Of this meal, which may be kept dry for a long time until wanted, take two tablespoonfuls and add it to a large tumblerful of water, in which some^sugar has been placed. Leave this in a warm place for 12 to 48 hours, and then treat live locusts by dipping, etc., just as one does in using the fungus when supplied in tubes. Spraying the locusts with paraffin has been tried with success ; so also has Paris green, arsenite of lead, and various sheep-dips, but the use of these latter ingredients should be very carefully guarded^ as the veldt cannot be used for pasture, and unless stock can be kept off the locality for some time they would be liable to be poisoned. It may be of interest to note that amongst the natural enemies of the locust is a small fly {Cynomia pictifacies) which deposits its eggs on the locust’s neck, and the larvae penetrate the body of the Voetganger, and then proceed 266 LOCUST DESTRUCTION App. to eat their way out, leaving the carcase like an empty shell. There is another fly which also wages war on the locust by attacking the egg masses. The Government Entomologist has reared some of these from larvae sent him with a view of determining the species. Once more we would urge upon farmers the duty of combining to destroy locusts as they make their appear- ance— if each one will work with his neighbour, and if the work is taken in hand as soon as the Voetgangers hatch I out, the result cannot fail to be encouraging — but to ensure .-success, the work must be energetic, systematic, and taken in hand without delay. [Note. — An interesting article in the Agricultural Journal (describes the screens used in Cyprus — a method which There proved more effectual than any other in defending The crops from the locust plague, for whereas in 1882 the ; British authorities in Cyprus paid £12,262 for egg collect- iing, with little result, in 1883, ;^i2,5ii spent in the screen ; and trap system resulted in practically freeing the country cof locusts. Roughly speaking, the screens are made half- ;.a-yard high, edged at the top with three or four inches cof American cloth, so as to give no foothold to the insects. IPits three feet deep are dug on the side of the screen from ■which the swarm approaches, and into these the locusts [fall, and, as there is a strip of tin projecting over the edge (of the pit, they cannot get out and are easily destroyed. 1 Earth is put on the lower edge of the canvas screen to {prevent the locusts getting through. The screens are kept (.erect by wires and poles.] 267 NOTES BY OTHER PEOPLE ON OTHER PARTS OF SOUTH AFRICA. ORANGE RIVER COLONY. In the Orange River Colony cereals of all kinds thrive, and in good seasons it is not unusual to have two crops in the year. Cattle and sheep breeding are successfully carried on, and dairy farming in many parts is a thriving industry. Most of our stone fruits do well, but the vine does not thrive, owing to severe frost. Horse breeding has been started of late years. In the Conquered Terri tory>, as it is called, a large district which the Boers took formerly from the Basutos, and which of late years was mostly farmed by English and Scotch people, and near Winberg, the soil is exceptionally rich, and in good seasons yields a large crop. Most cereals are put in after the March rains. TRANSVAAL.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Of this meal, which may be kept dry for a long time until wanted, take two tablespoonfuls and add it to a large tumblerful of water, in which some sugar has been placed. Leave this in a warm place for 12 to 48 hours, and then treat live locusts by dipping, etc., just as one does in using the fungus when supplied in tubes. Spraying the locusts with paraffin has been tried with success ; so also has Paris green, arsenite of lead, and various sheep-dips, but the use of these latter ingredients should be very carefully guarded, as the veldt cannot be used for pasture, and unless stock can be kept off the locality for some time they would be liable to be poisoned. It may be of interest to note that amongst the natural enemies of the locust is a small fly {Cynomia pictifacies) which deposits its eggs on the locust’s neck, and the larvae penetrate the body of the Voetganger, and then proceed App. to eat their way out, leaving the carcase like an empty shell. There is another fly which also wages war on the locust by attacking the egg masses. The Government Entomologist has reared some of these from larvae sent him with a view of determining the species. Once more we would urge upon farmers the duty of combining to destroy locusts as they make their appearance— if each one will work with his neighbour, and if the work is taken in hand as soon as the Voetgangers hatch I out, the result cannot fail to be encouraging — but to ensure .-success, the work must be energetic, systematic, and taken in hand without delay. [Note. — An interesting article in the Agricultural Journal (describes the screens used in Cyprus — a method which There proved more effectual than any other in defending The crops from the locust plague, for whereas in 1882 the ; British authorities in Cyprus paid £12,262 for egg collectiing, with little result, in 1883, ;^i2,5ii spent in the screen ; and trap system resulted in practically freeing the country cof locusts. Roughly speaking, the screens are made half- ;.a-yard high, edged at the top with three or four inches cof American cloth, so as to give no foothold to the insects. IPits three feet deep are dug on the side of the screen from ■which the swarm approaches, and into these the locusts [fall, and, as there is a strip of tin projecting over the edge (of the pit, they cannot get out and are easily destroyed. 1 Earth is put on the lower edge of the canvas screen to {prevent the locusts getting through. The screens are kept (.erect by wires and poles.] NOTES BY OTHER PEOPLE ON OTHER PARTS OF SOUTH AFRICA. ORANGE RIVER COLONY. In the Orange River Colony cereals of all kinds thrive, and in good seasons it is not unusual to have two crops in the year. Cattle and sheep breeding are successfully carried on, and dairy farming in many parts is a thriving industry. Most of our stone fruits do well, but the vine does not thrive, owing to severe frost. Horse breeding has been started of late years. In the Conquered Terri tory>, as it is called, a large district which the Boers took formerly from the Basutos, and which of late years was mostly farmed by English and Scotch people, and near Winberg, the soil is exceptionally rich, and in good seasons yields a large crop. Most cereals are put in after the March rains. TRANSVAAL.

Hilda's diary of a Cape housekeeper