Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-08-05
Changing Crops to Exterminate Insects


The grasshoppers of Minnesota have
been to Minnesota what the great fire of
| II was to Chicago; What the floods have
been to Louisiana. the famine to Bengal
and the loyal Republican carpet baggers
to South Carolina. There are remedies
against floods, there are remedies against
| flnine, and even against Republican carpet
| baggcrs. Is there any against grasshop
pers? Can Minnesota do al ything to pre-
vent the recurrence of such II tie rrible
She can, evidently, if the phafmacop9ia
| of agriculture affords a remedy. If it does
not, then she had better establish a new
| Office appoint state entomologist or ag
riculturll doctor, have him, if possible,
discover the cause of the wonderful multi
plication of these insects, and suggest means
prevent their monStrous Incl ease in the
future. Locusts and grasshoppers have
been committing devastations from time
immemorial. 1t may be difficult, but, until
the contrary is demonstrated, we will be-
lieve it possible, for science to prevent the
immense increase of these insects and to
hinder their sweeping over and devastating
whole tracts of country. The problem
may not yet be solved. 1t is not necessa-
rily insoluble, for agricultural insectology
is yet in its infancy.
| Science has long since shown that all
insects have a very useful part to play in
the creation. They preserve certain vege-
table and animal species from attaining a
numerical preponderance, to the detriment
of others: besides which, they hasten the
decomposition of decaying bodies, and
thus prevent the matter which enters into
their composition from remaining idle too
long. 1t has been pointed out that large
tracts of land with the same vegetable pro-
| duct disturb the equilibrium of nature
which never intended that the whole earth,
or any vast extent of it, sho Id be turned
over to the production OF nothing but po-
| tatoes or wheat. 1t is the mission of To-
Gusts and other insects to interfere with
the violation of natures law, us ut present
established, and to root out the ambitious
organism which would establish univer-
sal monarchy. Large farming, that Is. as
said before. covering whole counties with
| the same class of vegetation, causes the
swtrming of insects. Planting vegetables
Of different kinds at intervals owe the
same soil discouraoes their propagation
and arrests their progress. When, says
Jacques Nalserres. a French writer on tn
subject, after Il cereal, another vegetable
with different parasites, rs, for instance.
the beet. is planted, the pa asites peculiar
to the proceeding are destroyed. Side by
side with an injurious species of plant its
parasites are always found. When the
species itself mullipiics beyond measure,
the parasites increase in greater proportion
till they restore the species to its due
bounds.
The natural history of insects injurious to
vegetation is not very far advanced. Nat
urtllsts, thus far, have only named and
classified them. They have not studied
their habit, or their transformations to any
very great extent; and until such time ;i>
ths is DONE the evil from which Minnesota
is suffering must remain one which may
return ut any time. A great deal of at
tenion is being paid to the subject of ag-
ricultur,l insectology in France, Germany,
and his country at the present time. Min
nesota can do no better than learn all she
can on the subject from the Bureau of En-
tomology at Washington, and from similar
institutions in Germany Chicago Iri-
bune.