The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1910-12-17
LOCUST PLAQUES.
Onslaught OF the Ravenous Tribe
During an Invasion.
GLUTT0HS BY THE MILLIONS.
The Devastating Armies Fly In Clouds
Dense Enough to Obscure the Lish,
OF the sun-The Hoppers That Come
After the Crops Are Devoured.

Dense Enough to Obscure the Lisht
Of the sun-The Hoppers That Come
After the Crops Are Devoured.
There are several species or varieties
of The migratory locust. which are
mostly Ia be- found In dry. semitropical
countries such as the south OF Eu
rope. Egypt, syrin ana Morocco. for
their native home seems To be In the
countries bordering on the Medlterra-
mean. though migratory locusts are To
be found In regions as remote as South
Africa ana South America. where they
form vcEltablc scourgc to the agri.
culturists. In Argentina. especially
tbe northern half OF the country, they
are very destructive. for they viii an.
initiate the farmers entire crop in
few hours
locust invasion. writes John II.
Leckie In Chambers Journal. is an
event not easily forgotten. The first
sign Of the approaching incursion In
usually long. dark cloud low on the
horizon. But the dark cloud Is no
forcrunner Of rain. Instead OF the
precious liquid. which the farmer has
probably long expected In vain, it por-
tends the approach OF His greatest en-
envy, the omnivorous locust.
As the dark cloud comes nearer IL IN
seen Ia he composed OF countless mil
lions of locusts on whirring wings.
Soon the cloud appears overhead and
is sufficiently thick 10 obscure the sun.
which Is only seen opaquciy, az
through n mist. although the sky IN
cloudless and the air clear
Now we arc in the midst OF dense
swarm of flying. whirrlng locusts.
which dash into our faces, enter our
houses and I'll our rooms with their
presence. The air Is simply alive with
them. All open wells must be instant.
~ covered or they win be polluted.
Fowls and turkeys welcome the ad
vancing hordes. They simply fatten on
the locus.s ms they run around and
gobble them up. But this is no bless
ing 10 the farmer-far from it, for the
flesh OF poultry becomes SO tainted by
this form OF diet Us 20 be quite un
entable, and even thcir eggs have A.
unpleasant taste.
So we'll is this fact known that as
soon as the locusts make their appear
ance in the locality the price OF eggs
drops TO onc-half or third OF their
former figure. and even then there are
few buyers. All the animals about the
farmyard seem 20 be affected adverse
~, for even the horses have a strong
aversion 10 eat grass which, has been
polluted by the presence of )usts. and
unless very hungry they WIN not touch
place MS follows First few pioneers,
the advance guard of Nh, Ast army.
then the main body Of the ~. host
which Is as inyincibe as II is destruc-
tive All true locusts are migratory by
nature. for the simple reason that, be.
I'M grcgarious Ia their habits. Il would
be impossible for them to exist with
on continual migration.
The ground on which they settle Is
completely cleared in few hours. and
Trey must perforce seek other fields
Uud pastures new, where they can re
peat their dcpredatiOns For the same
reason the destruction which they II
feet IS purely local One district may be
completely devastated while another
few miles away Is altogether spared
from their presence
When thc locusts have eaten their
I'LL the females commence 10 deposit
their eggs, which they do by making
an opening in the ground. in which
tho eggs are laid The infant locusts
soon make their appearance scarcely
SO Eirgc ms pea hopping about IN
countless swarms I'm this stage Of
thor existence they have no wings.
but progress 10y hopping. While In
this state that is, before their wings
mr., developed they must be ruthlcssly
destroyed
Long trenches are dug, ntu which
the "hupprr~' are driven by rows OF
men. women and boys armed with
branches ~ trro~. with which they
beat the .ruaa deifua tbr insects lu
the direction ~ iha trenches On the
opposite iI.' az rHr=rrelrtp- ~hcot- ~
gnhon "a i.au ate pLI'd uarig'n 50
ms tu form 500 euriuH. istrri,t
Ou arriving 10 t'r trenches lhc hop
pcr>" can iuto them ami cannot easily
mokr tlrir Wny out especially as
their progre-~ IS barred 10y the wall ~
galvanized Wou in from Of them. tho
smouth surface ct which affords them
no fuuthpld
The trenches are soon tlled with mil
lions ~ young "hoppers," the weight
az those above crushing 10 death the
under strata OF their fellows. Earth
IS then shovelcd on the top Of the
sccthing mass ~ insects. and they are
thus smothcrcd aud killed
This Is the most effective method o.
DISCRIMINATING the lucusts. but IN order
10 insure the success Of the operation
IL IS necessary that the attempt should
be properly organized and that all the
neirhbors should act In concert
Providence Journal
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