The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1910-12-13
PLAQUES.
Onslaught of the Ravenous Tribe
During an Invasion.
GlUTT0NS BY THE MILLIONS,
The Devastating Armies Fly In CLOUDS
Dense Enough to Obscure the Light
of the Sun-The Hoppers That Como
After the Crops Ar7 Cevoure6.


mostly to be found H. C.y. semit:opica'
countries, such as the souh of Eu-
rope. Egypt, Syria and Morocco, for l.
their native home seems to be in the -
countries bordering on the Mediterra- :
mean. though migratory locusts are to
be found in regions as remote as South
Africa and South America. where they
form n veritable scourGa to the agri-
culturists. In Argentn... especially
the northern half of tn" country. they
are verr destructive. for they VIII an
initiate the farmers entire crop ill
few hours.
A locust invasion, writes John ID.
Leckie IN Chambers Journal, is an
event not easily forgotten. The first
sign of the approaching incursion is
usually long. dark cloud low on the
! horizon But the dark cloud is no
forerunner 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 1t Is
seen to be composed of countless mil
lions of locusts on whirring wings.
Soon the cloud appears overhead ana
, is sufficiently thick to obscure the sun,
> which is only seen opaquely, as
through mist. although the sky Is
2 cloudless and the air clear.
Now we are in the midst of dense
+ swarm of flying. whirring locusts,
which dash into our faces, enter our
houses and fill our rooms with their
y presence. The air is simply alive with
n them. All open wells must be Instant
e " covered or they will be polluted
II Fowls and turkeys welcome the ad-
vancing hordes. They simply fatten on
the locusts as they run around and
gobble them up But this is no bless
" ing to the farmer-far from 1t, for the
; flesh of poultry becomes so tainted by
&c this form of diet as to be quite IN
II eatabe, and even their eggs have an
rs 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
ID drops to one-half or one-third OF their
lie former figure, and even then there are
e few buyers. All the animals about the
re farmyard seem to be affected adverse
ot ly. for even the horses have a strong
- aversion to eat grass which has peen
W polluted by the presence of locusts, ano
Is unless very hungry they will not touch
he it.
in The advance of the locusts takes
nj place as follows: First a few pioneers
~ the advance guard of the vast army
then the main body of the army, hos
ICY which is as invincible as it is destruc
my tive All true locusts are migratory b!
Gu nature, for the simple reason that, be
ing gregarious in their habits, 1t woul'
To be impossible for them to exist with
out continual migration.
The ground on which they settle i
completely cleared in few hours, an
SUI they must perforce seek other field
and pastures new, where they can re
peat their depredations For the sam
reason the destruction which they el
feet is purely local. One district may
completely devastated, while another
ano few miles away is altogether spare
u from their presence
When the locusts have eaten tnel
fill the females commence to depos
their eggs, which they do by maxim
an opening in the ground, In whlc
the eggs are laid. The infant LOCUS
soon make their appearance, scarcel
90 large as a pea. hopping about
countless swarms. In this stage
MT. their existence they have no wing
but progress by hopping. While
A. this state-that is, before their VIM
are deyeloped-they must be ruthless
'u'p destroyed.
ntry Long trenches are dug, into whi'
ding the hoppers' are driven by rows
for men. women and boys armed WI
,ass. branches of trees, with which tn
tor beat the ground, driving the insects
the direction of the trenches. On t
'o"' opposite sides of the trenches sheets
AIRY galvanized iron are placed upright
as to form an effectual barrier.
- On arriving at the trenches the nc
- --- pers" fall into them and cannot cas-
make their way out, especially
their nrogress is barred by the wall
a galvanized iron in front of them,
<A smooth surface of which affords thu
no foothold.
i'd in The trenches are soon filed with n
maid lions of young choppers" the welt
one of those above crushing to death
1edy, under strata of their fellows' Ea
and is then shoveled on tne top VI
IN at seething mass Oh lnseI,s' anu ''
ds a thus sniolneieu az senat,--o ,oo+,oa
real tniS % nc 49, ,,ousts h,,t IN or
figs to insure the success of the operat
It is necessary that the attempt sho
iavor be properly organized and that all
taste, neighb ors should act In concer
az to Provid ance Journal.
'avor- ---
70 Of The Rioht Spirit.