Report of Society's Meetings. 293 
and had at all times taken a special interest in strength- 
ening the commercial bonds between the States and this 
colony. The appointment was unanimously adopted. 
A letter from the Government Secretary, thanking the 
Society for affording the Government the benefit of Mr. 
Quelch's services in the Locust enquiry, was read. The 
report of the Commissioners was laid over as follows : — • 
THE LOCUSTS IN BERBICE. 
Report on a Journey to Berbice to examine the Locust Visitation. 
Sir, — Agreeable with the desire of His Excellency the Governor, as 
transmitted to us by the Secretary of the Royal Agricultural and Com- 
mercial Society, that an enquiry should be made into the present locust 
visitation in Berbice, 
We have now to report that we (our colleague Mr. R. J. Kelly being 
unavoidably absent in Essequebo, whither he had departed previous to 
the constitution of the Committee of Inquiry) left Georgetown overland 
to Berbice on Wednesday morning (August 25th), and arrived at Rose 
Hall on the same afternoon. We found that nothing had been seen of 
the locusts in this locality. On Thursday morning, in company with 
the manager, we rode all over the plantation, which embraces a con. 
siderable area of country extending almost to the Corentyne public 
road, and in all that ride we saw neither locusts nor traces of their 
ravages. Later in the day we drove to Friends, calling in on the way 
at Everton, where we found that locusts had been plentiful in the provi- 
sion grounds. Mr. Welchman of Everton kindly showed us over the 
provision grounds close to the labourers' dwellings, where great damage 
had been done. The locusts had decreased in number to a very great 
extent ; many dead and sickly ones were scattered over the grounds, 
and the larger number of the living ones proved to be males. Very 
few young ones had as yet been seen ; and the canes had not suffered. 
At Friends the condition of things was much worse, for not only had 
the provision grounds been greatly damaged, but the canes also had 
suffered to some extent, while young locusts were rapidly hatching. 
As it was too late in the day then to examine this state of things, we 
arranged with Mr. Hunter to return on the following Monday. On the 
way back we were informed by Mr. J. Gray of the Public Works that he 
had seen swarms of locusts swimming across the Berbice river, but this 
we had no opportunity of witnessing. 
