The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-12-23
DEATH TO CHINCH BUGS.

From the LeavenwOrth Times.
Professor Snow appears to have dis
covered sure death to the chinch bugs.
In 1889 he heard of the ravages of a dis
ease i'll settlement of these pests in
Morris county, He sent for some of the
victims and let them lie in state in a jar
in his laboratory at Lawrence. Then he
placed some apparently healthy bugs in
the same Jar, and in a short time they
all sickened and died. 1t was then pub
lished broadcast that Professor Snow
was able to inoculate chinch bugs with a
disease that would destroy them. Soon
demands were made upon him for in
fected bugs, experiments have been tried
with them in Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio,
Indiana and Minnesota, and in many
counties IN Kansas, and almost every
where with the most gratifying success
Here is one of the reports received by
Professor Snow, which shows how the
disease is spread and its effect upon the
bugs:
FLORENCE, Kan, Nov. l, 1890.
Professor +. Il. Snow:
DEAR SIR: On August % q think it
was) | wrote 10 you TO send me some in
fected chinch bugs, and on the 30th of
the same month YOU sent me small lot
of infected bugs Il suppose about thirty
in alb. | then put with these about
twenty times as many healthy ones and
kept them forty-eight hours and then de-
posted them in and through my field.
q have about fifty-five acres under Guilt
vation) At the time | wrote for bugs
nv place was all in corn and a very
large crop of chinch bugs. | am safe in
saying that there were more bugs on my
farm than any two of the same amount
of land under cultivation. At the time
of sending TO you for bugs | told two OF
my neighbors of my intention and they
laughed at the idea: nevertheless
L sent. When l put them in
my field it had rained fully a half
dav, and after noon / commenced To
place them about in different places IN
my field. / noticed no change in the
bugs for three days. it beng cold. and
on the ourth and fifth DAYS the weather
was m re warm. and II was then that
the destruction of the enemy commenced
with great satisfaction 10 myself and
great surprise TO my Laughing neighbOrs.
One of my neighbors, Mr.. George Win
chester, said that there ought TO be a
SuDcCFlpl lOn TdAct1u anu uOuateu 10 me.
told him not 10 me but to you the praise
belonged.
| think that it took about eight DAYS
after the five from the time that placed
them in my field before they were all
destroyed. The fifth day after put out
the diseased bugs l noticed that a great
many bugs were flying away from nv
place. ] cannot say if the disease spread
in this way or not, or if IL spread at ali.
Three or four persons said that they
would come and procure of me some of
the dead bugs. but no one came.
This much l can say, with me this ex-
pertinent has been complete success Ii
has done me a great deal Of good. l can
not give il a money value, but am salts
fed that had il not been for the infected
bugs obtained Of you that / would have
lost twenty-seven acres Of wheat and
eight acres of rye. and when | wrote 10
you for bugs then contemplated put
ting out considerable wheat, and ! was
at that time considerably troubled about
the bngs in my corn, thinking that II /
put out nv wheat al ali il would oe de-