The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1911-02-23

ance on mana lHoI va
j. w. Rowelf, Secretary.
1911 Year of Seventeen-Year and
Thirteen-Year Locusts.
A remarkable yet natural coinci-
dence of the year 1911 will be the
appearance in this country of two
varieties of the insects which have
been most feared by agriculturalists
from the earliest times-the seven
teen-year locust and the thirteen
year locust, so called because of the
intervals between their visitations.
Fortunately, the two kinds of To-
Gusts will not be foi, I'D in the same
section, unless the scientists in our
Department of Agriculture, who
have been keeping a careful watch
on them, are greatly mistaken.
The fact that both the seventeen
year and thirteen-year locusts are
due here this year has aroused so
many fears that the department of
Agriculture has published a special
bulletin to allay undue apprehen-
sion of the farming public.
According to this bulletin, the
seventeen-year locusts will cover an
area extending from the upper part
of the Empire state southwark and
eastward to the middle of North
Carolina, with three small broOds in
the extreme southwest section of
Ohio, the southeast section of Mich
igan and near the point of inter-
section of Indiana, Ohio and Ken
lucky. They will abound in Con-
nnecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island,
southern New York, southeastern
Pennsylvania and Virginia.
In numbers and extent of area
infested the thirteen-year locusts will
surpass their cousins. This year
they will occupy the Mississippi val
ley from southern Missouri and
southern Illinois to the Gulf of Mex
leo. They are expected to appear
in enormous numbers in southern
Indiana, Missouri, the western por-
ton of Kentucky and Tennessee, and
throughout Arkansas, Mississippi
and Louisiana.
Every important brood of locusts
in this country, with the territory
affected by it, has been defined by
the entomologists. Those which will
appear this year are classified as
brood 2 of the seventeen-year species
and brood % of the thirteen-year
kind. The brood which will oc-
cupy the northern Atlantic coast
states this year has been reported in
Connecticut regularly every seven
teen years since 1924 and in New
Jersey and other states since 1775.
When they last visited this state
in 1898, one or more dense swarms
of the thirteen-year locusts were OBJ
served in Alexander, Crawford, Ed
ry, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Pu-
laski, Union, Wabash, Wayne and
Williamson counties. In few or
scattering numbers they were seen
in Edgar, Gallatin, Jefferson, John
son, Macoupin, Randolph, Richland,
St. Clair, Scott, Washington and
White counties.
From the time when the plague
of locusts'' was sent upon the Egyp-
tians for their treatment of the Is
raelites, these insects have been held
in horror by people generally, re-
calling that
they covered the face of
the whole earth, so that the land
was darkened; and they did eat ev-
cry herb of the land, and all the
fruit of the trees which the hail had
left: and there remained not any
green thing in the trees, or in the
herbs of the field, throughout all the
land of Egypt.-Exodus K, Is.
Except in rare instances in this
country the actual danger done to
trees and shrubs was slight outside
the newly planted orchards. How
best to prevent damage by locusts
is thus told by DR.. L. O. Howard,
chief of the federal bureau of en-
tomology:
Ordinary repellant substances,
such as kerosene emulsion or car
bolic acid solutions, seem to have
little effect in preventing the ovipo-
sition (depositing of eggs under
bark) of these insects. Trees
thoroughly sprayed with Bordeaux
mixture or lime wash are apt to be
avoided by the locusts, especially if
there are other trees or woods in
the neighborhood on which they can
oviposit. The most reliable means
Of protecting nurseries or young Or
chards is by collecting the insects
in bags or umbrellas from the trees
in early morning or late evening,
when they are somewhat torpid.
| 10 lessen its ravages now and ul-
Ultimately. exterminate the locusts,
along with other insect pests, is the
aim of the government entomolo-
lgists. In view of the wonders they
have already accomplished with
bacteria and bigger bugs. the hope
seems warranted that the locust il
doomed-that its determination is
tonly q question of time and effort
IChicago Inter-O Ocean. Il
REPORTER FOR sAI.l BILLS.