﻿[6] 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  COMMISSION. 
  

  

  here, 
  and 
  the 
  birds, 
  if 
  as 
  plenty 
  as 
  they 
  should 
  be, 
  will 
  take 
  care 
  that 
  the 
  infliction 
  be 
  

   not 
  permanent. 
  

  

  Question 
  24. 
  By 
  the 
  young, 
  the 
  tender 
  blades 
  of 
  wheat; 
  by 
  the 
  old, 
  corn; 
  and 
  when 
  

   the 
  oats 
  are 
  about 
  ripe 
  they 
  seem 
  to 
  relish 
  or 
  prefer 
  to 
  cut 
  off 
  kernels 
  of 
  oats 
  between 
  

   the 
  kernel 
  and 
  the 
  straw. 
  

  

  Question 
  25. 
  Broom-corn 
  and 
  sugar-cane. 
  

  

  Question 
  26. 
  Never 
  injured 
  them 
  worth 
  mentioning. 
  

  

  Question 
  28. 
  Scarcely 
  any. 
  

  

  Question 
  29. 
  From 
  5 
  to 
  10 
  per 
  cent. 
  

  

  Question 
  30. 
  They 
  eat 
  and 
  eat 
  during 
  the 
  daytime, 
  and 
  in 
  1867 
  would 
  eat 
  off 
  a 
  strip 
  

   of 
  wheat, 
  and, 
  if 
  grown 
  again, 
  return 
  to 
  the 
  original 
  place. 
  During 
  rainy 
  days 
  they 
  

   lie 
  still 
  and 
  do 
  not 
  eat 
  ; 
  during 
  cold 
  they 
  seek 
  shelter 
  behind 
  clods 
  and 
  rubbish 
  ; 
  they 
  

   never 
  move 
  at 
  night 
  unless 
  disturbed. 
  

  

  Question 
  31. 
  From 
  5 
  to 
  20 
  miles 
  an 
  hour. 
  

  

  C. 
  F. 
  EISELEY. 
  

  

  Pleasant 
  Hill, 
  Saline 
  County, 
  May 
  21, 
  1877. 
  

  

  Question 
  1 
  a. 
  North 
  ; 
  light. 
  

  

  Question 
  1 
  &. 
  Clear 
  and 
  dry. 
  

  

  Question 
  1 
  c. 
  As 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  eye 
  could 
  reach, 
  and 
  dense 
  enough 
  to 
  partially 
  obscure 
  

   the 
  sun. 
  

  

  Question 
  2. 
  Kept 
  coming 
  and 
  going 
  from 
  9 
  a. 
  m. 
  to 
  2 
  p. 
  m. 
  

  

  Question 
  2 
  a. 
  Northerly 
  and 
  light. 
  

  

  Question 
  2 
  o. 
  Warm 
  and 
  dry. 
  

  

  Question 
  2 
  c. 
  Southeast; 
  density 
  and 
  extent 
  moderate. 
  

  

  Question 
  3. 
  None 
  the 
  present 
  year. 
  

  

  Question 
  4. 
  May 
  19, 
  1877. 
  Came 
  out 
  in 
  vast 
  quantities. 
  

  

  Question 
  5. 
  About 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  in 
  1855 
  ; 
  not 
  as 
  numerous. 
  None 
  in 
  1876. 
  

  

  Question 
  6. 
  About 
  half; 
  cause, 
  blowing 
  off 
  of 
  covering 
  by 
  wind 
  and 
  exposure 
  to 
  the 
  

   elements. 
  

  

  Question 
  7. 
  On 
  naked, 
  hard, 
  dry 
  ground, 
  such 
  as 
  well-fed 
  pastures, 
  old 
  roads, 
  &c. 
  

  

  Question 
  8. 
  Dryest 
  and 
  hardest 
  ground. 
  . 
  

  

  Question 
  9. 
  In 
  1875 
  got 
  wings 
  about 
  June 
  1. 
  

  

  Question 
  10. 
  About 
  June 
  10. 
  

  

  Question 
  11. 
  Nothing 
  yet 
  this 
  year. 
  

  

  Question 
  15. 
  I 
  think 
  they 
  have 
  no 
  given 
  direction 
  of 
  travel. 
  Their 
  line 
  of 
  march 
  

   depends 
  on 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  ground 
  and 
  proximity 
  of 
  crops. 
  

  

  Question 
  16. 
  There 
  has 
  been 
  no 
  means 
  tried 
  by 
  us 
  yet 
  except 
  burning. 
  Several 
  

   farmers 
  have 
  scattered 
  straw 
  along 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  their 
  fields. 
  The 
  young 
  'hoppers 
  col- 
  

   lect 
  in 
  the 
  straw 
  in 
  great 
  quantities. 
  Some 
  farmers 
  claim 
  to 
  have 
  destroyed 
  five 
  or 
  

   six 
  bushels 
  at 
  one 
  burning. 
  

  

  Question 
  17. 
  Nothing 
  of 
  that 
  kind 
  has 
  yet 
  been 
  attempted. 
  

  

  Question 
  18. 
  We 
  have 
  as 
  yet 
  nothing 
  of 
  the 
  kind. 
  

  

  Question 
  19. 
  We 
  had 
  no 
  locusts 
  at 
  all 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  1876. 
  In 
  the 
  fall 
  they 
  came 
  

   in 
  on 
  us 
  from 
  the 
  northwest. 
  

  

  Question 
  20. 
  In 
  1874 
  they 
  came 
  in 
  from 
  the 
  northwest 
  about 
  August 
  10 
  ; 
  the 
  season 
  

   was 
  exceedingly 
  hot 
  and 
  dry, 
  thermometer 
  reaching 
  114° 
  in 
  the 
  shade. 
  The 
  locusts 
  

   were 
  very 
  ravenous, 
  eating 
  everything 
  before 
  them, 
  but 
  deposited 
  eggs 
  sparingly. 
  

   Last 
  fall 
  they 
  ate 
  but 
  little, 
  but 
  deposited 
  eggs 
  in 
  enormous 
  quantities 
  in 
  many 
  places, 
  

   as 
  many 
  as 
  three 
  hundred 
  to 
  the 
  square 
  inch. 
  

  

  Question 
  21. 
  All 
  our 
  domestic 
  fowls 
  eat 
  them 
  in 
  vast 
  quantities 
  ; 
  our 
  little 
  chickens 
  

   just 
  hatched 
  live 
  on 
  the 
  young 
  ones 
  without 
  other 
  food. 
  All 
  wild 
  birds 
  prey 
  upon 
  

   them, 
  especially 
  the 
  prairie-chickens 
  and 
  quails. 
  It 
  is 
  believed 
  that 
  a 
  prairie-chicken 
  

   eats 
  one 
  pint 
  per 
  day 
  ; 
  quails 
  about 
  one-half 
  that 
  quantity. 
  The 
  bird 
  which 
  has 
  done 
  

   us 
  the 
  best 
  service 
  is 
  a 
  blackbird 
  with 
  a 
  yellowish 
  -white 
  head 
  and 
  wings; 
  never 
  no- 
  

   ticed 
  it 
  here 
  until 
  tbis 
  season. 
  They 
  came 
  in 
  great 
  quantities, 
  probably 
  a 
  thousand 
  

   in 
  a 
  flock 
  ; 
  they 
  marched 
  over 
  the 
  field 
  like 
  a 
  band 
  of 
  soldiers, 
  cleaning 
  the 
  ground 
  

   clean 
  where 
  it 
  was 
  actually 
  black 
  with 
  'hoppers 
  ; 
  on 
  a 
  pasture 
  field 
  of 
  about 
  eighteen 
  

   acres 
  they 
  destroyed 
  about 
  five 
  bushels 
  a 
  day. 
  If 
  these 
  birds 
  remain 
  with 
  us, 
  we 
  

   will 
  have 
  no 
  full-fledged 
  'hoppers 
  this 
  year, 
  or 
  very 
  few 
  at 
  most. 
  

  

  Question 
  22. 
  Have 
  none. 
  

  

  Question 
  23. 
  I 
  heard 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  about 
  eggs 
  hatching 
  in 
  the 
  fall, 
  but 
  have 
  no 
  evi- 
  

   dence 
  that 
  any 
  did. 
  

  

  Question 
  24. 
  They 
  take 
  everything 
  but 
  sorghum 
  and 
  pumpkin 
  vines, 
  and 
  have 
  a 
  

   particular 
  regard 
  for 
  tobacco 
  and 
  onions. 
  

  

  Question 
  26. 
  Have 
  never 
  injured 
  the 
  native 
  grasses 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  know. 
  Are 
  particu- 
  

   larly 
  destructive 
  to 
  timothy, 
  but 
  don't 
  seem 
  to 
  relish 
  blue-grass. 
  We 
  have 
  not 
  enough 
  

   clover 
  in 
  this 
  county 
  to 
  give 
  an 
  estimate. 
  

  

  Question 
  27. 
  I 
  know 
  no 
  quadrupeds 
  or 
  reptiles 
  (except 
  snakes) 
  that 
  eat 
  them. 
  

  

  Question 
  28. 
  Nothing 
  of 
  the 
  kind 
  has 
  been 
  done 
  in 
  this 
  section 
  of 
  the 
  country. 
  

  

  