The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1899-09-01


tered our melon patch at midnight
who's maw conld not be satiated by all
they could eat and carry off, but to
further demonstrate their imbecility,
proceeded to destroy number of fine,
large luscious melons.
Against all of the above offenses
have we kicked and howled, but all of
these brilliant spats pass without a
took us that caused our pride to wilt
and our Imagination of self to dwin-
die to the dimensions of a gnat, did
our name appear in your ''panacea
for all ills?'' Aheml Verify the
Fellsburg scribe IS a rara avis.
At the farmers picnic held at w hite IS
grove August 24, the grasshopper
question seemed to occupy the minds
of those present, more so than the
question as to the quality of the soil
or how long it would produce wheat
or corn. The present is of more i'm
portance to us, so far as temporal
things are concerned, than the future,
We are developing new methods and
new machinery for the destruction of
weeds and for the cultivating and saw
ing of the products of the fern. Why
uot produce something to deal with
the insect pests? They. are just as
detrimental to the crbps as are the
weeds. We are sure that the time is
not far distant when some in
sect-destroying machinery will be con-
sidered just as. necessary to complete
the list of farm machinery on the we'll
equipped farm in Kansas land per-
haps in all of the western states) as a
corn cultivator or header. There are
many methods advanced for fighting
the grasshoppers. Many of them will,
upon testing, prove failures, and some
of them would be productive of as
much harm as they would do good.
but there are methods that have been
tried with crude machinery that in a
great measure have been a success
and have proven beyond a'doubt that
with properly-constructed machines.
their power of destruction could be
greatly diminished. o. course the sue
cess would depend upon the time in the
season when they were operated
against the pests and how fdithfully
this was followed up.
Ex-senator ohm Armstrong, of Bar
ton county, Kansas, has operated with
a good degree of success u machine
constructed by himself. out of the re-
mains of an old header.
During the spring and summer of
1877 we were at Solomon City. Dick
inson county, Kansas. 1t will be re-
membered the fall of 1876 was the fall
that the well-known ''red leg' or mi
grating 'hoppers lit in Kansas and
| deposited their eggs. During my stay
there the hopper was a prominent fig
ure in all classes of society. His hab-
its and evil propensities was discussed
by all, from the sanctified preacher in
the pulpit down to the belated tramp
who fingered in the shade of freight
car awaiting an opportunity for free
ride in order to move on. When the
time arrivel for them to hatch they
came out as thick as flies. They
swarmed in a countless horde upon
the roadsides. in the garden, upon the
wheat fields, in fact they were every
where. by the millions. Grave fears
hovered over the whole community as
to what the outcome would be. Bui
every body agreed that something must
be done to save the crops and they
went at it in earnest. There were sew
era: methods tried, but the most sue
cessful one was the pans and the Goa
oil. These were successfully operated
by Haxton and Baldwin on a field O
1900 acres. They saved their crop
! Also A. p. Collins and his brother
I Sylvester, used these means on u 5Ot
acre field and saved their crops. an(
q plumber. of others I could mention
think T. c. Henry, the then whea
king of Abilene, use the pan and Oi
method and save.i his immense crop
So ! think every farmer should en-
deayor t0 secure some means for thin
ming out the present crop of 'hnpper'
before fall seeding time, but believ'
it will pay every farmer who intends
to sow wheat this fall to proceed a
once to rid his field OF these pests