Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-04-15
AN AUSTRALIAN PLAGUE.
Terrible Ravages of the Locust
 Throughout the Land.
Desperate Efforts of the People to De- stroy the Pest-Whole Colonies Laid in Waste by the Dreadful
 Insects.

In order to check, if possible, the an nual plague of locusts that devour the hcrbage and blast the hopes of gra- ziers, farmers and fruit-growers to greater or less extent in December, says the Glasgow Herald, the govern ment of Victoria, Australia, proclaimed November and holidays for scholars and schoolmasters in the rural districts, in order that they might cooperate with the settlers in destroying the young locusts in the early stages of their development, before they have been equipped with wings, enabling them to take flight over the country to begin their work of devastation.
 With this end in view preparations were made Ill numerous parts of the ln- terior to destroy the pest in various ways, such as by beating with branch es the beds in the fields where the as vet wingless creatures were known to exist, or narrowing the ground, or turning focks of sheep upon the land. and also by spreading straw over the plague spots and setting fire to 1t. In such ways vast destruction was done to the armies of the young locusts in the early stage of their existence.
 It was seen, however, that the raid ] upon, the vermin should have been made somewhat earlier, as numbers were already so far advanced as to be on the wing on their mission of mischief, and besides, the attack upon them was not so generally made as was desirable in some districts of Victoria, while north of Murray comparatively little effort was put forth to cope with the evil, owing to the fact that on the New South Wales and South Australian side of the Murray the bulk of the land l is taken up with large squatting runs, and population Is sparse there, thus giving the ravaging locusts almost com plete scope to propagate.
 | People here can hardly conceive how serious the locust plague is in these colonies. Recently the reports came that these creatures massed themselves so thicllly along some of the lines ot railways that, although the brakes were shut down, the trains could not 1 be brought to stand until they had gone half mile beyond the station, owing to the multitudes crushed 1 beneath the wheels, causing the trains to pass along as if the rails were covered with oil. The wheels actually slid along the rails. In many of the northern towns the inhabitants had to close their doors to keep out the invad- ing hosts. The plague has now fairly begun work. In the southern parts of ! New South Wales and some of the northern portions of Victoria the out | look is OminOuS.
 In and around Branawatha (Victoria) the insects are spreading in swarms and causing great destruction. A resi- dent of that district reports that in traversing that part of the country in a buggy the wheels of his vehicle were completely imbedded in masses of young caterpillars and grasshoppers, l which on many extensive areas 1 'tcovered the whole surface to depth of about four inches, like a gigantic and undulating coat of green paint"
 Where the country presented any de- pression it was found impossible to pass with buggy, and in several favorable localities, such as low-lying lands, etc., the insects were surging about in masses some two or three feet deep. The ground in their wake Is quite desti- tute of grass. Such are some of the breeding grounds from which the fully developed creatures take flight to waste and destroy other parts of the country.
 In the Rutherglen district (Victoria) the locusts are doing great damage, eat ing up the grass and invading the ex- tensive vineyards. One vineyard own CT there having ten acres of vines re- ports his entire crop as spoiled. The grapes are not yet fully formed, but the locusts are busy stripping the leaves and ringing the punches, the result be- ing that these wither and die. So dense are the insects that work has to be sus- pended, as the horses will not face them. Reports come from the Albury district that the locusts are attacking the flags on the wheat stalks, and in some instances the wheat heads have
 been eateAAoff. One report states that
 in the locality of Walbundrie, about thirty miles from Albury, the pest is travelling southward, in the direction ot the Murray, in columns several miles
 wide, partially obscuring the sky, and
 advancing at the rate of ten miles ir
 twenty-four hours, resting to devoul green spots, and then winging thei tway to fresh pastures.