The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-07-19
oRAsoHoppERs HIDE THE SUN
Pests Become Menace in Wndham
County.

County.
That certain sections of jamaica
and Townshend in Windham county
are as badly infested with grasshop-
pers as any places in New England is
the statement OF Harrison Il. Smith
Of the United states chronological
laboratory at West Springfield, Mass.
who is in charge of the work of the
suppression of grasshoppers in New
England.
MIR. Smith has been in Brattleboro
and other towns within few days in
consultation with Arthur w. Sweeton
agent of the Windham County Agri-
cultural association, and went to
Jamaica, Townshend, Putney, West
minister and other towns at Mr.. Swee-
toms request. The story as told in a
Springfield paper is as follows:
The worst infestations.are in Jana
lea and Townshend and the pest has
gotten a strong foothold in the other
towns mentioned and radical meas
ures must be taken.
Mr.. Smith and Mr., Sweeton agreed
that the great need in this county is
cooperation lpIf n farmer takes steps
to rid his hdFi~Ads 4srasshoppers he
has 10 'fssarasee lagainst clouds of
them coming to- HUT from other fields
where ano sAeyentks measures have
been taken, whereas IL ali the farmers
in an infested territory would cooper
ate they could eradicate the pest, and
there is no question: bnt that it can
be effectually wiped out.
1t is Mr. Smiths hope that next
spring some cooperative plan may
be worked out whereby the farmers
viii unite in protecting their crops
and whereby some person of exper-
fence may come here and devote his
time to the grasshopper suppression
work, directing the efforts of the
farmers. 1t could be done for small
per cent. of what the grasshoppers
have cost the farmers this year.
The two sections of New England
where grasshoppers are most abund
ant are in the valley of the MerimaC
rivers and its tributaries in New
Hampshire and in the valley of the
Connecticut river and its tributaries
in Vermont and New Hampshire In
New Hampshire recently the owner
of one farm had become thoroughly
discouraged because the hoppers
were running his crops. He was will
ling that Mr. Smith should take any
steps he desired and offered $500 &c
pay the cost.
The farm was entirely freed of the
devasting horde and the expense was
less than SIS, while the farmer say.
ed more than $4,000.
Mr.. Smith used the poisoned bait
formula of the department. of agricult
are, exercising care and following up
the work and on two square feet OF
land were counted about 1900 dead
grasshoppers.
Ii is almost uncomfortable that the
sons who have seen the highways
carpeted with them, fences and sides
of barns and houses completely cover
ed and have heard continuous
crushing OF them under automobile
wheels and have seen them obscure
the sun in their fight in clouds-all
OF which conditions have obtained in
this country this year one knows
that the figures given by Mr. Smith
are no exaggeration.
Some effective work has been done
in Windham county by the use of poi
soned bait. One serious defect in the
work has been that the farmers have
not followed itgup, except in com
paratiyely few instances They have
allowed one application to suffice
when another application and possib-
'ly third were needed to attain the
desired results.
After much experimenting the de
partment of agriculture has determ-
ined what is the best formula Mr.
Smith gives it, together with the
method of application, as follows:
Twenty-Five pounds of wheat bran.
Coarse faxed bran is better than
fine. One pound of Paris green. Mix
the bran and Paris green and mix
in their dry state. Diiste two quarts
of cheap molasses with three and a
Z half gallons of water Grind up six
oranges or lemons and add to the mo