The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-09-18
LOCUSTS.
Their Ravages I'm the States of Iowa and
Minnesota.

minnesota
An estimate of the damage done to
the harvests of iowa and Minnesota du-
ring the present year places the value
of the vegetation destroyed for the
former state at 80, 900, 900, and for the
latter at So, 900, ,O00% 1t is also said that
about 4, 900 peoplein both states will
require help to the extent of some $500,
600.
The present belief is that the loeusts
originate in the great prairies, and,
when fully developed and able to use
their wings, become carried off by the
wind. Their instinct compels them to
alight upon the first field or young crop
encountered, which they speedily strip
of every leaf. If they remain long
enough to derosit eggs, the following
year will see the plague resumed with
even greater severity. Professor Hu
miston, of Worthington, Mimi, who has
studied the habits of the insects with
care, describes the process of egg lay
ing as follows
The tail of the femate locust consists
of hard, bony, cone-shaped substance,
capable of being thrust into the ground
from one-half to an inch in depth. Just
above this on the body of the insect,
and attached to it, is the egg cell. The
grasshopper is able to push its conical-
shaped tail down in the ground, and to
leave it there with the cell containing
the eggs. The warm sun in the spring
causes the eggs to hatch, and the field
is covered with millions of young grass
hoppers, not as large as a kernel of
wheat, just when the tender shoots of
grain begin to show themselves above
the ground.
A correspondent of the Tribune, writ
ing from Minnesota, states that many
farmers knew last fall that their land
was full of these Iocusts' eggs, and an
ticipated that unless they could be des-
troyed, the crops would be greatly in
jured again this year. Professor HUI
miston and others conceived the idea of
plowing deep and thus covering the eggs
with layer of earth so thick as to post
pone, at least, the time of Matching.
Much of the land in which these eggs
had just been broken, this being only
the second year that crop had been
raised there. Some of the farmers
"back-set the land in the fall-that is,
turned the sod back again and covered
it with thin layer of earth. In one of
Prof Humiston's s wheat-ields, part has
been treated in this way, while part has
been sown among the locusts' eggs. The
contrast is wonderful. The part that
has been " back-set will yield at least
four times as much wheat to the acre as
the other. The young locusts that
Matched on the field appeared later and
in much smaller numbers. In fact, had
the matured locustslet it alone, it would
have yielded more than an average crop
of wheat. The theory is that turning
the eggs we'll under prevents many of
them from Matching, and delays those
that do hatch so long that the crop has
a chance to get good start.
The locusts generally begin to fly
each day between 10 A. NJ. and noon,
and alight about P. NJ, If they alight
in wheat or oat field, they are gener-
ally so thick that there are from three
to ten locusts on every stalk of grain.
In the corn-felds they actua ly cover the
corn that is three or four feet high, and
in many cases bend it down to the
ground with their weight. Neither fax,
+ rotatoes, garden vegetables, nor any
other crops escape.
One of the most effectual means re-
Gently employed for saving the grain
of Minnesota farmers was to "rope"
the fields-that'is, to hitch each end of
a rope 200 feet long to horse and drag
it over the grain. This disturbed the
" hoppers and brushed many of them
off the heads of the grain upon the
ground, where they would remain I'M
til the swarm got ready to fly, and do
ing little damage. Others would re-
turn to their work of destruction, but
would be allowed to remain but a few
before they were again dis
turbed. This "roping" was continued
until the locusts became disgusted and
flew away. Some farmers found smok-
ing very effectual When the locusts
were flying they placed damp prairie
grass on the windward side of their
fields and set fire to it. The locusts
either did not alight, or, if they did, did
not stay long. But this was not always
successful. One farmer who tried it
states that at first he thought the chop.
pers about to leave; he went away for
a fresh load of grass, and when he came
back he found the grasshoppers roost-
ing on the fence and warming their feet
by his fires" After that the hotter he
made the fires and the denser the smoke
the better they seemed to like it,
Scientific american