The Western advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1872-1874, 1874-05-02
IA RMERS' DEPARTMENT.
DESTROYING up ANSITOppER0


tention to an article on the grassllop-
per, in an old copy of The Cult;rator,
which is quite interesting, and which
gives the methods employed for their
destruction i'll countries where the
grassl'opper is a frequent VISITOR
These methods will not apply here as
they do in those portions Of Asia and
the old world, but they may still he
worth knowing. In China and along
the Mediterranean efforts are directed
to gathering and destroying the eggs,
and to capturing and destroying the
young after they are Matched. Large
premiums are offered for their destruc-
ton, and where every field is cultivat-
ed and there is a thick population a
very effective warfare can be waged by
each cultivator of the soil attending to
his own fields. The writer of the arti-
Gle gives the following method for con-
structing net to capture the insects:
''Make II bag OF stout cotton cloth,
somewhat tapering, and about three
feet i'll length and eighteen inches in
diameter ut it's mouth. Sew the mouth
OF the bag to a coarse, stiff wire, bent
into Il circle Of the same diameter, to
its mouth, to which Il handle about
three feet long is firmly attached
Sweep fields Of grain or grass with this
implement, 10y swinging it from side to
side i'll front of you, us you advance,
like man engaged in moving. A lit
tie practice will render one dextrous in
using this net; and every person will lie
astonished 1T the confused medley of
grlsShoppers, flies. beetles, and all sorts
of queer looking bugs, worms and creep
ing things, which in some places will
he gathered 10y it. They may be killed
10y emptying them into sack and pour
ing hot water upon them. They may
he fed to the swine. Another method
is for four persons to drag i. sheet or
cloth across the fields, two holding one
side close to the ground and the other
two holding the other side up ut all an
gle of about Is degrees. When the
| clotl, is well filed with insects it is
folded over them and they are poul ed
into Il sack.
These methods may lie useful in gath
tring all kinds of insects which DESTROY
| crops. Here, where there is SO much
uncultivated land, and the population
is Sparse, it would avail little to gather
and destroy the grasshoppers which
attack the crops. Unless the whole
prairie could be secured, these methods
would he of little practical value. But
| we have here Il much more effective
method for destroying the young grass
hoppers, viz: Ivy burning them. We
have before urged the Importance of
not firing the prairieAuntil it is ascer-
tanned whether or not there is to he Il
hatch Ut grass'loppprs this year. We
might III one day, 10y simultaneous
burning and by concert Of action, rid
the country of the young grass|,oppcrs.
We do not, however, anticipate much
of a hatch. The gr:>sshoppers came
early last year and most of their eggs
were doubtless Matched before cold
| weather set in. Still there may be
enough young ones to cause soA:e troub-
L..
RAISING HOOP POLES.
Set one row Of cottonwools, poplar or
any kind Of quick growth and then set
two or three rows Of hickory for hoop
poles and then one of quick growth and
! SO cultivate al article that will he very
profitable to them and Ivy the time the
quick growth is up 20 feet they will
have Il crop of hoop poles that will he
worth more than the farm without tim
Der.