THE LEAVES OF THE TREE Were FOR THE HEALING OF THE NATIONS." 29 



LOCUST PLAGUES IN ALGERIA. 



It is said that as a result of early forest destruction Mahomet was 

 inspired to pen the following " fable" : 



t " We are the army of the great God," quoth the locusts. " We produce ninety- 

 nine eggs each. If the hundred were comoleted we should consume the whole 

 earth and all that is in it." 



And it is worthy of remark that the earliest recorded invasion in Europe 

 of these insects, A. D. 591, was from Africa, the northern shores of which 

 has been rendered bare and sterile by centuries of forest destruction. 

 The Scientific American of July 25th, 1891 furnished the following inter- 

 esting particulars regarding recent terrible results in and around Algeria: 



" During the past three or four years the French Government has been making 

 strenuous exertions to beat down the armies of locusts coming from the South on 

 the _ fertile lands of Algeria, and during the present year they are also having a 

 similar fight with these pests on the northern borders of Lunis. The cheap Arab 

 labor obtainable for this purpose has made it possible to employ in the work a 

 veritable army of men, the Government ordering the tribes to form encampments 

 along the line on which it is proposed to fight the oncoming army of locusts and in 

 this way the crops have been protected from the ravages of this plague, although 

 no permanent relief has been, obtained." 



And the following; from " Land and Water" of August 8th, 1891, still 

 further testifies to the fearful scourge in that country : 



" The attention of the Board of Agriculture has been drawn by the Foreign 

 Office toa report from her Majesty's acting charge d' affairs at Tangier, (Algeria) re- 

 specting the severe effects of the visitation of locusts on the crops in Morocco. From 

 this report it appears that the damage done by these insects in the chief grain grow- 

 ing districts has been very considerable, the latter crops having suffered to a very 

 large extent. In the Tangier district and in the northern province the crops have 

 been but little affected owing to the late arrival of the locusts, but the injury be- 

 came more extensive towards the south. Thus at Rabat and Daralbaida half the 

 wheat crop has been destroyed. At Mazigan the maize and pea crops are com- 

 plete failures, while at Mogador there is a general scarcity of grain. Olive and 

 almond trees have suffered extensively in most districts, oil being only sufficient for 

 local consumption. From all parts of the country fruit and vegetables are re- 

 ported to be entirely destroyed. In addition to the loss of tue crops of grain, fruit 

 and vegetables, a serious feature is indicated in the want of pasturage, which has 

 produced a mortality amongst the cattle, and a great fall in their price, owing to 

 the anxiety of the people to sell animals they are unable to feed." 



Whether or not the famous Mahomet " fable" anent the destructive 

 power of locusts has any foundation in fact, the following from the 

 New York Herald of May 18th, 1891, unmistakably denotes their apparent- 

 ly revengeful disposition : 



KILLED BY LOCUSTS. 



" The horrible death that befell a French savant, M. Kunckel Herculass, the 

 president of the Ethnological Society, who was employed on the Government 

 mission investigating the locust plague in this province, has met with a horrible 

 death. While examining a deposit of locust eggs at the village of Sidiral, 

 (Algeria) he was overcome with fatigue and the heat and fell asleep on the ground. 

 While sleeping he was attacked by a swarm of locusts. On awakening he struggled 

 desperately to escape from the living flood. He set fire to the insect laden bushes* 

 near him, but all his efforts proved ineffectual, and when finally the locusts left the 

 spot his corpse was found. His hair, beard and neck had been entirely devoured. 

 M. Herculass was a member of the French Academy and author of several 

 valuable works on insects." (Asmoke stimulates locusts). 



