The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1877-02-15
Death TO 0rasshOppers BY Conclusion.


Death to GrasshOppers by CsneussiOn.
The following petition has been pre-
scented TO Congress by a fruit grower Of
Florida:
To the Honorable the Senate and House
Of Representatives, etc.: Your petitioner
believing that be can effectually destroy
the locust or grasshopper of the West
by his theory OF conclusion,
your petitioner would respectfully call
your attention TO the following fact OF
his having utilized the principle of con.
cussion in the destruction of all insects
and parasitic lite:
Some eight or ten years ago your pc
titioner's attention was called to the des,
tructlon of his fruit crop by the curcuio
among his peaches, and scale insects
among his orange trees, and caterpillar
on his vines. Your,petiiioner's farm IS
situated one mile from the city of Jack
sonville, Florida, and known as Honey
moon Narsery, and The railroad runs
through lis farm, and the trains in APP
preaching the city generally blow their
shrill whistles while passing through
his orchard. Your petitioner noticed
that by night or moonlight, the curculio
was frightened by the noise, and con-
cluded that severe conclusion of the at
mosphere was the natural enemy of
these destructive insects and your petit
toner bored with a common auger a
hole in live oak stump, in which he
packed some common gun-powder; that
the said stump was in his orchard, and
that night, when the air was dense and
humid, he caused, with Il slow match the
combustion Of the powder, which pro-
duccd heavy conclusion of the atmos-
phere and ground; your petitioner
found on the next day, to his sur
prise, that all the caterpillars on his
vines had been killed, which led him
to believe that said catepillars had been
destroyed by the conclusion of either
the ground or atmosphere, and that your
petitioner afterwards experimental and
has proven to many of his neighbors,
(whose testimony of the fact can be fur
nished) that conclusion effcctually des-
troys catcrpillars.
Your petitioner declares that concus-
sion was, and is now, an effcctual RENE
dy against the ravages of insect or para
site life in Florida, and that the concus-
sion under ground, caused by the ex-
plosion of gun powder, will destroy
frogs, mice, groundmolo and grub
worm, etc, etc.
Your petitioner, learning the fact
that conclusion could be utilized by
farmers and 2omologiSts, called o pub
lie meeting Of the citizens of Jackson
vile, Florida, TO the above facts and
that said citizens accepted his theory of
conclusion, and that your petitioner at
tempted TO get letters for his theory,
but failed in so doing. That said con-
cussion is now being used in Florida
and Louisiana in the destruction of scale
insect, etc, and used in Austria and
France tor the destruction of Pexloxear,
or Grape Louise. Your petitioner met
the Pathological Society of the United
States at Richmond, Va, Marshal p.
Wilder, then its President, in Septem-
Der, 1868, that the facts and proofs were
laid before 4 committee and the society
received favorably the facts and called
it "Harice's Theory of Conclusion"
That your petitioner is very poor, with
very large family, and is unable 10 test
his theory in the destruction of the
clouds of grasshoppers OF the West, and
earnestly begs that your honorable body
take such action in the premises as
would materially assist him in the ex-
pertinent, which he believes will effect.
ually destroy the ravages of locust or
grasshopper in the Western States.
Your petitioner is perfectly sanguine
that 1t takes but httle conclusion of the
ground 10 destroy all the eggs of the To-
Gust, and that if an experiment of heavy
concession of the atmosphere is brought
about, when the atmosphere is dense
and humid that miles of the dense clouds
of grasshoppers of the West can be de-
stroyed with one conclusion.
Your petitioner also claims that in
seasons of great drought be can produce
rain within twenty.four hours by con-
cussion, and for proof of this will state
that in nearly every instance after great
battles in the late war there were cop
ious showers within twenty four hours,
and in every instance it rained in less
than forty eight hours. Your petitioner
also claims tina, if he can prove that con-
cussIon will destroy insect or parasite
life, that If the theory laid down by
scientists, that yellow fever and all con-
tagious and infectious diseases arc eaas-
ed by anamacula is true, that conclusion
will destroy this disease, and in proof of
this will state that no yellow fever or
other contagion appeared IN any of the
southern cities subject 10 heavy coneus-
sion during the late war.
Your petitioner claims that in a very
recent experiment OF conclusion q stone
Jar was broken some three hundred feet
from the cannon used and panes Of win
ios glass were shattered At great dis