The Indianapolis journal., 1896-04-26
WAR ON THE cHINCH BUG.
They VIII he Infected by Disease
from Sick bugs.

Washington Letter in Boston Transcript.
The business for exchanging sick bugs
for we'll ones Is 10 be conducted on a large
chancellor OF the State University OF Kan
sas. Is In charge OF ", with an appropria-
ton from the Legislature to back him.
Just now he is getting into order his hos
pital for insects. in which the latter are
treated, not for the purpose OF curing them
Of anything. but TO inoculate them arti-
ficially with horrible diseases. During the
coming summer anybody who chooses to
send a healthy chinch bug to Professor
Snow will receive from him in return a
Last season consignments of sick insects
were forwarded TO three thousand farmers
in Kansas alone. and packages of them
were shipped by express to various locah-
ties in eight other States. The recipients
scattered the bugs in their fields, the OBJ
ject being to spread plague among the the
chinch bugs that were damaging their
crops.
This is a new idea The theory that some
in check by spreading diseases among them
artificially is being applied by practical ex-
periments In Europe as well as In this coun-
try. Professor SHOWS work In TINS direc-
the destructive chfnch bugs being well nigh
annihilated over whole districts by his
patent plague His disease-breeding hos
pital is on plans OF his own, involving the
use of no very elaborate apparatus The
material Of infection is placed In small
sgs s sfer when hey have
sick. are transferred to- large shallow
boxes. In these boxes the healthy bugs are
put as fast as they are received, and from
them Is obtained constant supply of dying
and dead insects for shipment to those who
want them.
To maintain the supply Prof. Snow re-
qulres that every person asking for dis
eased bugs shall send an equal number of
healthy ones. Some of the specimens for
warded from the infirmary are, to all out
they have been exposed to infection, and
the deadly germs are already beginning to
multiply inside their bodies After a bit
they will sicken and die, the corpse of each
one being enveloped in shroud of white
mould. Did you ever see dead fly at.
whitish gossamer filaments? 1t Is a case
exactly similar The fly has died OF a
fungous disease. The ailment communicated
to the cninch bugs by Prof: Snow is a
fungus, the fruiting or which makes the
winding sheet that eventually envelops the
victim.
Last autumn Prof. Snow carefully pre-
served the bodies of a considerable number
of dead chinch bugs. These will furnish
the infection material for starting the
placed in the small glass jars with the
first live insects collected; the latter will
be transferred later on to the large shall
low boxes, and business Will proceed in the
manner already described The defunct in-
sects are practically transformed into the
eating them up literally. When few sick
and dying cllinch bugs are scattered about
in a field they spread the plague rapidly
under favorable conditions. This Is ac-
compfisned to some extent by contact with
healthy insects, but mainly through the dis
tributfon of the minute spores of the fun
gus by wind These spores correspond to
the seeds OF higher plants.