42 
till' State, in Siotts liliill ('(mnty. eastwar<l to tho Jmu'tion oftlu' North 
ami South Platte. It was not t'oiind on the South Platte, except very 
sparsely between Oj^allala and North Platte. With the exception of 
isolated jioints, notably (lehrin^, Crawford, and Ainswortli, this species 
was not, however, jruilty of most of the dainaj^e that was at that time 
reported from that region. This area is within the subperinaiient 
re;:i()ii, and the locusts that have done damage this season are of the 
swarm that entered in the fall of 1S95. The natural tendency to 
become weakeiu*d and die out in this re<;ion has been counteracted by 
a series of seasons unusually favorable for their continuati<ui. The 
result is that instead of dyin«: out tliey have unexpecte<lly been on the 
increase, until this year tlie\' have attracted j:reat attention. 
It nnist not be understood that there has been a s})r(tus plague in 
Nebraska this year, because such is tar from having been the case. 
The same conditions that have causml the ])resent aspect of attairs 
regaiding sprtfus have brought about an immense increas<' of the native 
species. In the total amount of damage that has been done, the amount 
attributable to sprrftis. in comparison to that by native si)ecies. becomes 
quite insigniticant. The truth is. however, that Nebraska has suflered 
more this season than in any season in the last ten years. 
During the month of Sei)tember sprctn.s left the region where it 
hatched, in swarms. I was much interested to note a weak return 
swarm ])assingover the Black Hills, in South Dakota, on Sejjtember 12, 
and have Ix^en at considerable i)ains to investigate this point further. 
1 have been unable, however, to obtain any trace of other such swarms. 
Since there have been numerous swarms in the normal direction, and 
no one has informed me of any, nor have I observed any other than this 
one weak one. I consider that it does not change materially the aspect 
of the case. 
Reference to the tiles of the Weather Bureau Station here sheds the 
following light on this excei)tional, S]»asmodic return tlight, as well as 
on the general southeasterly tlight during the month of August. With 
the exception only of the 3<l and 4th the wind in the region of the 
lUack Hills was southeast and south, and only on two days as nearly 
toward the northwest as due northeast. The general direction for this 
month was decidedly toward the southeast. This condition ])revailed 
Xho tirst six days of Sei)tember. On the 7th. how(»ver, the wind 
changed to the north, and on the Sth it blew toward the northwest, 
and on the l>th south, but weak: on the lOth northwest: on the 1 1th, 
the ilaj' ])receding this occurence, toward the northwest in this region 
and in all the surrounding country. There is no doubt that this wind 
will explain this tlight and that the decidedly scmtheasterly direction 
of the wind — it blowing n<uthwest only three isolated days subsequent 
in this month — explains the absence of other nortlu'rly tlights and the 
noted southerly ones. 
During the greater i)art of September loose swarms of the Kocky 
Mountain locust might have been si'cn in almost any i)art of the Stiite 
