The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1888-04-12
CHINCH BUGS.
Some Very Valuable Hints on Their
Habits - How Farmers Can Save
Themselves From These Pests

Habits How Farmers Can save
Themselves From These Pests.
BEAVER DAM, Wis, March 28.-To the Ed
tor: The time for spring sowing is almost
iere, and means to secure good crops will
ID well to consider. The chinch bug the
asst year did immense damage throughout
'he Northwest, amounting to many millions
Of dollars. How to prevent them will be-
sr ought to be, of great Importance to the
farmers of the great territory overrun last
year, and to the whole country as well. fol
they will not be confined to the country now
| occupied by them. When they have wings
they drift with the wind, and may be miles
away from their place the day before. My
experience in dealing with these pests may
be Of interest to your people Fourteen
years since the chinch bugs came to us in
myriads, and everything seemed destined to
destruction. My practice had been, and Is
still, to plank or smooth all my land al the
time of seeding and also to SOW clover seed
On the land, and, to make the clover seed
catch we'll, to sow plaster at the same
time or before, and also salt mixed
with tho plaster; this mixture upon
the opening land of our country, but
upon prairie land only salt. as that seemed
the thing needed to make the grain fill we'll
In the year 1874 the bugs came in such
quantities that the air was full Of them and
.he grain was turning yellow and dying al
most My grain seemed all right as COM
pared with my neighbours, and the inquiry
vas made what makes this difference? The
conclusion was that it must be the salt sown,
and as a consequence the farmers bought
ifteen cars of salt in my vicinity and sowed
t on their land, but almost too late to be OF
much service. My wheat made good crop,
and at harvest time on a piece of winter
wheat there was harvester trial There
were large number of farmers present.
July $50 men. The wheat WAS wonderful
growth and well filed. The piece contained
so. ~ acres; seven acres in one corner OF the
ield was winter wheat The machines had
great trouble in cutting the grain, it was SC
large. I was requested to keep an accurate
account of the amount OF wheat on that
field, which l did, and my memorandum
shows me that the yield was 33. 4 bushels
per acre, and that, too, when the grain was
nearly all spoiled in the vicinity. The re-
suit was, the grangers then in active opera
ton, wanted me to tell how raised that
wheat I prepared an address, or paper,
telling them the plan of operation, and read
It before six meetings in our state Since
that time have made more minute study
of the habits and characteristics Of these
bugs, and believe they can be prevented. OF
very largely SO, by proper management 81
the time of sowing.
First-Then they are bug. and not beetle
A beetle can dig in the ground A bug can
not dig, but must crawl, or work down into
and between the Jumps or interst1ces made
by the Jumps until they get down into and
among the young and tender roots where
they can live, and at the proper time the
female lays her eggs.
Second-The mating season comes only
until they have wings, when within a few
days the female Will lay her eggs, as near the
kernel as possible. among the tender roots.
Any person can find them with a strong
magnify1ng glass, and always very near the
kernel where the sprout comes out The
bunch, or nest, will be about as large as the
head OF q pin, but if closely examined will
contain great number of eggs. After the
female lays her eggs the old bugs die. They
give no further paternal care to their young
than simply to lay the eggs. Thus the in
stinct of the bugs is to place the eggs sc
when they have life they can most easily get
their living.
Thrd,-The third characteristic is that
they are suckers and not chewers. That is,
they draw their food through a bill like O
fly or mosquito. They thrust their bill
through the tender bark of roots aud suck
the juice or sap. and thus destroy the grain
or greatly weaken its growth. There viii be
no old bugs IN ten days after the eggs are
lain, and young bugs develop and destroy
the grain before reaping, although the old
bugs may in jure it somewhat before they
have young or come to their mating time.
Fourth-The fourth characteristic is that
there are two broods in year. The young
bugs develop, and when the grain is ripe
they can find no further food in the grain,
and the corn offers the most inviting food,
and they will be found crawling in the corn
field.
Here again if the land ia seeded with
clover they will not crawl, neither will they
live wher9 there is thick mat of clover
They will not eat clover or any Of the
leguminous plants of the clover family, such
as beans or peas-consequently the impor-
tance of having the land seeded to clover.
Ii the seeding is poor of clover and tame
grass grows among the clover they win eat
the tame grass. and to many may give the
impression that they live in the clover and
feed upon it; such is not the case. Usually
in about ten days after the grain is harvested
the bugs that have grown in the grain will
develop and have wings, and will now breed
again and lay eggs in corn if they can find it
ii not in tame grass, Hung arian, or any OF
these congeners, and they become the bugs
that go into winter quarters and live
through the winter in a dormant state until
the warm weather Of spring. What then are
the remedies? l said that they were s
bug and could not dig. Cover the
grain at as uniform depth al
possible-and then with stick or plank,
smooth the land, and mash the lumpa Dc
not make your stick more than seven OF
eight feet long, and then with good team
draw that stick over your newly cultivated
field. Get right on the stick and ride. Do
not wait until the Jumps become hard, but
within one hour after the cultivator hal
gone over the land 60 with the stick. As ]
said, SOW clover seed at the time of sowing
the grain, and salt as we'll which will he
found to still bs great preventative to in
jury by the bugs. The salt acts as solvent
to dissolve the Jumps and to still further fiji
up the cracks, made by the Jumps or seamA
have never been able to determine if the
alt is poisonous or not / have taken them
and put them in lime, and they woulG
swim out, and twelve hours after
seem happy and we'll The bug has a
sort of:.shell or covering for its body. II pu
on in their pupa state, it might destroy
them. My opinion is that the grain takes ur
the salt in growth into the sap, and as they
suck the sap it is distasteful or poisonous tc
them. Certain it is it makes n great differ
ence with them. The salt Ia a most excel
let thing to cow on the wheat to make it fll
whether there are bugs or not What are
the prospects, Of them doing injury next
season? Well, they are alive now, and un.
less there are heavy rains they will surely be
thick enough to fill the air in mating tims
and lay eggs in your wheat or any othel
grain unless pains are taken to prevent
them. ! have no patent on this plan, and
hope the farmers of Minnesota and Dakota
or anywhere else, will try it and be rid o
the nuisance N e ALLEN.
Fire broke out in the stable adjoining
the Adams House in Chicago. The hotel
adj 10 lining fortunately had but few guests
Most OF these and the servants were stu
peied by the smoke, and it was only by
the gr eatest efforts on the part OF the fire
men and police that all were saved
Thir ty- three horses were cremated In this
stables.