THE LOCUST.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2903, 24 January 1911, Page 7

THE LOCUST.

HOW IT IS FOUGHT IN ARGENTINA. Until about twenty years ago the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres was not regarded as the regular habitat of the locust; but in the exceptionally hot summer of 1890 a swarm paid a visit to the district, and finding it, apparently, a desirable breedingground, they deposited their eggs and have returned there every summer subsequently for the same purpose. When breeding the insects crowd closely together to deposit their eggs, choosing mostly patches of brown earth which they themselves have cleared oS every vestige of grass or vegetation. These the! husbandmen straightway commenced to overhaul, shovelling together in a heap every discoverable nest of cocoons. They saturate this heap with paraffin, and, setting it on fire, consume all the eggs they can in the flames. The ground all round is well sprinkled with a mixture of paraffin and water, with the object of de-fertilis-ing any eggs that have escaped their notice. Throughout the quinta or garden search is made for scattered nests, which are treated in the same way ; but in spite of all these precautions, so many remain undiscovered that the labour seems of little avail. And, moreover, if in the adjoining quinta the owners are lazy and let thirgs take their own course, a harvest of locusts sufficient to supply the whole neighbourhood will result. A few weeks intervene before the eggs hatch. Then one day, when the hot north wind blows, one perceives that the bare plots of ground are becoming, as it were, carpeted with small green insects, much resembling i ordinary grasshoppers. In this first | stage of locust life they are called saltonas or "jumpers," as, having no wings, their method of progression is by a series of leaps. Under the burning sun the eggs are hatched so fast that one can see the patches of insects broadening, like grass grow- | ing visibly before one's eyes. Presently the patches become merged in one another, and these join forces ! with others from beyond, till they form one gigantic army, extending often for a league along the front, a mile in the rear, and in some places piled knee-deep in a seething, struggling mass. The whole multitude is now possessed of one mind ; they are gifted with a most healthy appetite, and proceed to satisfy it in a systematic fashion. So, advancing always in the direction in which the wind blows, they consume everything of 1 vegetable growth in their way. Let us suppose that the advance of the enemy is perceived from a quinta | which perhaps, by good luck, has been spared by the parent-locusts or is just recovering from their ravages. The proprietor is no doubt congratulating himself cm his immunity as he eats his juicy peaches and gazes on his clustering tomatoes. But now the wind is blowing direct towards his quinta, and presently the saltonas will arrive. Precautions must be taken to try and divert their march. Hastily summoned, everyone about the place is soon engaged in preparations for their reception, by making a great bonfire across their way. The line of fire must stretch without interruption from end to end of the quinta. Gallons of petroleum are brought out in order to keep it brightly flaming, and there is plenty of dry fuel about the place. At last—and quite soon enough—the saltonas arrive. Their opponents are then divided into two forces : one' to tend and replenish the fires ; the other to maintain a battle royal waging war with rollers, treebranches, spades, and every conceivable implement. Millions, undeterred in their march, perish in the flames, spreading abroad an odour worse than that of a fried-fish shop ; millions are massacred by the rollers, the flails,, the horses' hoofs. But, nevertheless, other millions succeed in passing all obstacles, maimed or I scathless, and carry their depredations into the ill-fated garden. However, if the wind continues brisk and hurries their course, suffi cient numbers have been slain to reduce materially the subsequent damage ; and with the exercise of proper energy, the gardeners may save the quinta from destruction. It is occasionally rescued by the wind changing just as the locusts are about to enter it. But if the wind now falls, the consequences are disastrous ; here they will stay until again impelled to move on by a rising breeze, and will exhaustively prove the quality of the vegetable produce. Before long the whole place has a desolate appearance. The peach and apricot trees look like forbidding wraiths ; for the leaves, the tender bark and the fruit have disappeared, but, left hanging to the boughs, suspended by a slender fibre, are the j stones—the sole remaining tokens of I their recent splendour.—'"National Review."