The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1923-01-05
CHRISTOPHER WAR
SAVES HUGE TOTAL
CAMPAIGN OF 1922 IN MONTANA
10 TOLD IN COUNTY AGENT
SUMMARY
TO CARLOADS OF BAIT USED
Work Of Protecting Crops Draws Co
operation Of 1o,eff Farmers In
22 CountIcs.--Half Million
Acres Treated

Montana has become acquainted viii
Numerous forms OF war, the cost, theil
value, the men employed and ths
ground covered, but few Montana PEG
pie know the story Of the most unique
war ever waged In this state, wal
that has now halted because Of winters
armistice. On the desk Of the county
agent leader Of the Montana Extension
Service at Bozeman is the statistical
story of the 1922 war against the grass-
hopper In this state, story that invites
reading in spite OF the fact that 1t
consists of figures alone.
Entomologists of the Montana Ex-
pertinent Station last winter warned
farmers that the grasshopper situation
would be bad In 1922; many farmers
and communities needed the warning
and were spared heavy loss; others
ignored the warning and paid heavy
cost. Before the end Of the season Of
1877 in this state 1851 farmers In ~
counties had resorted to poisoned bait
"a an attempt to check the devastation
Of grasshoppers. Where the bait was
xsed In time, little damage was report
ed; where 1t was used late damage
necessarily was caused. County
agents and county officials helped In
most counties In getting action early
enough to prevent severest damage.
Bran is the base Of the poisoned
bait, arsenic being used as the poison,
nolasses as binder and amyl acetate
as the attracting agent. A few other
less important elements are used. To
get this bait mixed county agents and
other local leaders held 100 mixing
demonstrations and 81 spreading dem
onstrations In 1922. Attending the mix
Ing demonstrations wers 1855 farmers
who In turn went back to their COM
munities to help others. AT the spread
ing demonstrations TAT local leaders
were trained in order that they might
return to their communities and help
others In the work. This report deals
sstss only % of the counties having
county agents.
This great mass Of poisoned bran
treated AIS, 429 acres Of crop land and
an additional 81, 452 acres of pasture
land, in % counties where county
agents were employed. The work of
supervising the mixing and distribution
Of bait was one of the heaviest tasks
faced by the county agents this past
season. County agents were almost
exclusively made managers Of the coun-
ty campaign and through a careful
system of buying saved thousands of
dollars In the purchase of materials.
Seventy carloads of bait were used In
Montana in 1922.
The total cost Of such a campaign in
can be measured only through
comparison with the saving made. or
the results obtained. Care was taken to
check up with the farmers their esti-
mated saving through distribution Of
the bait, and in every instance the most
modest estimate possible was used.
This estimate shows that farmers
over the state reported that for every
dollar spent in the grasshopper cam
Daign of 1922 a saving of $29.49 was
made on the crop This amount varies
farmers who reported that
ate distribution had made practically
10 protection for their crop and those
Who got to work earlier and reported
hat bait distribution has almost COM
,letely prevented crop loss through r
9
County agents and local farm lead h
rs know the old truth that money +
nent is easier to count than money q
sgured as saved. Many people IN +
ounties that have carried on grasshop- Q
Ter campaigns have been worried thar r
he county should have been forced to q
ay from one to three or four thous-
nds of dollars in this work, and they r
re inclined to worry more because
hey cannot see the saving totalled up :,
n any public cash register. +,
Yet every dollar reported saved is :,
saved Without the campaign I,
lie total money coming into the county n
.om sale Of crops would have been cut :.
= Just the amount now reported SAY r.
+" That much more crop money is In =,
,e hands of farmers, making its way a,
to banks, into the stores and into In a,
vidua1 pockets all over the county. h,
armers who have used the bait, used .,
early, and used 1t carefully are en- \,
usiastic after the great war of 1922 o.
which county agents played the part IN
mighty modest but mighty busy
aft officers. N
PLAN FOR WINTER READING -