The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1874-08-13
The GraSshOPpers.

No man can tell how far the invasion
of this dreaded insect may extend in
Minnesota by another year. We should
accumulate all the facts we can in ref
erence to them. With this view we
clip some interesting extracts from a
letter in the New York Tribune of the
LIST inst, from Greeley, Colorado, the
land of grasshoppers
CoLoRADo's EXPERIENCE.
Colorado has now been settled over Is
years, and during this time the grasshoppers
have appeared at least seven years, some
times coming one year after another, and
then skipping two, three, and four years,
though perhaps there has been no year in
which they have not visited some few Sec
tons. A grasshOpper year is properly one
OF wide visitation--that is, when lie is to be
found In every valley; still, there is never
a time when some farms do not escape, and
when parts of some fields are untouched
HABITS OF THE INSECT.
Last year was one when they made clean
sweep, but it did not occur to us to make a
fuss about it, nor to ask assistance from any
body. SO far Is | understand it, a grasshop-
per year requires part of the previous year
for preparation That is the tull-grown
bird comes i'll September or October, about
the time corn is ripe-comes in vast bodies
allghts III gardens and green pastures and
forthwith goes to eating. The progress of
destruction is at first slow the leaves of
turnlps and the tops OF onions and beets are
first devoured; then they begin to nibble at
the bulbs, and eating away every dav, and
seeming to grow more hungry. they eat
down to the ground, and have had the in
side OF turnlps weighing three or four
pounds entirely eaten out, leaving only the
shell. The outside leaves OF cabbage are
eaten first; then they burrow into the head,
and finally the whole is consumed The
best thing for the honest farmer to do is to
harvest his crops whether mature or not, or
to strip hs fields bare, for that is their des-
tiny. The grasshopper has no intention
however, of leaving. He came to stay and
to conquer, taking all summer and fall
HOW TO DESTROY THE EGGS.
The eggs so laid are never injured BY frost
and they may be said to be indestructible
But 1t Is not difficult to turn them under
with the pillow so deep that the suns hea
Will not reach them, when they fail to hatch
or ii part OF them do, it will be so late in tn,
season that no harm will be done. This is
good remedy, and it is generally practicet
by the hest farmers, SO that the young grass
AOPPSAS Will liOe llOuplc lIltl Uolu, SlIC6 ne
fore he gets big enough to fly he can't trave
tar, and when he can fly he is so proud o
his wings that he leaves the county on them
1t Is lmpractcable, however, to pillow all tn,
ground where eggs are deposited and impos
sible to destroy the young brood, which
comes out with warm weather in Sprin
FIGHTING THE NATURE ONES
A little may be saved by sweeping him
away, though thousands are likely to crow,
IN, and where water is abundant he is sweep
into the bitches and foated down to the mex
neighbor. One might think he could b
drowned, but not So he takes to water lilS
\ duck. Winrows of straw are excellent. TO
when few thousand millions of them ar
driven into 1t and match applied, that i
the end of so many, and whole fields q
grain have been saved in this way, and at n
great expense either.
THE HOME OF THE CHRISTOPHER,
1t is proposed that Minnesota shall ap
point State entomologist to study tn
habits OF the grasshopper, and to devils
remedies for his ravages, and it is suggeste
that forces of men be employed to destro
him root and branch in his native heath
Those who talk this way know little OF tn
matter First, the grasshopper is a natura
product OF arid regions. In that wild
stretch between India and Egypt. includin
Arabia and the plains northeast of Jerusa
lem toward the Euphrates, and also tn
plains OF Persia and Tartary, have been TO
1nnumerable years the native home of tn
locust, which at times has darkened the air
and so has been an equal extent OF our ow
country, commencing along the loot
meridian, OF which Western Minnesot
and Iowa are on the extreme east
ern border, and extending westwar
over the Rocky Mountains and the Sierr
Nevadas. In thousands and millions of le
oalities among the mountains and interver
ing valleys and plains, the locust has its NJ
tive birth and dwelling place, where the dr.
climate seems to be peculiarly suited to i
so that in q sort OF spontaneous manner /