Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-10-18
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FAR from battle-eds of Asia. Africa and Europe
but intimately related to the victorious out
of this globa is nondescript squadron OF
arpfanes flying idle and abandoned lands of
group of far Western states.
These planes neither enemy bombers nor our own
reconnaissance planes They motley assortment OF
bpanes monopanes and auogros that scoot across the
rough Colorado, Oklahoma Texas and other
sparsely settled states leaving trails of poisonous dust
They "slywrtng" in manner of speaking. spelling
the doom of cropdevourng hordes of grasshoppers and
These aircraft are fighting front" which is
important today that Secretary of Agriculture Claude
wickard has said Food will win the and write
the peace That being the plaques of grasshoppers
crets cannot be tolerated when America is not only
arsenal of democracy but the worlds headbasket
Grasshopper depredaons in the past have been de-
scribed national caamites and during the normal
years 1910 such outbreaks took annual crop
toll of than $52,000,000.
mo other country in the world" declares DR. j. r..
Of the Entomology and Quarantine has
reported greater crop for any similar period
Uncle Sam, in designing arplane poison-bait dis
detailing certain miscellaneous aircraft to fly
front" is not assuming the major role of CONTROL
ing infestaons That remain in the hands Of
individual and cooperating agricultural agencies
methods being tage and seeding operations which
restrict laying and mprson baby grasshoppers in the
ground after Matching
Moreover the conventional of spreading poison
bait will continue to be administered by farmers who
scatter etha doses hand by ground mechanical bait
preader broadcast the deadly mixture from the rear of
motor trucks Figuratively farmers the ground
troops against invading paratroop armies of grasshoppers
and crickets and to employ another warme\ figure of
speech arplanes offer supporting umbrella" to the
organized attack against insect forays.
Not unlike army in the African desert grasshoppers
have habit of concentrating the rough waste lands of
the far Western states where they maneuver for position
before travelling 200 to 300 miles to attack cultivated crops
such wheat barley flax alfalfa, corn oats and
In similar fashion. Mormon crickets descend from
high and bleak attitudes to feed and growing field
and truck crops the lower grounds Crckets also travel
in armies. sometimes spreading over square mile or
territory.
Inst att and
exposed troop concentrations these dustcarryng
arshps conduct destructive raids grashoppers and
crckets while these insects grouping themselves Like
the Naz hordes these grasshoppers the
they swoop down with concentrated power devourng every
green and growing thing Bait is tempting
and poisonous Is their most certain downfall and such
mixture of awdus bran water and liquid sodium arsenite
be scattered wholesale and uniformly.
During three and major grasshopper control
campaigns 100000 farmers scattered equal number OF
tins Of bait 65oooooO acres thereby averting
mated crop destruction of $32s,OO000O
At the Of insect concentration there may be
10000 young hoppers to square yard and they are not
arrested these pests may travel miles
To spread poison bait uniformly in strips ranging from
oe set over sressc~r crfcivrt nfestcd areas
special arpane distributor has been designed by
Of Entomology and Plant Quarantine the United
States Department of Agriculture.
For example the front cockpit Of bplane is removed
and IN its place installed hopper which
from IS TO IL bags of bait each sack holding 20 pounds
propeller driven gadget the arpane regu
lates the mixture that when it is released the
rents from the propeller spread the uniformly over
the ground depending such controlling
velocity and direction and the flying altitude the
The area served by airpanes is such that
mobiles foot reach the insect
with difficulty the pilot Is over such an
infested he just opens the hopper scatters the
clouds Of bait these detectives '.N
Idle and abandoned lands fertile breeding grounds
for grasshoppor which develop droughts Records
Of 100 years show that hopper outbreaks develop and
persist during periods Of scany rainfall growth of
the grasshopper is proyerha and entomologists tell
that their enclosed slim pods may be as many as
440 TO the pod Devastating plaques grasshoppers are
restricted 20 the o-hirds United States
where the rainfall is from - 20 80 inches annually These
outbreaks the scientists tell periodic coming in
virtual 1o-year cycles and lasting from six years
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