TNT History Archives: Grasshoppers Joined Ottomans' WWI Enemies (1916)

//Ed. note: In 1916, while World War I was raging and the 
OttomanEmpire was fighting Russia, France and England, 
among others, a grasshopper invasion threatened the empire 
with famine. 

Herewith, a circular sent by the Ottoman government in 1916
prescribing a war-footing against the insects, translated-
transcribed by TNT from the original Ottoman Turkish.//



                                                Foreword

For a few years now, in various parts of the empire a terrible
grasshopper invasion that threatens our common bounty with drought
and scarcity has descended upon us, despite some efforts against this
plague.  But because these efforts have been unevenly implemented,
this calamity has not been stemmed and we now find ourselves in a
catastrophic situation.

This year, in order to protect crops against these insects and to prevent
this plague from extending into future years, the Trade and Agriculture
Ministry recommends that strict measures be taken. Included within this
plan are efforts to attract specialists from Europe and even assistance
from the Ministry of War, which has agreed to help. Consequently, the
Trade and Agriculture Ministry has created the infrastructure seen below
to implement this plan.

This grasshopper invasion represents an even greater danger to the
Ottoman Empire and Army than the hostile states opposing us on the
battlefield.  By threatening us with famine, the clouds of grasshoppers
constitute a fifth enemy.  In the same way that, with God's help, our great
nation has resisted and destroyed our powerful and robust war enemies,
there is no doubt that by extending this effort against the grasshoppers
we can defeat this internal enemy, as well.  It is every citizen's and every
official's duty to help to extinguish this horrific plague by working day
and night.



                              Besides the grasshoppers...

These are the locations where directors will be appointed to oversee
the effort to destroy the grasshoppers:

Karesi (Balikesir)
Kütahya
Karahisar Sahib (Afyonkarahisar)
Isparta ve Burdur
Denizli
Aydın
İzmir
Manisa
Menteşe (Muğla)
Antalya
Karaman
Halep (Aleppo)
Urfa (Şanlıurfa)
Zor (Deir-ez Zor)



//Ed. note: the circular contained 25 paragraphs 
outlining in detail the duties of the directors, civilian 
workers and army officers in the battle against the 
grasshoppers.  Another 13 paragraphs addressed 
the acquisition of equipment and materials, such as 
shovels, flame-throwers, sheets, zinc and arsnic, as 
well as methods of record-keeping.

Additionally, the circular included a lengthy scientific 
guide for destroying the 'Magribi grasshopper' (sort of 
like the 'Chinese virus') and its eggs and caterpillers, 
along with various methods of killing, or at least annoying 
the insects, with horns and drums.  Chemical formulas for 
making pesticides were detailed in the circular, as well.//