Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-10-01

j. W. Taylor, $50, United States consul a
Winnipeg, has contributed valuable paper
az oG Ss
and vegetstion. Early mention lie made Of hi u
in the records Of the Jesuit missions Of Califor-
1t next Appeared it rsas, and after yard. IN Il s
ard IT6s, continuing three years. The periods
OF great destruction In this century. In slifor.
nis haze Ss been is I Ists ana 0a iss In
Since settlement OF Minnesota there have been
i've grasshopper years-ls56, 1851, 1855, 1873 and
1874. In the Red river settlement it nrst APP
peared in 1912, then in 1919, and not again until
1881. After that II appeared In 1854, 1851, 1859,
1872 and now in 1874, with q probability tina
the oys win threaten the crops OF ISIS.
The remedies which Mr.. Taylor enumerstes
are of three kinds:-i. Remedies provided BY
nature. 2. Expedients BY man against the full
grown grass hoppe. 3. Devices Tor destroying
the eggs. The remedies which nature h Is pro-
vided are the bright sunlight, which gives them
an instinct to "move on" insects, such as the
7achina, which deposits its destructive Larvae on
the grasshopper, the ichneunon and short
winged ichneumon; birds, such as the starting,
blackbird, lark, jackdaw and domestic fswIs,
and the driving Of herds Of animals over the
The human agencies against the ful-grown
insects, which have thus far been used with
effect, are as follows:-1. Smudges, producing
dense, sitting smoke, which should be kindled
an hour before sunrise and kept fumigating 30
long as the insects are on the wing. 3 Roping
them of the grain 10 the ground, and continu-
s.
them in huge bags made OF sheets and then
plunging them In hos water. 4. Turning in
cattle, hogs and poultry, TO feed upon them.
The NEST important question is how to destroy
One plan suggested is deep blowing. Texas
planter wrote, in 1867, to the Department of
Agriculture, as follows AS soon as the grass
hopper has laid its eggs the planters plow their
fields and turn the soil over so that the eggs
will be buried under q layer of earth, which
will crush them, and thus DESTROY the spring
crop of grasshoppers. This experiment has
been made In small spots of ground where
myrfsds Of eggs were deposited, and not grass
hopper came from under the layer of soil that
covered the eggs"
The Asiatic traveller, Locher, also says
"Deep plowIng, with q view to crush the eggs
is undoubtedly recommendsble, while pigs and
poultry allowed to roam over so-plowed fields
would greatly assist in the determination of
these locusts in embryo"
Prairie fires are recommended, set as much as
possible in circles, so that the young insect !
cannot escape through the ring of nre. The
Mennonites collect the eggs in the fall and de-
stroy them, and in the spring roll the ground
with heavy rollers. In addition TO this, they
employ the smudge very frequently. on
the island Of Lennos the people are re-
CURED oy law 70 furnish certain measure
of the eggs annually to the authorities. In
China, also, the people are obliged to assem-
bic in the spring and effect the de truction of
the lsrv9. In France, Italy, Hungary, and
Spain rewards are paid for the eggs After sum.
ming up sll the remedies, Consul Taylor recon-
meDds the people of Manitoba to pillow not on ly
all the fields down deep this fall, but all the high
roads and ladies', as these bare surfaces are the
harrow the grounds and roll the surface. He
also suggests the planting of the field-pea which
is unpalatable to the grasshOpper, on the margin
of every grain field, as 1t may divert the insect
before ii has become winged from passing the
barrier; and systematic ie-burning IN cir
Giles, and the frequent use of the smudge