Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1891-11-19
OUR 'nOPPER PLAGUE.

AID SaygrSstd 10 Combat IL.
Boise ststesman.l
Governor Wiley has Just received
the report OF Professor Lawrence
Brun-r OF the Nebraska experimental
station. concerning the plague Of
I"custs or arasshopp~rs that WAS visited
upon portions Of the State Of Iiaho
during the sumner of the current year
The professor visited Soda Springs,
MoCAmmon. Pocstello. Shosho"e,
Ketchum, HALEY, Soldier aud other
places. He states that Csmas Prairie,
resilv . basin, was the cradle Of the
locust plague. The insect was 6rst
noticed Eve years ago, and it has
steadily increased in numbers since
that time.
After describing the scenes attend.
ing the visit OF the locusts, Professor
bru"-r says:
"As would naturally be supposed,
the presence Of the pest in the same
region for = succession OF four or FIVE
years, las resulted in the product,o"
Of several IT its natural enemies in
rather abnormal numbers. These, Of
course, are doing much towards miti-
eating the evil, but Ms yet they do not
appear TO have made much Of an i'm.
pr~ssio" upon the vast thr"ng COM
p'isi"g tue plague. Among these
natural enemies of tho locust | OBJ
served the locust egg Unite, possibly
the same species that did so much
good IN Minnesota and other parts Of
the country years ago when th- mixra.
tory species WAS abundant. Several
kinds of two winged flies that destroy
the 'horpr's bv laying their eggs
upon its body and the young of which
atterward. bore Into and d-.troy the
iocus,s. 1h-n too, there were several
kinds Of robb. r H.. which capture
AID destroy the 'hoppers by sucking
out theI life bloud. A number OF
rannibai beetles WIRE seen that also
eaten aud destroy the insect u. Cat
would mouse. Besides these aud
other kinds not mentioned, during late
sum ,ner and early fall, the streams of
thu region were iuIl Of one or more
species of "hair worus," which mos,
ikeI, had been parasitic within the
bodies Of this ant various other locusts.
II ever.thi' g would continue thus
favorable for tho increase. Of these
natural enemies Of the locust, they
themselves would eventually control
it; hut Ms the existeace of all of those
IN, mi = il also in degree dependent
upon certain climatic conditions, it is
not Il sac plan to trust too implicitly
in them The sttI-rs must them.
selves take. a hand in the fgh, If they
would be sure of victory. As shr-wd
rs are the most of the living things
about us. nan Is shrewder still.
Hence. II he undertakes in earnest TO
outwit any of these lower forms he is
hound to succeed True, there are
>om-tim"s difficulties in the wav, ap
parent or real, that must he overcome,
but usually q little jnd'cious planning
will result in victory.
1.-THE habits, life history and haunts
of the p-Ilucid winged locust dlH-r
materially from lose of tie
Rocky Mountain species, but the
general chsract Iistics upon which We
base our remedies are essentially the
same. Hence the mode OF warfare
US d SO successfully against the mt
gra,ory insect will prove equally
applicable against this one. In the
use Of "kerosene pans" or shopper
noz-rs" We have an almost p-rfec,
remedy against the young before they
have wings. Flowing under the eggs
either in the fall of the year or in the
spring b-fore they hatch, is adva,.ta>
xe"u, in cult, atrd regions; while
burning over the dead grasses will
kill many of the insects in other
Instance In other cases grea,
numbers Of these insects have been
captured by the use of variou>ly con,
trived machines and afterwards
destroyed In fact there is an almost
endless numh-r of ways that might lie
adopted for destroying the pests in
one or the other of the diff rent stages
Of growth. All that is necessary is u
desire to succ.e ed, and then to go
ahead. True, the pest can he b. 9,
sntdued while yet in the 'hud,' SO TO
speak. In other words, the proper
time to begin i. when thu insect is
first noticed TO be on the incr. ase.
"WhiIe matters begin I" look more
hopeful with 'ef. renee t. the r4ll.cid.
winged locust, upon Cana, PrA'rie at
least, | am sorry to b- Obliged TO rr