The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1874-07-23

TIE e1AssHoPPIR PLAGUE.

TIE e1A1GHoPPI1 PLAGUE.
lavages Of the Pest in llinnssota-fhs r.
tsnt e the Destructi-n Vrought-Hahits |
q the Insect.
81. PAUL, MINI, July IA, 1874.
30 mue., "a, bsen said ooncerning The re-
ppsasaoce o the grasshoppen in Southern
Minnesota and Northern Iowa that the gen.
sal attention Of III ecu ~ has bseo turpei
q this direction, and = 's.s hiss been en-
sstsissd III II the y heat O.. %! Aissssoss,
shich Was Lest ycW wi ."-iy Estimated st
rom "a. Oo0. GOV To Is. OoO. wv bS hsi.. would
DO seriously affected. whss the ssvs ".
IRA publishsd. srversl weeks ago, II "a.
hoped that the seoriss IN ght prove 10 h. u..
Ioasdsd, o., st lsss'. sosse shss cssxses s,Sd.
bat The evidences received u Official qaastsss
during the pase week slloS no qu.,i0a but
lhae the gsssssoppssv. lstehssi from Eggs
dsppitsd by ths clad that ps.sd over
Boush wsslssn Miaas. IA . latte los than .
ysar ego, are vosL ing great de-. tsnCsion. A.
~ The los has been co0Gned 10 BouihVc.-
lssn uisosnoaa, where bsll Of oossnsry-
pshaps 100 miles vide aud nos quite -
dssp-has BEEN ovsssun. Il will b. horne
in miad that this part ii the State N n0l ~
thickly settled - the part around ~. Paul
and Miansspolis and the territory bordering
on The first half OF the Mianeso,a River,
but that mos Of the settlers are immi-
grants Who have come 70 the State With
in The pet five OF six years. many Of them
0ermans and Scandinavisn', win little OF
no means to depend upon. except their an
nual crops Of wheat. Hence il 10 thst the
calamity has found them in an uoprspared
condition, and there ben, and doubtlsrs
will b more personal su6e, ing than IL the
sasaefu half OF the Sta had ben sfilicied,
where the farming poPlua.ion Is more Rei.-
esslly made up Of esstern people, who came
here at IN early day and selected the bss
land, snd have managed IN place themselves
in favorable circumstances 40 far ~ mate
rial wealth il conc erned But the sIflrFs r.
are the poor Sw,des and 0ermans. wh'sse
lands are no, FULLY p,id for, and who have
no accumulated wealth to rely upon.
Wherever the era@hoppers have appeared
they have cleared everything before them,
but more especially wheat. for which they
seem to have . sp scial appstite. They rise
u like clouds, and pas for distances If .
mile or more through strips Of timber and
scroD small stresms, to get 10 . field OF
wheat. The corn dUs not seem to suffer 80
much, except in ca~s where the pts:s have
come long distances, and spPear in need Of
nOurishment; and where wheat and corn
are Standing ride BY side, the wheat il first
taken, and in case there IN sufficient 10 saiis-
~ their rapsci,y, they slmo.t entirely ig-
more the corn; but the moment the wheat
fails. the grasshoppers settle down on the
corn, and leave but the skeleton or 6bruu,
matter standing, - it is the soft part Of the
vegetable that ssti-ties them best. Garden
vegetables they devour with ,me svidiiy a.
wheat. Oats they do not generally inter.
fese with They never touch pea vines. The
seem, at the same time, to be fss idious in
sects. The first experience the farmers nd
was last Fall with the grylius. They mad,
their appearance in cOn.iierable number
about August and deposited their egg,
They then came from the south west, a,,(
could easily be seen about the middle of tn,
day, or when the sun was we'll up 10 tn
heavens. They look Ike the cotton WOO,
ssed % they are flying through the air, ele
waited from 800 To 500 feet. The genera
prediction was that they had come no earl
that they would leave before they deposite'
their e,g,. This sPring they commence,
haiching out about the Last Of April il
patches and in gr.a. naub-r. As the,
leave the oc00n they are Of creamy hit
color. But, after exposure to the atmOs
phere ard the heat of the sun fer fev
hours, they turn to !: brown color, and hinge
where Trey are Matched twenty -four hours o
more. This time is sufficient 10 develo]
them enough for eating purposes, and ava.
they 20, generally in the direction Of tn
prevailing bret re, and settle upon the near
est wheat field. They are tremendous eaters
and although fAstidi0uG when there is ,
variety Of We e ables from which they Cal
choose, when they cannot find vegetation
they will even eft earth. In some lOcaliiie
young fruit trees have been injuiel. As
general Thing tteJ seem to prevail mos
where the aoil is sandy, and the land ha, Al
eastern or southern exposure.
The particular counlss which have sufier
ed most are Martin, Cottonwood, Murray
Jackson, N0b'es and Watonwan. The PEG
pie of these counties are thrifty, worthy and
indus r.ons, and in many Of the counties il
has teen impossible to get liquor Of sny s,r.
The same tract of cyunirv was devsststes,
last fall, asd an a,proIs aim OF $500
vas maze BY the Iset ke stature f"r the
purchs $. OF s.ei whest ior the farmers
whose c,oIs b Vi been d. str yed.
Some satisf .cii, is {. IL from III fact that
an enemy has arp jared in the .i,pe Il a
red bug, hi', and its motions II I unlike n
bed bog. How these hugs em c;t.h the
grasshoppers is d,flicIli /, tell, ~ e:.n the
newly.torn kra<horps r. will clear q yard
at jump. But the theory reems to be that
thee small red bugs dew the eggs ju-t
before they are hatchtd. To what * ent
this small enemy destr, ys the grashopps n
only tine can tell.
The peoI lie are not 90 discouI aged a. has
been repr scented, and, although nine or ten
counties out of lixly have been devastated,
mere or less, It'll tie citizens are hopeful.