PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS SECTION C. 3/ 



intervals it gets as far south-west as the Ceres district, and 

 about 1898 a small swarm flew into the Hex River Valley above 

 De Dooms, but in general the western Karroo seems too barren 

 for its welfare, and it rarely crosses to the fertile coastal dis- 

 tricts. The Kalahari Desert seems to be the starting place of 

 great swarms that overrun German South-West Africa on the 

 west, Rhodesia and the Transvaal on the east, and the Cape 

 and Orange Free State Provinces on south and south-east. 



The Red Locust is congeneric with the large North 

 African locust, and also with the locust of Argentina. In 

 Natal and the Cape Province, it is essentially a coast-frequenting 

 insect, but in the late visitation it showed itself to be quite at 

 home in Rhodesia and in the east of the Transvaal, and for a 

 short period it spread over parts of Namaqualand, Bechuanaland, 

 Griqualand West and most of the Transvaal, Orange Free State 

 and northern and eastern districts of the Cape Province. Some, 

 probably all. of the locust visitations to the Cape Peninsula were 

 by this species. It gives serious trouble in South Africa at 

 much longer intervals than the Brown Locust, but seems to 

 occur concurrently when it comes. Great swarms of it have 

 come out of the Kalahari ; but its liking for arboreal vegetation, 

 and its marked preference for and persistence in tracts where 

 there is a heavy growth of trees or bush, suggests that its really 

 permanent abode is not in that almost treeless region. The last 

 invasion of the colonies now comprised in the Union began 

 about 1893, in which year it appeared in Natal, and was observed 

 near Lake N'gami. Early in 1895 it was found in small swarms 

 in Griqualand West and elsewhere along ;he northern Cape 

 border, and also along the Transkeian coast, and late in that 

 year it came south in tremendous swarms, seemingly across the 

 whole country from Natal to Bushmanland. The swarms from 

 Natal bore along the coast, and those from the Kalahari direction 

 south-east, keeping to the east of the Carnarvon and Victoria 

 West districts. Thus the invasion converged on the coast near 

 Port Elizabeth ; but it was continued westward in a broad belt 

 along the south coast, becoming slower and diminishing in 

 volume until it ceased in the Robertson and Swellendam dis- 

 tricts early in March. The locust was recognised by the oldest 

 inhabitants as one that had similarly swept over the country 

 about fifty years before. It did not remain long on the southern 

 seaboard nor in far inland districts, but it continued prevalent 

 on the Natal coast, and generally along the coast eastward from 

 Port Elizabeth, for many years. It fluctuated in abundance 

 from year to year, but, on the whole, gradually retired farther 

 and farther nortward. At the same time, it gave trouble in 

 low veld parts of the Transvaal and Swaziland and in parts of 

 Portuguese East Africa. Since 1909 it has given no trouble 

 anywhere in South Africa, but last year it was reported to be 

 rather prevalent in the north of German East Africa. Very 

 little is known about its earlier occurences in South Africa. As 



