The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-04-05

30 get of. At last he succeeds, and
the covering is so thin and light that
I disappears with the first breath OF
AIR, whilst the freed insect will be
seen running, with wings continuing
70 untold, until he can get to q weed |
or oush, up which he will climb little
way, and then, with his. long hinder
legs ne begins to unfold his still |
damp wings and spread them
out to the air to dry. In
8 short time he will have dried |
them so that they can Je folded
within the outer covering and
he Is then ready to use them They
do not seem to go away at once. but
remain In the neighborhood living
around and testing their wings for
days. Finally, with the first
good wind, they will mount into the |
air and take their departure, fiying
with the wind either north or north.
west. Within q week or ten days they
will all have disappeared, all gong in
the same direction.
As to the ravages of these insects in
Texas, there has been much unDecessa-
~ exaggerstIon on the part of some,
and alarm on the part of others. They
are bad enough, but there is no use
trying to frighten people to death, or
magnifying the evil to such an extent
as TO deter immigration to our coun-
try. have never beard Of the crops
being seriously damaged in the black
land by them. For some reason they
do not like to make their deposits in
black land, but where such land is in
tersPersed with chalky hills they will
make deposits in such places, and in
their march during their pupa state
they depredate on surrounding crops;
but by that time the vegetation has
become SO strong that generally they
make but little impression on the fields;
especially fields of wheat and barley.
Their worst depredations are upon
gardens, and upon the fields in the river
valleys. II the deposits have been
made on the hills around the valleys
aud they march towards the river in
search of food, of course the young
crops will suffer, and rice rersa. Whole
fields of corn, when it is Young, are
sometimes destroyed, and it is curious
to watch them in this process. A body
of them will attack the corn at the sur
face of the ground aud fell the stalk.
When it has lain little while, SO to
become wilted, IS many as can get on
the stalk will cover it and devour it
utterly, and then hop off in the di-
rection of the other depredators. They
love tender vegetation, and will eat
young weeds in preference to corn.
Hence they will eat the vegetables in
gardens sooner than anything else.
But they are very greedy and must
eat; 80 when they could get nothing
else the writer has known them to attack
the stump of cigar or quid of tobac-
CO, or even to eat holes in cloth that
was placed over vegetables or roses for
pr election.
As said before, they seem to remain
on the ground several days after they
get wings, and the winged insects are
as destructive as the others. SO that
gardens that were situated in places
where no eggs were deposited are often
devoured by the insects which were
Matched elsewhere. But in this con,
dition, they can with continual atten-
ton, be driven away as one would
drive chickens, and a small place, such
as garden or orchard may be pre-
served from them altogether. During
their march to take possession of the
country in the fall of the year, they
come slowly, only moving from place
to place a few miles daily. When they
leave however, the have set their faces
homeward, and fly doubtless with
nearly the swiftness of the wind unit
they are hungry, when they will come
down and feed. 1t is an unfortunate
person on whom they thus fall, for they
will surely devour him. Wherefore
we hear all our old farmers say, they
have no fear of the grasshoppers that
are around US, but they dread those
south Of us. They must fly great
way before resting or feeding when
they are on their way home, as but few
instances have as yet occurred here,
where crops were destroyed in this
manner, and then only in isolated
places. We may expect the departure
of these pests between the first and
middle OF May. Meantime it may be
well to say, that so far the grasshop.
pers have never prevented US from
raising crop in any part of Texas.
The small grain crop is secure from
tn, m before they are able materially &c
hurt it, and If the corn has been taken
down by the hoppers in their pupa
state, there has always been time tc
plant again. 1t Is only when an isolated
crop has been eaten by the winged in
sects, that 1t was too late to replant
The damage the worst year here wal
not more than one-tenth the genera
crop. Some persons were seriously in
jured, but the general crop was not
Nearly every year they have departed
to the north or northwest, but ont
year they come from the west and one
year they departed in that direction
G.