The age-herald., 1900-08-19
ITS BITE DEATH
 ID PINE TREES
' New Worm That is Working Havoc in the Western
 Pineries.

Washington Letter in St. Paul Pioneer
 Press
 After years of effort and constant vigil ance the General Land Office, through it's held officers, has taken up and successfully stamped out to great degree the dep redators which worked such devastation Ill the great forest areas of the West. By strict regulations the human depredator Vas suppressed, if not exterminated, and by an adequate force of forest officials the hfe depredator has been held in check, ana damage wrought by this element has beeh reduced to the minimum.
 but now comes new depredator, which mas Just been called to the attention of the land office. It Is the insect or worm depredator that is making great inroads into the forests of South Dakota and lay ing waste great areas of valuable timber. Ihis worm Is a new arrival and little is known of him. The first time the offi- clals In Washington were informed of his presence and his deadly operations was but few weeks ago, and since then they Lave been studying his anatomy and his ways in the hopes of at least giving him a name and a classified ton
 At the present time there are at least two townships in the Speariish river dis trict of the Black Hills forest reserve which have been visited by this pest, and
 
 area have been killed, and half of those remaining have been infected and will die. fofesterS in that region have become greatly alarmed at the deadly work of the unknown depredator. They say he began his operation west and southwest of Dead wood, and is now moving in a southerly direction, with no signs of stopping, and 1t Is feared that if the advance cannot be checked in some way great part of one of the finest pine forests in the country will be destroyed
 From what little information is obtain able, it is supposed that this worm grows from an egg deposited by some species of bark beetle. The egg is deposited un- der inc bark and there hatches. The re- suiting worm is a common white worm sometimes an inch or an inch and a quar- ter in length, white throughout, except its head, bright, shiny brown. He seems to possess marvellous vitality, as shown by a sample that was sent to Washington. Commissioner Hermann, of the general land office, now has on his desk a phial tightly corked. containing one of the larg- CT worms. This worm was placed in the bottle and coIked up nearly two months ago, and since then has had neither air nor nourishment except possibly such air as would leak through an ordinary cork and today the worm is alive and more ac- lNe than when he first reached Washing ton
 Samples of pine from the Spearfish dis trlct were submitted with the worm to show the effect of his bite. It seems that when he attains the requisite strength, he sets out to bore around the tree, under the bark, apparently living the sap.
 IL Is his bite that is fatal, for wherever he eats his way he leaves a trail behind which soon dseolors the wood the discol- oration working clear to the heart of the tree. Wood which Is normally white, turns a steel gray, and loses all it's sap and strength. Ii is at once rendered unmer- chantable, by discooration and loss of strength. One worm in time will kill a tree, but it is generally found that each dead tree has its army of little white nests,
 Another remarkable feature connected with this depredator is that he may infest tree and poison it completely and yet his presence will not be known for months. He is only detected by borings through the bark, which occur at frequent intervals, and these are seen only on close inspection. Outwardly, the tree remains unchanged for a long time, the first sign of destruction being the discoloration of the foliage, which gradually assumes a faded brown appear ance, not easily detected at first, but yet peculiarly distinctive, inasmuch as it is not the same fading that accompanies the natural death of the tree After the foliage has deadened, the tree stands, weak and totterng, until a wind strikes it. and then from sheer lack of strength 1t topples over The poisoned pine cannot withstand even a light wind, so much has its strength been impaired.
 Commissioner Hermann, in speaking of this terrible depredator, said That worm whatever if may be. Is one of the most dan gerous destroyers of forests that has ever come to the attention of this office. Our knowledge of him is decidedly meagre but every effort is being made to learn more."