APPENDIX V. — KANSAS DATA FOR 1877. [101] 



similar to one described in your bulletins, and bas so far succeeded in saving: bis corn 

 crop, tbougb it was of no avail in bis wbeat and oats, bis wbeat being already beaded 

 out. Some of our farmers are tbinkiug tbat tbey will destroy all of our crops tbis 

 year, and many otbers seem to tbink tbat tbey will do us but little damage tbis year. 

 Tbey appear to disappear very mysteriously after tbey are about a week or ten days 

 old. Undoubtedly tbere are now liere none of tbose tbat first batcbed out. — [W. L. 

 Lanter, Garnett, Kans., June 1, 1877. 



Tbe little grassboppers bave nearly all gone. No damage in tbis county, to speak 

 of. The majority -of eggs were destroyed by rain and frost. — [S. B. Abbott, Oswego, 

 June 3, 1877. 



All tbe grassboppers here this year appear to be of a somewhat darker shade of 

 color than tbe ones we bad two j'ears ago ; tbey also seem to be a little longer in pro- 

 portion to their weight than they were two years ago. They are doing us no material 

 damage except in small localities. Even garden vegetables are generally unmolested, 

 except once in a while we bear of a garden tbat bas been slightly damaged by them. 

 Tbey do not appear to get to be more than ten days to two weeks old until they disappear, 

 caused by some kind of a parasite so small tbat it cannot be seen by tbe naked eye. 

 Most of our farmers are still in good cheer, and tbe ones who were most discouraged 

 are growing lighter-hearted. We are and bave been blessed with heavy rains, which 

 have drowned a great many of tbe young 'hoppers. I am not aware tbat any one bas 

 attempted to fight them by fire or any other method than the one of which I spoke 

 in my last. I have beard of no one who bas been ditching to kill them. Father (J. 

 H. Lanter) has just returned from a trip to the southeast portion of tbis State, and 

 be says that they are not doing any more damage tbere than here. He reported one 

 man in the northwest corner of Bourbon County who bas been successfully fighting 

 them with fire. He draws oat two or three wagon-loads of straw, and then drives the 

 young 'hoppers into it and sets fire to it. More anon. — [W. L. Lanter, Garnett^ June 

 5, 1877. 



From all parts of the county come tbe glad tidings that tbe grassboppers are doing 

 but little damage. They are disappearing nearly as fast as they batch out. The 

 crops are growing nicely, and if tbe season continues favorable an abundant harvest 

 can surely be relied on. — \_JunciioH City Tribune, June 7. 



Tbe grasshopper crop here has proven to be a failure. There is not one this year 

 where- there were a thousand two years ago. Tbe damage they do us tbis year amounts 

 to a mere nothing as compared with two years ago. There are none flying over and 

 ligbtipg here, and the few that batched here are nearly all dead. The cause of their 

 premature death is unknown to us. — [W. L. Lanter, Garnett, June 13, 1877. 



Locusts flying north with a good breeze. Tbey appear to fly in scattered swarms, 

 not very thickly. They generally fly very high. — [E. Milliken, Emporia, Kans., Lyon 

 County, June 14. 



From 12 m. to 4 p. m. locusts were flying north by east, with a mild breeze. A pan 

 resembling tbe Salina pan was used here, but the locusts were not sufficiently numer- 

 ous to warrant its extensive use. It only diflered from the Salina pan in having 

 handles attached to the ends, and w^as carried by two men walking at tbe ends. — [A. 

 N. Godfrey, Hartford, Lyon County, June 12, 1877. 



Tbey. are now hatching by tbe car-load on the western borders of the county and 

 throughout Brown and the counties west. Farmers are fighting them to their utmost, 

 tbe materials used being chiefly tin pans and coal-oil. Tbe issue is extremely doubt- 

 ful. As a fair sample of the whole infested country, one instance will illustrate. 

 Enoch Spaulding, living three miles west of White Cloud, has an eighty-acre pasture 

 field. Last Friday they went to work catching young grasshoppers (just large enough 

 to bop), and on that field they caught one hundred gallons of the insects, pressed and 

 packed down. They filled twenty nail-kegs. — \_Troy Chief, June 14, 1877. 



We have not been plagued as yet with 'hoppers, altbongh tbey have been batching 

 out for some time, but none seemed to grow large. — [George F. Smart, Dickinson, 

 June 14, 1877. 



At this writing all danger from our old enemies seems past. It is true tbey are thick 

 in places, in tbe rank weeds and grain, but we are abundantly satisfied that not 2 per 

 cent, of the insects hatched this spring are now alive. We bave been greatly surprised 

 at tbe number of birds, strangers to this State, which seem to have taken up their resi- 

 dence permanently with us. Robins are almost as common in this vicinity as in 

 New York, and we notice with no little pleasure that a couple of i)airs of bobolinks 

 bave gone to housekeeping in tbe blue-grass meadow on the College farm. — [Professor 

 Sbelton, Industrialist, June 16. 



Maxhattax, Riley County, June 16. — The locusts here bave done no damage since 

 last report. Some are now in the pupa state, but none have yet accxuired wings. A 

 few winged locusts have descended from the passing swarms. 



