The nonpartisan leader. [volume], March 08, 1920, Image 5

About The nonpartisan leader. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1915-1921

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
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The*adult grasshopper deposits its
*f. 'eggs in the grounid in the late fall,
boring a hole for this purpose. The
eggs are stuck together with a gum
my substance^ which hardens and
holds them intact in a group shaped
like a banana but no longer than a
bean. ,...
THEY'RE LITTLE, BUT ~'CiMI®
HEARTY FEEDERS
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HE Bible tells of the plagues that were
sent a good many thousands of years
ago to punish the rulers of Egypt—
vermin,, boils, hail, cattle disease and
the like. About the worst and one of
the ,last was the plague of locusts
which came, a& the Bible says, on the east wind.
"Th.ey covered the face of the whole earth so that
the land was darkened and they did eat every herb
of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the
hail had left, and there remained not any grfeen
thing, either tree or herb of the field, through all
the land of Egypt^sFinally a west wind carried
the locusts aWay. SiS
Farmers of the Northwest, during the past few
years, have been able to appreciate how the ancient
_T -Egyptians must have felt, for the plague of grass
$ hoppers of many varieties, some of them probably
identical with the "locusts" that plagued
have come year after year, and there
has been no west wind of sufficient
force to blow them away. -S?
Instead Of whistling for a west:
wind the northwestern farmers have"
set to work to study the grasshop
per and devise other means of get
ting rid of him. This article treats
of some of the conditions that are re
sponsible for the grasshopper'men
ace and some of the steps that may
be taken to end the trouble.
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The young hoppers do not hatch
until the following spring. They are
"very delicate at first, especially be
fore they are fully dried. Then for
*"some weeks they are so small as to be
hardly noticeable. Their wings, have
not developed and they can only hop
around. It is generally not until July
that they are of such size that they
begin to attract attention, although
all this time they have been eating
industriously. Then, with wings fully
formed, they become so' numerous
that, like of old, the "land is darken
ed" with them, and When they have
finished cleaning the crops in one
township they can fly away to the
next. •.
•The life history of the grasshopper
helps to explain why they are more
numerous some years than others
and what steps may be taken to erad
icate them. In the first place a rainy,
cloudy spring is less likely to be fol
lowed by a bad grasshopper summer
than a clear, dry spring. The young
hoppers are tender when hatched and
if they do not dry out readily many
of them perish. In the next place fields that are
cultivated by spring and fall plowing and harrow
ing are less likely to breed grasshoppers than'fields
allowed to lie idle, for the cultivation destroys
many of the eggs. In one North Dakota county,
a couple of years ago, 52 per cent of the total crops
planted were "stubbled in" grain. That year that
county had the worst plague of grasshoppers in.
its history.
But if farmers are counting on getting rid of
grasshoppers by, proper cultivation it must be re
membered that the stretches of grass along a road
way, or a neighbor's uncultivated fields, are as
good breeding places for grasshoppers as can be
found, and after they are hatched they do not stay
lonff in one place.
After th& grasshoppers'have-been hatched there
is only one effective means of getting rid of them,
and that is by poison. They are'best poisoned as
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early as possible, before they have had time to do
too much damage and while young, because as they
get old and tough the poison is less effective. The
standard mixture is four pounds of arsenic to 100
pounds of bran, with lemons and molasses to make
.the mixture more palatable. In case the arsenic
is coarse, an extra pound may be necessary." 'I. ,*
The copper smelters of Montana and Utah'"pro
vide the best source of arsenic. Canadian growers
are reported to have ordered large supplies in ad
vance for the present year and it is recommended
that farmers who fear the grasshopper menace
during the year arrange to get their supplies as
far in advance as possible to eliminate possible loss
by delays later. Arsenic is a metal and will keep
indefinitely. The other ingredients of the mixture
can be bought on the open market at almost any
time. In case arsenic can not be secured paris
Egypt,, green is a good substitute, but must be used in
GRASSHOPPER POISON
This is a mixer for grasshopper poison devised by the North Dakota Agri
cultural college experts, especially for the use-of farmers who want to organ
ize to go after the "hoppers." With this machine the. poison bran can be
mixed thoroughly, and a 100-pound batch cafn be turned out every eight min
utes. The formula for the poison is: 100 pounds of bran, 4 pounds of arsenic
(5 pounds if the arsenic is in coarse grains), 4 pounds of salt, 1 dozen lemons,
2 gallons "blackstrap" molasses, 15 to 18 gallons of water. The barrel of the
mixer is made of galvanized iron, the ends of boards and the support of timber.
... ^Working drawings and specifications may be obtained from the
North~Dakota Agricultural college, extension division.
T^i2"
SpW-
OrganizingBtc| Fight?the Grasshopper
Team Work Counts in Combating Insects as in Other Ways,
4?* ^Tv North Dakota Farmers Find
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larger' quantities. Some farthers use' one-half
pound of paris green in addition to the four pounds
of arsenic. On account Qf the coloring of the paris,
green it is easy .to see when the ingredients are
properly mixed.
In North Dakota a law has been adopted allowing
counties to levy a mill and one-half tax, on petition
of 10 per cent of the voters, to buy and spread
grasshopper poison. Protecting a whole township
or county at one time is much more-effective and
economical, of course, than attempting to do the
work individually.
For the use of counties desiring to mix poison
in large quantities, the "North Dakota Agricultural
college has devised a mechanical mixer, pictured
on this page. Plans and specifications for this
mixer-may be obtained by application to the col
lege, extension division.
Nature will help the farmers to get rid of the
PAGE FIVE
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grasshoppers, according to the scientists who have
been studying the problem. It has been commonly
believed ^that red mites, which may be seen as red
specks on the legs and bodies of most of the north
western grasshoppers, are the hoppers' worst en
emies. According to Stewart Lockwood, grass
hopper expert of the North Dakota Agricultural
college, however, it is yet/to be proved just what
harm these red mites "do. But there is a fly, about
the size of the common house fly, that lays a live
maggot that feeds on the grasshopper and finally
causes its death. These flies are increasing in
number, which should be good news to the farmer.
There is also a fungus disease that attacks grass
hoppers, especially in years with damp springs,
and causes them to die, crawling up wheat stems
and wrapping their legs about the stems.
About the worst enemies the grasshoppers have,
though, are birds, wild and tame, especially such
birds as prairie chickens and turkeys.
A turkey to each acre of ground
helped farmers in one section of
Kansas to get rid of grasshoppers
entirely. Mr. Lockwood of North
Dakota estimates that a prairie
chicken will keep an acre and a half
free froin grasshoppers in the ordi
nary year. He says:
"The North Dakota legislature
passed a law allowing prairie chick
ens to be hunted with guns, but not
with dogsj This is a good law, but
it would be still better jf it were
turned around, so that you could
hunt with dogs, but not with guns.
Birds are the farmers' best friends.
Clear a space and throw some crumbs
or grain to them in winter and don't
allow much shooting around your
land."
SOME HELPFUL TIPS
FROM AN EXPERT
Lock-
Some of "Grasshopper"
wood's other suggestions are:
"Don't wait until grasshoppers
are full grown to poison them you'll
need an aeroplane to catch them
then. Get after them while they
are young and a pair of horses will
do the trick.
"Broadcast the poison so that the
flakes fail separated. Then the poi
son will not harm birds or livestock.
Even sheep can graze over the land
without danger.
"Don't forget thiat the grasshop
pers, when they come eating their
way across your fields, are organized.
Yeu Tiave to be organized to fight
them. Poisoning them on your land,
when they are. left alone in the roads
or in your neighbor's land,-doesn't
do much good.
"Plow and cultivate well. A plow
is one of the best_ insecticides in ex
istence."
There are nearly 50 known varie-
•^.^^•^•fcies of grasshoppers in the North-
:west.
In addition, the Pacific North­
west has been afflicted, in recent years, with
plagues of what are known as "coulee crickets,"
but which are really wingless grasshoppers. These
invaders travel more slowly than their winged
cousins, but in past years have come in such num
bers that all ordinary methods of extermination
proved useless. Farmers in some sections of Wash
ington finally were driven to put up high board
fences across the trails followed by the so-called
crickets, which bred in the hills and came down the
little valleys to the farms. Even these were un
availing until metal flanges were fastened at the
top to prevent the insects from climbing over.
After the insects were backed up in front of these
fences trenches were dug, which were soon filled,
then oil used and the crickets were burned.
Washington farmers also found that turkeys and
wild game birds helped than toe hold the insects in
check.