The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1875-05-27
THE GRAssHoPPERs.

The smart rains Of the last week, while
they have freshened the fields, have made
no material difference with the grasshop-
pers. In swarms which no man can num-
Der, and with a voracity which means a
"clean sweep" wherever they 60, they are
still in our fields, meadows and gardens. 1t
may seem As vain as Mrs. Partington's at
tempt to sweep back the tide of the ocean
with her old kitchen broom, still there are
farmers in this vicinity who instead of fold
ing their arms and whining, ats no use to
battle against Fate" are resolutely at work
fighting them back and killing them of,
John Broaddus, as THE TINES has al
and feeds them to his hogs. The hogs are
exceedingly fond of them even corn does
not please them better. ID. W. Powers Of
fers one dollar a pound for the insects,
dead or alive. William Finley "cremates"
them. Joe Hammond also fights them with
fire. John Taylor scoops" them by means
of board barricades leading to pits dug in
the ground. The same is done in the Gov
eminent lane, Just north of the city, and the
air, as one passes along that road is often
sive with the stencil of decomposing grass
hoppers. A great many farmers are awaiting
the result of the plan adopted by the piOus
inhabitants of Missouri. II the hopper
plague car be stayed or mitigated to any
extent by prayer and fasting, prayer and
fasting will undoubtedly be undertaken in
Kansas although it must be confessed that
70 far as prayer is concerned, great many
of our sturdy yeomen are badly out of prac-
tice. 1t were certainly better to pray than
to swear, even if our objurgations take no
worse form than "dog-on-it" If praying
works we'll in Missouri, it is not likely that
Kansans will wait to be invited to the
Throne of Grace BY Governors proclama-
ton. There is nothing i'm theology or his
tory to enforce the idea that prayer to be
effectual in times of calamity, must needs
be offered up in accordance with a COVER
nors proclamation, however strictly the
sand governor may be in accord with the
national administration.
Our rural neighbOrs are not all cynics
There is a great deal of wholesome optim.
ism in their philosophy. 1t is the firm be.
lief Of many of them that everything is fol
the best, and that even this grasshopper in
vasion would turn ont to he a blessing if We
only had sense enough to penetrate the dis
guise. They prefer that il Governor Os.
born take any action on the
subject, that it he in the shape
of reward offered over the
broad seal of the commonwealth to the
person who will forward the best practical
plan of getting rid OF the pest-or if it j.
given up that these grasshopper visitations
are among the unavoidable dispensations
like storms, earthquakes, pestilence, scold.
ing wives and political parties-then lie,
the reward lie so offered as to stimulate a
scientific analysis Of the corporal sub.
stance of the ooioptoaus sp'stus. II there is
anything in the physical make up of these
creatures that could be utilized directly OF
indirectly for the support of the human
species, it is right that we should know it
and it would be within the scope Of scien-
tifc inquiry to bring such knowledge to the
surface We are satisfied from the odOr
that arises from the 'hOpper-pits along the
Government lane, that phosphorus is an
element that enters largely into their com.
position; and phosphorus, as We all know
| is the stuff that brain Is chiefly made Of
There are tribes Of our ultra-montane In
dams who it is said subsist largely upon
the grasshopper. Those Indians il not in.
tellectual to a marked extent, enjov good
health. In view Of what we are now ex-
periencing would il not be we'll for the gov.
eminent 10 encourage the multiplication Of
those Indians in proportion to their
capacity for devOuring the grasshopper
rather than to keep them under the opera.
ton of policy which looks to their ex
termination.
| Our suggestion. that we meet the Difficult