Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1897-07-29
AN UNCOMMON MISSION.
NOVEL CONTRACT FOR AN AMERICAN
IN SOUTH AMERICA.

IN SOUTH AMERICA.
Professor Bruner. An Expert. Coo. tn Ar
S"ntine To D..tr"y Bug Plague Fol
lowing Experiments, VIII lnocul~t. To-
Gust. With swim, Death-Dealiny pi..a..
Professor Lawrence Bruner. ento1n-
oioglst of the University of Nebraska.
arrived III south America on a novel
mission. tie Is to organize the army
OF science against the locusts and
grasshoppers which have become a de-
structive plague in Argentine for which
the government has just appropriated
i,ooo, 600 He is promised large
bonus If he succeeds in destroying the
pests which are destroying the vege-
tatlon of that country and threatening
the rural districts with famine and the
commercial section with disaster.
Converslng upon the subject Of his
experiments and the details incident
t. destroy these bugs when they
threaten TO become dangerous, Pro
fcssor Bruner said =
IN order to carry ont the plan of
exter,ninating fhis specie of insect life
III Nebraska the authorities found il
necessary TO have large number of
live, healthy locusts, chinch bugs.
grasshoppers or other specimens that
We're required to. be destroyed The
university therefore required farmers
whose fields We're threatened bv the
pests to send to the uniyer sity a small
0umber of these insects if they de
sired al3. In return the university
sent to them Il supply of "sick" bugs
that could he used in communicating
the disease to the bugs in the field.
Full directions for using these inocu-
lated bugs accompanied each package
We begin at first to secure supply
of dead insects that had been killed
by the fungus known as sporotrichum
globuliforum. The starters We're re-
celTed from Nebraska farmers and
placed IN our cages with healthy grass
horpers. AS rule no difficulty was
experienced IN securing the spread of
this disease from the infected bugs to
the healthy insects in the laboratory.
The disease is a dry rot, which causes
the bodies of the locusts and similar
specie to decay. It's spread is very
rapid and the result very fatal tire
selnbles IN some respects leprosy in the
| human family. The infected bugs
| We're then sent back to the farmers
with instructions to liberate them in
the iield. In day or two every locust
In the field in which they were placed
was dead.
In some Nebraska fields the in
serts thus treated have been reported
| daid III great punches. These lunches
arr always found in moist places and
III! shaded hooks In Butler county last
| yatr, near Augusta, the farm Of Frank
Shannon was threatened with destruc-
tlon and the adjacent farmers were
mitch alarmed. The university was
appealed to and number Of fungus
covered grasshoppers were sent to
that section. The insects covered the
| ground In great numbers and in two
weeks the field was SO full of dead
graSshoppers that the wind piled the
| insects several feet high They
gfadually dried up and became pow
de
The damage to Nebraska agricul-
t1re from erasshoppers and locusts
darlne the past quarter of century
ctl scarcel V he estimated. On several
oc'asions the pests have DESTROYED
every vestlge Of vegetation in many
counties of the western part of the
state. Since they never attain their
fl growth until June and July. they
arrive just at the time when they are
npst dangerous to farm property
Many farmers during the last
grsat plague tried ploughing trenches
around their fields and thus attempt
TO keep ont the approaching army. hut
the trenches were soon filled 10 nser-
flowing and the swarm would then
cross on the struggling bodies of
those III the trenches The very ground
appeared TO be- moving as the quiver-
ing mass continued the onward course
like an enormous biIIow Railroad
trains were actually stopped still by
t!a mass Of Shiny insects as they at
tempted 10 pass over the rails and
were crushed beneath the wheels
This Is the condition Of things in
the Argentine Republic. where Pro-
fesser Bruner is to begin his work a.
soon * he arrives, vet he Is confident
that he can reduce the damage 'o a
mlaimum AMI destroy the insects ah@o-
lu:elv and 50 thronghly that they ail
no he dangerous for years 10 com. in
the anne locality