[12] REPORT UNITED STATES ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 
sack, which was emptied from the original contents. I believe the failure to hatch 
was owing partly to the warm weather Mining winter and early spring, which caused 
early deposited eggs to approach the period of hatching so near that subsequent hard 
freezing caused them to addle. 
Question 7. In warm and sandy, well-settled soil ; such as cornfields, orchards, and 
pasture land where the grass had been eaten off by stock rather close, and where bare 
spots were frequent. 
Question 16. The means effectually employed in this section of the country to 
destroy the young insects is principally the so-called " Canfleld Grasshopper Extermin- 
ator." I have killed four nail-kegs full* within three days. 
Question 18. Coal-oil, used to the depth of about one-fourth of an inch in the ma- 
chine, is the medium by which millions of young 'hoppers are killed in a very short 
time by dragging the machine over the ground infested by them. In sowing the 
killed 'hoppers along the border of grain-fields I have kept the living ones from enter- 
ing the gram-fieldfi and also have driven them away from spots in the orchard and 
grove where the young 'hoppers could not be caught on account of the trees and shrub- 
bery. 
We settled in this county (Hall) in July, 1*57, and we did not notice any grass- 
hoppers until August 1862. The swarm appeared then and came w ith northwest wind. 
Weather clear. 
August 1, 1864, the hoppers made their appearance again. 
July 15, 1875, all the buckwheat in the county was destroyed by them, but no other 
crops. 
July 8, 18GG, grasshoppers came in large swarms, doing a great deal of harm; north- 
west wind brought them; weather clear. 
In 1-lW, appeared again but did no damage. 
In 1869, came in the early days of August and destroyed nearly all the corn crops in 
Hall County. 
In 187:?, May 22, came in large swarms with southwest wind; damage light. They 
left with southwest wind. 
In 1874, July 20, 21, and 22, also August 5 and 6, came in swarms which at times 
darkened the sky. Wind north and northwest; weather clear. Nearly all the crops, 
in particular corn crops, in Hall County were destroyed, but hardly any eggs were 
deposited by them here. They left before depositing their eggs and went into the 
southeast part of Nebraska, into Kansas and Iowa. 
In 1875, June 24, appeared again in this county with southwest wind ; August 8, 
and 10, with northwest wind, and the damage done in August was considerable. The 
greater number of them, however, in 1875, were diseased and fell dead frequently 
when Hying. 
Maggots numbering from oue to eleven in each 'hopper were feeding on them in their 
bodies. Also little red parasites were frequently noticed fastened to the wings or 
bodies of them. 
In 1876, August 5, first swarm seen here, at 3 p.m., with northwest wind, weather 
clear. This swarm, however, was not very large. August 10 and 12, at noon, large 
swarms of them arrived with northwest wind, weather clear, and commenced depos- 
iting eggs about August 13 or 14. On the 14th some left, but at the same time more 
and still larger swarms arrived ; weather clear and northwest wind prevailing. I 
worked hard with ten hands for ten days to save my corn crop, vegetable garden, and 
orchard, by smudging fires, adding freely pulverized sulphur, but eventually had to 
abandon one field after another, thus leaving the 'hoppers the victors. They stripped 
every fruit tree of its foliage and took even the bark off the large limbs. They con- 
tinued depositing their eggs until the 23d and 24th of August, when the wind which 
ever since the 15th had blown from the south and southwest changed to the north and 
northwest, which carried all those that were able to fly south and southeast. 
The extent of country devastated by them — coming from north and northwest — 
reached from about the western boundary line of Nebraska to the Missouri, as far as the 
State of Nebraska is concerned, and from the Platte bottom toward the northern boun- 
'dary of the State ; while farmers 25 miles south of here got fair corn crops on account 
of the grasshoppers reaching them from ten to fourteen days later than they reached us. 
In Hall County nearly all vegetables were destroyed by them — the early potatoes 
excepted. 
The full grown 'hoppers relished, of fruit-trees, the foliage of apple trees more than 
of crab-apple, pear, peach, cherry, or plum trees; still all were more or less damaged. 
Plum and crab-apple the least. Of lorest trees, the coffee-bean tree, ash-leaf maple or 
box elder, soft maple, honey-locust, elm, beach, willow, Rocky Mountain evergeen, 
red and white cedar were injured and eaten by them but little; while the black locust, 
white and gray willow, white ash, catalpa, cottonwood, silver poplar, black and 
white walnut, European larch, American larch, Scotch pine, white pine, Norway 
* Mr. Thomas was at the house of the writer when he was fighting the young locusts and saw ono 
keg full of the very young insects. 
