Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1858-06-03
THE GRASSHOPPERS IN TExAS-rHE
PROSPECT THERE

fuoS'' lIOin an aoie laNyer I'm Texas, who Is
well known in this city. Judge Paschal has
now resided ten years in Texas, which is now
attracting so much attention, giving a portion
of has time to writing for the press and aiding
10 develop the resources of that rapidly grow
inS state lie il one Of the editors Of the
'>n"thfrn IHtCIfigeRcsT, an influential pOlit-
zeal journal, which publishes much valuable
LEGAL, statistical and legal information
Those looking Westward, land who does not y
viii be glad to learn from such an observer that
the injury to the crops is only partial, and the
prospects of that great State so very promising
Our residence there years ago, convinced US,
that in many of its elements Texas is the gar
'icn spot of the world:
To the Editor OT tic Star:
Observing many articles in the newspapers
ct tho country respecting the devastations by
the grasShoppcrs in Texas. and believing that
the notion prevails that the crops have been
very generally destroyed in that State, think
vt best to state that the accounts are greatly
exaggerated.
Last October and November myriads Of full
grown grasshopper. appeared in Western Tex
as. They caTo from the Northwest and had
evidently flown great distance. They alighted
IN the counties west of the Colorado river, but
did not extend further south than Victoria
upon the Guad1lOupc, and BastrOp, upon the
Colorado, nor further north than the SAN Anto-
MO and Austin road
As very little fall wheat was sown in that re-
glon their ravageS wero principally confined to
the gardens ant tuTnip fields. They perforated
The ground III many places, causing the surface
20 look like sieve, deposited their egrs and
soon afterwards died becoming themselves a
Tlch harvest for the hogs and fowls, which fat
tened upon them.
The number of eggs which each grasshopper
Is said to deposit is Incredible; and these my
IIads of eggs are secured as to bid defiance
TO the eoldest weather aud the greatest foods
of rain From the fact that the winter was cx-
eeedIDgly mild, vast number hatchei out
during the fall and winter, and hopes were en-
frrtalned that the spring swarm would be
comparatively small. Crops were accordingly
planted very early
Aud. as the trusts and drouths of last wear
had caused an almost entire failure of crops in
tnat very region, an unusual quantity of wheat
was sown- Much corn was also growing where
the grasShOppers hatched into full life
Their hrst appearance is that of an innumer-
able swarm OF neas; 80 incalculable that il is
no exaggeration to say, that bushcl tub
might entTap million. True to instinct thew
eat vegetation from their very first appear
ance, OF course preferTing that which is most
tender and sweet their march, at first. is
exceedingly slow taking all in their way; but
as they grow larger their progress is moro
rapid, and 1T is very difficult, If not impos-
sI0le, To check their course, by bitches or other
obstacles. Hard fighting, however, often does
much to arrest their destructive ravages among
the crops.
BY much severe labor with sheets Of tin cov-
cred with tar, upon which swarms would Jump,
iand from which they could no more extricate
themselves than tripping politician from an
erroneous PLATFORM by paddles and bushes by
dltching around the garden, and other expert
ant II hs4N- fru11n al.
large garden. In their march, however, they
often come as a cOnquering army They enter
field of cOrn-half q dozen "axeiren'' will
fasten around luxuriant stalk and sever it
with the smOOthness Of knife blade; thou
sand ct the yOraciOus pests fasten upon il,
and deyour the fallen tendrils in single mil
ute They march from northeast to southwest
and if the advancing column is too narrow to
cover the entire field the residue awaits an
other division and perchancc may escape alto
gether.
Their first coats are striped but when they
have grown to about the length of two inches
they shed this ard take beautiful white wings
upon which they rise to a great height, as in
the autumn they came in Whirling columns
looking like snow storm under the sun, and
take their course TO the northeast, but where
they aight observations in natural history have
not been sufficiently critical to tell u.s. Thus
far L have not heard OF their alighting in the
present year, when, about the first of May, a
IOrther blew down a few billions of them three
miles north Of the city Of Austin. They made
breakfast upon few thousand acres of corn,
cotton and wheat, and passed on To a more
northern or eastern cline 1t would be an in
teresting inquiry 10 know whether they will
alight before autumn.
From my observations these general facts
may be adduced:
l. That the grasshOppers or locusts only ap-
pear periodically; they have appeared in Tex
as IN November, 1913, 1855, and in 1857 and
their eggs hatched the succeeding springs the
young swarms disappearing in May.
= IheIr destruction is limited to the narrow
districts, where they alight in the fall, and
even there the devastation is not general, as
many of the crops escape. For example, they
deposit their eggs in the sandy and chalky
lands, mostly about water courses, avoiding
the black stiff prairies; and consequently
many crops in the latter escape.
8 They are always limited to narrow dis
iTicts, the crops this year only having been in
Jured IN dozen western counties. and not to-
tally destroyed in any one county.
l. They always disappear early in May, leav-
ing time TO replRnt; and if there be one or two
good rains a fair crop il certain
.. am told. that in the regions fur ther west
where they appeared some years ago, they do
not now appear, 80 there is little danger OF
their becoming fixture in any one locality.
Iake texas "a whole, there never
better prospect for crop in any country than
In that State this year. Our State has an area
OF 10000 square miles, and the grasshoppers
have not partially covered district Of 10, 600
square miles The wheat crop is already being
harvested, and very large surplus has been
made. The fact that we had an average of
three feet of rain, By the we>tker gage, within
the last SIX months. Is sufficient answer to all
the stories about the droRths; and thirteen good
crops out Of fifteen, ID sufficient answer to the
stores about the failure of crops.
Were 70 attempt 10 describe all the adyan-
tages Of Texas over all other States, even with
the graSshOppers. l should make this letter too
long. When the failure of crops is depicted
let II be recO!lected that our almost evergreen
natural prairie meadows support stock which
AFFORD capital more productive than any other
investment; there is, therefore, not only no
danger of . famine in Texas but no other
State can show such rapid increase in all the
substantial elements of wealth