35 
DESTRUCTION OF THE EGOS. 
The destruction of the eggs has been followed, in the older countries 
of the East, since Pliny's time, and has long been recognized in Europe 
and Asia as one of the most efficacious means of averting locust injury. 
These eggs are laid in masses, just beneath the surface of the ground, 
seldom to a depth of more than an inch ; and we have already consid- 
ered the character of soil and the sites preferred by the females in lay- 
ing them. In years like 1874 and 1876 we have known favorable loca- 
tions, for many hundreds of square miles, so thickly supplied with these 
eggs, tbat scarcely an inch of the soil could be stirred without exposing 
them. As a rule, the dead bodies of the locusts strewn about the ground 
in autumn are a good indication of the presence of eggs in such ground, 
though the eggs may often be abundant without this indication. The 
means to be employed in destroying locust eggs may be considered un- 
der the following divisions: (1) Harrowing; (2) Plowing or spading; 
(3) Irrigation; (4) Tramping; (5) Collecting. 
(1) Harrowing in the Autumn. — Harrowing in the autumn, or dur- 
ing dry, mild weather in early winter, will prove one of the most effectual 
modes of destroying the eggs and preventing future injury, wherever it is 
available. It should be enforced by law whenever the soil in any region 
is known to be abundantly stocked with eggs. A revolving harrow or 
a cultivator will do excellent service in this way, not only in the field, 
but along roadways and other bare and uncultivated places. The ob- 
ject should be, not to stir deeply, but to scarify and iMilverize as much 
as possible the soil to about the depth of an inch. Where the cultiva- 
tor is used, it would be well to pass over the ground again with a drag 
or a brash harrow for this purpose. Some of our correspondents have 
urged, and with some reason, that wherever laud can conveniently be 
prepared to induce the females to oviposit in it, as by plowing and then 
rolling when the insects are beginning to breed, such preparations 
should be made. A subsequent harrowing will be the more easy. In 
practice, this method will not often be adopted, because it will pay only 
under exceptional circumstances. 
(2) Plowing. — jSText to harrowing this is one of the most generally 
available means possessed by the farmer of dealing with locust eggs. 
The actual experience is somewhat conflicting, and in some light, dry 
soils a good number of them will hatch late if turned under afoot; yet, 
from our own observations, and a vast amount of experience gathered 
together, we recommend it as profitable. If delayed till spring, it should 
be done just as the young begin to hatch, as it is then most effectual. 
The plowing will be effectual accordiug as the soil is porous or tena- 
cious, and according as the surface is afterward compressed by harrowing 
and rolling. From the experiments recorded in the first report of the 
commission, it is obvious that, all other things being equal, a plowing 
of 4 to 6 inches will prove more effectual in spring, if the ground be 
