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young insects, as they were small at thai time. The species fonnd ;it Pelican Rapids 
was the Lesser Migratory Locust, reenforced by very numerous specimens of the 
two-striped Bpecies. No real Rocky Mountain Locusl cotild be found. I. at. 
ports of damages caused by locusts in various parts of I he Red River Valley reached 
his excellency Governor W. R. Merriam, who requested me to proceed at one- to the 
infested region, and to do all that could be done at the time to prevent another out- 
break of a locust plague. The Governor also instructed the county commissioners in 
the infested region to do all that could he done to stamp out the Locusts in their 
respective count its. 
When I reached the Red River Valley it was almost too late in the season t<. per- 
form real effective work, as the great majority of these injurious Insects had already 
acquired wings. Near Crookston, Polk County, the chairman of the county commis- 
sioners, Mr. Kirsch, had already commenced operations, and had done some very 
good work, both by plowing infested fields and by poisoning the grain growing upon 
adjoining ones. In fact, in several cases he had killed the insects to such an extent 
that but very few escaped. If his example had been followed everywhere the ma- 
jority of the dangerous kinds of locusts would have been killed; hut owing to a be- 
lief that the species found in such numbers was only a harmless one, few farmers 
adopted his methods, while many others even ridiculed the idea of having any 
migratory insects in the county at all. It is rather peculiar what strange freaks 
memory will play in some cases. Among others some fanners who had passed 
through former grasshopper troubles claimed that the Rocky Mountain Locusts were 
insects fully 2, 3, or even 4 inches in length, aud that moreover were provided with 
six wings. 
As soon as possible a large number of hopper-dozers were constructed and were 
distributed by County Commissioner Kirsch to all farmers who wished to use them. 
Both hopper-dozers and kerosene oil were furnished free by the county, and many 
farmers set to work to kill as many of the intruders as possible. The insects, being 
already winged and very active, could no longer be caught during the day; hut 
towards evening, when they crawl to the highest points of the plant to escape the 
chilling effect of the moist soil, the machines proved of great value and immense 
numbers of locusts were killed. Various modifications of the hopper-dozers were 
used to suit the varying conditions of the fields and of the crops. Other intelligent 
farmers and merchants living in the counties of Marshall, and Kittson obtained 
models of these machines and commenced in earnest to destroy their enemy. 
A close inspection of the invaded region showed that the sandy ridge running 
north and south through the counties of Polk, Marshall, and Kittson was more or less 
infested in spots. Without any exception locusts were found only in fields that had 
been plowed in July and August, 1890, or before the invading insects had deposited 
their eggs. In no case were locusts found in the native prairie nor in any soil that 
had been plowed late in fall or early in spring. These observations coincide exact ly 
with those made a few years ago in Otter Tail County and indicate very plainly how 
to prevent locusts from causing injury in 1892. This inspection also showed that 
we have to deal not alone with one kind of migratory locusts, but witli two other 
species equally injurious. Near Crookston the Lesser Migratory Bpecies is the most 
common one, but farther north the Rocky Mountain Locust becomes more numerous, 
and in the extreme north of Kittson County the Pellucid Locust i> very abundant. 
The two former species prefer the dry and more sandy soil, the latter the richer and 
moist land. 
The third species, the Pellucid Locust, now injurious in the Bed River Yalh 
quite different from any of the above three species. Many other locusts occur in 
large numbers in the infested region and are frequently mistaken for the migratory 
species. A close inspection of the illustrations below will show that they are quite 
different, and need not, with a little attention, be mistaken for any of the migratory 
species. 
