Norwich bulletin., 1916-01-29
ADVERSE CONDITION
 IN THE HOLY LAND.
Not Equallsd During It's Modern His
 tory-Pfasue of Leeusts and War Burden Responsible.
(special to The BuIIetin.)

l severe as that brought over Egypt by Moses, the law-giver, it's hordes of tribute bringing pilgrims cut off by ] the world war, and bearing the bur- dens of war taxation in money and men, the Holy Land, in the year 1915 struggled against such adverse condl- | tioris as it has not known throughout l it's modern history" begins a bulletin just issued by the National Geographic 1 Society at Washington, which em- 1 bodies an account of the great locust plague over Palestine and Syria dur I ing 1915 as told in a. communication I to the Society by John D. Whiting.
 "1That which was left by the creep ] ing locust hath the sWarming locust eaten, and that which was left by the fswarrnfng locust hath the grass locust 1 eaten and that which was left by the | grass locust hath the corn locust eat I en. Awake-and weep and howl For nation. hath come up over my ] land, bold and without number Thus Joel, writing some seven or eight hun dred years B. c. begins his descrip- tion of locust plague, which then as now must have laid waste this land. We marvel how this ancient ] writer could have given so graphic and true description of a devastation caused by locusts in so condensed a form. The oldest men of Palestine remembered no such invasion. Since 1865 commonly called the year of the I i appeared in Syria, but in smaller areas nothing like a general disaster or dis l tress., More recently occurred in 1 1892 in the Jordan Valley near Jeri-
 cho, where waving fields of tall greer, Ebarfey and wheat were eaten. down to the stump in remarkably short time. | "'The locusts of the recent plague first made their appearance during the last days of February, 1915. They flew overhead in such thick clouds as n HnwnVHT hefOre they were seen, a loud noise, produced by the Tapping of nnyriads of locust wings, was heard, described as re- sembling the dl5tant rumble of waves, or as St. John has it, sound of their wings was as the sound of charfots of many horses running into battle.
 They reached Jersusalem in the first days of March. Attention was
 drawn to them by the sudden darken- ing of the bright sunsine. They did not settle in Jersusalem evidently seeking greener and less populated districts. They departed for Bethle- hem. Quantities were now gathered by the poorer Bethlehemites. and a flew ate them roasted, describing the taste as delicious, especially the fe- I males full of eggs. Still the main req son for collecting them was in order to secure the small bonus offered by
 the local government of Bethlehem.
 Tons were destroyed, being buried alive several ancient abandoned cis-
 terms were filled, while in surround ing villages each family was required
 to produce a stipulated weight. Like ! wise in Jaffa they were destroyed by
 being thrown into the Mediterranean and, when washed ashore dead and :. dried on the beach. were collected and
 used as fuel in the public Turkish
 baths and ovens.
 These clouds of flying locusts. in Jerusalem at least, invariably came from the northeast going toward the southwest, and it was observed that when strong winds arose, too stiff for , them to resist, rather than be carried they seem to settle till the storm pass
 ed over.
 -'The locust swarm began covering ) the fields preparatory to laying eggs Once the alarming extent to which
 these eggs were laid was realized, the authorities issued proclamation, re- l quiring. each male person from 16 tC
 60 years to gather eleven pounds oi l eggs. It is estimated by competent ] authorities that as many as 65,000 tc - 75,OOO locust eggs are concentrated ir t a square meter of soil, and allowing . for a less of 90 per cent in matching
 some 60,000 destroyers can emerge q from space 39 inches square.
 e "Locusts are not, however, withou their own enemies provided by nature Large ffocks of storks flew past tJeru- . salem during the early days when tht 2 1 adults arrived and after the larvae was  : : ties, for which reason the natives have always given 'Abo Saad' (the stork) 2 A warm welcome. Furthermore, in many l of the underground cells in which tht female locust deposits her eggs were ]: found eggs laid by certain species ol | flies, the young worm or larvae ol 2 which, when matched, lives upon tht locust eggs, sucking them dry, till de
 veloped into the chrysalis and emerg-
 ing full-fiedged fly. Wild birds an6 I lr.,,a e appetite for locusts, while with tht !. smaller larvae and pupae turkeys ana y chickens simply gorged themselve:
 with the result that the yolk of theil eggs became a deep-red color.
 ''The eggs of the locust once hatch.
 ed the little fellows seem to hold to- l gether for a few days, till a little de-
 veloped and insufficient numbers
 when they start their forward marcf
 of from 400 to 500 feet per day, clear l fore them. It was observed that 1 these new broods instinctively went il
 the reverse direction to that from 1 which their flying parents had come l None but those who have seen them ! 1 can begin to imagine their countless E11ltitudes and the destruction which l they cause. No wonder, then, that the X writer of the book of Judges likens
 the Midianites; who had for years de- ITestated Israefs land, to locusts, and to the sand which is upon the sea- l shore for multitude
 The iocusts, when advanced into the second or pupa stage, walk like ordinary insects, leaping only wher
 frightened into a quicker pace, which 1 they readily accomplish by the use oa < their two long and powerful posteriol
 legs. However, while still in the first or larvae stage, they seem to hoI much like heas, so that when anythins / sneared their Nt1lickened masses i
 seemed as if the entire surface of tho
 ground moved, producing a most cur. ioHs effect upon one's vision and caus.
 ing dizziness, which in some was st
 severe Rs to produce a sensation no
 unlike seasickness The same was al. Eso true when watching them uridis- | turbed on tree or field.
 The youngero locust returned
 Jerusalem, and for three or four dayi an incessant and amending stream filled the road from side to side, like Inumherlass troops marching on par
 ade. and in spite of the traffic at thi. junction. which to this city is hks A st t10xvoa. Fzrnad1ray efa Naxu yrrwfr that,