Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 September 1874 — London Threatened With an Ant Plague. [ARTICLE]

London Threatened With an Ant Plague.

No little anxiety has been caused in the neighborhood of London during the last few days by the sudden appearance of myriads of ants. A vanguaid of these -insects has been seen marching over Waterloo bridge, and it i 9 impossible to deny that our position is at the present moment one of, extreme peril At any moment tbe invading army may be upon us, and we shall then be exposed to all the horrors of an ant plague. Those who are accustomed to look at the ant as an industrious but insignificant creature will proMHy smile at the idea of its presence, even in swarms, being a source of serious inconvenience. Without any wish to cause an unnecessary out merely with the view of nroeAficg Londoners for possible con*' -11 *® 110 * 68 ' ft ma y be as well to can attention to the proceeding* “ u anny ot aunts that some , ears ago invaded the Island of Grenada. The ants on that occasion “ descended from the hills like torrents, and the plantations, as well as every path and road for miles, were filled with them. Rats, mice and reptiles of every kind became an easy prey to them, and jeven the birds, which they attacked whenever they lighted on the ground in search of food, were so harassed as to be at length unable to resist them. Streams of water opposed only a temporary obstacle to their progress; the foremost rushing blindly on certain death and fresh armies instantly following, till a bank , was formed of the carcasses of those which were drowned sufficient to dam up the waters and allow the main body to pass over in safety. Even fire was tried without effect. When it was lighted to arrest their route they rushed into the blaze in such myriads as to extinguish it.” To such straits was the unfortunate island reduced by the ants that a reward of £20,000 was offered, but in vain, for an effectual means of destroying them; and it was not until a hurricane in 1780 came and blew them away and drowned them —doing, by the way, almost more mischief than the ants—that Grenada was freed from these terrible destroyers. Happily, in London we have the steam-roller, which should be kept ready for immediate action in the face of the calamity with which we are now threatened. — Pall Mall Gazette.