Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1872-10-01
aeritultural.
lllom the Wsieryilc siaii
An Enemy an TIE Field


which. he informed me, had SO killed Out
the hsrds,grass STAGE having that he MAS
ploughing up some four acres al bis
moving found the enemy to be the
notorious Chnch- bug that has At inter-
vsis Tor The AS twenty-five years
W.oush. Wholesale destruction 90 the
whsatSuI coru cgops Of TIE We5s. l
a. aware thst for SONS years this lug
has been loand ~ small uu9bels,
by sntomologists, in Maine ant other
New Eoglsed states but | have no
knowledge tha' /, bss u,therto been OBJ
served in any Easts.i State in any des-
truetive force.
Mr. Pray has to-day taken me to his
field, whore have seen the bug at home
and a, work. The ground where The
greatest damage has been done is already
ploughed, but there are still to be seen
many spot. whore the grass has boen
killed since the hay was cut. In the
middle OF these patches none OF tse
bugs are found tor they have done their
work and Jeff, but on pulling up the live
grass around such spots, scores OF the
Jugs are brought up amoung the roots
OF each handful
To understand the way in which the
insect works It's mischief we must know
something Of its structure. The Chinch-
bug is : true bug" in the technical
sense, that is, it belongs 10 tia order
Ilcmiptera. Of which The bed-bug is an
example. "Bussn have no Jaws, but
ars tsrnishsd Instead With q slender
beak. which when not in use, is bent under
Inc body, and lies upon The breast botwesn
she legs They live 10y sucking the
juices Of animals md plants which are
pierced by The beak. The Chinch. bu.
draws OF the sap through the pupcIures
,hA, it makes IN plants, and seems 10
poison them besides. Thus from the
two-iold effects OF exhaustion and poison,
wheat and corn are killed beioye 'satuti.
", sud the kernel remains unified.
IL the West, the tsyerite food.plsnt OF
the Chinch-bus is wheat, and when that
is too ripe and hard for It's pisrcer. it
taxes oats and barley, and next IN order
corn, and lastly. when Tic glazing OF
the cOln.slalAs is well SET it resorts to
herds.graSS Why Tie wheat aud corn
have here escaped injury from The Dug,
- appears 10 be the case, 1t IS not diili.
cult 20 conjecture. Ii is certain that lhis
G,t.e raVagsr :, doing serious injury ia
this vicinity ID the herds srAs,, oar
most important farm product, Tor Mr.
Pray tells me that TIE extensive aud pro-
duouve grass OF Nh. Winthrop Aorri.l
the bug has done much greater damage
than on AIS ovn land, and iuat ,Le pro
prie,oT hXS tor two years p--. noticed
Ihis ssWe Insect IN iAcss numbers. How
and to what extent it may have operat-
81 this year before haying it is too late 10
learn, but TIL probable that ii did not skis,
in formidable numbers till since hSyins,
when The second brood vA.yh increases
upon the frs, IA se5-.tuica! Progression.
has come into action IL pressu. mode
OF working is obvious. No; a bug Is 10
De found upon the blades OF srSs., Tut
thoy are crowd about the Juicy bulJous
bases OF the stalks. Sbovo the roots. aud
bleeding" and poisoning these bTios
they Kill the whole plant.
My object in writing is to inquire
through your paper whether the Chineh-
bUS IS at work ia neightoring towns.
And IS az aid in recognizing It q brief
description vii. be useful. The full
grown insect Is only abou. thres.twen-
t.e.hs Of an inch in length, and will be
known ct once " BY is snow white wing
covers which have on tie middle of the
outer edge a triangular black spot. In
der good magnifer j; VIII be seen that
the body is black and dovny. the base el
the four jointod antenn,c. legs and hind
er edge OF the thorsx reddish yellow,
and that there is u short central black
line on the Ting.cOVers aear the black
spot. Besides the mature insect find
many wingless young having q white
stripe across the back. When crushed,
young and old give ont The well known
odor oil the bed-bug.
I'll possible that the extensive killing
OF herds. grass during tie late dry years
(aud such are most congenisl to nearly
al insscis) may not 10 wholly due To
drought. moving machines and tho win
te,,, as hitherto supposed The Chiach'
bu. may nave had snare ia the worS,
ans it nay ls s;L. mors troublesome
nezl wear sAou,d circumstances be favor
4o.e ior lie Increase. On the other hand
should ne next season be 81 1T. OHs iron
the beginning As tue present has no
beehive may hear nothing more OF III,
ChuchJug Tor years. Or ,Ae history o
this destroyer and It's mode OF propaga
uon, may write briefly At another time
& L. IL