RA YAGERS OF CROPS 259 



written in Hebrew characters, ''We are the 

 troops of the Most High God ; we each one lay 

 ninety-nine eggs. If we were to lay a hundred, 

 we should devastate the whole world." The 

 Prophet, greatly alarmed by his discovery, made 

 long and earnest prayer to God to destroy these 

 enemies of all True Believers ; and the angel 

 Gabriel, in' answer to the invocation, told the 

 Prophet that his prayer in part should be 

 granted. From this incident in the life of 

 Mahomet is said to have originated the custom 

 of writing on the wings of four Locusts the four 

 verses of the Koran appropriated to this 

 purpose, and thus liberating the Locusts, each 

 bearing a single sacred verse upon its wings, 

 into the midst of the advancing host ; where- 

 upon, the whole swarm are said to at once 

 alter their course and depart. 



So far, one of the most practical and success- 

 ful methods of destroying the Locusts is that 

 which was first adopted in Cyprus at the 

 suggestion of Mr. Richard Mattie, and carried 

 out and perfected by Mr. Samuel Brown. This 

 system is founded on the fact that when the 

 young Locusts, some two days after they are 

 hatched out, start on their march across country 

 in great countless armies, no obstacle will turn 

 them back from their onward progress ; the 

 insects climbing and crawling over every object 

 that impedes their progress ; and also, that they 

 cannot gain a foothold upon a polished smooth 

 surface. To arrest the forward progress of the 

 Locusts, long canvas screens, furnished at the 

 top with a broad band of slippery American 



