62 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



The coarseness of the Kansas bait resulted in our mixing up a small 

 lot and substituting therein middlings for wheat bran. This was 

 applied May 27th about 5 p.m. in a lane and also in a field where the 

 young grasshoppers were moderately thick. An examination the 

 next day resulted in finding some dead insects, though this modified 

 form of the bait was decidedly more difficult to sow evenly and tends 

 to bake in rather hard masses. These undesirable features made it 

 impossible to advise the use of this bait, though there is a chance 

 that some other modification might be advantageous. 



Attempts to destroy young grasshoppers are not always so success- 

 ful as those outlined above, and we are satisfied that by no means all 

 failures can be explained in the same way. In the first place, the 

 young grasshoppers are so small that it is very difficult, without 

 more careful search than the ordinary farmer will give, to find the 

 dead ones and, as a consequence, the efficiency of the treatment is 

 greatly underestimated. Secondly, the prolonged period of hatching 

 or the appearance of several different lots or swarms from approxi- 

 mately the same area, might easily lead to an erroneous conclusion 

 as to the value of the poison. It is very probable, especially in the 

 case of fields where there is an abundance of clover, that the young 

 hoppers feed less freely upon the bait than in places where there is 

 comparatively little attractive vegetation. It should be noted 

 that our best results in destroying young grasshoppers with the 

 poisoned bait were obtained where the grass was very thin. Further- 

 more, weather conditions have a material effect upon the activities 

 of the young insects, and if the poison is put out during a cold or 

 rainy spell, the chances of the pests eating much for several days, 

 are decidedly small. Finally, in the case of the young grasshoppers, 

 it seems advisable to make a fairly uniform and fine distribution 

 of the bait in order to bring it within easy reach of as many of the 

 insects as possible and where there is an abundant vegetation we 

 would urge putting it out early in the morning at the time the young 

 insects begin feeding for the day. Studies conducted by Messrs 

 Webster and Urbahns in Massachusetts, show that apparently 

 better results in destroying young grasshoppers may be secured if 

 more fruit is added to the formula and they advise the use of six, 

 rather than three lemons. 



The poisoning of the young insects, although somewhat more 

 difficult than the destruction of the larger grasshoppers, is the most 

 economical method of controlling these pests. It is usually possible 

 to kill very large numbers of them in comparatively restricted areas 

 and, best of all, before there has been any material damage to crops. 



