The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1903-03-25
THE oA1 CROP IN DANGER.
EntomolOgist chambliss Gives Lit
tie Hope for Relief this Year,
but Tells How a Return of
the Pest Can be Prevented.

| the Pest Can be Prevented.
To the Editor of The News and
| Courier: For a month past insects
have been doing much damage to the
oat crop in the Salkehatchie Valley.
The mischief was laid at the door OF
the Hessian fly, but dissented to
this, claiming it to be the work OF
the aphis, or plant louse.
To this end I wrote to Prof. j. S.
Newman, Clemson College. My letter
was turned over to Prof. Charles E..
Chanbliss and he concurs fully with
me- enclose you his letter, which is
of vital interest to every grain grower
in the State, and every farmer should
paste copy of it in his scrap book
for future reference:
Clemson College, S. c., March 16,
1903.
/ Mr.. A. W. Brabham, Olar, S. c.
Dear Sir: Yours to Col. Newman rel
ative to insects damaging oats has been
referred to me, which was found in
my mail upon my return to College
after an absence of several weeks on ac-
count of sickness. From your de-
scription it is the grain louse that is
cansinp so much damage to your
oats. It obtains its food by inserting
a pointed beak into the leaf or stem
and sucking out the sap, which causes
the grain to shrivel.
I don't feel as though I can recon-
mend at this season of the year any
practical remedy, although it has been
demonstrated by experiment that on
very young wheat and oats it is posi-
BILE to keep them within bounds by
spraying with strong decoction of
tobacco, or By the use of kerosene
emulsion.
Fortunately in nearly every instance
when the insect is abundant it is
greatly reduced in numbers by the
wcrk of parasites, which do their
work so efectually that if the out
break is not entirely checked it will
seldom be repeated the following year.
During the outbreak of this plant
louse oats land should be avoided in
planting fall wheat. and all volunteer
oats should be carefully destroyed.
Yours truly,
Chas. E. Chambliss.
These pests are evidently going
northward; and just how far they will
spread have no idea, but much dam
age can be averted if farmer will
keep keen eye on his oat fields.
It will be noticed that they begin
in very small circles, the leaves of
the grain turning red and the plants
growing smaller. Upon close exami-
nation the leaves and stems will be
found to be almost covered with very
small green insect, exactly like the
louse, or aphis, found on cotton. |
Some of these insects have wings, but
the majority are wingless.
The books teach US something al |
most incredulous about this little ami
NAL. We are taught that the winged
aphis is capable of bringing forth a
race, and vice versa, and that
the fecundity is so great and abnor-
NAL that even the virgin aphis |
has young. Prof. Owens, in his
work, Alienation of Generation"
has given these two phonemena the
terms, metagenesis and parthenogeni-
sis.
It would be we'll for every farmer
having poor land, especially, in grain
To keep sharp lookout for this pest.
On good land, we'll fertilized, there is
not much danger, but on poor land
the danger is great. I would advise
the use of nitrate of soda at once on
all grain, say fifty pounds broadcast
per acre. For so small an amount the
cost is not great, and the benefit will
be wonderful, not only on the growing
grain, but also on the pea and grass
crop following.
A. ". Brabham.
Olar, Bamberg.sCounty, March %.