J.4N. 2, 1899.] 
THE tROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
LOCUSTS : 
IN CEYLON AND ELSEWHERE. 
(From a correspondent. } 
The absence of any reference to Locusts in your 
B g Book is I auppose due to the fact that there 
are practically uo official reports on these insects iu 
tbeir relation' t" the island. Now and again news 
has bei^n received that locusts have appea,red here 
or thore, but foitunately their ravages have bsen 
on a compar.itively limited s.'^ale. a-5ut of course Ihi.t 
is no reason why every effort should not be made 
to thorough atudy the suiicies which are fou'ad iu 
Ceyioa, not only for the benefit of those whose crops 
are at present liable to attack by the pest, but iu 
order that we may be forearmed in case the ravages 
of the insect become more alarming in character. 
The ''literature" on this subject is very extensive 
indeed, and the various remedies recommended and 
. tried have been legion, and yet an eminent authority, 
writing quite recently with reference to the migra- 
tory locust, (acridinm migratorium) says that human 
ingenuity has practically proved powerless_ against 
the destruction caused by these iusec s. It is, as 
stated above, important that the types of the Ceylon 
insects referred to as locusts should be clearly iden- 
tified, as there at'e very different forms of the pest 
characterized b.v very different h'T-bito. Indecv! the 
term 'locust' is very loosely applied, many insects, 
not true locusts, being called by tha*. name. Acri- 
dium peregrinura (supposed to be the locust of the 
Bible) has been known to appear in Upper ludia, 
while the pest which cau.sed such havoc iu Lower 
In 'ift is chought to ba A. .succinturtu. 
It would b,-> u I i«oS»;!,b! ' io rufer to the differ- 
ent iotmo of i^v usts, ihcir ravages in various 
part^ of u.ie world (Algeria, the Cape, &c.) or to the 
laoonoui hat generally futile efforts made to destroy 
th.'in, but I would draw attention to the very impor- 
iitiit ami successful measures now being employed at 
the Cape, viz., the use of " Toxine" or "Locust 
Disease Fungus." The Cape Government has recog- 
nised this inoculating medium, which is being supplied 
by Dr. Edington of the Bacteriological Institute, and 
is now distributing it far and wide. Both Europeans 
and natives hrive acknowledged the efficacy of the 
new "medicine" which is in great request. 
The Queensland, Government has already approached 
the Cape authorities with a view to utilizing tbo 
fungus, if possible against such locusts or grass- 
hoppers or even beetles which devastaLe crops in that 
Oolony. I enclose a cutting referring to the Rhodesia 
locust ' campaign' lSf7. CD. 
The supply of "Toxine" was distributed to the 
various Civil Commissioners, who, in their turn, issued 
it to the most practical farmers, who conid be relied 
up.m to i^arry out tiie instructions carefully, when 
iuoocuhitiug, and who wo uld report the results of liieii 
experiments to this ofhce. By the end of June so 
many encouraging reports had been received, parti- 
cularly from Umtali and Bulawayo, that it was 
decided upon to organise a locust campaign at the 
end of the present year on the youug locusts. Accord- 
ingly Dr. Edington was atked to supply all Civil 
Commissioners with a stock of the ''Toxice," 
which he had cultivated freshly, and forward to the 
different districts with the utmost despatch. A 
circular h.ts uo-.v bspu i-sucd tiirMish oar Rliodcsia 
giving full detailed pa i cicuiars of the uiitV-reut metliods 
)f discri'ou. 'on of tim Fuagus, copy of which is er» 
closed. Tliis "Toxine" is issued Ires of ch.irge npo.i 
app icaiion lo any Cuil Commissioner, or to tuis 
Otlii.e — du(5 precauiion being taken oo avoid any wasce. 
The cost of the " Toxine ' is Sd per tube, so tliat, 
allowing for l,.'iOO lubes for diMtiili itiou in Maslionalad, 
the aclu.il cost will not exceed t'7.") including postage. 
It ia unnecessary to explain that if only one la.ga 
crop in Rhodesia la saved, it will amply repay thi4 
expenditure indirectly. 
LOCUST DISEASE FUNGUS. 
Small tubes containing this Fungus may be had 
upon the application to the Civil Commissioner of 
the District, or to this Ofiice. 
METHOD ( F DISTEIIiUTION. 
1. Catch some locu-sta and after suieariog thera 
with the fungus, let them go. 
2. Sm<3(ir patohcs of danipirrouud, Tvhere the locusts 
alight to feed, with contents of a tubs. 
3. Coafiae some locuists iu a box or basket, which 
contains do:iir, f.tvoarite fjod, lightly spread with 
the fungus, andreiea.se them when the foo.i has been 
eiaeu. 
■i. Dissolve the con teu'.s of a tubs iu about a pint 
of tepid water, then dip some captured locusts into 
the aolutiou. and release thera into the swarm. Great 
care must bo taken neither to crush nor drown the 
locusts. 
5. Locusts, which have died from the disease, 
should be gathered and dried in the suu, and then 
ground into a fine nowder. With three tablespoonful 
of this powder, add one piut of tapid water, and when 
thi-oughly dissolved use the solution as in Method No 4. 
Natives should be informed of and instructed in 
the use of this method. 
Highly satisfactoi'y results have hitherto been ob- 
tained ani it ia parfcicnlar! v requested that all persons 
using the Fungus will report the results of tiieir, 
experiments to tiiis ofiice. 
vViien the fungas is present iu a locality amongst 
the acridii. or insecf.s of the locust species, and the 
latter increase to any considerable exi,ent, ihfl fungus 
appears to asbUine an epfr-eraic form, ond there is 
no doubt that there are m „ny grassiioppers, which 
will help to keep the fungu, alive in the locality 
where it once takes hold, and their natural habitat 
is in the damp shady places, notably by the banks 
of streams and similar situations. 
As locusts should bo treated, when in the hopping 
stage, or about G weeks old, all persons desirous of 
experimenting, are requested to secure ft supply of 
fungus before the end of the present year. 
Agricultural Branch, 
Salisbury, 12th October, 18y7. 
P.S. — No. 4 is the most popular method. 
Tradk ok India for Six Month.s endin-g 
30th Sept. 1898— compared with 1897 and 1,S96. 
—The oflicial Keport with all the details of 
import, e."fporD and re-export trado has readied 
US. We quote some ligures of local interest .— 
Imports : 
Tea— From China lb. 2,127,745 896,870 
,, Othercountrias 6;^l,104 1,037,617 
RE-EXP0ItT3 : 
Tea— To Russia lb. 1,'298.225 885,579 
,, Persia l,5ol,961 344,173 
., OvherCountries 77,798 77,020 
ExpoiiTs : — 
85,97 
400,185 
1,090,328 
o,944 
1,164,505 
87,945 
Coffee cwt. 
Rice not in the husk 
To Ceylon owt. 
Cinchona bark lb. 
Caoutchouc cwt. 
STicf (commerciallv 
c;.iled Talc) " cwt. 
Tea— To United King- 
81,174 66.979 
1,875,626 
194,081 
4,808 
5,924 
1,919,887 
496,583 
4,658 
7,532 
2/266,912 
818,233 
4,997 
5,.';.54 
doni lb. 66,915 87(. 65,8.'38 065 G7,2!2 90i 
l?u*sia .l.'l 73i I9ts,;i78 
„ U iiied States 3'2.'vW :i46,9.)3 
„ Persia 1,150.163 697.817 
,, Turkey in Asia 785.122 600,859 
„ Australi-t 2,87i>,555 2.511. lOi) 
,, OcberCountrios 633,231 1,072,06:; 
227.7i):! 
553.316 
1,'261,J56 
1.335.512 
2,684,211 
1,615,807 
Total 
73,038,098 71,318,235 74,920,C.74 
