The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1877-07-12

A LETTER FROM PROF. COoK-THE
FACTS IN THE CAsE-No DANCER
OUR OBLIGATIONS 10 THE
e..l-.EL BIRDS.

70 the Editor Of the Detroit Tribupe<
have seen in your paper, . well
as In several other Of our State pepers,
notice Of the fearful havoo wrought by
the locusts in Oakland and I0nia coun-
ties to various field crops, the announce
ment being made that the Kansas
grasshopper had come to Michigan.
have received and examined some
Of the marauders from these localities,
and believe an item In regard to the
subject may be Of interest, and posi-
bly, benefit, to your readers and the
people generally.
This Is not the Kansas locust, though
the resemblance is 80 close that even
the observing man might be deceived.
The Kansas locust has longer wings,
and is of q lighter color. The face too
IL reddish, while In the red-legged To-
Gust, which is the one which infests
our State, the face Is gray. Our species
(c0l0ptentss Jemur-ru6rupa) or red
legged c0lOptensls Is quite dark, almost
black, while the cdl0ptenus sprdettis,
or Kansas grasshopper, Is . d0wny
gray or brown. Ours Is q little more
than one inch long, while from its
longer wings the Western locust 10
still longer.
Right here let me set this matter
right, by stating that the locust Of the
Western plains can never invade
Michigan. They cannot breed II
reared in the warmer districts Of the
Mississippi Valley. SO they can never
journey farther east than 1t Is possible
for two generations to pass-which IL
about the meridian Of Central Iowa
and Western Missouri.
Our locust, though, Is just as raven
Gus, and only wants numbers to work
the same widespread ruin that has 90
often cursed the West.
Well may it be asked then, Why we
are not as sOrely ravaged as our West
ern brethren? i answer, We may
thank the birds for our escape. From
this time on till late fall the robin,
bluebird, in fact nearly all Of our
feathered tribes, are fairly gormandiz-
ing on these self-same locusts, and thus
acting as wardens to the farmer. tits
almost impossible to find robins
stomach. after August, free from the
remains Of locusts.
Were / to make q prediction /
should say that very probably the boy
with the shotgun had been transgress-
ing the laws in the counties mem
toned as being troubled now with the
locusts. Said boy better be in the re-
form school. Prof. Tracy, Of Grand
Traverse county, wrote mea few years
since that the locusts were working
great harm in that region, adding
farther that the birds were very scarce.
By the way, this gentleman, once the
inveterate enemy OF the robin, has
been won over to regard him as Q
friend. How significant the fact that
the large audience gathered at the late
meeting Of the State genealogical 6oci.
ETY., at South Haven, voted almost
unanimously in favor of the birds.
South Haven(?) fruit district, Of all
places the last to look for friends Of
the birds, except that close observa-
ton and thorough intelligence had
forced prejudice to the wall. 1t Is .
pertinent fact that South Haven main.
tains q live society which meets week.
ly and seldom wants full audience.
Committees are appointed to probe
these matters ~ the foundation, not
merely to glance and then guess. The
sequel appears in the above mentioned
vote.
To conclude, though we can never
have the Kansas locust, we have Just
as destructive an one ito the manner
born" which, were It not held In
check by our bird friends, would soon
cause us To appeal to the government
for q commission, whose discoveries
might make us wise to counteract
A. g. COOK. !
STATE AGRICULTURAL. .CoIL.EaE,
July 2, 1877.