St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-19
LUGGER ON CINCH BUGS.
The EntOmoIOSist Issues an Exhaus
tive Report on Them.

Prof. Otto Lugger, entomologist of
the state experimental station, has
completed his annual report, which will
be issued shortly. The last legislature
appropriated funds for discriminating
the chinch bug and provided for such
a report to the governor The report is
the most comprehensive ever issued
from this department of the agricultu-
raj college.
The initial portion of the report is
taken up with general review of the
chlnch bug-its habits, habitat, vulner-
able points, diseases, ETC., giving in a
general way the substance of former
bulletins upon the subject. 1t says:
A good farmer, one that is an agricultur-
ist and one that is not pirate a man that
reeds his land as he expects to be fed by it
IN return. never suffers as much from chinch
DUES prefer sandy soil or poorly cultivated
SOIL, simply because in such fields the plants
are small and OF irregular growth thus per-
mlttlng the sun to strike the soil directly,
IL not being shaded by foliage. A good farm
er VIII enrich the sandy soil to such an ex-
tent as Is 70 produce strong and uniform
stano OF plants; he will not cultivate poorly
good SOIL; neither will he be a robber of the
SOIL by continuing to remove crops year after
year without returning something to the soil
IN the form OF manure to keep up its fertiI-
ity. A good farmer will escape many losses
by insects and other pests where a poor farm
er would suffer As long as it is the aim
of the farmer to grow upon the biggest scale
possible only one kind of crop, just that long
noxlous insects will be numerous even in
crease still more in numbers. If more di-
versiied farming were the rule and not the
exception as it is at present, fields contain
ing the same kinds of plants would be more
or less widely separated by fields containing
other kinds of plants, and insects would not
lind it so convenient to multiply without let
Or hindrance.
Plain methods of destroying the
chinch bug are given at length, and the
If oh hrrcr 9th r.
insects are described in detail The pro-
duction of the CRITICAL disease for the
Killing of the bugs is also described.
During the year, Il, S77 boxes of spores,
or disease, were sent out from the sta
ton, reaching 1,941 farmers in As coun-
ties.
In regard to the coming season, Prof.
Lugger says that, as the autumn was
very dry, the insects that escaped death
from the disease are very likely in a
healthy condition and will doubtless
survive the winter and be ready TO null
tiply again in the spring. If, however,
the spring should be rainy there is little
doubt but that the disease will appear
again in all regions in which numerous
spores are left behind. Moisture alone
will not kill the eggs and young larvae,
but wet season will rapidly lower
their vitality and dispose them to con-
tract the disease.
The potato bug or beetle receives con-
siderable attention also. In the fall of
1886 Prof. Lugger says the potato bugs
were found in a good many localities
and he thinks they will be somewhat
injurious this year. He refers to the
Importance of destroying these pests,
as one female is capable of laying 500
| eggs. The $50 females of this brood in
| the second generation would produce
125, 900 bugs, and in the third generation
1875, 900. Prof Lugger recommends pill
ing up small heaps Of potatoes or potato
Feelings about infected places, poisoned
with Paris green or London purple as
an excellent way for spreading death
among the bugs in the early spring be-
fore the potato plants are out Of the
ground. ... .r