CHRONOLOGY, 1878: SUMMARY. 
9 
is quite elated over his success, and feels confident of being able to save bis crop, 
•which, only the day previous, be bad been tempted to give up in despair. 
The farmers of the Missouri Valley have been doing good execution during the past, 
few weeks righting grasshoppers. Thousands upon thousands have been destroyed. 
Of the many modes employed, that of burning dry manure and straw mixed is proving 
the most effective. The sides of the fields are protected by water ditches, and the 
manure and straw is scattered across one end in a narrow strip when the 'hoppers are 
on the move, and set on fire and is burned. The manure with a little straw mixed 
with it will burn for several hours. We are informed by those who have made the 
experiment that they have seen the 'hoppers march on until the burning heaps wore 
a mass of grasshopper cinder. 
As the season grows older the war upon the grasshoppers becomes more general all 
over the Territory. On the Missouri Valley the conflict has been lo»g and tierce. The 
'hoppers came out early, and are now almost ready to fly, and should none of the 
winged armies from other sections come in the crops will be good, notwithstanding 
great damage has been done. On the Gallatin it was thought there would but 
few hatch out. The spring there being cold and stormy, the eggs did not hatch ; but 
late advices inform us that during the hot, sunny days of the past two weeks they 
have come forth in great numbers, and it is feared will yet destroy many crops. On 
other valleys they have not been so late in coming out. but have hatched at intervals ; 
as fast as one army was vanquished by the industrious farmer, another was ready for 
action. 
The modes of defense employed have been greatly diversified and numerous. Where 
the land has considerable grade and water is plenty, water is the only weapon needed ; 
but if the laud is level, then it is necessary to employ coal oil. The Gallatin and 
Prickly Pear farmers have tried the latter plan with great success. The 'hoppers, 
which are well grown, and would ferry a slow stream with ease, are instantly killed 
by coming iu contact with the coal oil. The quantity of oil required is small. On 
the Missouri Valley, where water has been comparatively scarce, the burning of straw 
and manure has been the most successful. 
The damage already done, taking the Territory throughout, will not reach a fourth 
of the acreage sown, and if the defense continues as successful, the remainder of the 
season, the harvest will be good. There seems to be no probability, however, that it 
will be so large as to produce a decline iu prices. There was more than double the 
amount of grain raised on the Missouri Valley last year than there was the year pre- 
vious, and we believe the same may be said of many other sections ; yet grain bears a 
better price now than one year ago. This indicates that the demand is growing more 
rapidly than the production, and there is no question but the remuneration would be 
fair should the crop of the Territory exceed last year's production by half. 
To sum up the situation of things iu 1878, we may safely say that the 
Locust in its native home, as mapped out by the Commission in its First 
Report, comprising' the Rocky Mountain plateau, and especially the 
Territories of Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, with the State of 
Colorado, was much less abundant and destructive than iu 1877. Every- 
where the insect existed in nearly its usual normal numerical propor- 
tions, the swarms being local, and only occasionally doing local damage; 
the crops of grain being everywhere large and abundant. It will, how- 
ever, be seen that even in " off" years the Locust is annually migratory, 
and even if the numbers are slight, they gather into swarms and travel 
hundreds of miles from their hatching-grouuds. 
