﻿LETTER 
  OF 
  TRANSMITTAL. 
  

  

  Office 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Entomological 
  Commission, 
  

   1700 
  Thirteenth 
  Street, 
  Northwest, 
  

  

  Washington, 
  D. 
  C, 
  November 
  15, 
  1879. 
  

  

  Sir 
  : 
  We 
  have 
  the 
  honor 
  herewith 
  to 
  transmit 
  to 
  you 
  the 
  Second 
  Re- 
  

   port 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Entomological 
  Commission 
  on 
  the 
  Rocky 
  

   Mountain 
  Locust, 
  or 
  grasshopper 
  of 
  the 
  West. 
  The 
  report 
  is 
  the 
  result 
  

   of 
  the 
  labors 
  of 
  the 
  Commission 
  during 
  the 
  years 
  JS78 
  and 
  1879. 
  In 
  

   transmitting 
  our 
  First 
  Report 
  we 
  endeavored 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  prac- 
  

   tically 
  exhaustive 
  of 
  one 
  phase 
  of 
  the 
  inquiry, 
  viz, 
  the 
  subjection 
  and 
  

   destruction 
  of 
  the 
  young 
  or 
  unwinged 
  insects 
  as 
  they 
  hatch 
  out 
  in 
  the 
  

   more 
  fertile 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  trans-Mississippi 
  country. 
  We 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  

   time 
  laid 
  stress 
  ou 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  impossible 
  in 
  so 
  short 
  a 
  time 
  to 
  

   properly 
  study 
  the 
  second 
  phase 
  of 
  the 
  question, 
  one 
  most 
  difficult 
  and 
  

   most 
  important, 
  in 
  our 
  judgment, 
  viz, 
  how 
  to 
  prevent 
  this 
  fertile 
  country 
  

   from 
  being 
  overrun 
  by 
  the 
  disastrous 
  winged 
  swarms 
  from 
  the 
  North- 
  

   west. 
  This 
  fact 
  cannot 
  be 
  better 
  set 
  forth 
  than 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  portions 
  

   of 
  our 
  letter 
  to 
  Dr. 
  Hayden, 
  submitting 
  that 
  report 
  : 
  

  

  The 
  young 
  insects 
  as 
  they 
  occur 
  in 
  the 
  more 
  fertile 
  States 
  affected 
  can 
  be 
  mastered, 
  

   as 
  the 
  Report 
  will, 
  we 
  hope, 
  abundantly 
  prove. 
  We 
  point 
  out 
  the 
  way, 
  also, 
  which 
  

   vre 
  have 
  every 
  reason 
  to 
  believe 
  will 
  prove 
  feasible 
  and 
  practicable, 
  to 
  prevent 
  future 
  

   incursions 
  of 
  the 
  winged 
  swarms. 
  

  

  While 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  object 
  of 
  the 
  Commission 
  to 
  cover 
  as 
  much 
  ground 
  as 
  possible, 
  

   so 
  as 
  to 
  make 
  this 
  annual 
  report 
  as 
  full 
  and 
  reliable 
  as 
  'he 
  time 
  would 
  permit, 
  there 
  

   yet 
  remain 
  several 
  important 
  subjects 
  that 
  it 
  has 
  so 
  far 
  been 
  impossible 
  to 
  properly 
  

   and 
  exhaustively 
  study. 
  

  

  The 
  territory 
  affected 
  is 
  so 
  vast, 
  embracing 
  about 
  2,000,000 
  square 
  miles, 
  that 
  much 
  

   of 
  it 
  was 
  imperfectly 
  explored, 
  especially 
  in 
  the 
  Northwest. 
  Mr. 
  Riley 
  had 
  to 
  cut 
  

   short 
  his 
  investigations 
  in 
  British 
  America 
  both 
  for 
  want 
  of 
  time 
  and 
  want 
  of 
  funds. 
  

   For 
  similar 
  reasons, 
  and 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  Indian 
  troubles, 
  Montana, 
  Wyoming, 
  and 
  Dakota 
  

   have 
  been 
  but 
  superficially 
  explored. 
  

  

  The 
  year 
  1877 
  was 
  an 
  abnormal 
  year, 
  i. 
  e., 
  the 
  winged 
  insects 
  had 
  the 
  previous 
  year 
  

   overrun 
  and 
  laid 
  eggs 
  in 
  a 
  large 
  section 
  of 
  country 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  species 
  is 
  not 
  indige- 
  

   nous, 
  and 
  a 
  numerous 
  progeny 
  hatched 
  in 
  such 
  country 
  the 
  past 
  spring. 
  This 
  was 
  

   most 
  fortunate 
  for 
  many 
  reasons, 
  as 
  it 
  enabled 
  the 
  Commission 
  to 
  carefully 
  study 
  the 
  

   insects 
  in 
  this 
  their 
  unnatural 
  condition, 
  and 
  to 
  carry 
  on 
  experiments 
  with 
  a 
  view 
  of 
  

   learning 
  how 
  best 
  to 
  control 
  them. 
  Much 
  of 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  Commission 
  was 
  with 
  

   these 
  young 
  insects. 
  The 
  losses 
  sustained 
  through 
  the 
  devastations 
  of 
  the 
  pest 
  by 
  ;i 
  

   young 
  and 
  struggling 
  frontier 
  population, 
  ill 
  able 
  to 
  bear 
  them, 
  were 
  immense, 
  and 
  

   There 
  was 
  so 
  much 
  discouragement 
  that 
  hundreds 
  and 
  thousands 
  of 
  persons 
  were 
  on 
  

  

  