﻿[80] 
  REPORT 
  UNITEt) 
  STATES 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  COMMISSION. 
  

  

  the 
  field 
  repeatedly; 
  while 
  the 
  young 
  locusts 
  while 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  old 
  

   may 
  be 
  destroyed 
  with 
  wonderful 
  facility 
  by 
  driving 
  them 
  gently 
  into 
  

   a 
  small 
  ditch, 
  previously 
  dug 
  for 
  their 
  reception, 
  and 
  then 
  covered 
  with 
  

   earth 
  well 
  pressed 
  down. 
  When 
  they 
  are 
  not 
  above 
  a 
  week 
  old 
  a 
  trench 
  

   of 
  6 
  or 
  8 
  inches 
  wide 
  and 
  deep, 
  such 
  as 
  two 
  men 
  may 
  form 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  

   minutes, 
  sulhces 
  for 
  securing 
  the 
  insects, 
  which 
  jump 
  into 
  it 
  with 
  alacrity,, 
  

   and 
  appear 
  wholly 
  unable 
  to 
  extricate 
  themselves 
  from 
  it. 
  

  

  * 
  J. 
  A. 
  E. 
  MILLER, 
  Esq., 
  

  

  Financial 
  Commissioner. 
  Funjah. 
  

  

  Lahore, 
  JDecemher 
  10, 
  1869. 
  

  

  Assuming 
  that 
  there 
  are 
  two 
  approved 
  methods 
  of 
  destroying 
  these 
  

   insects, 
  viz., 
  by 
  digging 
  up 
  their 
  eggs, 
  and 
  by 
  driving 
  the 
  young 
  brood 
  

   into 
  shallow 
  trenches 
  dug 
  across 
  their 
  course, 
  it 
  appears 
  to 
  the 
  officiat- 
  

   ing 
  financial 
  commissioner 
  that 
  the 
  villagers 
  in 
  the 
  Punjab 
  areas 
  much 
  

   interested 
  in 
  performing 
  these 
  operations 
  as 
  they 
  would 
  be 
  in 
  endeav- 
  

   oring 
  to 
  extinguish 
  a 
  conflagration 
  which 
  threatened 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  

   their 
  houses; 
  and 
  that 
  as 
  a 
  rule 
  no 
  remuneration 
  should 
  be 
  thought 
  of,, 
  

   although 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  the 
  people 
  must 
  be 
  effected 
  by 
  the 
  exhibition 
  

   of 
  authority. 
  * 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  locust 
  visitation 
  of 
  1863 
  it 
  is 
  believed 
  that 
  considerable 
  sums- 
  

   were 
  defrayed 
  in 
  payment 
  for 
  eggs, 
  which 
  were 
  in 
  several 
  districts 
  bought 
  

   by 
  weight 
  and 
  destroyed; 
  but 
  even 
  in 
  that 
  year 
  the 
  labors 
  of 
  the 
  popu- 
  

   lation 
  generally 
  were 
  not 
  remunerated, 
  nor 
  was 
  any 
  remuneration 
  ex- 
  

   pected. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  present 
  year, 
  when 
  locusts 
  have 
  been 
  seen 
  in 
  large 
  num- 
  

   bers, 
  and 
  have 
  also 
  laid 
  their 
  eggs 
  in 
  several 
  districts, 
  no 
  application 
  

   for 
  any 
  payment 
  whatever 
  has 
  been 
  made 
  to 
  this 
  office, 
  although 
  it 
  was 
  

   intimated 
  that 
  funds 
  would 
  be 
  provided 
  if 
  necessary, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  believed 
  

   that, 
  with 
  one 
  exception, 
  which 
  has 
  come 
  incidentally 
  to 
  notice, 
  there 
  will 
  

   be 
  no 
  ax3plication 
  made. 
  

  

  There 
  no 
  doubt 
  may 
  be 
  circumstances 
  under 
  which 
  payment 
  would 
  

   be 
  necessary, 
  as, 
  for 
  instance, 
  when 
  the 
  locale 
  of 
  the 
  locusts 
  or 
  their 
  eggs 
  

   is 
  far 
  distant 
  from 
  any 
  village, 
  and 
  the 
  people 
  have 
  to 
  be 
  collected 
  with 
  

   great 
  inconvenience 
  to 
  themselves. 
  

  

  J. 
  A. 
  E. 
  MILLER, 
  

   Secretary 
  to 
  Financial 
  Commission^ 
  Fnnjab. 
  

  

  Lahore, 
  January 
  27, 
  1870. 
  

  

  I 
  am 
  desired 
  to 
  acknowledge 
  receipt 
  of 
  your 
  letter 
  of 
  the 
  10th 
  of 
  De- 
  

   cember, 
  communicating 
  the 
  views 
  of 
  the 
  financial 
  commissioner 
  in 
  re- 
  

   gard 
  to 
  expenditures 
  incurred 
  in 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  locusts; 
  and 
  to 
  state 
  

   that 
  the 
  honorable 
  the 
  lieutenant-governor 
  concurs 
  generally 
  in 
  these 
  

   views. 
  Where 
  the 
  people 
  themselves 
  are 
  engaged 
  in 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  de- 
  

   struction 
  in 
  their 
  own 
  villages, 
  it 
  is' 
  certain 
  that 
  no 
  outlay 
  should 
  be 
  

   ordinarily 
  incurred; 
  but 
  exceptional 
  cases 
  may 
  occur 
  where 
  some 
  out- 
  

   lay 
  will 
  be 
  necessary, 
  and 
  amongst 
  them 
  are 
  cases 
  such 
  as 
  referred 
  to 
  in 
  

   your 
  letter, 
  where 
  eggs 
  have 
  been 
  laid 
  at 
  a 
  distance 
  from 
  the 
  villages, 
  

   and 
  then 
  possibly 
  some 
  outlay 
  would 
  have 
  to 
  be 
  incurred, 
  which 
  would, 
  

   in 
  the 
  lieutenant-governor's 
  opinion, 
  be 
  fairly 
  chargeable 
  to 
  the 
  adjoin- 
  

   ing 
  villages 
  that 
  would 
  be 
  the 
  first 
  to 
  suffer 
  if 
  the 
  young 
  locusts 
  re- 
  

   mained 
  undestroyed. 
  

  

  I 
  am 
  also 
  to 
  observe 
  that 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  should, 
  in 
  His 
  

   Honor's 
  opinion, 
  be, 
  as 
  a 
  rule, 
  discouraged. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  difficult 
  operation 
  

  

  