﻿LOCUST 
  RAVAGES 
  IN 
  CALIFORNIA 
  255 
  

  

  paratus 
  of 
  the 
  insects 
  by 
  way 
  of 
  the 
  ten 
  pairs 
  of 
  spiracles 
  or 
  breathing 
  holes 
  along 
  

   the 
  rides 
  of 
  the 
  body. 
  

  

  The 
  invasion 
  of 
  17 
  years 
  ago 
  was 
  only 
  for 
  one 
  season. 
  Why 
  this 
  one 
  is 
  prolonged 
  

   for 
  three 
  years 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  interesting 
  to 
  know. 
  It 
  is 
  hoped 
  this 
  is 
  the 
  last 
  year 
  of 
  

   their 
  ravages, 
  if, 
  indeed, 
  they 
  are 
  allowed 
  to 
  complete 
  their 
  work, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  para- 
  

   sites, 
  but 
  will 
  rise 
  and 
  flee 
  away 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  able. 
  

  

  The 
  attacks 
  of 
  the 
  "red 
  louse," 
  or 
  " 
  silky 
  mite," 
  have 
  been 
  alluded 
  to 
  in 
  the 
  pre- 
  

   vious 
  articles. 
  I 
  have 
  detected 
  it 
  in 
  several 
  localities, 
  and 
  should 
  it 
  become 
  numerous, 
  

   the 
  atrocious 
  locust 
  is 
  doomed, 
  as 
  appears 
  from 
  authentic 
  accounts 
  of 
  its 
  friendly 
  

   services 
  in 
  the 
  interior. 
  

  

  Iu 
  1861 
  Sierra 
  Valley 
  was 
  but 
  thinly 
  settled, 
  and 
  the 
  locust 
  damages 
  were 
  not 
  so 
  

   important 
  owing 
  thereto, 
  but 
  statements 
  from 
  eye-witnesses 
  convey 
  the 
  idea 
  that 
  in 
  

   numbers 
  the 
  locusts 
  far 
  exceeded 
  any 
  experience 
  of 
  this 
  invasion. 
  

  

  For 
  a 
  year 
  or 
  two 
  they 
  had 
  been 
  at 
  work 
  in 
  the 
  north 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  valley, 
  just 
  as 
  now, 
  

   rapidly 
  increasing 
  and 
  traveling 
  southward, 
  precisely 
  as 
  in 
  this 
  case 
  — 
  but 
  when 
  they 
  

   came 
  around 
  Newman's 
  Point 
  the 
  broad 
  living 
  tide 
  was 
  immense, 
  absolutely 
  several 
  

   inches 
  in 
  depth. 
  

  

  Dave 
  Newman 
  states 
  that 
  when 
  he 
  became 
  aware 
  of 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  their 
  approach, 
  

   about 
  the 
  5th 
  of 
  May, 
  he, 
  with 
  Bill 
  Peck 
  and 
  others, 
  dug 
  a 
  trench 
  50 
  feet 
  long 
  by 
  3 
  

   feet 
  wide 
  and 
  3 
  feet 
  deep 
  across 
  their 
  course. 
  The 
  young 
  locusts 
  fell 
  into 
  it, 
  smothered 
  

   and 
  died, 
  while 
  others 
  traveled 
  on 
  over. 
  He 
  then 
  shoveled 
  out 
  the 
  dead 
  ones 
  and 
  be- 
  

   fore 
  night 
  the 
  trench 
  was 
  filled 
  a 
  second 
  time, 
  estimated 
  at 
  50 
  bushels. 
  He 
  then 
  de- 
  

   sisted, 
  for 
  the 
  stench 
  of 
  the 
  dead 
  he 
  feared 
  would 
  be 
  worse 
  for 
  his 
  family 
  than 
  the 
  loss 
  

   of 
  crorjs. 
  They 
  piled 
  up 
  against 
  his 
  barn 
  like 
  snowdrifts, 
  to 
  the 
  height 
  of 
  several 
  

   feet 
  — 
  estimated 
  at 
  500 
  bushels. 
  

  

  Jonah 
  T. 
  Jones 
  says 
  they 
  fell 
  into 
  and 
  filled 
  a 
  row 
  of 
  post-holes 
  to 
  the 
  top 
  and 
  died, 
  

   amountiug 
  to 
  a 
  great 
  many 
  bushels. 
  

  

  George 
  Humphry 
  was 
  driving 
  a 
  stage 
  through 
  the 
  valley 
  at 
  the 
  time, 
  and 
  says 
  the 
  

   road 
  was 
  often 
  blocked 
  as 
  if 
  with 
  mud 
  holes 
  by 
  grasshoppers 
  ; 
  that 
  they 
  lay 
  in 
  banks 
  

   along 
  the 
  fences 
  and 
  buildings. 
  

  

  No 
  one 
  reports 
  any 
  parasites 
  on 
  them, 
  but 
  as 
  they 
  were 
  known 
  to 
  climb 
  up 
  from 
  the 
  

   ground 
  to 
  roost 
  nights, 
  where 
  possible, 
  it 
  is 
  supposed 
  that 
  the 
  fear 
  of 
  the 
  red 
  mite 
  

   which 
  travels 
  the 
  ground 
  was 
  the 
  cause, 
  as 
  this 
  is 
  the 
  way 
  with 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountain 
  

   locusts 
  when 
  so 
  menaced. 
  The 
  autumn 
  of 
  that 
  year 
  saw 
  the 
  last 
  of 
  them. 
  They 
  did 
  

   not 
  fly 
  away, 
  it 
  appears, 
  but 
  lay 
  down 
  and 
  died 
  in 
  heaps 
  before 
  depositing 
  eggs. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  called 
  attention 
  to 
  this 
  locust 
  enemy 
  on 
  every 
  occasion, 
  and 
  much 
  search 
  has 
  

   been 
  instituted, 
  but 
  as 
  yet 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  report 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  the 
  mite, 
  and 
  those 
  in 
  

   but 
  a 
  few 
  places 
  and 
  in 
  small 
  numbers, 
  it 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  feared 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  not 
  numerous 
  

   enough 
  to 
  destroy 
  or 
  drive 
  out 
  the 
  locusts, 
  but 
  there 
  is 
  yet 
  time 
  for 
  complete 
  rescue. 
  

   Their 
  appearance 
  at 
  the 
  East 
  on 
  our 
  parallel 
  is 
  reported 
  as 
  occurring 
  from 
  April 
  17 
  to 
  

   August 
  21. 
  

  

  Would 
  that 
  the 
  welcome 
  little 
  red, 
  silky 
  locust-mite 
  could 
  be 
  reported 
  as 
  reddening 
  

   the 
  ground 
  of 
  Sierra 
  Valley 
  in 
  all 
  the 
  egg-infested 
  localities. 
  

  

  THE 
  LOCUST 
  IN 
  CALIFORNIA 
  IN 
  1879. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  items 
  are 
  taken 
  from 
  various 
  sources 
  : 
  

  

  I 
  did 
  not 
  think, 
  when 
  investigating 
  the 
  locust 
  ravages 
  here 
  last 
  spring, 
  that 
  botany 
  

   would 
  take 
  me 
  away 
  from 
  the 
  vicinity 
  all 
  summer, 
  but 
  so 
  it 
  has 
  happened, 
  and 
  now 
  I 
  

   am 
  just 
  returned 
  to 
  find 
  that 
  the 
  season 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  terrible 
  one 
  for 
  this 
  beautiful 
  valley. 
  

  

  The 
  damages 
  by 
  the 
  same 
  locust 
  as 
  last 
  year, 
  the 
  (Edipoda 
  atrox, 
  exceeded 
  that 
  of 
  

   last 
  year, 
  which 
  was 
  about 
  $75,000, 
  and 
  may 
  be 
  estimated 
  at 
  $100,000 
  in 
  a 
  community 
  

   of 
  about 
  2,000 
  persons, 
  with 
  91 
  farms 
  of 
  47,000 
  acres. 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  The 
  ravages 
  of 
  the 
  

   atrox 
  this 
  season 
  extended 
  back 
  for 
  20 
  miles 
  on 
  its 
  old 
  ground 
  northward, 
  and 
  about 
  

   40 
  miles 
  direct 
  march 
  to 
  the 
  southward. 
  

  

  