The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-06-28
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
LUyERNE. Rock COUNTY
June 2lst, 1871.

eight DAYS over very beautiful cOun-
try in southwest Minnesota and north
ern Iowa. / was rejOiced to lind the |
crops all along my line OF travel look
ing SO well. [ have been nowhere but
where they had fight with grass
hoppers and as a general rule. with
few executions, the farmers have pre-
served their crops.
ssOur crops are SO good round here,
said one farmer to me, ''that we can
afford to give all the grasshoppers left
with us, as much as they can take and
still have fifteen bushels Of wheat to
the acre.
1t has been clearly demonstrated
that farmers can, with necessary pre-
cautions, fight the grasshoppers
Matched out, either on a mans own
farm or in his immediate neighbor-
hood, but of course, for the next two
or three weeks there will be great
anxiety felt III regard to the probable
flight Of grasshoppers.
Clean land. fall blowing, backset-
ting, new breaking, not having one
acre Of dirty land on the farm, hop
perdozing and ditching around the
tillage fields; these are the means, and
successful ones. for preserving the
crop from the grasshOppers Matched
out on a man own farm, or from the
army of tramps that may come into
him from his neighbors. In every
instance, have seen. where the crop
of a farmer. was almost destroyed,
there W "a n'the~ Il 6ald, not plOWed
last fall and left uncultivated, or a
piece of new breaking not backset
last fall
On Sunnyside farm Sioux county
Iowa. In which General J. w. Bish
op is interested. and of which he has
exclusive supervision. | witnessed a
grand battle between farmers and
grasshoppers, III which the farmer
came off victorious after hard strug-
gle.
Geo. H. Gardner. and Ed. Winslow,
the former having in charge five
hundred acres of land under crop,
adjoining his own farm:-have pur-
chased portions of the Sunnyside farm
lin all it comprises rs 900 acres and
are tirst-class careful farmers.
Late and early they have had the
hopperdozer lively ut work on their
fields, with such success. that the
damage is little perceptible, but, on
the morning Of the 18th of this month,
op. | visited Sunnyside farm, it was
discovered that IN invading army OF
grasshoppers Matched out on neigh
Dor unplowed field. was advancing in
full force. Then the boys went to
work with a will and put up breat
works between their crops and the
invaders.
These breast works consisted of two
bitches at right angles, having hole:
rapidly with post augur; ut the an
gle where the bitches met was deep
square hopper grave.
On they came hoped into the ditch
rs, although they could have easil
hoped over them. followed along tn
trenches. fell into the holes by thous
ands and finally into the big. squar
hole that must have had four or fly
bushels of grasshoppers in it, by tn
time General Bishop and l rode up.
When once they fall in there is II
escape for them. not even when tn
hole is full. for they get tangled int
huge ball that appears to keep rol
ing and rolling around.
At two o'clock that day. the battl
was nearly over and the grangerS vi
torious. OF course many of til
grasshoppers had escaped into til
fields, but. not enough to do any ser
Gus injury.
1t must be impressed upon tt
minds OF our farmers. that grassho
per or no grasshopper. they shoul
make permanent bitches round the
tillage fields. they can he made at lit
expense and III most eases will he
service To the land.
With the hopper siozer the farm,
can destroy the hopperS that ma
hatch out on his own farm. when the
are quite small. If he keeps his lal
we'll cultivated and clean. plows Il
old land. and hack-sets his new brea
ing in the fall. his task will not
heayy-and his bitches will enah
him to manage the grasshoppers til
may come in from hisneighbors farl