The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-06-11
A Talk With Prof. Riley About the
Grassh0ppers.

Prof. 4. V. Riley. who has made a care
full study Of everything relating 10 the in
sect world, expressed himself AS follows
yesterday 10 "a Globe Democrat reporter:
Prof. Riley said have just returned
from the district OF Pettis. johnson and
Csss counties, and from reports | have
had from Vernon, Bates and johnson
counties, can form pretty correct con-
clusion as To the actual state Of things
there. One reason why reports are 80
contradictory is mainly because you will
find districts in the same county very dlf.
ferently affected. believe that Cass Coun-
~ Is about the worst OF. ana actually the
devastation by the grasshoppers IN that
county cannot be exaggerated. You may
go from one eRd OF that county 10 the
other, and with the exception Of forest
trees. where there Is timber, and here and
there low piece Of moist prairie. or occa-
slOnally AN Oat field. there j. not a trace OF
vegetation 10 show you that il il grow
ing season the country Is As bare and
desolate as in mid-winter The only vegc-
tation remaining in the fields consists ola
few stalks OF milk wheat (asciepiasl. which
is about the only plant they do not touch.
The same state OF things very much oc-
ours ia Bates and other counties in the ex-
IRENE western tier, where they We're most
numerous last fall. Those counties have
enumerated in my report. The differ
ence i this: In Bates. for instance. there
Is larger area OF prairie land pasture,
and the wild prairie is less affected than
any thing else: they do not eat il down
SO close and IL RECEIVERS easily In two or
three days IL will refreshen and grow up.
That is in Bates County. The distress l.
not 80 great as in Cass, for the reason that
there the stock Is getting along better. and
there Is not the same amount Of destruc-
ton. Nor is there the same amount Of
damage In Henry County, Judging from
the reports | have received Some sec
tons are utterly devastated, while others
are not. So IN Johnson County. We
never saw the country along the Pacific
Railroad look so promising. until we got
TO Holden. so In Pettis County you only
here and there see the traces OF deyasta-
ton. Nevertheless. the insects have hatch
81 there. and are still doing great damage
In two or three days the whole aspect OF
things may change in this section. where
il is the most promising. Ten days ago,
for instance. In Cas- County. there were
hundreds of acres OF a. fine ana promising
flax and corn AZ one could wish 10 see.
find among the people there generally
a determination To overcome the difficult
ties. and, as far a possible, TO relieve their
own people. The well-to-do citizens feel
inclined 10 relieve their own counties as
far as possible. and with few exceptions
there is no actual distress. The greatest
want is mainly on account OF the scarcity
of seed. Some families will need ratiOns
and food to keep them from starvation I'M
Ill they can bridge over the present desti-
tuition. but as rule the need l. mginly for
seed for the different crops. They need
corn that will mature early, buckwheat,
Hungarian grass. vegetable seeds, pota-
ioes-every thing that viii soon mature,
and this they want Immediately.
II will be impossible TO say how long
those sections of Johnson, Pettis. and 9TH
or counties, which are now in ilOurishiDg
condition, will remain so. The probabili-
ties are that during the next week most
OF the crops in that section will be de
stroyed. and that they in the end will suffer
more than the counties which have so far
suffered most. There has been great
deal of Ia here among few idlers and
loafers and desperate characters, Of raids
on the towns and on those who have sup
plies. But the committees appointed.
especially i'm Johnson County, by authori-
" of the County Court, Investigated the
real state Of affairs, and have reported
i'm that county. and that all these threats
were made by desperate characters, who
would not work If they had the chance.
Efforts are now being made to relieve
this pressing necessity for seed. am
confident that the predi ton | made will
be- verified. They will Yet raise in those
counties. in all probability, the largest
crops of corn they ever raised. The grass
hoppers having Killed of the grass from
the ground the hosts Of noXiOus insects
that fed on it have also been annihilated.
There is not a weed left, and IL
is I'm the best possible condition
to receive seed. BY the time il
comes up believe the grasshoppcrs will
have been decimated by parasites aud
hunger, so that the crops viii receive little
injury. | still insist that the rumors and
assertions of visionary theorists, who al
ways sheer at science and philosophy. and
consider this pest a visitation Of Gods
wrath, and that the insects will overrun
the State, are utterly absurd; my predc-
ton that they will not advance beyond the
line have indicated will prove true. Al
ready my deductions are being verified.
and the insects are dying in immense
quantities. A few of them will begin 10
acquire wings, but most will die of. The
few that do acquire wings will be so de-
bilitated they will be waited by the wind
and he lost sight of In the course of the
summer and fall. and will not lay eggs.
Thus the fears of some that they threaten
to be permanent pest, and IL Is no use
planting because the insects will eat every
thing as fast as il comes, are grOundless.
! would urge all farmers TO put forth
their best efforts TO plant seed for such
crops as will mature soon. | would
crops. such rs tsrnips. beets and mangel
wurzel, which will furnish nutritious food
for stock. We must not forget that the
area now being devastated. compared with
the area oyer-run last fall, Is extremely
small, and the present devastation Is con-