Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1904-01-15

! open trench is u regular trap for them
because it is quickly filled and they die,
II great mass OF struggling victims,
crushed by their own weight. 1t Ii
quite possible also, to kill larger num-
bers IN q variety Of ways such as crush
INK them with ground rollers, poisoning
th-m, or burning them at night when
they are roosting III the ea2ebrush near
the ranches. These methods, however,
are of little practical value for they cost
too much in time and Labor.
M method has yet been found which
is entirely effective. The most prac-
teal way 81 dealing with the crickets
so far, takes advantage Of The fact that
they must travel on foot and are too
awkward to crawl up N slippery sur
face.
TIE w~AsHISGToS CRICKET FENCE.
Prof o l.. kellogg! Of Stanford Uni
versIty, in Il letter dated August clst,
1903. states that IL large, black wingless
g~rasshopper IL very abundant and de-
structive i'll Washington and That the
remedy used there 10y the ranchers is a
low fence six inches high with a re-
curved tin top. Along this circket-tight
fence there are at intervals deep holes
in the ground i'll which coal tar Is put.
Ths circkets are stopped i'll their on
ward march by the fence and crawl
nl"ng it until they drop into one " the
hnIae This 10 fI,.ir finish
Such Il fence could be made out OF
six inch, common rough lumber. Tho
tin strip mong the top should be about
five inches wide aud should slant to-
ward the oncoming crickets. Every
knot hole must be stopped and there
must not be Il gap 81 Il break in the tin
strip. This fence must be cricket tight.
1t can be useC for several seasons il it IL
taken up and stacked under Il shed dur.
ing the winter. Rusty tin gives very
poor protection.
BURLAP ASE oILCLoTH.
This is simply Il long strip Of COMMON
eight ounce burlnp with II scven.inch
strip of oiIcloth sewcd along the upper
edge. There should be ii strong and
heavy hem along the top and Il tuck in
the middle below the oiiclOth. The tuck
ana the hem are intended Ia strengthen
the burlap so that it will ST int stretch
ing tightly between the posts.
This burlap cricket fence is tackled to
the fence posts and stretched tight
enough to make the oilcloth smooth.
II IL tucked low enough on the posts so
that from six inches to Il loot OF it may
be turned forward and buried in dirt.
1t ia easy to make, Sasy to put up and
easy to take down nj the end OF the
cricket season. IL IL effective, too.
where 1t il made OF good material and
stretched from post Ia pos. tight
enough to smooth out the wrinkles in
the oi!cloth. Cracked and wrinkled
oilcloth loosely stretched is not Of much
use.
All brush and weeds along the outside
Of the cricket fence must be cleared
away so that the o;lcl"th will present an
u%nbroken, slippery surface.
AS the crickets nip everything they
come to with their powerful jaws, they
arc likely to make holes il the burlap;
and, for this reason it is Il good plan to
paint the bnrlap with a broad stripe OF
coal,nr G to the ground on the days
when the crickets are coming down
Nine ounce burlap 40 inches wide in
strips Of about I'D yards costs about D
cents per yard. (Chicago.) Oilc!oth in
pieces OF l. yards long and - inches
wide costs 20 cents per yard and each
yard will cnt up into six strips. This
mikes the materials for homemade
burlap fencing cost about 10 cents u
yard.
CO~SLLCsIoSs:
The results OF opr study Of the cricket
pest are us follows:
We can make Io practical use, on n
large scale OF either irrigation bitches,
deep trenches. or kerosene in fighting
the crickets.
We have not succeeded in poisoning
them in my practical or effective way
or i'll discussing the III at all,
Our main reliance ut present must he
cricket.prooi fences 81 tin and oilclotb.
Tho oilcloth and burlap fence has not
been tested 30 thoroughly M the icnce
OF wood and tin. Our experiments,
however, all indicate that i! would be a
practical method 81 checking the
crlckcis when it ls properly used.
SAMUEL u. DnTES.
Nevada State University.