31 



9 miles north of the highest point of the Turtle Mountains, on the 12th, 

 and made a preliminary trip into the country. On the 13th we drove 

 about 50 miles along the base of the mountains, visiting as many places 

 as possible in order to gain an idea of the extent of the spread of 

 spretus; penetrated quite a distance into the mountains at one place, 

 and reached Deloraine in the evening. On tbe 14th we thoroughly 

 traversed the territory between Deloraine and the base of the mountains, 

 and on the 15th I started alone to travel across and explore the moun- 

 tains. One day was spent upon the mountains proper, and the next day 

 I proceeded to Bottineau, in North Dakota. From this point I rode 

 about 30 miles westward, in search of a possible breeding ground for 

 spretus. My itinerary then took me along the south side of the moun- 

 tains, by way of Dunseith, Belcourt, Rolla, and St. Johns. From all of 

 these points, as well as in many cases between them, I made incursions 

 as far into the mountains as the trails would permit. Return was made 

 by way of Wakepa and Boissevain (where the 20th was spent), through 

 Whitewater, to Deloraine. On the 22d Napinka was reached, and the 

 23d was occupied in an investigation of a sand-hill region on the north 

 side of the Souris River, between that point and the town of Souris. 

 This had frequently been spoken of by the residents as a probable 

 breeding ground for spretus. After one stop at Stockton, I proceeded 

 to Winnipeg, and conferred with Mr. McKellar and others regarding the 

 situation, and then took train for Fargo. From this point a side trip to 

 Miles City, in Montana, was taken, in order, if possible, to obtain infor- 

 mation regarding the place where a swarm of locusts which had been 

 observed in Manitoba had alighted. Upon returning, a stop was made 

 at Fargo and a day was occupied in conference with the officers of the 

 North Dakota Agricultural College. From this point I returned by 

 the shortest route, through St. Paul and Omaha, to Lincoln, arriving 

 on the 31st. 



OBJECT. 



For a long time it has been supposed by those who have been interested 

 that the Turtle Mountains; in Manitoba and North Dakota, furnished 

 a permanent breeding ground for the Rocky Mountain locust, and this 

 has taken form among other places in the report of the Canadian 

 Dominion entomologist, Dr. James Fletcher, for 1898, where it is stated: 

 " It is probable that this locust breeds regularly every year in parts of 

 the Turtle Mountains." It has been noticed that invariably the swarms 

 that in recent years have alighted in Minnesota come from the direc- 

 tion of these mountains. In fact the county in Minnesota, namely, Otter- 

 tail, that is always invaded whenever this locust reaches that State, 

 and which has figured prominently in the literature of this subject for the 

 last decade, is the nearest agricultural county in the State to the Turtle 

 Mountains, and is, moreover, in exactly the direction from them that 

 swarms of locusts, originating there, would naturally take. During the 

 past two years there has been a visitation of spretus in the region directly 



