New Britain herald., 1917-02-23
.L0CUSTS THREATEN ~ As*
 ARGENTINE CROPS }
Darken Sun and Stall Trains in
 Flight from Brazil

Buenos Aires, Feb. 23.-The plague 1 Of locusts that has assailed the crops of the northern provinces of the re- public is slowly working its way southward. These insects, together. with an unprecedented drought threaten to reduce the crops by hail. and in some sections By an even greater percentage.
 The locust comes from some part of the ,unexplored region Of southern Brazil and pours over the country in great streams so thick and long as to often darken the sun From Pena there comes a despatch saylns that a stream extending over 5o kllo- meters has settled upon the heIds ana left no green thing in that part. The voung matched from the millions or GEES deposited, have in places cov- cred the railway so thlckly as to lm- pede traffic and trains have been stalled until the insects have been shoveiled from the tracks and burned in ditches.
 The government is waging VlSor- ous fight but seems to be making It, tie headYay. The department Tor az riculture has 2O,o0o,o00 meters of metallic barriers for the purpose of penning sWarms which are then burned, trampled by farm animals or buried. This is accomplished be-
 cause tho young locust is without wings. It must resembles a young grasshopper except it's coloring is much brighter red and yellow, black and green, predominating.
 From the eggs of the flying locusts, which are always deposited on the of 1,r;r hued, hopping insects come to assault the fields on either side. Besides the wire barriers the government is also using an apparatus which resent bles gasoline blow pipe. The farmers are being instructed to dig trenches about their fJlds drive the hopping locusts into them and with the aid of the gasoline blowpipe burn the mass Mill lions have already been thus de- stroyed but telegraphic reports from l all over the northern half of the re- public report other millions arriving. Defensive Arms Imperative. ! So serious has become the situation that the government has threatened to fine all farmers who fail to main tain corps of men for the purpose of fighting the pest and the railways have been asked to transport free of l charge all locust fighting apparatus. Devastated fields threaten to occa- l sion the starvation of many head of cattle and the railways, at the request | of the government, have made 25 l per cent. reduction in the rates for 1 the transportation of live stock, to re- l main effective until February 2S of l next year. By this means stock can 1 be hauled from the devastated re- 1 gions to provinces of the south. The l lives of thousands of thousands of an-
 imals will thus be saved.
 The progress of the swarms of fly | ing locusts is daily being telegrap ed
 ahead, direction and speed of flight ! being given so that the farms about
 to be attacked can prepare. These telegraphic notices are published in
 the press and have grown to occupy
 columns.
 The linseed crop has already gone
 At times million tons of this has
 been exported annually to the United
 States. The promised shortage of the
 wheat crop has caused a considerable
 advance in the price of bread and the Agrarian league has petitioned the l government for the imposition of ar
 embargo on the shipment of wheat ir | order ito obviate further exploita- ton of the public.'' This is the frs K time any such request has been made \ in Argentine, one of the wheat anC ! roea StOrahOuSaS of the world