PLAGUES OF INSECTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2705, 17 January 1906, Page 16

PLAGUES OF INSECTS.

EiRLY COLONISTS SEEK KELP FROM THE BIRDS. Sentiment, necessity, and utility played parts in connection with the acclimatisation of birds, and it was necessity and Utility that carried mo«t weight. About 40 years ago this country was smitten with blasting plagues of in<-ect.s which crawled o\cr the land in \ast

hordes. The gathering of the caterpillars was a sight that caused consternation to agriculturists. They came not in regiments and battalions., but in mighty armies, devouring crops as they passed along, and leaving fields 'as bare as if the seed had not been sown. In the Auckland district one settler kept a paddock closed up for a short time, in order to place some young stock in it, but when he completed his purchases 'he was astonished to find that the grass in the paddock had disappeared. In the same 1 province a settler who was driving his dray along a road drove through a colony of caterpillars which happened to be crossing the road at the time. They were present in such countless numbers that the wheels of his dray ran in a puddle caused by the crushing of the insects. A Press Association telegram published in the leading New Zealand newspapers about that time stated that the morning and evening trains between Waverley and Nukumaru, on the way to Wanganui, were brought to a standstill owing to countless thousands of caterpillars being on the rails, which had^ to be swept and sanded before the trains could continue their journeys. In the neighbourhood of Turakina, in the Rangitikei district, an army of caterpillars, hundreds of thousands strong, was overtaken by a train as the insects were crossing tho rails to reach a field of oats. Thousands were crushed under the wheels of the engine, and the : train suddenly stopped. It was found that the wheels had become so greasy that they revolved without advancing, as they could not grip the rails. The guard and the engine-driver placed sand on the rails, and a start; was made. It was found, however, that during the stoppage the caterpillars had crawled in thousands over the engine and all over the carriages, inside and outside. A Hawke's Bay gentleman, who filled in one of the circulars, states that caterpillars have covered: his paddocks so thickly as to give colour to the pasture, even from a distance, and i: was considered worth while to drive a mob of sheep backwards and forwarde over the insects in order to destroy them. At Dunsandel, in North Canterbury, crops of oats of 60 or 70 bushels were completely threshed by the caterpillars. Their numbers increased in proportion to the quantities of food they consumed. They marched from field to field in grand processions, leaving behind them the abomination of- desolation. A Dunsandel farmer says: — "I have been 40 years in Canterbury I have seen some bad work by small birds, but I have also seen some bad work by caterpillars. I one© ■saw caterpillars coming out of one man s paddock and crossing the road into another man's paddock. T made all haste to tell the man, and we got 1600 sheep on the road and killed the insects. The road was black with them, and. as the warm weather came on, the smell was something awful." Testimony is also given by Dr C. Morton Anderson, of Ghristchurch, who states that 25 years ago an old farmer in tho Amberley district (North Canterbury) showed him a, splendid crop of wheat, and eaid that he had seen just as fine a crop. 20 3-cars previously, destroyed by caterpillars. It ivas clear to. the settlers that if the disastrous condition of affairs continued it would be useless to attempt to carry on agriculture and horticulture, as operations in that direction wou'.d mean that insects, not men and women, would be fed. The armies of the insects had to be fought back. In places large ditches were dug to stop the creatures' progress. | Some of the native birds performed good service by eating the insects. Prominent among these birds were gulls, terns, kingfishers, oyster-catchers, native larks, white-eyes, fan-tails, bell-birds, and greywarblers. At first the kingfishers seemed to increase rapidly with agriculture, and were regarded for a time as the agriculturist's best friend^. The nativo birds, however, would not dwell with men, and. when the native bush was destroyed in the \icinity of settlement, they retreated further back, and only visited the insect-laden fields occasionally. A* a incuns of adequately dealing- with the in-ect pests they were not worth considering. WHAT WAS REQUIRED IN THE NEW BIRDS. The settlers then turned their attention to the insect-eating bird-s they had known in the Old Country. AecTTnmti-ation Societies were formed, and bteps> wore taken to introduce English birds. In Euiope the insect-eater* ha\e their retreats in the winter. In Ne-w Zealand there are no winter retreats. They would have to eat both insects and seeds otherwise, they would not bo able to live in the winter, when the, "children of the summer ' were absent; they Biust be non-migratory, otherwise the tune and money spent on their acclimatisation would be wasted; and they must be prolific breeders so that they .should multiply rapidly, and &0011 overcome the insert pest?. In weighing tne evidence against the

small birds it must never be forgotten that rapid increase was one of the principal qualifications set down by the eaily colonists as necessary to- success.

The sparrow fills all these requirements, and it is not surprising to learn that this bird, which is now heartily cursed in many countries, and outlawed in several, with a price upon its head, should be among the first to be introduced to the land of insects and trouble.

As far as I have been able to learn, it was to Canterbury that the first sparrows came, but their advent, it is stated, was purely accidental, and their introduction was not contemplated on that occasion. The story is that the Acclimatisation Society ordered 12 dozen hedge-sparrows from England. The order was placed with Captain Stevens, of the Matoaka, who submitted it to a bird-fancier at Knight's Bridge. Either the fancier or the captain blundered, and the latter took on board 13 dozen house-sparrows, which are generally known by the common name of sparrow. He was very attentive to them on the voyage out. believing that they were the valuable hedge-sparrows, which the colonists were anxious to secure. Mo^t of them died, however, and » hen he reached Lytteltoji, in February, 1P67. only five were left. The officers of t!'e society, realising that a mistake had been made, refused to accept the strangers. The captain then took them out of their cage, and, remarking that tbe poor little beggars had had a bad time, t>et them at liberty. They flew up into the rigging and remained twittering there for some time. The members of the society went below to look at other birds. When they reached the deck again the sparrows had flown. The birds stayed about Lyttelton for three weeks. Then they disappeared, and when next heard of they were at Kaiapoi, about 20 miles distant, where, at the end of 1869, they were icported as being "particularly numerous." The Otago Society liberated three sparrows in 1868 and 11 in 1869. Other consignments were brought out later on, until the colony was well stocked. Sir Walter Buller frankly pleads guilty to having been accessory to the importation of sparrows to Wanganui. He, on behalf of the Acclimatisation Society there, adverted in London newspapers, offering a reward of £100 for 100 pairs of sparrows delivered alhe. Both the advertisements and the importations were very successful.

Previous to that, in 1866. the Canterbury Society introduced small numbeis of birds, including linnets, skylarks, and goldfinches. In shipping- offices in London the society circulated lists of the sums of money it was willing to give for different species of birds, which, it was intended, should be brought out by emigrants from England ; but that system was not successful, and it was not until definite arrangements were made -eSpaq 044. luSnoiq oq.vv sus-wig urr^Jnj su.tt. )i poAenpß a.i£>iv sjju^cki A\iopßj&rres Aub sp»soA jo suib}clbo pub s^uaSe u^iav sparrow to tha colony, and, it is claimed, to the southern hemisphere. It came in the Matoaka, together with the first housesparrows. It was the only survivor of a consignment. For a long time- it was an object of interest in the society's cronnds in Christchurch, many people journeying to the gardens to see the stranger.