[252] REPORT UNITED STATES ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 



years there was generally a scarcity of rain from the middle of June to September. 

 This last three years, however, the rain-fall has been greatly increased, especially in 

 the month of July and early part of August. It has consequently increased the vol- 

 ume of rivers and creeks, created new springs, and hay has been cut this last two years 

 of good quality where there was not even grazing before. This increase of damp not 

 only retards the growth and hatching of the young insect, but also destroys an immense 

 number. 



O. O. MORTSON. 

 United States Entomological Commission, 



Saint Louis, Mo. 



Fort Shaw, Mont., 



December 2(3, li77. 



Sir : I have yours of the Ist instant, and regret exceedingly that it is not in my 

 power to give you any satisfactory information in regard to the grasshopi^ers in this 

 region. During the summer of 1876 they hatched out here and did the crops a great 

 deal of harm, but I was absent during the whole summer on the Yellowstone and made 

 no observations. Last summer I left nere July 29, and left directions for observations 

 to be made, so that the inquiries in y..ur circular could be answered, but the matter was 

 neglected, and now all the information I can get has to be collected from the mea who 

 had charge of the gardens during our absence, for we saw very few of the insects dur- 

 iog our trip west of the mountains, our observations being more particularly directed 

 toward catchiog "Joseph" and his band. I am told that last year the grasshoppers 

 came here in large swarms during the first part of August, remained all summer, laid 

 their eggs here, and died here, so that our prospects for next year are poor, the young 

 insects being worse even than the full-grown ones in destroying the young crops. The 

 only hope where the insects lay their eggs in any locality is in a jirematurely early 

 spring, when a spell of warm weather hatches out the eggs and is succeded by a sharp 

 frost which kills them. 



The insects last summer came here from the southeast, as we heard of them at Camp 

 Baker, 80 or 90 miles southeast of here, before they got here, but they do not appear to 

 have migrated from here at all. In their depredations cabbages seem to have suffered 

 the least, and these were vigorously protected by one of our old soldiers, who broke off 

 the large outside leaves and placed them over the plants. The grasshoppers eat these 

 leaves, and hence did not destroy mut h of the head Potatoes and onions suffered most, 

 and whenever the potato vines are badly earen the tubers do not come to perfection 

 and the potato is watery, a very unusual thing in this country, which is remarkable 

 for its fine mealy potatoes generally. 



I assure you I take very great interest in the labors of your commission and regret 

 not being able to give you more information for its use. If you are able to do anything 

 to rid this western country of these x)ests, you will perform a valuable service, and as we 

 have but few Israelites in this country by letting go whom we might appease the Lord 

 sending these pests, we shall have to depend upon science and patient investigations to 

 get rid of them. 



Respectfully, yours, 



JOHN GIBBON, 

 Brevet Major- General, Colonel United States Army. 



Prof. A. S. Packard, 



Salem, Mass. 



Diamond City, August 11, 1877. 



Dear Sir : Some time since I received your circular concerning the grasshoppers, 

 and would have answered the questions sooner but for the fact until very recently 

 there have been but few of the pests in the country. 



In the western section of our Territory (Bitter Root Valley) the grasshoppers 

 hatched out early in June and remained there until the 5th of July, when they began 

 to depart, taking a southwesterly direction. They were detained several days longer 

 in the country on account of frequent rain showers, which brought them down, and 

 when they lit in swarms they did great damage to crops. 



Ten or twelve farms, of 100 to 150 acres each were totally destroyed, while as many 

 more were partially eaten up, reducing the yield of wheat in that valley about one- 

 third. 



In Eastern Montana there were no eggs deposited in 1876 and crops were firm and 

 flourishing until the 24th of July, when they passed in by the millions in swarms 

 from 500 feet to probably 2,000 feet high, and, when directly over the Gallatin and 

 Missouri Valleys, they came suddenly down. 



They all appeared to arrive in three or four days' time. They remained on the fields 

 from three to seven days, in many instances completely destioying the crops. 



