﻿APPENDIX 
  III 
  

  

  REPORT 
  OF 
  JOHN 
  MARTEN. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Cyrus 
  Thomas, 
  

  

  Of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Entomological 
  Commission 
  : 
  

  

  Sir 
  : 
  I 
  have 
  the 
  honor 
  to 
  report 
  that, 
  in 
  obedience 
  to 
  your 
  instructions, 
  I 
  have 
  vis- 
  

   ited 
  personally 
  Northwestern 
  Iowa, 
  Southeastern 
  Dakota, 
  Southwestern 
  Minnesota, 
  

   and 
  Northwestern 
  Nebraska. 
  

  

  My 
  investigations, 
  under 
  your 
  letter 
  of 
  instructions, 
  were 
  confined 
  to 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  

   months 
  of 
  July 
  and 
  August, 
  1879. 
  

  

  I 
  started 
  from 
  Carbondale, 
  111., 
  July 
  22, 
  passing 
  up 
  the 
  Iowa 
  Central 
  Railroad 
  to 
  

   Ackley, 
  Iowa. 
  The 
  grasshoppers 
  flying 
  here 
  last 
  year 
  were 
  not 
  numerous 
  enough 
  to 
  

   cause 
  any 
  serious 
  alarm. 
  They 
  came 
  from 
  the 
  north 
  and 
  northwest. 
  No 
  eggs 
  were 
  

   deposited 
  by 
  them, 
  and 
  no 
  'hoppers 
  have 
  been 
  seen 
  this 
  year. 
  

  

  At 
  Fort 
  Dodge 
  no 
  'hoppers 
  were 
  found 
  this 
  ye^r. 
  In 
  1876 
  the 
  Des 
  Moines 
  Valley 
  

   was 
  visited 
  in 
  this 
  vicinity 
  by 
  numerous 
  swarms 
  coming 
  from 
  the 
  west 
  and 
  northwest 
  

   and 
  depositing 
  eggs, 
  which 
  hatched 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  the 
  following 
  year, 
  also, 
  a 
  few 
  

   came 
  in, 
  but 
  altogether 
  there 
  were 
  not 
  enough 
  to 
  do 
  any 
  seiious 
  damage. 
  

  

  At 
  Marcus, 
  July 
  26, 
  I 
  saw 
  the 
  first 
  locusts 
  ; 
  they 
  were 
  full 
  fledged. 
  

  

  July 
  25. 
  at 
  Le 
  Mars,, 
  I 
  found 
  the 
  locusts 
  quite 
  thick. 
  In 
  1873, 
  eggs 
  were 
  deposited 
  

   here 
  in 
  June, 
  and 
  returning 
  swarms 
  came 
  from 
  the 
  south 
  in 
  August 
  ; 
  was 
  again 
  visited 
  

   in 
  August, 
  1876, 
  when 
  eggs 
  were 
  deposited, 
  which 
  began 
  hatching 
  in 
  March, 
  1877. 
  

  

  In 
  August 
  and 
  September 
  of 
  1877 
  swarms 
  came 
  from 
  the 
  northwest 
  and 
  deposited 
  

   eggs, 
  which 
  hatched 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  1873, 
  and 
  full-fledged 
  locusts 
  were 
  seen 
  June 
  28. 
  

  

  From 
  September 
  15, 
  for 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  twenty 
  days, 
  eggs 
  were 
  deposited, 
  generally 
  in 
  

   sandy, 
  compact 
  soil, 
  free 
  from 
  vegetation, 
  and 
  preferably 
  on 
  a 
  southern 
  or 
  eastern 
  slope. 
  

   These 
  eggs 
  hatched 
  from 
  April 
  1 
  to 
  June 
  10 
  at 
  iatervals. 
  The 
  early 
  and 
  irregular 
  

   hatching 
  was 
  supposed 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  dry 
  weather 
  and 
  the 
  deep 
  plowing 
  

   done 
  by 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  farmers. 
  

  

  The 
  young 
  'hoppers 
  moved 
  in 
  various 
  directions; 
  some 
  were 
  seen 
  going 
  northwest, 
  

   others 
  east, 
  and 
  still 
  others 
  south. 
  They 
  attacked 
  the 
  wheat, 
  barley, 
  and 
  flax 
  most 
  

   voraciously; 
  other 
  small 
  grains 
  did 
  not 
  surfer 
  so 
  severely. 
  Corn 
  was 
  not 
  damaged 
  

   materially, 
  although 
  there 
  were 
  a 
  few 
  instances 
  in 
  which 
  a 
  second 
  planting 
  was 
  made 
  

   of 
  a 
  few 
  outer 
  rows. 
  

  

  The 
  estimate 
  of 
  damage 
  given 
  me 
  for 
  Plymouth 
  County 
  was 
  90 
  per 
  cent, 
  for 
  wheat 
  

   and 
  50 
  per 
  cent, 
  for 
  other 
  small 
  grains, 
  but 
  from 
  observation 
  I 
  think 
  this 
  rather 
  large. 
  

  

  Swarms 
  were 
  departing 
  from 
  June 
  14 
  to 
  July 
  7 
  or 
  later, 
  the 
  first 
  going 
  to 
  the 
  north 
  

   and 
  west 
  with 
  the 
  wind, 
  a 
  few 
  straggling 
  swarms 
  going 
  south 
  after 
  the 
  wind 
  changed 
  

   and 
  blew 
  in 
  that 
  direction. 
  

  

  At 
  Sioux 
  City, 
  July 
  28, 
  a 
  few 
  full-fledged 
  'hoppers 
  were 
  noticed. 
  Swarms 
  came 
  

   about 
  September 
  1 
  from 
  the 
  north 
  and 
  northwest, 
  and 
  remained 
  all 
  fall 
  depositing 
  

   eggs, 
  which 
  hatched 
  June 
  18, 
  1879, 
  at 
  which 
  time 
  Dr. 
  W. 
  R. 
  Smith, 
  to 
  whom 
  I 
  am 
  in- 
  

   debted 
  for 
  aid, 
  reported 
  his 
  wheat, 
  corn, 
  and 
  garden 
  all 
  devoured. 
  

  

  From 
  June 
  25 
  to 
  July 
  1 
  the 
  'hoppers 
  disappeared 
  very 
  notably, 
  going 
  south 
  with 
  the 
  

   wind. 
  The 
  estimated 
  damage 
  in 
  Woodbury 
  County 
  shows 
  that 
  the 
  western 
  part 
  suf- 
  

   fered 
  most 
  severely, 
  wheat 
  being 
  damaged 
  75 
  per 
  cent., 
  oats 
  and 
  other 
  small 
  grains 
  50 
  

   per 
  cent., 
  while 
  in 
  the 
  eastern 
  part 
  the 
  estimate 
  is 
  placed 
  at 
  20 
  or 
  25 
  per 
  cent, 
  for 
  all 
  

   small 
  grains. 
  Corn 
  was 
  damaged 
  considerably, 
  but 
  there 
  will 
  yet 
  be 
  a 
  fair 
  crop. 
  

   Sorghum, 
  broom-corn, 
  and 
  pease 
  generally 
  escaped. 
  

  

  No 
  means 
  of 
  destruction 
  have 
  been 
  used 
  extensively. 
  A 
  few 
  coal-tar 
  pans 
  aud 
  other 
  

   machines 
  used 
  in 
  previous 
  years 
  have 
  been 
  employed. 
  

  

  The 
  young 
  'hoppers, 
  before 
  obtaining 
  their 
  wings, 
  have 
  no 
  particular 
  direction 
  of 
  

   travel, 
  some 
  broods 
  going 
  in 
  one 
  direction 
  and 
  some 
  in 
  another; 
  but 
  when 
  a 
  brood 
  

   starts 
  in 
  a 
  direction 
  it 
  generally 
  maintains 
  it 
  until 
  wings 
  are 
  obtained. 
  

  

  In 
  Sioux 
  County 
  locust 
  eggs 
  were 
  deposited 
  in 
  June, 
  1873, 
  the 
  locusts 
  coming 
  from 
  

   the 
  south, 
  there 
  being 
  a 
  south 
  wind 
  at 
  the 
  time, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  July 
  they 
  

   came 
  from 
  the 
  north. 
  In 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  1876 
  eggs 
  were 
  deposited, 
  aud 
  in 
  1877 
  the 
  'hop- 
  

   pers 
  hatched 
  and 
  flew 
  south. 
  

  

  September, 
  1678, 
  eggs 
  were 
  deposited 
  in 
  vast 
  numbers, 
  principallv 
  in 
  the 
  western 
  

  

  [29] 
  

  

  