The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-09-01

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hoppers into straw or some other ma.
terial on the side of the field to be
protected. Fire is then set tt the
straw and the hoppers destroyed.
The above are the principal RENE
dies against grasshoppers and are ar
ranged about in the order of their
value.
Experiments With Diseases.
You doubtless know that we have
been performing certain experiments
with diseases this year. We undertook
this series Of experiments after care
fully thinking over the above list OF
remedies, because we saw in the arti-
fetal use of natural enemies the only
possible means at our command. Other
states and other countries have at
tempted to use diseases in this way for
many years, but the success has been
variable.
The greatest measure of success
was probably secured in South Africa,
where oh seeing a swarm Of locusts
approaching his field a farmer distrib-
uted a disease and was much delighted
to see almost all the colony destroyed
and his crops saved. This n case OF
success stimulated many experiments
and many hundreds Of attempts by
other people, but in no case has the
succe been duplicated. We have all
thought, however, that since success
has been reached once, If we could
only find the secret of that success,
we could ourselves destroy the grass
hoppers with a disease. Unfortunately,
however, there has always been a
doubt as to just what the organism
was that produced this disease, and
while | have been working with a dis
ease from South Africa this season,
nobody can tell me. whether it really
is the same disease that caused the
remarkable success at Natal. The
government entomologist at Cape
Town, South Africa, Professor G.
Lounsebury, is a man of unusual abil-
ity and is personally known to me. He
stated in one of his official reports
that the use of diseases could not be
depended upon in controlling grasshop-
pers in South Africa. The United
States entomolgist, DR.. L.. Howard.
and various other official entomolo-
gists, including Professor Gillette, OF
Colorado, have performed extensive
experiments without being successful.
Success Is Doubted.
I have distributed about 200 lots OF
disease to various stockmen and farm
ers in Montana during the past six
weeks. but have not yet heard wheth-
err or not we are successful. After
having performed a good many tests
here at Bohemian, | am prepared to
say that l do not believe these diseases
will do much good, although l have
one or two reports of grasshoppers
having been very extensively killed
by a native disease, moi one that l had
distributed. In other cases, some
parasites, flies, have done a great deal
of good in destroying the g%rasshop-
pers. Our experiments with diseases
were undertaken since they offered
the only possible means of controll-
ing the grasshoppers, in spite OF the
fact that there was not very much to
be hoped for from them.
/ have written somewhat at length
in order that l might explain to you,
that here is very little that we can
do. except to wait for nature to take
her course.
The right kind of a winter would
do the whole thing for us at once, and
/ am now convinced that, aside from
the OCCASIONAL use of m of the above
remedies in the agricultural valleys,
we will have to wait until natural para
sites or cold weather kill off the hop
pers for us.
Some have thought that we might
make use of the fly that is killing
them, but our experiments Indicate
that when confined with grasshoppers
the flies do not go ahead with their
work. It is only under the range con-
ditions that these flies are present
all through the infested region. We
can only wait, then, for the flies to
take their natural course
Again thanking you for your offer OF
| assistance, which, l assure you, | ap-
preciate heartily, I am, respectfully
yours, X. A. COOLE1,
EntOmOlOgist.