IS 1 • - " 41 



harle - ns, :. _ - '- se reely any eggs were t b I ibeg] I at lb time 



being too ha»d and dry to be : rs of tbe snsts 



of tbe infected r s of the greatest possible advantage. rhe cotton fields 

 compirai - a ■ : the young doU i pi its _- . little cover ti he casts, - . 

 caused little or :. sbstn ::.on to tbe operations, lies e> : :>. : - 



tt u field at once re; sited tbe [ esence of locusts, since imnir .ion could alone 



s bis CJ 

 s l 9 most -implenie: he Is :£ destruction vtere found t« ie t e nost e ..:■!. such 

 a< making long dry trenches 30 to 4') centimetres lee and 2a : -r mar to the 



voung broods. Into these trenches the loe ists were driven ay . .v. ..- of mea and child- 

 i en. often numbering several hundreds, each aimed with a palm branch. The men 

 whose duty it was to dig the trenches then lined themselves along the further side 

 - r ireueh, upon which tbe earth was thrown to prevent any I sta from escaping. 

 When tbe loetists were driven into the ditch, the loose earth was at :: sj ad in : ; 

 band of people who bad driven them, and trampled down firmly, so that none escaped. 

 These mr : - roved very successful for the first three weeks, while the locusts were 

 com small, and before they had p>wer to jump out of the ditch es. At 



stage, therefore, the ditch system became less useful, the locusts being now too wary 

 to be driven easily into the trenches ; and the consequent necessitate 1 deepening I 

 Lhe renehes materially increased tbe cost of opera! ms. It was found that when 

 sta were :'.: -■•irbedon open ground, such as a cotton field, they would go easily into 

 any cover that was within reach, and remain there. Advantage was taken of this, and 

 whatever available dry material there was in the neigh bourhoo.. was taken and spre I 

 iri patches of several metres in diameter, or in long wide strips. Thelocu; :• were 

 then driven into this ambush and surrounded by the neople, who simultaneously fiied 

 the patch all round, resulting in the complete destrcction of thr I casts - a drv 

 . :: _ ixe were plentiful in the country, and made excellent fuel for this purr -r 

 Thes- ve e the two effectual means by which the lwcusts were destroyed in Kgy : 

 within the space of six weeks. Few of tbe young ones a ei g : : e ir] ennanent — tags, 

 and these few were speedily picked up by birds. : e common crow pes :: slyfeas g 

 on them. 



:her means were tried, such as flooding the fields where eggs had been found, 

 but this only retarded the hatching for a few days and destroyed the crops. Tbe lo- 

 -: - siderable swimming powers, and wiii cross a wide canal "if pushed to it. 

 The fellah was very disposed to beat the locusts with his palm branch, instead f 

 ing them forward to the ditch, which ofte resulted in r egre fcei 7 art o£ the swarm 

 "turning and escaping behind the line : : beaters. rhe screen and trap svsteui of 

 Cyprus was tried with considerable care on t e Tewfikien canal, tbe traps in this trial 

 beinsr lin-d with bricks. I i ■: e : ei the ground a week later and found few locus is n 

 those pits, many of which were empty ; while qua titles of leasts had been destroyed 

 y the methods I nave described. Short screens erected immed: itely in front of lo- 

 custs are oi n pi : . use, as the locusts - difficult to drive on to them, and the 

 erec ing the scree 5 has i tendency to frighten the locusts and : cause : r:a to 

 eha ge I leir line of march. This system is only useful where locusts are known to 

 exist on waste lands and several miles of scree same ere ted aknu- the edge 

 cultivated lands, and thus a: estt - natural eloc sts. Iff 



attacked while they are yet small, and on their own breeding ground, as I e must be, 

 in Egypt, this system is too cumbrous for practical working purposes . en r 



that would provide the screens is befctei s ant ; : g the people :or destroying the 



loci sf s, a J with methods involving no initial c ~ sver. 



' .-. . nd screen system, invente . . p. was 



