St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-08-05
A Plague Of Insects.

A Plague Of Insects.
This is evidently bug, year.
New bugs Of various kinds have put
in their appearance in different perts
Of the country bugs 70 swell the
army Of cotton's enemies, horned
and scaley bugs, repulsive in APP
pearance and poisonous in charac.
ter. New York has complained
this year OF = visitation OF mos
quitoes such - it has never known;
and the mosquito hawks through.
out the North and West are an.
precedented in number and size.
But the most notorious OF these
Observation-Disclosures is. Of course,
the "kissing bug" which has
caused almost . panic in come
parts OF the North. 'Kiselng
bugs" have been reported from
many sections, but il is quite evil
dent, when their pictures are given,
that many Of them are bogus
fraudulent limitations and not the
genuine article. An attempt has
been made to tear down the entire
''kissing bug" story by proving
that the complaints from which 90
many persons have suffered were
not due to the bite OF = bug, but to
some other cause. The fact re-
mains that there have been halt .
dozen deaths, and that. after the
most careful investigation, the doc
tors have contended that the deaths
we're due to the bite Of some poison
Gus insec:.
Not to be knocked out by New
York, Chicago has discovered
new insect terror. to which the
''kissing bug" is not to be compar-
ed, aud which it has named the
"strangling bug" The bug is de-
scribed Is An ugly animal, with .
sharp beak, which instead Of light
ing on the lips and singing ths1 y
- the 'k,ssing bug" does, crawls
on the neck, buries ito beak in the
flesh and strangles it, victim with
al the skill OF . garroter or thug.
Some Chicago young women have
been attacked by ''strsngling bugs"
but have been rescued by prompt
assistance. The new pest, however,
has been discovered only = few
days. and has not yet given people
. chance to see how troublesome or
dangerous he is likely to be.
Whether stories OF kissing and
strsngling bugs are exaggerated or
not, the fact remains that We are
suffering to-day with far more insect
pests than ever before. The gypsy
moth, which Is rapidly destroying
Ill the shade trees OF Boston, and
will in time get rid Of all the Mas
sachusetts forests, is . good case in
point. 1t will cost the State several
million dollars to get rid CT this
single little insect. Nor should we
forget the invasion Of New Orleans
10 September. 1897, Of an army Of
bugs, apparently ''candle bugs"
which were 50 bad on Canal street
several nights n to. render walking
on that thoroughfare unpleasant.
There are several causes Of this.
but the chief cause 10 the women's
hats. Naturalists have called our
attention more than once to the fact
that the slaughter Of insectivorous
birds in order to provide plumage
for bonnets was having . most dele.
FERROUS effect. The insects are kept
within limits by the birds, Who de.
YOUR them; but remove the birds
and there Is no limit to insect in
crease, and the visitation becomes .
plague. Nature, in making birds
insect eaters, assured rs againet the
ravages Of bugs and moths; but
We have interfered with natures
work, have killed OF. or nearly
done 90, our feathered protectors,
and are suffering the consequence.
Uuless the Audubon Society cue
ceeds in ito purpose to prevent the
ruthless destruction Of birds in the
United States this country IL likely
10 suffer even more than it has from
insect plaques. Times Democrat.
"A Pretty Child Story.
The prett,est child story that !
have seen lately Is in French. A