i6 
Bulletin ioi. 
but others entered the alfalfa fields, which they destroyed for a dis¬ 
tance of thirty or forty feet, eating the leaves and tender shoots, 
but leaving the bare stems standing. Garden crops suffered severe¬ 
ly and a field of oats was eaten almost to the ground. They were 
herded off the crops with bells and riding horsemen, but this was 
only partially successful. The insects persisted in their attacks 
for two weeks, after which they retired to the hills. 
As already stated, the Entomological Commission studied this 
insect in the latter seventies. Prof. Packard records its injuries 
from 1865 to T ^79 Utah, Idaho and Nevada, and states that the 
insects were becoming less destructive than formerly. From that 
time until recently but little attention has been given to them. In 
March, 1904, Prof. Aldrich devoted a portion of Bulletin 41 of 
the Idaho Station, to its injuries and control. It appears that the 
insect gives some annoyance in parts of Southern Idaho almost 
every year. 
In Eastern Nevada the crickets have been very common and 
destructive for several years. Prof. Doten, in Bulletin 56 of the 
Nevada Station, has given an excellent account of the life habits, 
and suggests remedies. 
The reasons for the periodic outbreaks of the pest are un¬ 
known, but it is probable that they are mostly climatic. Springs 
which are favorable to the hatching of the eggs, followed by 
scarcity of food in mountain valleys, are doubtless important items. 
