Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-08-18
All About the Ciinch-Bug.


All About the Chinch-Bug.
Prof. Riley in his late report says:
The chinch-bug Injuries by suction, not
by biting. It winters in the perfect
state, mostly dormant, principally in
the old rubbish, such as dead leaves,
corn-shucks, corn-stalks, and under
weeds and PROSTATE fence-raiis and
boards that generally surround grain
situation can get in adjacent woods;
hence the Importance of fighting the
pest in winter time, either by trapping
it under boards laid for the purpose, or
10y burning it in it's aforementioned
shelter. Such burning will not destroy
all the dormant hosts, but will practical
lyrender the species harmless especial
~ where whole communities combine to
practice it. It issues from it's winter
quarters during the first balmy days of
spring, when those females which were
inlpregnated the previous fall, and are
most apt to survive the winter, COM
mence ovipOsiting at once if suitable
conditions are at hand. Others take
readily to wing, and scatter over our
fields, attracted by preference to grain
growing in loose dry soil, into which
they penetrate to consign their eggs.
. The eggs are deposited on the roots,
and the young, which are red, remain
under the ground, sucking the roots
during the early part of their lives, or
until they are forced from necessity to
travel from one plant to another. These
spring Matched bugs, constituting the
first brood, do not, as rule, acquire
wings till after wheat is cut. It is,
therefore, during and just after wheat
harvest that they congregate and travel
in such swarms as to attract attention.
In July, as these acquire wings, they
scatter over late grain and corn fields,
where they lay their egg, but the second
brood, Matching from these eggs, gen.
errally attract less attention and does
less injury than did the first, because of
its more scattered nature, and the great
en- maturity and resisting power of the
Anything that will prevent the moth
er bug fromygetting at the roots of the
grain will spfevent the injury of her
progeny; hence the Importance IN this
connection of fall blowing and using
the roller upon land that is loose, and
friable; and hence, if old corn ground
is sufficiently clean, it is good plan
to harrow in a crop of small grain upon
it without blowing at ali. The earlier.
also that wheat gets we'll started and
natures the less it will suffer, because
it may be harvested before the bugs
acquilo their greatest growth for harm;
hence. and from the greater compact
ness, OF the ground, winter wheat suffers
less than spring wheat. Heavy rains
are Destructive to the chinck bug;
hence, if such occur in the fall the.
farmer may plant with little fear of in
jury the following year, while If they
occur in May he need suffer no anxiety,
50 far as chinch bugs are concerned;
hence, also, where irrigation is practi-
cable, the pest may at ali times be over
come. It I'M ures no other plants than
grasses and cereals NJ e
= On'the' principle that it is better to
save the labor and seed than lose both
and the harvest withal, the idea Of quit
ting the culture of theac cereals, and es-
pecially Of spring wheat and barley, for
a year or two, as means Of preventing
the breeding Of the insects to any In
furious extent, has often been consider
ed and discussed. There is some rea-
son to believe that abandonmeht, fora
single year, of barley and spring wheat
culture over a, sufficiently large extent
OF the country for instance, oyer
an entire county would cause "a srlff-y
cient reduction in the number of chinch
bugs In such a county as to insure fair
crops for two or three succeeding years;
and such course is well worth trying.
1t is to besfeared. however, that it
will never Be -cafried outsin concert
over sufficiently extended, breadth of
country first, because the farmer can
never foretel the character of the COM
ing season, on which the increase or
decrease OF the pest SO largely depends,
and will naturally hope for the best;
second. becedse If neither spring nor
fall wheat, barley, oats, rye, Hungari-
an grafs. timothy nor corn were grown
for one season In any given county
whefe there are wild prairie grasses,
the chinch bug would yet breed, though
not so numerously.
Should Horses Wear Binders.
This is still mooted question among
horsemen. The following from a for
eign paper makes some good points on
the negative side: eve never could
see what vice or deformity Law in a