150 REPORT UNITED STATES ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 



farther east they came. They reached Holt County on the 8th of 

 August, and all the counties in the same line, north and south, from 

 Worth to McDonald, were reached during the latter part of the same 

 month. They then continued to make short flights, and finally reached 

 their extreme eastern limit toward the last of September. The corre- 

 spondents do not agree as to whether the wind has much influence on 

 their flight; but the majority of the reports show that, as is the nature 

 of the insect in other States, it only flew in dense swarms when the 

 wind was from the northwest. 



In Kansas the locusts appeared " in overwhelming hordes from the 

 plains of Colorado on the west, and the fields of Nebraska on the north." 

 '*They have destroyed the entire corn-crops of Central and Western 

 Kansas and left thousands of people in absolute destitution. They have 

 tarried with us longer this year than usual, having been detained by 

 adverse winds from making their usual annual southerly migration. 

 They do not trouble us unless stopped in their course south by currents 

 counter to the direction of their flight. In Franklin County they came 

 about August 23d ; a north wind brought them.'^ 



Nebraska was entirely overrun in 1874, the locusts coming in legions 

 from the north and northwest during the last of July, namely, about the 

 20th. In Otoe County they appeared late in July and left on the 7th 

 August. "The wind was blowing from the southwest at the time of 

 their arrival, but I think there was an upper current of wind from the 

 north, which carried the greater part of them past, not more than one 

 in ten (apparently) coming down." (Quotation in Riley's seventh report.) 



We can discover no facts opposing the view that in 1873 and 1874 

 the swarms which afflicted Iowa came from the northwest ; there are no 

 direct facts recorded as to the direction of the flights ; but there are no 

 facts indicating that they came either from the south or southwest or 

 northeast. 



In Minnesota clouds of locusts in July, 1874, came from Dakota and 

 British America, and the year previous swarms came apparently from 

 the northwest ; there are no data showing that they came in 1873 from 

 a direction different from that assumed in 1874. 



While Dakota was overrun in 1873 and 1874, we have no authentic 

 data regarding the course of the flights or the winds at the time of migra- 

 tion. 



In 1875 Eagle Pass, Tex., was visited by swarms moving from the 

 north in September (United States Signal OfQce), but north of this State 

 up to the United States boundary line there w^as no general invasion 

 from the northwest. From Dakota the locusts migrated from the middle 

 of July until the middle of August, moving in a general south and, at 

 times, southeast course. 



In 1876 there were fresh arrivals in Texas from the north and north- 

 west. At different points in Texas from September 8 until late in JS'o- 

 vember the flights were from points varying from north to northwest. 

 (Packard's Keport to Dr. Haydeu, 1877.) 



