Year: 1875

Being former resident of your coun
ty, where I have quite a number o1
friends and acquaintances, 1 thought
a line through your columns, in re
gard to the Grasshoppers in this sec
ton of Iowa, would not be amiss.
will endeavor to give some idea Of
the destruction which follows a visit
from this plague, that is equal to, OF
greater than, Pharaoh's.


About 10 O'Clock, June 23d, it was
noticed by some who were on the
lookout, that by looking toward the
sun, you could see the choppers" be,
ginning to fly over in a northerly di-
rection. At noon my attention was
called to them, and there being q
very high wind from the South, we
could see them in countless myriads,
flying through the air, almost equal
to a swarm of gnats of warm sum-
mer morning, and as high as the. eye
could see so small an insect.


By this time o good many had
stopped with us, and were coming
down faster and faster, until by sun
set the earth in places was brown
with the pest. Now for their sup
pers.


Visiting the garden about 4
o'clock, we found them swarming
around the cabbage, onions, Ito which
they seemed very partiaD, and in
fact vegetables of all kinds, until you
could scarcely see what they were.
But a little scare, and a slight cover
ing of the cabbage and potatoes with
earth, and they are safe for the time
being.


Passing on to the corn field, (for we
were tending 80 acres of old and Is
of new groun0 in going over the old
ground, we found it was in spots of
about an acre, in the low places,
bare to the ground, with the excep-
ton of little stubs about two inches
high. While watching their maodms
Operdndi we see from six to a dozen
choppers" mount stalk, and gnaw
it off, so that it falls to the ground
then the tug comes! Those sit
ting around on the ground will march
up, and in a very short time the stalk
will disappear. We will vouch for
having seen at least quart of chop
pers" around a hill at once, (but
please do not understand that they
were on eyery hill SOY.


Passing on to the new ground, we
found it completely taken-could
scarcely see even the stubs. We
have learned since that corn on new
ground is always taken first.


We now come to the small grain.
Had in 25 acres, with the incest pros
pect that we have seen since coming
to the State. There were a good
many choppers" in the wheat, but
they have damaged it very little SO
far; scarcely any in the oats. Re
turned to the house for the night,
expecting a rain from the north from
appearances. Morning dawned af-
ter quite a shower of rain, with the
wind from the northwest. We had
hoped the wind would continue from
the south, for if so, the choppers"
might leave. But so be it. After
the prairie had dried off they could
be seen rising and flying low all day,
and alighting in the fields, for they
leave the prairie grass until the last


We took walk around the farm
in the evening again, and found the
corn field almost as destitute of veg
citation as when plowed in the spring,
except the short stubs of corn, and
scarcely any choppers" in it, but
when we get in sight of the small
grain, we find them. On the sides
next the prairie and the corn, the
wheat and oats are brown, so that
at a moderate distance you cannot
see the grain. 1t is not so bad all
over. But as they do not eat much
during the night, and were only
crawled up to roost, we hope the
wind may be changed by the NOR
row; for from past history, they are
very resolute about their course, and
will remain until the wind favors
them.


I assure you we did not have many
pleasant and peaceful dreams that
night, for thinking of the stock that
must suffer if they did not leave
soon. Morning again dawned June
26th, with "smart breeze" from the
south. Thanks to the wind!


Watching them closely we find
that as the dew dries off they are be-
ginning to rise, but not without
first filling themselves. By IL
o'clock, looking toward the sun again,
we can see them as thick as they
were when they came, and rising
like clouds of vapor from the earth.
By noon they are all gone, except
few that seem sickly. Upon exami-
nation we find on some of them from
one to twenty little red parasites,
under their wings, and on squeezing
others that were more disabled there
I,,xo1 x>,,k ,,,,on r-r,,b