The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1923-12-06

v college of agriculture, the farmers
, extension service, the state depart
ment of agriculture and the count,
farm agents of the several counties
either Independently or in coopera
ton with the federal government
, for the eradication of the grasshoppe
pest of recent years, are but modern
repetitions of similar efforts made il
7 years past, before Montana's admis
sion to statehood.
Reference to publications ISSUED
years ago bring out the fact that the
grasshopper plague is not new t.
Montana, nor to others of the western
states, but that the plague was sc
general in the seventies as to bring
about the appointment of a federal
commission to investigate the sources
and routes of migrations of the grass
hoppers.
In the seventies, although the
grasshopper was referred to by many
as a grasshopper, it was classed by
the government as the Rocky noun
tain locust because of it's origin in
the states lying along the Rocky
mountains. Montana appears to
have been n of the principal breed
ing grounds of this vegetation de-
vourer and the source of many i'm
mense arm which migrated into
the states to the south and south
east.
Commission Investigates
In 1877, 1878 and 1879 an ento-
biological commission composed of
A. S. Packard, Jr., Charles V. Riley
and Cyrus Thomas, provided for by a
congressional appropriation, made a
study of the locust in the western and
mountain states for the purpose of
devising the best means of subduing
the locust in its permanent breeding
grounds with a view to preventing
its migration into the fertile portions
of the trans-Mississippi country.
This commission issued two print
ed reports of which the second over
ed the years 1873 and 1879.
The volume, containing 400 pages
together with a number of large maps
and colored pages, opens with a pref
ace from which the following is ia
ken:
"This second report of the commits
sion on the Rocky mountain locust is
the result chiefly of the labors of
Messrs. Packard and Thomas, in their
efforts to solve a most difficult prob
lem, namely, the permanent anchor
alton of the locust evil by preventing
the excessive increase of the destruc-
tive insect in its native habitat, and
its disastrous migrations therefrom.
During the year 1878 the labors
of the commission were seriously in
terfered with, first by an inadequate
appropriation unavailable until the
first of July; second, by the time re-
quired of Mr.. Riley in publishing our
first report; third, by the warlike dis
position of the Indians that year,
which rendered travel unsafe and
sometimes impossible in many parts
of the country to be exploited. DR..
Packard visited portions of Colorado,
Utah and Idaho, and also
received information from others re-
garding the presence of locusts in
these territories, and especially in
Montana and eastern Oregon. He
found that this was a normal year,
and the locust was found to occur
throughout all these territories in
greater or lesser numbers, but usual
Iy only in scattering swarms; still,
damage of a serious nature was done
to crops in portions of Montana and
Utah x
Locust in This Section
"He found that in eastern Idaho
were abundant from the Utah
inc to the Montana line, especially at
Franklin and at Taylor's bridge, and
ocal swarms were noticed about Sho-
,hone Lake. In Montana, local
'warms were destructive to farms on
Sinking Water river and Ryan's
canon and about Bozeman and Sterl-
as we'll as Deer Lodge. They were
llso abundant at Virginia City and
IN Sun river and on the Upper Mis-
iouri between Helena and Fort Ben
on. They were also observed local
y in the region south of Yellowstone
park"
Under the caption: 1.-THE locust in
Montana in 1878" the report reads:
From the statements of R. N.
'utherlin, editor of the Rocky Noun
ain Husbandman, we learn that this
erritory was not seriously molested
" invading locusts in 1878, as he
''Those that Matched out in March,
Ipril and May did some damage in
portion of Gallatin valley and the
1issouri and Prickly Pear valleys,
ut when they took wings they were
ortunately carried away from us,
early all the swarms going beyond
be territorial boundary. Their
curse was towards the southwest.
n the extreme southern part of the
ountry that is cultivated (upper
,uby Valley, a small farming dis
-ict, a few swarms stopped just as
ne oat fields were heading out, and
id a great deal of damage. After
a taste, they seemed content
i to remain, and did SO, depositing
lany eggs. In a portion of Gallatin
alley there were a few swarms that
and deposited eggs. Except
lie valleys above named, there have
no eggs deposited this year,
were generally good, and the
alue of the grain very large. A few
.rmers in the sections named above
filtered, but after all the suffering
as light compared to former years"
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