Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1894-02-23
LOCUSTS IN CHINA.
They Are Regard ii IS a Calamity
from l-e..vea
The Sin5ular Methods Adopted by the
Cc,cs.;a.s Tor Eyter:n,na,in; the Pests
"A Qaocr o sapation Tor
Soldiers.

The great province of Kiang-Soo,
China, Is being devastated by locusts
Consul Jones at Chin-hiang sends the
state department an account Of tho
curious efforts made by the afflicted
sections to dispcl the scnurye. says Q
Washington correspondent Of the St.
Louis Globc-Dcmocrat Some of the
methods rcsorted to arc as stirling "a
the suggestions offered to the Kansas
people when they were suffering from
. similar visitation some years ayo.
When the locuJts male their appear
ancc in one of these Chinese di3tricts
there is confirmation among the I'M
fortunate pca5antry. who assemble in
the fields with wild clamor and din of
go1rs. armed with long bari5oos with
strcamers attached. AMI vairly en-
dcavor to drive OF the terrible in
va:lers who are settling down in myr-
lads and dcvouri2g their crops before
their eyes. Every leaf and twiy is
covered thick. giving the appearance
of some hidcous yellow fruit or plant
A faint. sour smell, like that Of fer
mentinC vegetable matter, is always
perceptiblc in the rcighborhood II
cones, no doubt. from the droppings of
the insects.
There is a curious and widespread
belief among the Chinese in the exist
ence of king locustr-.wang" he Is
callcd-of colossal size and quasi
supernatural character, who hovcrs in
viGibly in the upper rerions of tho air,
directing and controlling the mira
tiors of the different swarms. At some
places the leading officials have pub
licly sacrificed and made offerings to
the king of the locusts in order that he
might be influenced to spare their To-
calities.
Il know of few sights" writes the
consul, more extraordinary than q
swarm engaged in pairing. The air is
flied with clouds Of locusts drifting,
circling, crossing AMI rccrossing. with
q faint, whirling noise. and settling on
the ground in thouaands of couples.
The ground l. cerpctsd thicllly with
them; you cannot tue a step without
crunching heaps of them under your
feet, while thousands more start up in
pattering volleys against your legs,
hands and face"
The eggs are deposited in holes
drilled By the female an inch or more
deep in the ground. The tir,o required
for Matching depends entirely on the
temperature. In very hot weather the
new brood be-ins to maize its appear
ancc at the end Of a week. At this
stsgc they arc very small, black. am
Is active rs Gcas, mailing s:;traordi-
nary bounds By means OF their iauseu-
lar hind legs. 1T a little distance they
suggest the ilca of swarm of black
ants seized with sudden insanity. IL
paront3. save for tie want Of wings.
They are greedy Zee RS and grow rap
idly. By the Ell lth or ninth day
wings have bu ije and the color be-
gins to change, yellow spots appear
ing. and II about a month they are
full grown.
The dcTtruction. by suitable meas
ures, Of this for1ni liable pest. involving,
as il docs. TIC prevention of fsnines.
fever epiGerlics srl riots. Is matter
cf grave puSiic concern. One con-
startiy hears of raandar;cs losing
thor buttons and being disTrace1 as
the peralty of rcmissness or failure to
destroy the enemy.
Consul Jones sa-s the Ch;2c-e con-
slider that the visitation of tie locusts
is calamity from Heaven, ard that
there is no help for it." Cninc-c rec
ords chronicle many instances of the
appearance ard the calanitics inflicted
by locutts in former times, but they
have no peculiarly effective methods
of destroying them. The government
usually issues proclamat;ons ordering
out the soldiers AID ENCOURAGING the
farmers to destroy them. The latter
are given a bounty for their destruc-
ton.
The soldiers, with their officers at
their head. are used against the To-
Gusts as a-a;lst an adverse army in
the Geld, Instead of gun or lance.
however. each older is armed with
coarse hcrpcA bar attached to bem-
boo pole, which. with wide-open
mouth. is waved back and forth amony
the swarrns until filed, when they are
killed and the action renewed.