The Portland daily press., 1877-06-12
THE PRESS.
THE FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
GraSshOpuers.

A"fo peeH mainly c0nnned 10 tne western
states, where mild climate and warm sandy
breeding places have afforded favorable OPP
portunites for their development. 1t has also
been suggested that their rapid increase is
largely owing to the fact that the broad and
level prairies give them such ample and I'M
INSTRUCTED room. The absence of large bod
les of water, and of mountain ranges; the
almost entire restitution of trees and forests
preventing the accustomed haunts where
birds and insectivorous animals take up their
abode, have contributed to give them almost
undisturbed possession.
: The efforts of individuals and of commune
ties to stay this destructive plague have
proved SO fruitless that the aid of the state
and national governments has been invoked;
and in response thereto commissions have
been appointed and appropriations made.
Probably all artificial methods will prove fail
ures until brought into harmony with natur-
al forces; or until they follow and assist the
plain instructions which may always be de-
rived from the well-balanced and compensat-
Ing laws ofNature. When groves surround the
farmers home, and forests skirt the streams
and the ridges, and the myriads of parasites
which prey upon insects are summoned to
their work, the destructive reign of the grass
hoppers will be over.
AS however, even in our northern regions
we are not wholly free from the inroads of
these destroyers, it behooves us to meet
them at the outset, and to prevent them
from getting foothold, rather than wage an
unequal war after the state is overrun.
Wherever the conditions are favorable and
the situation corresponds with that where the
grasshopper finds home elsewhere he will
be pretty sure to come, and usually he comes
to stop. On broad intervales stretching out
in treeless expanse, with here and there
sandy slope or swell where the original soil
has been overspread by alluvial deposits, he
finds congenial place. In several s1ch To-
calities in our own state we know that the
grasshopper has already taken up his abode;
and although our seasons have not proved so
uniformly favorable as at the west he is still
increasing n numbers and in the consequent
capacity for mischief.
The same rule holds good here that applies
to the destruction of the caterpillar or the
potato-bug, or other pests of the farm that
individual action avails but little; there must
be union of individuals and communities and
concert of effort in order that success may
follow. Everyone, however, can invite the
assistance of the birds and give them all
needed facilities for their work. Western en-
tomologists report that snow birds devour
great quantities of the eggs of grasshoppers
during the winter. They also state that be-
side those birds that are well known to be
their enemies, the woodpecker, cuckoo, cat
bird, fy-catcher, and the crow blackbird also
feed upon them. The aid of reptiles also is
not 10 be despsed, as toads, frogs and snakes
all wage war of determination against
them.
From the poultry family much assistance
can oe obtained as turkeys, ducks hens and
chickens all feed upon them voraciously, thus
Kidding the fields of pest, beside diminish
ing the cost of their own sustenance. Suita-
BILE quarters should be provided for the fowls
where they will be sheltered from storms and
protected from skunks and foxes, and where
their eggs can be safely deposited and some
supplies of food furnished.
Some of the most effective methods adopted
at the West for the destruction OF grasshop-
pers are used when they are young, such as
digging bitches with perpendicular sides into
which they fall but from which they are una
BILE to climb, burning the dried grass of the
fields niles 0f hrush opd or VII Jopoc;tod ~
different places into which they go for shell
ter,traversing the fields with long stretched
out frames on which combustible materials
can be consumed, or wheeling about broad
and shallow vessels containing kerosene into
which the flying insects will often drop.
We copy from the Prairie Farmer some
additional suggestions taken from the first
bulletin of the U. S. chronological Commits
sion.
A net which has done good service, made
by Maj. ]. G. Thompson, of Garden City,
Mimi, is made as follows:
Two pieces of common batten about 16
feet long were used as framework for the
mouth of the net, one for the bottom and
one for the top. From the end of the bottom
piece wooden shoe of the same material ran
back about feet to steady the trap and serve
as runner. To the rear end of this shoe a
similar piece was fastened to the top piece of
the frame, so that the mouth of the trap
would open and shut like jaw. To hold
the mouth open, two short, upright posts
were fastened to the top piece by hinge and
rested upright upon the bed-piece. The net
itself was made of cotton cloth for the bot
tom, and the top was made of mosquito nett
ing. The mouth of the net extended 16 feet
from one side OF the trap to the other, and
the net ran back about six feet to a point
with hole at the end to let out the insects
collected. A boy ten years old can draw one
end of this net, and by the use of it Major
thompson saved one piece of wheat.
Similar machines have been drawn by
horses hitched to each side of the trap, being
twelve to sixteen feet apart. The horses
serve the purpose of driving the locusts in
ward toward the mouth of the net. There
have been many forms of this machine, but
all on the same general principle.
In relation to the protection of orchard
trees the Commission says:
Inc best means OF protecting fruit and
shade trees deserve separate consideration.
Where the trunks are smooth and perpendic-
ular they may be protected by whitewashiDg.
The lime crumbles under the feet of the in
sects as they attempt to climb and prevents
their getting up. By their persistent efforts,
however, they gradually wear off the lime
and reach higher point each day, so that
the withdrawing must be often repeated.
Trees with short, rough trunks, or which
lean, are not very well protected in
this way. A strip of smooth, bright
tin answers even better for the same
purpose. A strip three or four inches
wide brought around and tackled to smooth
tree will protect it, while on the rougher
trees piece of old rope may first be tackled
to 1t, so as to leave portion both above ard
below. Passages between the tin and rope or
the rope and tree can then be blocked by fill
ing the upper area between tin and tree with
earth. The tin must be high enough from
the ground to prevent the choppers from
jumping from the latter beyond it, and the
trunk below the tin, where the insects col
lect, should be covered with some greasy or
poisonous substances to prevent girdling.
This is more especially necessary with small
trees, and Kerosene or whitewash having
Paris green mixed with it will answer as
such preventives.
RTJSINESS DTRECTORV