Evening journal., 1898-05-16
PEST PLAGUE OF A CHURCH.
A baltimore CONGREGATION Is Going
TO Raise Money TO Destroy
Syvnrminu Insects.

svvnrming Insects.
The rector, congregation and Sunday
school OF the Protestant Episcopal
Church of All, Saints are almost in de-
spair over amy lever-increasipg pest of
winged bugs,{ which have made the
lower rooms prncucally useless. The
bugs are heDe, there and everywhere in
the Sunday school rooms, and they are
not numbered by hundreds or by thou
sands, but by millions. The supply
seems to be inexhaustiblc- They eat
their way through the flooring, put
holes in the carpet, and spread them
selves over the floor so thioldy as to
cover it in places. No one seems TO
know what'they are, being totally diff
ferent from the general run of insect
pests that infest the households of Bal
timore. Most OF the congregation
| know the umwelcome settlers, for they
are not mere visitors, as winged ants.
Their bodies are very dissimilar from
the general runof ants, however, though
they crawl very much like the indus
trious little fellows which the careful
housekeeper is always on the lookout
for. The most peculiar part OF the bug,
outside of his audacity in taking up his
| residence IN church, is his wings.
These are two in number, about twice
The length of the body of the insect,
which Is black in color, and about tho
size Of an ordinary ant. Tho wings,
however, are white In color. When his
bugship first makes his appearance
through the floor Of the church he is
equipped with these flying facilities,
but HIS first fly is nearly always fatal
to his rising ambition. Before he has
gone many feet through the air his
wings suddenly drop or, and. the aston
ished bug drops rapidly TO earth.
Do they bite? is n question that has
caused more than one animated debate,
but one thing is certain-that the Sum
day school IS very restless when the
bugs ara out in force. They have a de-
moraliaing tendency on the children
also, and more attention is,often given
to the bugs than to the lessons. Ono
little fellow. who is well up on the vul-
parisms of the day. told his'teacher last
Sunday that All Saints church had got
B lenextremely bughouse, andthis caused
much lnerriment. The pests became 81
r bad toward the close of last Sundays
, session that the children had to be
{ taken into the upper rooms OF th'
church.
3 Rev. DR.. Edward w. Wroth, the rec
= tor of the church. in speaking OF Tn
o matter recently, said that the insect
e. first made their appearance about fou
!
!. give trouble about the first part O
S April, and last until the first real ho
weather of summer sets in. Every yea
t they have become worse and worse, uI
4 III now they arc practically countless
o At times the carpet of the infant elas
3, IS white with them. IN addressing
; meeting OF the WomRn's mission th
u other day Bev. DR.. Wroth wns I'm
n Obliged TO send for the sexton to swee
y o great nose OF the, bags Off tho pia
IS form. Insect powder wac tried son
rs time ago, but, although many wei
y killed, the bugs stil increasdl In mn
r. her. 10 was decided 70 pour con1 {
n down the cracks Of the floor at one tim
to but this wus given up. as hadthe clur'
to ! burned down no insurance could ha'
e. been obt7dned.
Money is.now being raised for e.
- tcnsive improvements, with the inte
ton of getting rid Of the bugs. The e
r. tire flooring will be torn up and loy'
of concrete put IN TO keep the bul
lie from getting through. New boards wi
~ be put over this. The south wall Of Il
ht church will also be torn out, and q ne
n addition, II by 10 feet added. The
ps are over 800 children in the Sund'
he school, and the enlargement was nece
v sary for rcomfort.-BalhhAOr America
r -