The locust plague and its suppression / by Æneas Munro.

  • Munro, Aeneas.
Date:
[1899]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The locust plague and its suppression / by Æneas Munro. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ever, we cannot positively know, inasmuch as two broods of young locusts have not been distinctly observed in the same year in the same place or in their temporary home. Flying locusts eat when they settle down during the daytime, although they do not appear to do so at night or on their roosting-ground before getting up in the morning. They do not always eat when they settle or rest. Comparatively speaking, the flying locusts do less harm to the growing crops than the hoppers. To a certain extent they do injure here and there, where they select to settle and feed; but they do not devour everything clean before them, like the “ army ” of the larval stage, or jumpers. 83. One way of repelling the attack—When flying locusts visit a locality various artifices are used by the people so as if possible to prevent them settling down, in case of eating the vegetables, for example, in the garden, etc. The following practice is not uncommon, not merely in South Africa, where it occurred, but also in Spain, Italy, South America, Egypt, etc. “ It was perfectly awful to see the black flying cloud come rushing across, hanging against the top of the bamboos. We were very much afraid they would settle down and destroy everything in the garden, so we turned out all our forces, the coolie gardener and his four tiny girls, a big Kaffir man, and three small boys with paraffin tins, bells, gongs, and anything that would make a noise, and for a whole hour we all paraded about the garden making the most hideous and frantic noise, while the family rang big dinner-bells and lighted fires across the road. It was the most ludicrous sight in reality, but what else could we do ? Alice sat down in the middle path and beat her tom-tom with a stick, and cheered on all the small folks to rush about and add shouts to the general hubbub. I got as tired laughing at this scene as I did with beating the dinner-gong. However, the locusts had no chance of a quiet time with us, and betook themselves to less rowdy quarters.” 84. Foregoing method not always successful.—This practice, although often, as in this case, successful for the moment, appears to me a peculiar one. Might is right seems marked on its face, and the practice has underlying it the principle, “ I won’t let you settle here and eat mine ; go or pass on to my neighbour, who cannot put you away, for he cannot procure the resources to enable him to do so as well as I can. I’ll take care of myself, and I don’t care what comes of my neighbour.” Is not this spirit and practice, so far as it goes, essentially selfish, anti-Christian, and unworthy? The locusts must and will have food, and on this principle they can only get it from the weakest occupier, who in fact has not the resources to preserve his own produce from them. It is a case of the survival of the strongest. This, how- ever, can only be operative in this stage; for, as we shall afterwards
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