, 1874-07-27
THE LOCUST PLAGUE.

Nna set by eomo ono.
THE LOCUST PLAGUE.
How the farmers Got II Id Of Tlo1n in
Axih and Afrtcns
"a ths Editor Of 4hs Seo Pork Herald,
For tho bonoQt of tho Hufforors from tho
locust plague II, tho Northwest allow mo,
through the medium Of your paior to EiSs tiluso
Western tarncra somo slncero advise. ha7e
boon for many years res'dcnt Of countries
annually Visited by tha dire Bouurga. In North
wcstern India, Meaopotania,, syrin and South
Africa, lavo carefully watchod tho labtte OF
this most dostrnotivo of ell insects, aa we'll aa
tho mnnnor III which tllo natives OF if,oHo ooun-
tries nsed to combat tho relentless intruder. It
Ii remarkable fact tint tho regions mostly in-
vadel By .,locuats arc notoriousiy uohtituto OF
wood-tudeeal, Of fuol at my, kiud-yot to
nativos Of MI thoso dIatrots invariably employed
tliis very arttice, or rather It's snloko whoro-
with 10 oppose tho invading host. As, howoHcr,
their heir, auecoss m topol1ta upon t!'o quantity and
and wood boing much too scarce in tlioBo ro-
gtons to be burned extensively, anl peat md
coal altogether unkn0nn thoro, tho inhabitants
carefully collect all tho dung Of their oaniols,
oto.. mig 1t with chopped straw, greHs Or roots:
ehapo tho tntxtuio Into round cakoa about
inchcn ia diameter by about nm inch and
~ nalf n, IN thieknoas and dry them ID Tho
s ss assss asss. ''hs 's %estern ios COMFY
tute tho principal, n1id in. many, distriots
only, fuel, not only IN India, bnt a'so in
Persia, Mosopotamia, Byrla, Arabia, Egypt,
Nort, Africa and many other coun.riea. I1iey
stiiling smoke. ths very lllng needed to koop m
invading locust lost ut bay, or al least to oalAo
It to doyinto III ito courao OF destruction. In
deod, have ofton aoen thoae "Chowpattoo "
fires burned with really wonderful ofoct for that
Tttr nftfrnnv n al.
together upon proper management. ~ ttoy have
to be lighted before tho IocuHts hnyo arrived Ia
the, locality which theao lros aro intondod to
project.
before sunrise, and rarely, II ever, "difs" (iy)
after sunset, Evon II thoy DO light ou tie
ground botweon sunrise and snnsat thoy mill
always be found to bo very rostleas,
essy tasa to fSoE xnss and ftdS t1oy will oa4
to With staues Of 10 aoot Durua 81 p1ass tSs
night they will Invariably bo found ut roat, TINT
IL 10 say. sottied OH tho ground aud feodiug
will drop into Kind Of son,'.lotharg'o condition,
Then they arc utterly uuablo 10 talo to rhoir
wings. Taking advantage Of this comatoso and
temporary helpless condition Of tho loouBts, tho
Inhabitants OF tho countrien ab1vo montionel
drive all their carnels, horses, mules, donkoya,
oxont COWS, shcop and goats over the ground
covered by tho obnoxious inBeotB, which arc
tramplod to doath and crippled by tho million
undor tho animals feet. Lot our d1stroasod
aettlerr Of tho Northwest initiate III thin matter
tlioir unctvilizod follow surorora Of AAia aud
Africa. Lot them klndto bTisk fires onrly IN tho
morning. at lcast ono honr hofuro sunriao, nll
around their farms or fields; or 1t that 10 tm1oa-
sablo let them kindio thom all along tnat aldo ia
tho direction OF which they expect tho invasion Of
tho locusts. Tho lire Ghou]d 10 not moro thal 100
yards apart-tho closer tho botter. Coal tar,
haf-d1ied peat, or still less expensive matter,
sttch III grass, eods, wot STRAW, greeu brushwood,
dea so aoes eabnr nurp 1d h9os Of
ahoes and rnEs,--in fact, nnythtng that will
crcato dense. stidlug smoke and is at Tho same
time inoxpensiyo. should be thrown into those
fires. and vigorous fumigatiou should bo kope
loouBts are ION tho wing."
Locusta "otf the wing" |. @. aottlcd down for
tho night, arc probably best destroyed in tito
manner aboyc stated. Crowds OF pooplo walking
oyor tho fields covered BY tho loousta will DO as
to death .s largo herds Of cattle. I
haso Boon canots, horses mules, tlou-
Eeys, oxen, COWS, sheep, goats, rigs, poultry,
dogs, cats. gazolies, nntolopes, etc, cat live
! have also soen them dio in consequence Of eat
lug dead, dccayo1 focusts. Pigs mud poultry
howoyor, can cat thom in my condition, appear
to relish them. aud actually grow rolling fat on
this dict. LII all tho towns and villages On both
3AA-A
oastorn ooast OF Arabia, in thoso along tho coast
Of tho notl Soa, aud in uauy other placeB loclutg
aro sold in considerable quantities in tho public
markets. or bazanra aud cunstituto all important
habitadts. They aro generally sold iu the mar
Jlet either in pio1ilud, sat.od, sup-dr1cd or
roasted state. as they, like fish, oannot
be kept fresh longer ttau few. hours
whilo strolllng through the bazaars, when hap
ponod to ace them exposed for Balo Just fresh
and crisp from the roast, but noyor coulll "go
them raw" They taslo worry mitch lilo shrimp,
but when not perfectly, ffesh they have an uu-
ly contcnlptiblo food. Farmers. who iack largo
herds Of cattlo to drive them over tho 1ocusts Or
who live too isoateQ to got crowd OF pooplo TOT
gother to marcl over them might use largo,
hoayy stone or iron rollors {apoh T., arc usod in
lloraes or oxen over tho fields ooVerod by locusts,
and thus crush and cripple millions Of
them in o few hours. In driving cat
tie or rollors oyer auch folds tho farm
ao tho locuvtB would do il they woro loft unmo-
lestod. Tho eggs or larvn OF tho inseut, because
Of thoir boinE deposited III the ground, and,
therefore. rather difficult 10. get Ut, are not 10
easi|y destroyed as tic fullydoyeloped locust It,
Bolf Deop plowlns, with view to crush thom
I1ndor tho weight Of tie soil turned upon tllem
il undoubtedly rooommontlable, while pigs and
poultry allowed TO roam over 10 plowcd fields
would greatly assist ii tho determination Of
thoso l0ousEa in embryo
All chemical uostratna must provo virtually
owing to thefr oxpe,siVenosB,
Hholefora honestly boieye the n,odus operandi
Above described to b0 as yet the most practical
and inoxpauBivo ona to conto1ll with tho locust
plague, and sincerely recommend it herewith to
our distressed farmers il Tho Northwest.
August LocuE1.
ToMpx1xsv1LLE, 81.
fsrt runr,ti nj nurw.sn.y,. crnor,