﻿[60] 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  COMMISSION 
  

  

  Answers 
  to 
  inquiries 
  in 
  Circular 
  No. 
  1, 
  Department 
  of 
  the 
  Interior, 
  Office 
  of 
  the 
  Entomo- 
  

   logical 
  Commission. 
  

  

  (Note. 
  — 
  As 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountain 
  locust 
  has 
  not 
  arrived 
  at 
  nor 
  departed 
  from 
  this 
  

   section 
  in 
  swarms 
  during 
  the 
  present 
  year, 
  and 
  the 
  inquiries 
  have 
  reference 
  particu- 
  

   larly 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  year, 
  I 
  am 
  only 
  able 
  to 
  answer 
  a 
  few. 
  ) 
  

  

  4. 
  At 
  the 
  opening 
  of 
  spring, 
  i. 
  e. 
  , 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  January 
  in 
  this 
  section. 
  

  

  5. 
  At 
  the 
  opening 
  of 
  spring. 
  

  

  6. 
  It 
  is 
  supposed 
  that 
  a 
  severe 
  cold 
  would 
  seriously 
  interfere 
  with 
  the 
  hatching 
  

   process. 
  

  

  7. 
  In 
  low 
  places 
  and 
  valleys, 
  especially 
  in 
  black 
  soil, 
  where 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  sand 
  is 
  

   found. 
  

  

  8. 
  In 
  low 
  places 
  and 
  especially 
  in 
  black 
  soil, 
  where 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  sand 
  is 
  found. 
  

  

  9. 
  During 
  May. 
  

  

  11. 
  Injury 
  done 
  slight. 
  

  

  12. 
  Garden 
  vegetables 
  ; 
  most 
  of 
  all, 
  lettuce. 
  

  

  13. 
  None 
  that 
  I 
  could 
  name. 
  

  

  14. 
  Muskmelon. 
  

  

  15. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  observed 
  that 
  the 
  prevailing 
  direction 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  young 
  ones 
  

   travel 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  direction 
  from 
  whence 
  their 
  progenitors 
  come. 
  They 
  commence 
  their 
  

   march 
  before 
  they 
  are 
  able 
  to 
  fly, 
  and 
  the 
  masses 
  move 
  crawling 
  and 
  hopping. 
  

  

  16. 
  The 
  means 
  employed 
  in 
  this 
  section 
  for 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  the 
  unfledged 
  insects 
  

   were 
  only 
  rude 
  attempts 
  at 
  burning 
  them. 
  To 
  protect 
  crops 
  from 
  their 
  ravages 
  close 
  

   brush 
  fences 
  are 
  used, 
  and 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  prove 
  very 
  satisfactory. 
  

  

  17. 
  To 
  protect 
  crops 
  from 
  the 
  ravages 
  of 
  the 
  winged 
  insect 
  fires 
  have 
  been 
  kindled 
  

   and 
  a 
  dense 
  smoke 
  to 
  cover 
  gardens; 
  but 
  this 
  is 
  of 
  almost 
  no 
  use 
  whatever. 
  Flowers 
  

   and 
  garden 
  plants 
  have 
  been 
  wrapped 
  up 
  and 
  covered, 
  which 
  was 
  partly 
  successful. 
  

  

  19 
  and 
  20. 
  Answered 
  in 
  paragraph 
  headed 
  "previous 
  years." 
  

  

  21. 
  Chickens, 
  turkeys, 
  partridges, 
  snipes, 
  mocking-birds, 
  red-birds, 
  blackbirds, 
  crows, 
  

   swallows, 
  ducks, 
  eat 
  locusts 
  with 
  great 
  avidity 
  ; 
  but 
  I 
  am 
  informed 
  that 
  domestic 
  fowls 
  

   after 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  tire 
  of 
  this 
  food. 
  

  

  I 
  am, 
  sir, 
  very 
  respectfully, 
  your 
  obedient 
  servant, 
  

  

  FREDERICK 
  BELFORD, 
  

  

  Private 
  Signal 
  Service, 
  TJ. 
  S. 
  A. 
  

  

  Laredo, 
  Tex., 
  December 
  7, 
  1877. 
  

   To 
  the 
  Chief 
  Signal 
  Officer, 
  U. 
  S. 
  Army, 
  Washington, 
  D. 
  C. 
  : 
  

  

  Sir 
  : 
  I 
  have 
  the 
  honor 
  to 
  transmit 
  herewith 
  the 
  report 
  called 
  for 
  in 
  letter 
  from 
  the 
  

   Chief 
  Signal 
  Office, 
  June 
  9, 
  1877, 
  relative 
  to 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Entomological 
  Com- 
  

   mission 
  circular. 
  

  

  The 
  data 
  inclosed 
  are 
  very 
  meager 
  in 
  details. 
  The 
  circular 
  was 
  received 
  too 
  late 
  to 
  

   make 
  any 
  observations, 
  as 
  the 
  young 
  grasshoppers 
  were 
  hatched 
  and 
  disappeared 
  long 
  

   before 
  the 
  circular 
  reached 
  this 
  station. 
  The 
  figures 
  denote 
  answers 
  to 
  the 
  questions 
  

   similarly 
  numbered 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Entomological 
  Commission 
  Circular 
  No. 
  1. 
  

  

  I, 
  2, 
  3, 
  4, 
  6. 
  Grasshoppers 
  did 
  not 
  make 
  their 
  appearance 
  here 
  this 
  year. 
  

   5. 
  No 
  observations 
  taken. 
  

  

  7. 
  Nature 
  of 
  soil 
  within 
  a 
  radius 
  of 
  60 
  miles 
  light 
  loam. 
  

   No 
  observations 
  taken 
  on 
  distribution 
  of 
  eggs. 
  

  

  8. 
  No 
  observations 
  taken. 
  

  

  II. 
  Very 
  little 
  damage 
  done 
  in 
  this 
  county. 
  Amount 
  of 
  damage 
  in 
  State 
  not 
  known. 
  

  

  12. 
  In 
  the 
  early 
  spring, 
  in 
  the 
  few 
  gardens 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity, 
  tomatoes, 
  radishes, 
  corn, 
  

   and 
  garden 
  stuff 
  generally 
  suffered 
  about 
  equally 
  from 
  the 
  young 
  grasshoppers. 
  Gar- 
  

   dening 
  is 
  carried 
  on 
  by 
  irrigation. 
  In 
  the 
  surrounding 
  country 
  nothing 
  grows 
  but 
  

   a 
  stunted 
  mesquite 
  and 
  the 
  cactus. 
  

  

  13. 
  Farming 
  is 
  not 
  carried 
  on 
  on 
  a 
  sufficient 
  scale 
  in 
  this 
  vicinity 
  to 
  tell 
  the 
  crops 
  

   that 
  suffer 
  most. 
  

  

  15. 
  No 
  observations 
  taken. 
  

  

  16, 
  17, 
  18. 
  No 
  attempt 
  made 
  to 
  destroy 
  them. 
  

  

  20. 
  This 
  section 
  was 
  visited 
  in 
  1875 
  and 
  1876. 
  They 
  made 
  their 
  appearance 
  in 
  those 
  

   years 
  about 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  November. 
  No 
  observations 
  were 
  made 
  at 
  the 
  time. 
  

  

  21. 
  Chickens, 
  guinea-hens, 
  and 
  turkeys 
  devoured 
  them 
  greedily. 
  In 
  the 
  county 
  

   wild 
  turkeys, 
  chaparral 
  cocks, 
  mocking-birds, 
  cardinal 
  birds, 
  and 
  a 
  bird 
  called 
  by 
  the 
  

   Mexicans 
  "one-tacoches," 
  were 
  particularly 
  fond 
  of 
  them. 
  

  

  Respectfully 
  submitted. 
  

  

  JNO. 
  McGLONE, 
  

   Sergeant, 
  Signal 
  Service, 
  U. 
  S. 
  A. 
  

  

  