436 REPORT UNITED STATES ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 



covers the prairies, was pretty effectually eradicated in 1877 by the 

 youDg locusts, which kept the buds eaten out in spring. 



The following article, written October 23, 1876, from Yankton, Dak., 

 and published in the Neiv Yorlc Tribune, gives an interesting summary 

 of the results that followed the defoliation of shrubs and trees in that 

 locality. 



Our gardens show some queer efifects of grasshoppers Trhlcli swarmed here in August. 

 Heavy frosts occurred in the last of September, stripping many trees of leaves ; but the 

 young fruit-trees, which had every leaf eaten up clean in August by 'hoppers and then 

 put out all the nest year's buds, still hold their clusters of rich green, glossy leaves, 

 apparently unconscious of the hard freezes of autumn. While the bos-elder, and a few 

 other trees not eaten by them last summer, have shed all their leaves, because ripened 

 to maturity, I fiud the unripe leaves of the new foliage of the lilac, the egg-plum, the 

 Queen of the Prairie rose, the Hislop and Transcendent crab, and the cottonwood look 

 bright and green and resist the frosts. The Concord grapes are an esception. They 

 were eaten down to mere stubs in August. Tiiey budded anew as in spring, grew fast, 

 and produced a good length of young shoots only to wither and be killed by the frosts. 

 One of the queerest effects of the 'hopper pest is this second budding and blossoming of 

 fruit-trees. About October 1, 1 saw, in my neighbor's garden in this city, a young wild 

 plum-tree bearing a good number of ripe plums, and on every limb were white clusters 

 of blossoms, from nest year's fruit-buds, prematurel}'^ forced into unnatural bloom by 

 the 'hoppers having taken all the leaves and caused the sap to find a new outlet for its 

 circulation. The flowers were dwarfed and sad-looking, but it remains to be seen what 

 such trees will do nest year. 



The crab-apple trees at the same time had occasional sprays of blossoms, delicate and 

 sweet as those of May. The insects are very sure to strip these trees, even gnawing off 

 the soft young shoots, but leaving their crop of half-grown fruit to come to a dwarfed 

 and withered maturity in the midst of rich, new foliage as lusuriant as- that of early 

 June. But nothing hurts these hardy and valuable trees in Dakota, not even the mj^s- 

 terious fire-blight. I planted some fine young Norway spruces last spring, from a mis- 

 taken idea that 'hoppers wouldn't touch evergreens. I have preserved the dry stalk of 

 the largest one, stripped as clean of its bark for some distance as it could have been 

 scraped with a knife. The grasshopper did it with his little hatchet. My horticul- 

 tural esperience with 'hoppers convinces me that we can raise the Miner plum in Dakota 

 unhurt by them ; also the Early Richmond cherry. These trees held their leaves intact, 

 while myriads of gnawing pests ate the gooseberry and currant bushes clean — the lat- 

 ter sort mostly dying out, while the gooseberry bushes are again full of foliage and 

 growing as gaily as if we had not had ground recently frozen half an inch thick. Straw- 

 berries also did not seem to lose a leaf, while onions were eaten down into the ground. 



INJURY TO FRUIT AND FRUIT-TREES. 



''It is doubtful if grain-growers and stock-raisers suffer as much in 

 the end as fruit-growers from locust injuries. The injury is at first less 

 felt by these, but in many instances it is more lasting and serious. 

 Most trees survive one or two defoliations, but in many cases no leaves 

 are permitted to grow for weeks, just at the season when they are most 

 needed. This was especially the case in 1875 with low shrubs, such as 

 gooseberries and currants, in which the insects were fond of roosting. 

 Where not excessively numerous, heart-cherries were preferred over 

 others, and the insects would pass through a strawberry bed and only 

 clean out the weeds. A great many trees were killed outright, and it 



