The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-12-04

Eat Up Everything.
IL Is hard to realize what a terrible thing
such an invasion is. The locusts appear IN
great swarms. which often Garken the sun
II they ny between you ana IL. They light
on everything green and begin eating. The
branches OF the trees bend down with their
weight, and You can hear the swapping Of
their jaws as they crunch the leaves They
VIII strip an orchard in night. They often
eat the flesh from the fruit. leaving the
stones OF TIE peaches hanging 10 the hare
branches They are capricious In their
feeding, and all choice trees or those which
have been especially cultivated are sure TO
ba eaten. They viii clean the crops from
the fields. eating the grain down 10 the
ground Sometim they Will take the green
wheat from one side Of the road and pass
by that on the other, and they sometimes
fly on and on for days over rich fields 10
feed on those beyond. The next swarm
may eat that which Is left
They stop the Railroad Trains,
1t seems funny 10 think of these ioeusts
stopping railroad trains. but have been
told again and again that this Is the case.
They come in such numbers that they cover
the tracks. The ears crush them. The
rails become greasy. and the wheels spin
round without touching the rails and with
out moving the cars onward. At such
times the rails have To he sanded 10 get
the cars TO run. In some OF the towns IL
Is said that they even ate the paint of the
houses.
The Baby Loeusts.
This pest OF the locust has been so great
that the Argentine government has been
spending large sums of money to get rid OF
them. Among other things. they have sent
10 the United States for Prof Lawrence
Bruner. OF the University Of Nebraska, to
come here TO Investigate the subject and
10 give them advice. Ar. Bts1er IL one OF
the best authorities Of the world on locusts.
and 1t IL from his report which has just
been received that get much Of my infor-
nation. The pictures ! use are from him.
The Argentine locusts look very much like
grasshoppers. They are very prolific. and
the greatest damage is caused not by these
which come Ia swarms. but by 4he young
iocusts which follow. AS the loeusts move
over the country they lay their eggs in the
ground. Each female locust makes hole
in the ground and lays about 100 eggs. and
month or so later these turn into 100
young iocusts, who crawl out aud begin
their march over the country. Their par
ents have pretty well cleaned UP the crop.
The babies start out 10 eat what has grown
up In the meanwhile. They cannot fly far
at first and they crawl along. eating up
everything as they go. They cover the
ground, crawl over the fences and sweep
the country OF everything green.
In few weeks they grow wings and
then fly onward to other feeding grounds.
No conception can he formed OF the enor-
nous numbers OF these locnsts. In one
year sixteen tons OF eggs were destroyed
I'm one place Billions of Gags are now
being dug out of the ground and crushed.
and today the Argentine farmers are fight
Ing for their life with the iocusts.
How Locusts Are Killed.
The methods for DISCRIMINATING them are
many and costly. Thousands of dollars
ere spent every year 20 XIII them. AT the
time OF an invasion all the farmers must
turn out and destroy them. They are
caught in traps OF corrugated iron. They
are sesooped up with scrapers and killed;
poisong are used and the grass. plants and
weeds are sometimes sprinklsd with ar
scnic. kerosene and creoso,e. They ars
caught in bags. driven into ditcheH ana
are killed In all sorts OF ways Neverthe-
less. In 1896 IL IL estimated that Sspeg,vo
worth OF wheat was t8us destroyed In two
states Of the Argentine. This impnvar-
lshea the farmers Of those states. ana the
national government spent slo.g@rg that
year IN giving them afed wheat.
AS 10 what IN 10 be the future 10 one can
ten II Il IA true that the iocasts are 10
come every year IL will be long time be-
fore the Argentine can have a serious per-
rnauent effect upon the wheat market OF
the world SIN the invasi0ns up 10 this
time have not extended very far south. and
4, may he tina, the new wheat regions VIII
not be affected by them.
FRANK q. CARPENTER