EEPOET ON LOCUSTS IX TEXAS DURING THE SPRING OF 



1886.* 



By Lawrence Bruner, Special Agent. 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



Sir : Herewith is submitted a brief report of a trip to Washington County, Texas, 

 and surrounding regions, made under your instructions for the purpose of investigat- 

 ing the locust plague of that section and reporting upon the same. 



You will see from my notes and the specimens which accompany the report that the 

 chief species causing the damage is, as you supposed, not Melanoplus spretus but M. 

 differentials or a closely allied form ; aud that it can be much more easily handled 

 than can the migratory locust of the Northwest. 



Immediately upon the receipt of your letter (April 16) containing the instructions, 

 I arranged to leave by the first train (April 17). Arriving in Houston on the 20th 

 and making all necessary preliminary arrangements, Dr. Flewellen and myself pro- 

 ceeded the next morning to the seat of trouble, which was reached late in the after- 

 noon of that day. 



Upon examination myriads of the young locusts were found on the plantation of 

 the doctor's brother, Maj. J. P. Flewellen. These were chiefly confined to the edges 

 of the fields and along the ravines where they had congregated upon the weeds. 



After spending a few days in experimenting with poisons and other agencies for 

 killing them, I returned to Houston for mail containing any possible further instruc- 

 tions. From here I went to Galveston, where I wrote a short communication for the 

 Neivs, giving remedies and urging co-operation in the efforts in destroying the plague. 

 A copy of this article accompanies the report. 



* Our attention was called to the locust visitation in Washington County, Texas, 

 in March of the present year by a letter received from Dr. R. T. Flewellen, of Hous- 

 ton, which reads as follows : 



Washington County, Texas, 



March 22, 1886. 



Dear Sir : This and many other localities of Texas had the crop of corn and cot- 

 ton destroyed by grasshoppers, and I herein send you a small paper box of eggs taken 

 from the ground to-day for your examination. This locality, 4 miles south of the old 

 town of Washington on the Brazos River, lost not less than 20,000 bushels of corn 

 and about 2,000 bales of cotton by the ravages of the pest, and judging from the vast 

 quantities of eggs seen to hatch, the destruction of last will be repeated this year 

 unless timely aid comes to the relief of the unfortunate planter. Hence this appeal 

 to you. It is hoped that you will send some expert of your department to this imme- 

 diate locality to learn the habits, species, and correct classification of the insect, and 

 inaugurate some means for their destruction, for if not arrested this locality is 

 doomed. 



Very truly, 



R. T. FLEWELLEN. 

 Prof. C. V. Riley, 

 Washington, D. C. 



We accordingly had Mr. Bruner visit the region in question with instructions to 

 learn what he could concerning the extent of injury, the species concerned and their 

 habits, and to experiment with such remedies as would aid the planters in saving the 

 crops. 



9 



