POISON FOR LOCUSTS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20274, 7 April 1934, Page 1

POISON FOR LOCUSTS.

Plane to Drop Death From the Sky. British Official Wlrele«a. RUGBY, April 5. A large-scale attack by clouds of poisonous dust, distributed from an aeroplane, is to be made upon the locust swarms which cause annually damage to an amount of £1,500,000 in tropical and sub-tropical Africa. This new method was evolved by Mr H. H. King, who, two years ago, when Government Entomologist to the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, discovered, by laboratory tests, that adult locusts fell speedy victims to the spray of finelyground sodium arsenite. He conceived the idea that swarms might be successfully countered by discharging a cloud of this poisonous durt from an aeroplane flying across the line of their flight. His suggestion was taken up by the Locust Control Committee of the Economic Advisory Council and funds were provided by the Colonial Development Fund. Technical advice and assistance on the many problems involved were obtained from the Royal Air Craft establishment at Farnborough, the Imperial Institute of Entomology and the chemical defence research department of the War Offce, and all that is now required is a practical full-scale trial. This will be undertaken by Mr King himself. He will sail to-morrow for Northern Rhodesia, where an aeroplane. chartered from Imperial Airwavs and fitted with special apparatus, and a consignment of finely powered sodium arsenite await his arrival. Lccusts are abundant in this territory and it is hoped that Mr King, during his flights next month, will be able to collect sufficient data for the Locust Control Committee to iudge the efficacy and practicability of his scheme. If it is successful, details of the method will be made available in all territories where locusts are a menace to agriculture. During the last five years the committee of the Economic Advisory Council, financed partly by the Empire Marketing Board, the British colonies and dependencies affected and the Anglo-Egvptian Sudan has been making a survey of the breeding grounds and migratory habits of locust? Swarms range over enormous areas. Hitherto the attacks have been concentrated on locusts in their larval or hopper stage, but these are ineffective where the locusts inhabit thick bush countrv. Thus great importance attaches to this wholly new method of combating the plague.