The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-21
CHINCH BUGS ARE EXPENSIVE
FROM 1850 TO 1906 THEY COST
NINE STATES 1890, OOO, 900.
Efforts Of the Department or Agriculture
"a Find some Means OF DISCRIMINATING
1.-THE Use Of Destructive EJIng sur
rounding n Held With COal Tar.

one belongs. nave caused such enormous
pecuniary losses as has the chinch bug.
But for the extreme susceptibility Of
the very young TO destruction by drenching
rains and for the Less though not insig-
nilicant dcstructiveness during rainy sea-
sons Of n certain parasitic fungus on both
the adults and young. the practice of rails
ing grain year after year on the same areas.
as followed in the United States. would be-
come altogether Improbable.
The chinch bug is a very widely dis
tributed little beast. found in Europe, Asia.
Africa. North and South America and some
of the island Of the sea.
1t hibernates in the adult stage. so that
when spring comes it is already grown
up and ready 20 take up business at the
point where it stopped the previous au-
tumn.
In the timothy meadows OF northeastern
Ohio the United States Government agent
has Witnessed cases where the chinch bugs
had commenced operations along one
side. worked part way across the field,
killing the timothy as they advanced. and
continued their depredations the following
year precisely where they suspended work
the autumn before.
In wheat fields the females do not seem
10 forsake their gregarious habits entirely.
as they do not scatter out evenly over the
entire field. but appear to locate in colonies.
and when HI young hatch and begin TO
attack the growing grain their presence
Is first disclosed by small whitening patches,
which increase in dimensions as the young
become older INC more numerous.
In low lying fields, says the report OF
the Department Of Agriculture. these
- Il. L.. IA A--Na.
on the back burrows or on any slight eleva-
tions that occur in the field. But on higher
and level ground the whitening areas are
observed scattered over the entire field
and constantly widening until the whole
field appears to ripen prematurely and
crinkle down.
When the migration Is accomplished by
crawling. the females seem to spread only
enough to afford food for the young until
the latter are able to make theirfown way
from place To place. The young remain
clustered on the plant about which they
were Matched until this has been drained
of sap. when they make their way, almost
in a body. to IA second plant. and in this
way an attack will he pushed forward day
after day.
In the spring the chinch bug probably
fingers about its winter quarters until a
favorable day for migration occurs. Trans
Y - " ltlNNAi ANlAAlthl AAAAlAN N0N w ' NiA
May, and perhaps raise the temperature
"a few degrees, and you have a day during
which chinch bugs may be seen on the
wing, crawling along on fences, or at rest
on the tops of fence posts as II taking OBJ
servations, and in reality. as the writer
has come to believe, TO catch the scent OF
wheat or corn fields.
Az to the ravages due to this pest. the
estimated loss IL caused to crops from 1850
TO 1887 reached the sum of s287 100000. If
we could nave careful estimates covering
recent years they would undoubtedly swell
the amount to considerably in excess OF
1880, WO,pO for the period from 1850 to 1905.
If the indirect losses were TO be added, the
amount would indeed be During
the outbreak in Ohio at least two farmers
became discouraged, and, thinking that the
loss of their crops by the attack OF chinch
bugs would result in their financial ruin. in
their dependency they sought relief in
suicide.
When we take into consideration that the
financial losses as above estimated have not
fallen upon the entire nation, but almost
without exception upon nine States, Illinois,
Iowa. Missouri. Kansas, Nebraska, Wis
consin, Indiana, Ohio and Minnesota, IL will
Ire seen that this diminutive insect con-
stitutes a formidable enemy to the agricul-
turist OF these States. In fact. SINAI as it Is.
this pest has cost the people OF these nine
States a sum Of money which, a few years
ago. would have betrayed the entire expense
OF the National Government for a whole
year. Fire excepted. there is probably no
other factor that has caused an enormous
financial loss within the same period over
the same area of country.
This being the case Il Is not surprising
that the Department OF Agriculture has
made the most searching, investigation
into means Of destroying the chinch bug.
It's natural enemies are frequent rains dur
ing the Matching seasons in May and August
certain parasitic fungi. the quail and to a
limited extent certain other birds and the
frog
The destructive fungi have been the
subject OF much experimenting. One in
particular. the sporotrichum, is now raised"
arti6cially and distributed 10 farmers.
The Government agents visited places
where this fungus was sent and found
that the effect was u~nmistakable. Going
to the place in a field generally a wheat
field when the fungus had been introduced
the track OF the chinch bugs as they moved
in any direction was in many cases almost
literally paved with thed dead bugs more or
less enveloped in their winding sheets of
white.
Along r~avines. dead burrows or other
depresslons the ground would be nearly
white, the dead diminishing in numbers
as the higher grounds were reached. though
these were by nc means free from corpses.
In one Instance the bugs had left a field
Of wheat at harvest, the sporotrichum
having been applied there before the move-
ment began. and entered an adjoining corn
field.
The way was marked with white. not
only the surface of the ground, but on
stirring up the mellow soil of the edge
of the cornfeld it was found TO be literally
full of dead chinch bugs to the depth Of
two or three inches. the white fungus
covered bodies strongly contrasting with
the black color OF the rich roam, Not
only this, but under the sheaths Of the leaves
and on the leaves themselves hundreds
Of lead were to be found on the outer rows
OF corn. on the grass n weeds, and in
deed almost everywhere. Millions OF
chinch bugs were certainly destroyed in
this one field.
The dread which the chinch bug inspires
may be inferred from the nature of the
various schemes for checking his mad
career. One of these begins with the max
ing of a smooth path along the margin
of an infested field where such q one adjoins
the one to be protected. This can be done |
with a sharp hoe, and as the margins of
wheat fields usually become compaoted, |
il il but little trouble TO clear of a
path a foot or more in width, smooth as a
floor, with the surface almost as hard.
In the midst Of this path post holes are
sunk as in the bottoms of burrows and a
train OF coal tar is run between them, being