The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-05-22
SHOWS EXPERIMENTS.
Second Report OF the State "Chinch Bug''
Experiment. Station nc the Univer-
sity of Kansas.

Inc experiments In the LABORATORY
have been of especial interest, mas
much as they indicate the certain inhu-
euce which temperature has upon the
vitality and development of the conta-
gion Continuing the notes on jar No.
4, an infection jar. and jar No. I, a
check jar lone in which live, healthy
bugs are introduced at the same time
that healthy bugs are put into the in
lection jar, both jars being surrounded
by the same conditions of temperature,
etc., quote from the labratory notes:
april II. Bugs of jar 4 all dead.
These bugs were introduced into the
jar on April l. The laboratory has
been cooler than usual owing to the
shutting off OF the steam. Ten days re-
quired to kill these bugs, where four to
five sufficed heretofore in the warmer
room.
april %. Filled four boxes with
bugs from jar to be sent to farmers.
Re-stocked jar NTH live bugs.
"April q. Bugs of the last entry in
jar all dead. Sent three.boxes of bugs
from this jar to farmers. Restocked
jar with live bugs. The virulent jar
4 has been kept dry from the beginning
of the experimenting. For the past
three weeks all the other jars have also
been kept dry, all the moisture in the
jars being THAI given up by the green
wheat put in the jars. The bugs in
check jar No. : are alive and apparent
ly we'll.
"April %. Divided the bugs in jar
among three jars, jar 4 being one of the
three.
MAY l. Made up twenty::four boxes
from jar and the two other jars made
by division of jar4.
May 2. Sent out six boxes of bugs
from jar one another virulent Jar.
Whenever a lot Of bugs is sent from
jar the jar is at once restocked with
live bugs received from correspondents.
Several large jars are used as stock jars
in which live healthy bugs are kept,
preparatory to being introduced into
the infection jars. Bugs in check jar
No. alive and we'll"
Because of the large demands on the
laboratory for infected bugs, new in
lection jars have been provided until at
present writing infected bugs are being
sent from fourteen jars. Serious diff
Guilty was met with during April in OBJ
tanning enough live bugs for infection.
and the demand for bugs was far ahead
of the supply. Careful packing led TO
many disappointments, often but two
or three out of q score of boxes taken
from the mail being in good order with
the bugs alive and secure.
The laboratory has been furnished
with incubators and suitable apparatus,
and the effects Of temperature will be
more accurately determined, but it is
plainly indicated by the laboratory ex
periments of this spring that low tenn
perature seriously retards the develop
ment OF the contagion.
This, think, will also be proved by
the course of the field experiments.
Since May to the present time May
13, p. m 3S9 lots of infected bugs have
been sent out. At least 500 requests
have been received. Every request &C
companied by live bugs has been re-
sponded to by sending infected bugs.
To requests unaccompanied by live bugs
except where apparently urgent, re-
plies have been sent asking that live
bugs be sent in, on whose receipt the
diseased bugs would be forwarded. But
few reports have as yet come in and
they are mostly incomplete, i, e., refer
solely TO the preliminary infection ex-
periments before turning the bugs into
field.
Mr.. Mattocks OF Wauneta, Chutauqua
county,, one of last seasons expert
mentors and on whose farm the bugs
were killed, reports that he saved some
Of the dead bugs through the winter in
a jar, and that on the temperance of
bugs on his farm this spring he caught
sonIe and confined them with the kept |
over dead bugs. On turning these into |
his wheat field after forty-eight hours, |
the bugs in his field seemed to be |
and in few days were mostly |
dead
The field work now being conducted |
Is new and interesting, as the field ex- |
Deriments have hitherto 1880 and 1891
been confined to cOrnfields, and have |
been made in the middle of the sum-
ner. The present attempts at infec-
ion are in wheat fields. and are much
earlier than heretofore carried on.
Last summer no infected bugs were sent
put until the close OF June, and it is to
De noticed in this connection that the
ate attempts, in October, were inclined
% be less successful than the July and
August trials. The cold weather was
the retarding element in
he case.
have furnished Secretary Mohler of
he state board OF agriculture a report
m the present status OF the chinch bug
md hessian fly in Kansas. This report
will be issued next week with the regu-
ar bulletin of the board. From the 500
from whom l have
heard concerning the presence OF the
hinch bug have undoubtedly gained
. fair knowledge of the distribution OF
he bug in the state. The following con-
erning this distribution is taken from
he coming bulletin: In that portion
# the state comprised between the me-
idians of % degrees and 90 degrees
nd between the 39th degree parallel
nd the southern boundary line of the
tate. the chinch bug is out in full
Orce. The counties infected are Chau-
auqus, Elk, Greenwood. WOodson, Will
on. Montgomery, Butler, Harvey. Cow
~, Sedgwick and Sumner. Pushing
orth along the 9Sth meridian. the bug ,
J found in Rice, Lincoln, Cloud. Jewell, h
iowa, Ford. Stafford and Ellis report ,
he presence Of the pest. However, the
lajor portion Of the state is compara-
vely free from bugs. The northeast, 1
ne eastern tier of counties and the T
reat west having as yet sent in few re- :
orts of the presence of the pest. !
F. H. SNOW.
University of Kansas, May 13, 1891.