THE COUNTRY GENTLEMAN. 



inch in longtli, if now wlien they are just hatched from 

 their eggs and are still in their feeble infancy, they 

 are so numerous and ravenous as to consume every 

 green thing, rendering the " wheat fields as bare as the 

 inside of our hands," and causing "corn, oats and 

 beans to disappear as soon as thoy are up," what must 

 be the condition of things there the coming August 

 and September, when these same insect** have grown 

 to two inches or more in length, and their voracity has 

 increased in the same ratio with their size and strength? 

 Unless Divine Providence interposes, by flocks of birds, 

 by prodaccous insects and other natural causes, to cut 

 ofl' tlie greater part of this pestilent race before it 

 reaches maturity, it appear** inevitable that portions 

 of that territory will this year be devastated in a man- 

 ner that will appal us, and will everywhere excite the 

 liveliest sympathies in behalf of our unfortunate follow 

 citizens who are residents there. Let us congratulate 

 ourselves that wo live in an age and country where in- 

 telligence and enterprise have furnished such facilities 

 of intorconimunioation, that destitution and suffering, 

 in any district, is relieved as speedily as it becomes 

 known j and that nothing short of such a wide-spread 

 anu universal scarcity as we have no reason to regard 

 as being possible, can ever produce in our land such 

 instances of famine and its attendant pestilence, as 

 have often occurred in former ages and are still liable 

 to occur in many parts of the world. 



The specimens sent by Mr. AVoodbury are too young 

 to dcteroiine their species. They merely sliow that 

 the insect is an ordinary looking grasshopper of a black 

 color, vaguely mottled and variegated with ash-gray 

 or dull white, which color often forms a very distinct 

 stripe along each side of tho body its whole length. 

 "We shall be much obliged to Mr. W., if, when they 

 have acquired their wings, he wilt pack a few of them 

 in dry sawdust, in a small box, and send them to Al- 

 bany to us. There are many kinds of these insects in 

 our country, and if this proves as destructive as we 

 apprehend, we are all deeply interested in knowing 

 which particular species it is, and over how large a 

 district it inhabits. It is plainly diflerent from the 

 Red-legged grasshopper {Acri/dium /cniur-rubrinn) 

 which is our most common species here in New-York ; 

 and though this is one of the smaller kinds, growing 

 only to an inch in length, or less, it destroys an im- 

 mense amount of valuable forage in seasons when it is 

 greatly multiplied : and when it has been most nume- 

 rous, it has been known to become gregarious and mi- 

 gratory, exactly like the locust of the east, myriads 

 assembling together in a flock, taking wing, and ap- 

 pearing like a cloud when at a distance in the sky ; 

 and wherever the swarm alights for a day or two to 

 feed and recruit, every particle of green vegetation is 

 consumed, causing the spot to appear as though burnt 

 over with fire. It is surprising that the most unpala- 

 table weeds, which no other animal will eat — the bitter 

 May-weed, tho acrid Butter-cups, the nauseating Lo- 

 belia — are devoured by these insects, apparently with 

 the same relish as plants that are most mild and fra- 

 grant. 



We hasten to present the manner in which these in- 

 sects are to be subdued ; and we regret that before this 

 information can reach our Minnesota friends, tho most 

 favorable time for combatting them, namely, when they 

 are young and small, will be past. 



It may be remarked that in the case of no other in- 

 sect have we so much light with respect to tho best 

 modes of conquering and quelling it, as here, where 

 in the case of the locust, the attention not merely of 

 individuals, but of the governments of many different 

 nations since the earliest periods of time, has been di- 

 rected to this very subject. And tho only mode which 

 long and ample experience has shown to be efficacious 

 and reliable for subduing these creatures, is simply 

 gathering and destroying their eggs before thoy have 

 hatched, and capturing and killing the insects when 

 they are young. And so important and indispensable 



is this work known to be in those countries which the 

 locust inhabits, that to excite the inhabitants to engage 

 in it with sufficient zeal and energy, bounties aro paid 

 from the public treasury for gathering those eggs and 

 insects at a specified period of tho year. In seasons 

 when thoy are so numerous that quantities of them 

 can be readily obtained, these bounties render it an 

 object for the whole population to Iny aside their other 

 employments and engage entirely in this business. I 

 regret that I have mislaid a memorandum stating the 

 immense number of locusts that were hereby destroyed 

 in the vicinity of Smyrna a few years since. The gov- 

 ernment of France, it is well known, is in advance 

 of every other in tho sedulous attention which it gives 

 to every subject of this kind, in which the public wel- 

 fare is in any degree involved. And though tho locust is 

 not a common insect there, yet a bounty is paid to pro- 

 mote the destruction of all insects of the grasshopper 

 kind. A thousand dollars are somo years disbursed in 

 this way in some single counties (departments) border- 

 ing on the Mediterranean, where the insects are most 

 numerous — about four cents per pound being allowed 

 for the eggs and half as much for the insects. The 

 chase begins with tho month of May and continues 

 through Juno ; and tho entire population of some vil- 

 lages, including the women and children, are accus- 

 tomed each year to engage in it. An experienced boy, 

 by hoeing in rocky places where the soil is shallow, 

 will gather 12 to 15 pounds of eggs in a day, which 

 hatched would produce half a million of locusts and 

 over. To capture the insects, four persons drag a large 

 piece of stout cloth briskly across a field, two in front 

 drawing the fore edge along upon tho grass and two 

 behind holding the hind part of the cloth slanting up- 

 wards at an angle of about 45 degrees. The cloth we 

 presume is made stiff by slender poles, sewed, ono in 

 its front and another in its hind edge, for we cannot 

 conceive how it could be readily managed otherwise, 

 especially upon a windy day. The insects jumping up 

 from the grass to escape, are caught upon this cloth, 

 and when a quantity are gathered, it is folded over 

 them and they are then brushed or shaken into a sack. 

 The ^omen work singly, with a net similar to that used 

 by entomologists for sweeping the grass and weeds to 

 collect the small insects therefrom ; and they some- 

 times gather herewith more than a hundred weight in 

 a day. This information we obtain from an article in 

 tho Transactions of the Entomological Society of Franco, 

 vol. ii, p. 486. 



The Chinese, also, secluded flrom intercourse with 

 all the rest of tho world, have learned that this same 

 method was the only effective ono for subduing these 

 insects, as appears from " an edict for the capture of 

 grasshoppers," issued by some of the ofiicials to their 

 subordinates, which we moot with in Williams's Mid- 

 dle Kingdom, vol. i, p. 272. In this it is stated, " We 

 now exhibit in order the most important rules for catch- 

 ing grasshoppers. Lot the governor's combined (mili- 

 tary) forces be immediately instructed to capture them ; 

 at the same time let orders be issued for the villagers 

 and farmers at once to assemble and take them, thus 

 without fail swooping them clean away. If you do 

 not exert yourself to catch the grasshoppers, your guilt 

 will be very groat. Let it bo dono carefully, not clan- 

 destinely delaying, thus causing misfortune to come 

 upon yourselves. * * * When the wings and legs 

 of the grasshoppers are taken off and thoy are dried in 

 the sun, they taste like dried prawns, and moreover 

 they can be kept a long time without spoiling." But 

 we have not space for further extracts from this curi- 

 ous document. 



From what has been adduced, our Minnesota neigh- 

 bors will perceive that the only feasible mode by which 

 they can rid themselves of these insects, is, to capture 

 and destroy them. Their numbers, however, are un- 

 doubtedly so vast that to make any perceptible impres- 

 sion upon them, the combined exertions of the whole 

 population will be necessary — such a concert as can 

 scarcely be obtained, except by some legislative en- 



I aotmont. A single person, however, can probably 

 sweep most of these insects from his own fields, with 

 less labor than is often bestowed upon ohjecis of less 

 importance than this is. A not which will be very ef- 

 ftictivo f()r this purpose may be constructed as follows : 

 Make a bag of stout cotton cloth, somewhat tapering, 

 and about three feet in length and oightceu inches in 

 diameter at its mouth. Sew the mouth of this bag to 

 a coarse stiff wire, bent into a circle of tho same di- 

 ameter, to which a handle about three feethmg is firm- 

 ly attached. Sweep fields of grain or grass with this 

 implement, by swinging it from side to side in front of 

 yuu, as you advance, like a man engaged in mowing. 

 A little practico will render ono dextrous in using this 

 not ; and every person will bo astonished at the con- 

 fused medley of grasshoppers, flies, beetles, and all 

 series of queer looking bugs, worms and creeping things, 

 which in some places will be gathered by it. As must 

 of these are depredators upon the vegetation on which 

 they occur, they may all be emptied together into a 

 sack, and killed by pouring boiling water upon them, 

 and fed to tho swine. How efi'ectivo such an imple- 

 ment is for work of this kind is shown by the fict 

 stated above, that tho women in France sometimes 

 gather a hundred weight of grasshoppers in a day with 

 it. The same work, however, can be much more ex- 

 peditiously accomplished, no doubt, with two or three 

 sheets sewed together, or a piece of canvass of similar 

 size, managed by three or four persons in the manner 

 above spoken of, as practiced in France. In one or 

 the other of these ways a field may be almost entirely 

 cleansed of these vermin, by passing over it two or 

 throe times. And if the crop can be saved from ruin 

 hereby, it is evident that it will amply repay the labor 

 which is thus bestowed. But where the whole country 

 around is thronged and overrun with these insects, it 

 is probable they will soon come in from the surround- 

 fleldsand reoeeupy any spot which is made vacaBt ; in 

 which ease repeated sweepings may become necessary. 

 As I close this communication, the rain is pouring 

 down copiously, which reminds me of the fact that these 

 insects are supposed to thrive the best and become most 

 destructive in dry seasons. Therefore if the summer 

 proves to be as wet in Minnesota as it has been and 

 promises yet to be in this vicinity, it may in a great 

 measure avert tho calamity which appears to be there 

 impending. Asa Fitch. June 20th, 1857. 



Deep and Shallow Flowing. 



Messrs. Editohs — I have perused with interest the 

 remarks of A. L. L., vol. ix., p. 410, on my hasty com- 

 munication "on deep and shallow plowing,'* in Janu- 

 ary last. Had I for one moment supposed that 

 anything I could say would be thought worthy the no- 

 tice of a farmer of tho Empire State, I should have 

 been more careful how I said it. I presume I must 

 have been quite careless in what I wrote, as he repre- 

 sents me as urging plowing, on all soils, under all cir- 

 cumstances, to bo done at least twelve inches deep. I 

 am quite sure I did not advocate this, for I never en- 

 tertained such a thought. The most I could have 

 urged was, to so plow as to gradually deepen the soil, 

 until by fertilization or otherwise, it would bear to be 

 stirred to tho depth of twelve inches. This I now say 

 is oxpo'dient and proper on all lands fit to be cultivated 

 at all, be they sandy, gravelly or loamy. If the natu- 

 ral soil is shallow, gradually deepen it, and fertilize ac- 

 cordingly. What is worth doing at all, is worth doing 

 well. Merely because the plow has never penetrated 

 more than four or six inches deep, is no good reason 

 why it should not be made to penetrate much deeper. 

 I respectfully say that your correspondent's shallow 

 notions will not bear the test of experiment. I have 

 seen the coarsest gravelly soil we have, improved more 

 than one hundred per cent, by six inches additional 

 stirring, and a liberal dressing of manure from the hog 

 pen, and 46 bushels of rye to the acre, worth 81 50 per 

 bushel, woj the consequence. P. Essex Co., Mass. 



