The New York herald., 1874-08-20
The Grasshopper Plague In
Weyt-Remedfes Suggested.

West-Remedies Suggested.
The grasshopper plague in the Northwestern
States of the Mississippi basin is approaching
the dimensions of a national calamity, threat
ening nothing less than general ruin to mill
ions of industrious and prosperous people.
Last year, from the destructive ravages OF
these grasshoppers or prairie locusts in
half dozen counties Of Iowa, a
large body of homestead settlers therein
were reduced to destitution and most OF them
in the winter would have died of starvation or
of sickness resulting from want of food but
for the timely supplies Of subsistence sent
over to them Those settlers knowing that
the grasshoppers would be again upon them
with the return of the summer, petitioned
Congress for the privilege of abandoning their
homesteads and of seeking living elsewhere
for year or two, hoping that then they might
safely return to the cultivation Of their fields
with the removal of the nuisance. Congress
granted the prayer Of the rnemorialists, and
most of them are now supposed to be working
in the gold and silver mines Of the Rocky
Mountains.
Now, we apprehend that Congress, at its
coming session, will have to extend this privi
lege Of absenteeism to other large bodies of
homestead settlers, not only in Iowa, but in
Montana, Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and
Kansas, for in oil these States and Territories
to considerable extent the grasshopper has
despoiled the farmer Of his growing crops
and laid waste his fields as by consuming
fire. We cannot imagine, however, that, from
the remaining bountful supplies Of food of
the great Northwest there will be any slack
ness in measures of relief to the unfortu-
nate people who now have to depend for the
winter upon the generosity of their more lucky
fellow citizens. This immediate difficulty,
without any serious embarrassment to any
one of the States or Territories concerned, can
and will be promptly overcome but the more
important questions ''What is the prospect
against the grasshopper for the people of this
infested section p "Is the farmer and his
family or is the grasshopper and his numer-
GUS progeny to be expelled?' still remain
unanswered.
From simple arithmetical calculation it is
apparent that if these Western grasshoppers
60 on increasing for even two years more as
they have increased within the last two years
most of the lands under cultivation in Mime
sofa, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas will be
swept clean of their growing crops, and those
States will be permanently abandoned by
thousands of their best people, while thou
sands of immigrants will be diverted to other
sections of the country to escape this plague
Of grasshoppers.
be SO far destroyed and kept down as to be
rendered comparatively harmless. They have
several times threatened to eat out the Nor
mons in Utah, but the Saints, by rollers, by
fire and water and other appliances, have in
variably come off the conquerors BY fire or
by quicklime the grasshoppers' eggs may be
DESTROYED, and they are generally SO thickly
laid. over small areas of ground, as to be con-
venient for wholesale roasting. After they are
hatched, and while they yet move feebly over
the ground in dense mass, they may be
DESTROYED as the Mormons destroy them.
When thus reduced to comparatively harmless
numbers, let the farmers concerned keep on
hand large focks of turkeys. guinea fowls and
chickens, and they will turn the grasshopper
to good account. But if the place where a
cloud Of grasshoppers have settled and de-
posted their eggs is known and marked the
destruction of the next brood, before the
Matching or before the hedging, may be easily
accomplished.