WAR ON INSECTS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 58, 1 December 1934, Page 24

WAR ON INSECTS

Night Battle Against

Locusts

USE OF POISON SPRAY

It was half-way through n broiling afternoon. From the outlying camps heavily-loaded lorries were bringing in their full complements of white aud black sprayers with all necessary equipment. There was going to be a mass attack on some excessively locust infested areas that had been located by the locust scouts, miles away iu the distant hills, writes it correspondent to the Johannesburg "Star,” describing a battle with locusts in South Africa. ( A military atmosphere pervades the whole scene in camp, subtly inspired by the clockwork organisation, the smart response of the nil'll, the deference shown to the military rank of the chief.

.Just before sunset there is a short muster, and, soon after, the mechanised force, as it were, starts off.

Enemy Sighted.

At last in the distance one perceives the unmistakable brown patches that denote the settled locust swarms. These brown-coloured smudges, so very conspicuous in contrast to the surrounding verdure, extend in unbroken lines from the bottom of the nearest ravine to as far up as the contour of the country enables one to see.

Laboriously the lorries plough on. right up to the foot of the mountain range, where all further progress is stayed by deep aud impassable dongas. Here the column splits up in sections of two; the one half working its way round toward the deep part of the gorge, the other one to the higher ranges. Arrived at the lower end of the valley, a halt is called to await the darkness of night, as locust swarms have been known to fly off at the first sign of disturbance during the day. Darkness is now descending rapidly and an overcast sky shrouds everything in total blackness. The difficult terrain of the locust-

[ infested gorge, the first objective under attack, preventing the motor transport of the necessary water for liquid spraying, recourse is hint to the manipulation of the air pumps—lor use only with the dry arsenical powder. Hurriedly lumps are lit, natives shoulder powder cases aud pumps, and the whole body of men start off in single file by the flickering lights of the hurricane lamps. Forcing a tortuous passage through the thieKiy-covered "wacht-en-bietje” and buffalo thorn bushes and over the tangled mass of undergrowth, with that loathsome "sleek ’ grass iu rich profusion, the,lowest iringes of the infested area are first surrounded. Ju extended line along the bottom of the gorge the air pumps are mounted and puli' after puff deadly pulver ejected into the thickly settled coverts. The wind is favourable, carrying the poisonous dust iu a softly expanding cloud over grass and bush and trees. The Buttle. i With the first discharge of the burni ing, choking powder the death-like I quietness over the attacked region beI conies suddenly transformed into a ruffled sea of madly leaping insects. j Out of bushes and trees the lieavily- | coated layers unravel themselves iu I clusters, drifting toward the swingI ing lanterns. Men stamp and trample to dislodge the repellant and poisoitI bespattered insects, and shield their i eyes and faces from the harsh, glaucI ing blows that inflame the skin in I smarting blisters. | Uji the steep side of the gorge they I advance, crabwise and at half incline, paying most attention to the bushes aud individual trees. Over slippery boulders ami rolling stones, through matted strands of thorny vegetation, and over rank, treacherous undergrowth , they stumble and scramble, finding support for the unwieldy powder pumps on the, rough, uneven ground. At last, when: we are utterly exhausted, the plateau is gained. Hardly has the assault, concluded when the wind, with unexpected suddenness, vet/; round, driving the deadly poison fumes back over the attackers themselves. An acrid, nauseating stench permeates the air ami semis the men into tits of violent coughing and sneezing. A choking sensation makes it-elf felt in the throat and a burning, smarting feeling around the eyes and nose and mouth.

From this piaelstrom of polluted air

the men quickly withdraw. Soon there is dead calm, turning the scales against any further use of the air pumps.

1 feel much relieved when the order is given to retire to the lorries outspan. Although braving well that first ordeal of exposure to the arsenite powder, I could not' help noticing with inward satisfaction that even my youthful veteran fellow companions shared with me an ardent desire to be back safely iu camp. The poison and those jumping, capering insects with their horny legs; the burrs of' the steek grass and the eerie darkness of the wild bush have a depressing effect on one.

Cali for Reinforcements,

A discordant blast on a motor horn announces the chief’s arrival on his nightly visits. With undisguised horror I hear the command to repair to the assistance of the other half of the spraying column, whose whereabouts can be discerned in the distant background of the mountain heights by the twinkling, intermittent flashes of light as the hurricane lamps swing in and out of the dense liushes like gigantic "will o’ the wisps.”

Back over the freshly broken tracks the reinforcing squads are driven to establish contact with their fellow sprayers. A resounding shout of joy greets our arrival.

. Here in the upper ranges of the vast ,locust anchorage tlie ground is less broken and the lorries can follow up in the rear of the sprayers with handy supplies of water, which is obtained from a muddy waterhole some miles away. The change-over from the dry. powder pumps to the Jiuuid sprays is j

greatly appreciated by the men, as it expedites the work of destruction ami circumvents the necessity of depending upon, favourable atmospheric conditions.

I find myself entirely cut off from friendly neighbours in. the pitch dark inhospitable busln Furrowing to a limited supply of lamps, the white personnel remains in-"the front line" with the sprays, in the.dark, while the native helpers light their way back to the lorries to refill the empty poison drums.

Ever and anon the lorries race in turn to the waterhole for fresh supplies, and the sprayers plunge deeper into the locusts’ .settlement. It is now long after midnight. An unshakeable weariness comes over the men, a mental torpidity that makes them forget the discomforts under which they all labour. Mechanically, the fight goes on over the remaining sections of the scourge-stricken land. Out in tire distant east the horizon emerges in,st circle of bluish light from its nocturnal'surroundings. Tired ami drowsy, men collect round their respective lorries, to bezin the dreary journey back to camp. Theirs is a fatiguing job, a nerve-racking one.