Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1878-03-28
THE GRAssHoppER COMMISSION.

pairing their report on the ravages of this
pest. They have arrived at the conclusion
that these long legged insects which have
done so much damage to the western coun-
try are not, properly speaking, grasshoppers
in tact, that there is no such thing as a
grasshopper. What in America are called
grasshoppers correspond to the locusts of
the old world and what are in this country
termed locusts are not such. So the popular
fsllacies of the day topple one after another.
In watching and comparing the flight OF To-
custs, the present commission have specified
east of the Rocky Mountains for the year
1877, more than 2,0O0' dates and notices of
flights. In many instances the records tor
a single day amount to over a hundred no.
tees, that is, notices from hundred differ
ent points in one day. The commission
have so thoroughly systematized their work
that they will be able to tell the movements,
over this entire section, each day, from the
time they began their Investigations in Tex
as, in the month of May, up to the last
movements, in the far north, in the month
Of September.
In reference to birds that are beneficial in
destroying locusts, the commission have on
hand one hundred and fifty closely written
pages of foolscap, showing the contents of
the stomachs of nearly FIVE hundred birds OF
some ninety species; the date and place
where and when such examination. was
made, and the number Of locusts and Other
insects found in the digestive apparatus O
each bird. This brings out the strange anc
hitherto unknown fact that swimming ano
watling birds are most beneficial in destroy
ing the particular insect referred to-
A correspondent writes from Washing
ton:
sAlthough the present commission have
not fully solved the great locust problem,
they have removed: very large portion OF
the fear these pests inspired. This effect
has been heightened by the favorable season
and the exact time the commission appeared
in the field. There is no doubt that in Ne
braska alone the commission has repaid or
saved to the people Of that State tentold all
it has cost the government. Many OF the
farmers were respondent, and indisposed to
make any further efforts to save their crops
in the early season. The more hopeful
and especially the public men and merchants
were doing all they could to encourage
them, but many were apathetlc ana could
not be moved. At this crisis the commits
sion appeared in their midst, and the simple
fact that commission had been appointed
by the government to Investigate the locust
plague had an inspiring effect When the
wise men looked over the field and gave in
good faith their opinion, based on facts and
science. that the result would be more favor
able than even the more hopeful of their cit
izens anticipated, it inspired confidence, and
hundreds, yes thousands, entered upon the
battle with renewed vigor. The result was
that those disposed to abandon their farms
and leave, remained. Thousands OF bushels
of grain were harvested that would proba-
bly. without the inspiring. influence Of the
commission, have been lost Their predic-
tioas having been fulfilled completely, the
fear has in a great measure departed, and
the agricultural interests of that State are
to-day on tirmer footing than ever before.
The same thing is undoubtedly true in refer
ence TO Kansas and other sections,. but par
ticularly Nebraska, where even in June the
merchants in Omaha were very despondent,
and the eldest residents ridiculed the hope
fnl predictions which were at that time pub
lished.
1T will be most gratifying to the people
of the West to know that the commission,
lin the intro duction to their report, conf