIES 
  AGAINST 
  THE 
  LOCUST. 
  669 
  

  

  luctance, 
  but 
  won 
  the 
  victory 
  witli 
  less 
  than 
  half 
  the 
  trouble 
  they 
  expected. 
  Only 
  

   those 
  who 
  feared 
  to 
  plant 
  last 
  spring, 
  or 
  those 
  who 
  planted 
  so 
  late 
  that 
  the 
  flying 
  

   swarms 
  in 
  August 
  caught 
  their 
  uuripened 
  grain, 
  are 
  now 
  mourning 
  the 
  lack 
  of 
  good 
  

   crops. 
  If 
  they 
  now 
  had 
  information 
  that 
  grasshopper-sggs 
  are 
  de)-)osited 
  plentifully 
  

   in 
  Laramie 
  Plains, 
  the 
  Sweetwater 
  Country, 
  or 
  Upper 
  Green 
  Eiver 
  Basin, 
  none 
  would 
  

   plant 
  late 
  next 
  spring. 
  All 
  crops 
  would 
  be 
  put 
  in 
  early 
  and 
  harvested 
  in 
  July, 
  because 
  

   they 
  would 
  know 
  that 
  if 
  swarms 
  of 
  grasshoppers 
  hatch 
  in 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  regions 
  nnmed, 
  

   next 
  spring 
  the 
  prevailing 
  winds 
  will 
  be 
  likely 
  to 
  bring 
  their 
  devouring 
  hosts 
  down 
  

   upon 
  Colorado 
  about 
  the 
  second 
  week 
  of 
  August. 
  But 
  we 
  do 
  not 
  know 
  whether 
  any 
  

   egg-laying 
  swarms 
  invaded 
  those 
  countries 
  in 
  August, 
  September, 
  or 
  October 
  last 
  or 
  

   not. 
  So 
  far 
  as 
  that 
  matter 
  is 
  concerned, 
  we 
  are 
  just 
  as 
  ignorant 
  this 
  year 
  as 
  we 
  were 
  

   in 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  1863 
  prior 
  to 
  the 
  first 
  and 
  most 
  astonishing 
  invasion 
  of 
  August, 
  1864. 
  

   Consequently, 
  half 
  the 
  farmers, 
  instead 
  of 
  planting 
  in 
  February 
  and 
  March, 
  will 
  put 
  

   it 
  off 
  until 
  May, 
  and 
  then 
  trust 
  to 
  luck. 
  If 
  no 
  grasshoppers 
  come, 
  all 
  right; 
  if 
  they 
  

   do 
  come 
  and 
  eat 
  up 
  the 
  barley 
  and 
  wheat 
  in 
  the 
  milk 
  and 
  the 
  corn 
  when 
  the 
  tassels 
  

   are 
  shooting, 
  they'll 
  curse 
  the 
  country 
  and 
  their 
  own 
  hard 
  fate 
  — 
  laziness. 
  

  

  Although 
  no 
  one 
  can 
  tell 
  now 
  with 
  present 
  light, 
  or 
  rather 
  darkness, 
  whether 
  or 
  not 
  

   flying 
  swarms 
  of 
  grasshoppers 
  are 
  lilceUj 
  to 
  scourge 
  Colorado 
  next 
  fall, 
  we 
  are 
  all 
  pretty 
  

   certain 
  that 
  we 
  will 
  have 
  plenty 
  of 
  young 
  ones 
  in 
  the 
  spring, 
  and 
  that 
  some 
  other 
  

   country 
  will 
  get 
  them 
  " 
  on 
  the 
  wing 
  " 
  in 
  the 
  fall. 
  It 
  will 
  probably 
  be 
  Southern 
  Kan- 
  

   sas, 
  Indian 
  Territory, 
  or 
  Texas. 
  They 
  may 
  reach 
  Southwestern 
  Missoijri 
  or 
  Arkansas. 
  

   Consequently, 
  the 
  News 
  advises 
  the 
  people 
  in 
  that 
  direction 
  to 
  plant 
  early 
  and 
  mainly 
  

   of 
  crops 
  that 
  will 
  be 
  harvested 
  by 
  the 
  20th 
  of 
  July. 
  The 
  grasshoppers 
  that 
  hatch 
  here 
  

   will 
  fly 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  weeks 
  earlier 
  than 
  those 
  from 
  higher 
  latitude 
  and 
  altitude. 
  

  

  The 
  farmers 
  of 
  Colorado 
  in 
  1876 
  were 
  quite 
  successful 
  in 
  combating 
  

   the 
  locust. 
  The 
  best 
  account 
  of 
  their 
  mode 
  of 
  fighting? 
  them 
  appears 
  in 
  

   the 
  New 
  York 
  Tribune, 
  from 
  the 
  pen 
  of 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  Max 
  Clark, 
  of 
  Greeley, 
  

   Colo. 
  

  

  Indeed, 
  notwithstanding 
  those 
  natural 
  barriers 
  to 
  their 
  progress 
  eastward 
  — 
  climate 
  

   and 
  soil 
  — 
  it 
  is 
  hardly 
  safe 
  to 
  assert 
  that 
  they 
  may 
  not 
  yet 
  reach 
  much 
  farther 
  into 
  the 
  

   older 
  States 
  than 
  they 
  have 
  heretofore 
  succeeded 
  in 
  i)enetrating. 
  It 
  is 
  true 
  they 
  thrive 
  

   best 
  in 
  a 
  dry 
  climate, 
  but 
  they 
  can 
  exist 
  and 
  jDerpetuate 
  themselves 
  in 
  a 
  wet 
  one 
  ; 
  they 
  

   prefer 
  a 
  dry 
  sandy 
  or 
  gravelly 
  soil 
  in 
  which 
  to 
  deposit 
  their 
  eggs, 
  but 
  the 
  conditions 
  not 
  

   being 
  so 
  favorable 
  they 
  will 
  lay 
  them 
  in 
  heavy 
  wet 
  soil, 
  with 
  no 
  apparent 
  injury 
  to 
  

   their 
  vitality. 
  They 
  have 
  been 
  known 
  to 
  hatch 
  in 
  this 
  vicinity 
  on 
  the 
  margin 
  of 
  a 
  

   lake, 
  in 
  soil 
  almost 
  marshy 
  in 
  its 
  texture. 
  I 
  have 
  myself 
  known 
  them 
  to 
  come 
  forth 
  

   in 
  an 
  apparently 
  perfectly 
  healthy 
  condition 
  from 
  soil 
  too 
  wet 
  to 
  plow. 
  

  

  While, 
  for 
  the 
  reasons 
  set 
  forth, 
  we 
  can 
  have 
  no 
  great 
  faith 
  in 
  any 
  method 
  of 
  general 
  

   destruction, 
  there 
  are 
  means 
  of 
  defense 
  which 
  at 
  times 
  are 
  very 
  effective, 
  and 
  which 
  

   are 
  always- 
  worth 
  trying. 
  In 
  this 
  State 
  our 
  main 
  reliance 
  is 
  on 
  water. 
  We 
  surround 
  

   our 
  fields 
  with, 
  ditches, 
  and 
  into 
  the 
  water 
  we 
  drop 
  kerosene 
  oil, 
  which 
  covers 
  the 
  sur- 
  

   face 
  and 
  kills 
  the 
  young 
  grasshoppers 
  at 
  the 
  touch. 
  When 
  they 
  deposit 
  eggs 
  in 
  the 
  

   fields, 
  as 
  they 
  frequently 
  ^o, 
  we 
  watch 
  for 
  their 
  hatching 
  and 
  scatter 
  straw 
  over 
  them 
  

   as 
  they 
  come 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  ground, 
  and 
  burn 
  them 
  if 
  possible 
  before 
  they 
  get 
  scattered. 
  

   When 
  young 
  grasshoppers 
  attack 
  a 
  crop 
  th«y 
  generally 
  do 
  so 
  in 
  a 
  compact 
  body,;much. 
  

   in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  a 
  line 
  of 
  battle, 
  and 
  for 
  a 
  short 
  time 
  at 
  least 
  after 
  striking 
  the 
  vegeta- 
  

   tion 
  do 
  not 
  scatter, 
  but 
  eat 
  the 
  border 
  clean 
  as 
  they 
  go. 
  At 
  such 
  times 
  they 
  are 
  easily 
  

   destroyed, 
  and 
  any 
  farmer 
  who 
  has 
  straw 
  stacks 
  and 
  teams 
  can, 
  if 
  quick 
  and 
  energetic, 
  

   generally 
  save 
  his 
  crop 
  by 
  spreading 
  straw 
  on 
  the 
  advancing 
  line 
  and 
  burning 
  them. 
  

   When 
  grasshoppers 
  have 
  invaded 
  a 
  field 
  of 
  young 
  grain, 
  or 
  have 
  hatched 
  in 
  it, 
  and 
  

   have 
  become 
  scattered 
  through 
  it 
  before 
  they 
  have 
  been 
  discovered, 
  then 
  another 
  line 
  

   of 
  policy 
  must 
  be 
  ijursued, 
  and 
  one 
  not 
  so 
  certain 
  of 
  success. 
  We 
  use 
  a 
  fire-machine, 
  

   which 
  may 
  be 
  described 
  as 
  being 
  a 
  net-work 
  of 
  heavy 
  wire 
  (telegraph-wire 
  is 
  good) 
  

   upon 
  runners 
  of 
  iron 
  about 
  4 
  inches 
  high, 
  upon 
  which 
  straw, 
  coal, 
  or 
  wood 
  is 
  burned 
  

   as 
  the 
  machine 
  is 
  drawn 
  by 
  horses 
  attached 
  to 
  long 
  rods, 
  meeting 
  at 
  a 
  point 
  15 
  or 
  20 
  

   feet 
  in 
  ndvance 
  of 
  the 
  machine. 
  The 
  machines 
  vary 
  in 
  width 
  from 
  8 
  to 
  12 
  feet 
  in 
  their 
  

   sweep, 
  and 
  are 
  about 
  3 
  feet 
  deep 
  from 
  front 
  to 
  rear, 
  witb 
  a 
  sheet-iron 
  cover 
  attached 
  

   to 
  the 
  rear 
  and 
  raised 
  from 
  1 
  to 
  2 
  feet 
  high 
  in 
  front 
  to 
  throw 
  the 
  flames 
  downward 
  

   through 
  the 
  net-work 
  of 
  wire 
  as 
  the 
  machine 
  proceeds. 
  This 
  kills 
  the 
  young 
  hoppers 
  

   without 
  generally 
  seriously 
  injuring 
  the 
  grain. 
  

  

  We 
  also 
  use 
  a 
  platform 
  of 
  zinc 
  or 
  canvas, 
  or 
  even 
  thin 
  boards 
  from 
  6 
  to 
  10 
  feet 
  long 
  

   and 
  3 
  feet 
  wide, 
  upon 
  which 
  is 
  spread 
  coal-tar 
  with 
  a 
  broom 
  or 
  whitewash-brush, 
  from 
  

   a 
  pailful 
  of 
  liquid 
  ready 
  for 
  the 
  purpose. 
  This 
  is 
  dragged 
  by 
  hand 
  or 
  with 
  a 
  horse. 
  

   The 
  runners 
  under 
  the 
  platform 
  are 
  only 
  a 
  couple 
  of 
  inches 
  in 
  length, 
  and 
  the 
  hoppers 
  

   jump 
  on 
  to 
  the 
  tarred 
  surface 
  and 
  stick 
  fast 
  as 
  the 
  machine 
  is 
  moved 
  along. 
  This 
  is 
  a 
  

   very 
  simple 
  contrivance, 
  and 
  is 
  generally 
  regarded 
  as 
  about 
  as 
  effectual 
  as 
  the 
  fire- 
  

   machines, 
  while 
  not 
  costing 
  nearly 
  so 
  much 
  in 
  construction 
  or 
  for 
  running-expenses. 
  

  

  