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Professor Riley, of the Entomological Commission, perfected last summer a grass- 
hopper machine, which seems to he just the thing. It is intended to do away with 
all extra material, like coal-oil, which in the long rnu is expensive, and to work at 
all seasons, whether the insects are jnst hatching or full grown. It is not patented, 
nor does the professor intend to patent it, unless it should he found necessary to pre- 
vent others from doing so. It was worked at Manhattan, Kansas, and gave great 
satisfaction, and was described in the Industrialist, the organ of the Kansas State 
Agricultural College, as follows : (See PI. X, Fig. 1.) 
"The mechanical department has constructed a new locust exterminator for Pro- 
fessor Riley. The machine operates upon the bagging priuciple. It is, briefly, a 
large canvas bag stretched upon a light but strong frame, and placed upon runners, 
which extend with curved tips a little in front of the mouth. The canvas is stretched 
upon the inside of the frame, thus making the bag smooth and even within. This 
bag has a mouth (A) 10 feet long and 2 feet high, aud converges backward to a small 
box or frame, 1 foot square, with a slide cut-off (D). This box forms the mouth to a 
secondary bag (B), 2-J feet long and 1 foot in diameter, which ends in a second frame 
having two short runners below it. There is a sliding door (E) of wire gauze in the 
end frame, and the secondary bag is strengthened by a couple of strips of leather con- 
necting the two small frames. The machine is made to " take more land " by means 
of two right-angled triangular wings (C) about 6 feet long, that hinge to the upright 
ends of the large frame in such manner that the rectangle joins tho upper cor- 
ner of the frame. From the lower side of this wiug are suspended a number of 
teeth, or beaters, which, swinging loosely, drive the locusts inward. The machine 
is handled by means of two ropes hitched to the outer runners or to the outer and 
lower side of the mouth of the frame. 
" On smooth ground the machine can be easily hauled by two men, but where the 
grass is tall and thick it pulls harder. The locusts, on hopping into the machine, 
soon reach the small back portion, enter the small bag, and are attracted to the rear 
end by the light which enters by the gauze door. When a sufficient number are thus 
captured the machine is stopped, the cut-off is slid down in front of the secondary bag, 
a hole is dug behind the machine, the bag tipped into it, andtlie insects buried. A 
strip of leather closes the slit through which the cut-off slips, and the main bag is 
made of dark cloth, while the secoudary bag is white, so as by contrast to attract 
more thoroughly the locusts. 
" The advantages of this machine are that it requires no additional expense to run 
it, as for oil, tar, etc. It will catch the winged locust as well as the young, if oper- 
ated on cool mornings and evenings, and is adapted to almost all conditions of grow- 
ing grain. The machine can be made for about $10, and perhaps less." 
In practice we found it best to draw the machine by hitching to the 
runners, and to brace the wings at desired angles, according to the 
strength of the wind, by means of two iron rods, as in the illustration. 
A net which has done good service, made by Maj. J. Gr. Thompson, 
of Garden City, Minnesota, is as follows : 
Two pieces of common batten about 16 feet long were used as framework for the 
mouth of the net, one for the bottom and one for the top. From the end of the bottom 
piece a wooden shoe of the same material ran back about 6 feet to steady the trap, 
and serve as a runner. To the rear end of this shoe a similar piece was fastened by 
a hinge, and ran forward and was fastened to the top piece of the frame, so that 
the mouth of the trap would open and shut like a jaw. To hold the mouth open, 
two short, upright posts were fastened to the top piece by a hinge, and rested upright 
upon the bed-piece. The net itself was made of cotton cloth for the bottom, and the 
top was made of mosquito-netting. The mouth of the net extended 10 feet from one 
side of the trap to the other, and the net ran back about 6 feet to a point with a hole 
