The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-03-25

tior disappears and .tarvation stares
them in the face.
In the year l77G, when the Hessian
troops, engaged by the British as
auxiliarics, landed OH Long Island,
they brought a lot Of straw with them
for their horses, and in it almost an
doubtcdly were eggs Of the insect
which has since become known in this
country as the Hessian fly. Three
years later the pest began to make it.
self troublesome in the neighborhood
of the landing place, and since then
il has gradually spread westward.
Barring the cinch bug, it is the worst
enemy of the wheat, making it's first
appearance as a tiny maggot at the base
Of the young plant and sucking the
juices of the latter. Eventually the
plant is weakened and destroyed, and
the maggot is transformed into a fra
gilc, dark-colored gnat, closely rcsem-
bling a small mosouito-the destined
parent Of maggots yet to be.
The army worm, which is one of the
most dreaded Of the insect foes of the
farmer, is a nakcd-stripcd caterpillar,
an inch and a quarter long. In May
and June it makes its appearance in
immense numbers, %devouring wheat,
oats and other grains and grasses. It
climbs up the seed stalk and cuts off
the heads. With a favorable success
sion Of seasons it multiplics in geo.
mctrical ratio, and at last becomes SO
numerous as to necessitate migration
in search of food. Then the army
worms travel and feed during both day
and night, inAicting enormous damage.
1t is from their mode Of marching in
armies at such times that their popu-
lar name is derived. The parent Of
the worm is a brown moth.
The potato bug seems to have been
originally native to Colorado and New
Mexico, Various wild plants furnish
cd it with food, but nothing seems to
have been so exactly suited to it's re-
quirements as tho potato. With the
introduction Of the potato by settlers
came the opportunity Of this objec-
tionablc insect to multiply ad inini-
tum. 1t began to march eastward and
northward at first slowly, depending
upon it's own power of fight, but later
in great big jumps, assisted By the
railroads, on which it took passage.
1t made trips Of hundreds Of miles by
river, floating on chips or voyaging by
boat. It's spread was startling, and at
the present time its territory compri-
scs nearly all Of the United States.
All efforts to diminish it's numbers
have been in vain, and SO, 900, 900 is a
moderate estimate Of the damage it
does annually.
In 1868 o French naturalist named
Trouvalot, residing at Medford, near
Boston. was making experiments with
various kinds Of silk-spihning insects
other than the common silk worm. He
had imported the eggs from France,
and with them, by some accident, had
come q few eggs Of the Gypsy moth,
already well-known as o destructive in
sect in Europe. These eggs were in a
pasteboard box on o window ledge and
were blown away. AS q result the
State Of Massachusetts, has been OBJ
liged to spend more than half o mill.
ion dollars since thea in trying to ex-
terminate the bug, which has threat
ened to eat every green thing oE the
earth In tho region over which it has
spread, comprising some fifty square
miles. It is a ravenous dofcliator Of
fruit and shade trees, and if it should
extend its operations over q large part
of the country 1t might easily do mil
lions Of dollars worth of injury year
ly. The brute is q dark gray caterpil-
lar, two aud = half inohes long, and it's
paren: is q moth Of yellowish hue with
black bands on its wings.
The San eJose scale gets it's name
from the fact that it first appeared in
the San Jose valley, California, hav-
ing been imported probably from Aus
tralia or Hawaii. It is the worst of
all enemies Of fruit trees. Almost
microscopic in size, it will spread
through an orchard in half dozen years
and in place ofagreen leaves and bios
sons, leaves nothing but dead trunks
and branches. Embarrassing district
attacked by it is destroyed as effectu-
ally az if overrun by q fire. These in.
scots, millions Of them together, suck
the sap of the tree, each one Of them
covered with o waxy scale, which forms
q sort Of grayish scurf on the bark.
Inasmuch as a single female may have