1877.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
219 
lor 1876, refer to statistics of the crops of 1872. 
They are, however, of great value in their present 
relation, because little or no change has occurred 
since that year, which was an average season. The 
area of farms in Russia amounted to 1,244,367,851 
acres, of which 527,426,510 acres, or nearly one- 
half, are covered with timber. As to the crops, the 
following tabulated figures are given, viz. : 
Aver. $ acre . 
5£ bushels 
8 
16 6 / 10 .. 
The average crops, with the exception of that of 
potatoes, which surpasses our average, are seen to 
be much less than ours, or less than one half; 
wheat being very low. Our ability to compete with 
Russian farmers is thus seen to consist in our larger 
crops. But if bv better farming, and the use of la¬ 
bor-saving machinery, they can double their pro¬ 
duct, our occupation is gone as caterers for the ba¬ 
kers and bread eaters of England, or in fact of any 
portion of Europe. We shall then lose our only 
foreign market for wheat, and this is a very impor¬ 
tant thing to us, for if our surplus product is 
thrown upon our own market, already flowing over 
the brim and escaping, and shut out from foreign 
countries, to what a depth of unprofitableness will 
prices sink. Nothing but an even balance between 
supply and demand keeps values at such a level that 
the producer’s labor is properly paid for. If we 
have one-fourth or one-third of our whole product 
seeking a market which cannot be found in our 
great mercantile centers, what then will fix the val¬ 
ue of wheat, and with it of all other grains, and 
many other products ? Nothing certainly but the 
will of the buyer if one can be found, and the pov¬ 
erty, but not the will, of the urgent seller. 
There are some considerations involved in this 
question which are of great importance to us. If 
the Russian farmer, by the use of our methods, 
produces more bushels per acre, and therefore 
cheaper grain, can we do the same by our product ? 
Can we by better farming double our average, and 
therefore reduce the cost of wheat nearly one-half, 
and produce some other crops on the ground that 
can thus be spared, so that we may not overstock 
the markets of the world ? If so, what other crops 
can we produce ? Is there any better way of meet¬ 
ing this certain dilemma than to direct our atten¬ 
tion to the rearing and feeding of cattle, and, by 
means of this, so add to the fertility of our farms 
that we can reach an average of 27 or 28 bushels of 
wheat, and 75 of corn per acre, thus enabling us 
to turn half of our fields to pastures, or to roots 
or fodder crops, wherewith to feed more stock, 
and fertilize our more prolific soil? These ques¬ 
tions are worth thinking over and discussing. 
A New Enemy to our Forest Trees. 
A most singular case of damage to forest trees • 
was brought to our notice last summer by a letter 
fom W. C. Snow, Esq., of Tates Co., N. Y.; since 
then, we have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. S., 
and learning the particulars more in full. We speak 
of the case as singular, as the damage is caused by 
an insect not usually regarded as destructive, and 
is, so far as can be learned, limited to his imme¬ 
diate neighborhood, and mostly to his own woods. 
The insect in question is popularly known as the 
“Walking Stick” or “Stick Bug;” it belongs to 
the same family of insects ( Orthoptera ) with the 
grasshoppers and locusts, and is known to ento¬ 
mologists as Diapheromera femorata, and in some 
works as Spectrum femoratum ; it is shown in the en¬ 
graving, of a rather smaller size than the full- 
grown insect, which is three to four inches long, 
with long slender legs, and being of a brownish 
color, it has when at rest much the appearance of 
a twig. When young, the insects are greenish, but 
as the new growth of the trees changes from green 
to ripeness, these insects, according to Mr. S., 
change color also. Generally, these insects are not 
at all common, though from their form and color, 
they probably often escape notice. We have ram¬ 
bled the woods rather extensively, in different parts 
Acres cultivated. 
Wheat. 28,743,390 
Barley. 15,511,600 
Oats. 32,818,890 
Rye. 66,398,540 
Buckwheat.. 11,307,660 
Potatoes.... 3,169,010 
Grass.143,511,940 
Bushels produced 
157,938,000 
124.753.750 
543.622.750 
546,832,000 
86,256,000 
370,876,000 
of the country, and do not think we have met with, 
except in Texas, an average of more than one or 
two in a year. Mr. Snow has 49 acres of wood,, 
mostly second growth of hickory and several spe¬ 
cies of oak. In 1874, the first year after he went to 
live on the farm, the insects, the Walking Sticks, 
appeared in such numbers as to denude of their 
foliage, as he estimates, the trees upon some 25 
acres. In 1875 they appeared in comparatively 
small numbers, and did but little damage ; last year, 
1876, they were worse than two years before, cover¬ 
ing the same area, and to a rather greater extent, as 
he estimates that the trees on some 30 acres were 
stripped of their leaves. They prefer the black, 
red, and rock-chestnut oaks, to the white oak and 
hickory, which they molest but little, and only after 
the other trees are stripped. So thorough was the 
work of these insects, that from a distance the 
woods appeared as if a fire had gone through them. 
Their destructive work commences to be visible 
about Aug. 1, and continues until they are stopped 
by the frost. The insects appear to keep together 
in a body, going from tree to tree, and though a 
few were scattered about the orchard and vines, no 
damage could be traced to these. Their numbers, 
according to Mr. Snow, are almost beyond compre¬ 
hension ; they cluster upon a limb or fence-rail so 
thickly that they pile up upon one another, and one 
can not enter the wood where they are, without 
having numbers of them upon his clothing. The 
injury to the trees by the invasion of 1874 was mani¬ 
fest in the death of many of the branches that were 
stripped by the insects, and Mr. S. fears that many 
trees will succumb altogether to the more severe 
visitation of last year. The standard works upon 
insects give almost no information about the Walk¬ 
ing Stick, not even describing their manner of 
breeding; one says that they live upon leaves, 
that “they have not proved so injurious as to par¬ 
ticularly attract attention ”—a statement with 
which Mr. Snow’s experience is widely at variance. 
It is certainly most curious that an insect, elsewhere 
regarded as rare, should appear just in this limited 
locality in such force as to be astonishing by their 
numbers and their destructiveness. We are not 
aware if the great State of New York affords a 
State Entomologist, but if there is such an officer, 
here is an excellent opportunity for him to do use¬ 
ful work—in tracing the habits of this insect, and in 
suggesting the means for staying its progress. We 
call attention to this case in the hope of calling out 
information. If any readers have knowledge of simi¬ 
lar ravages, or any experience in the destruction of 
the insects, we hope they will communicate it. 
A Self-Closing Salt Box. 
“ J. A. W.,” Mount Hope, Wis., sends a sketch 
of a salt-box with a self-shutting lid, that can be 
-US easily opened by horses 
or cattle. This is shown 
at figure 1. The lid has 
a rod or board attached 
to it, which is weighted, 
so that the lid will easily open when touched. The 
animals soon learn to lift the lid and reach the salt, 
and when they have sup¬ 
plied their wants the lid 
closes of itself again. To 
prevent it from opening 
too far, a strap or cord is 
fastened to the lid, as shown. A method of attach 
ing a salt-box to a horse’s feed trough, is shown at 
figure 2. This lid is easily opened by a horse and 
being kept from opening too far by the cord, shuts 
itself when the horse withdraws his nose. 
Lawn Mowing Machines. 
One need not be very old to recollect when 
a lawn mower was a rarity; here and there 
an imported machine was in use, but those who 
had lawns, generally cut the grass with a 
scythe. We do not know exactly when the first 
lawn mower was made in this country, but the 
first one we saw, and used, was in 1867, and 
they can not have been made many years ear¬ 
lier. The development of this manufacture 
has been remarkable; several establishments 
have sprung up for making the machines, and 
the export trade in them is very large. While 
the English have made scarcely any improve- 
menti in their machines, our manufacturers 
each year find some point in which they can 
increase the excellence of theirs, and at the 
present time, the mowers of the best makers are 
as near perfection as we can expect to see in 
implements for the special work of mowing 
lawns. Our makers boldly place their machines 
in competition in England—that country of 
fine lawns—and their superiority to the cum¬ 
bersome English machines has been so marked, 
as to overcome at once all national prejudices, 
and the testimony of the English horticultural 
journals is not only positive, but even enthusi¬ 
astic in favor of American lawn mowers. As 
an indication of their popularity in England, 
we may mention that one house in London has 
a contract with one of our prominent makers, 
to supply them with a thousand machines 
yearly, for a term of years. Large numbers of 
our machines go to the continent of Europe, 
and recently considerable orders have been re¬ 
ceived from Australia. While we are gratified 
at this success of an American manufacture 
abroad, and are glad that we can help make 
the English lawns still more perfect, we find 
still more satisfaction in the fact that the per¬ 
fection of the lawn mower has increased the 
number of lawns at home, by making it pos¬ 
sible to keep them in order without too great 
an expense of time and labor. At present 
there are few places with an expanse of grass 
of sufficient extent to be called a lawn, where 
there is not a mower; indeed, so easily is the 
work done, and so effective are these machines, 
that it is no rare thing to find those who have 
but a mere city yard, clipping the grass with a 
mower. Not only has the number of lawns in¬ 
creased within a few years, but their character 
Tig. 1. 
I_ 
Eig. 2. 
