The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-29
BATTLE AGAINST
THE HESS|AA FLY
Government Scientist Is Wag-
ing Peculiar Contest in In
terest in WheatgrOwers.
SEEKING TINY PARASITES
AS EFFICIENT ALLIES
Plan Is to Transport the Fly's
Enemy to the Locality Where
Most Needed.
Special to The Tribune.

| Special to The Tribune
WASHINGTON, Anril 2s.-Michigan
will soon become tho center Of most
peculiar battle. The Government s
forces will consist of but one man
G. /. Reeves. He will be armed, not
with gatling gun, but with bugs and
bottles The enemy is not the Japs or
the Spaniards, but pestif erous, mean,
Notwithstanding fly. To say that the
Government s force consists of Mr..
Reeves alone doesn't tell quite the
whole story. His very purpose IN going
to Michigan is TO secure an army of
powerful allies, whose fighting unit is
so small that you can scarcely see 1t
with the naked eye.
In plain talk, Mr.. Reeves will soon
be bound for the Hume farm near Ian
sing, to take up new and most inter.
esting fight against the Hessian fly,
that mosquito-like insect which is such
deadly enemy to American wheat
Working under the direction of Prof
+, M, Webster of the bureau of cnto-
molo"v, Department of Agriculture Mr.
Reeves is familiarizing himself with the
habits Of the tiniest insects, which are
tho Hessian fy's most deadly enemies
The ultimate purpose of this peculiar
campai"n is to "tame' those little in
sects until they can be marshaled like
an army, and can be transported about
the country to do deadly battle against
the Hessian fly
Difficulties Presented.
Whenever these two enemies get to-
gether. there is no trouble to get them
to fighting. Under natural conditions,
however, the difficulty is that the Hes,
sian fly is frequently at great distances
from the nearest brigade of the oppos-
ing army, and is consequently able to
devastate the wheat fields at pleasure.
1t is further assisted in it's fell design,
by the fact that its enemy, the farmers
ally, is quite n home body, not readily
venturing from its own Preside. Now
the problem which Prof. Webster has
set for Mr.. Reeves is TO look after the
transportation and commissary needs of
his allies. He is to learn enough about
their constitution and habits so that he
can tell under what conditions they can
be carried from one part of the coun-
try to the other, and how they can be
strategically deployed for the battle
against the Hessian fly, The hope of
Prof. Webster and Mr.. Reeves is that
their Investigations may pave the way
for practical use of this ally through,
out the wheat areas of the country.
Their idea is TO keep close watch, by
means of their inspectors. Of the wheat
fields of the country, and to locate those
districts where it can be seen that the
Hesslan fly is about TO do serious dam
age. Their experts will also keep watch
for the allies, making sure where thew
can be located when the need arises.
Then the plan is to carry >the allies to
the point of danger. They do not need
10 carry 80 very many, for their allies
multiply rapidly, even when confronting
the enemy.
Not Spectacular Battle.
The particular reason that the Gov
ernment s expert is going TO Michigan
Is that on the Hume farm, near Ian
sing, the allies arc found in great num-
bers. There they have attacked the en-.
emy with deadly results, and there Mr..
Reeves will be able to study them to his
heart s content. This fight which is
going on at the Hume, farm is no such
bloody and picturesque affair as are the
far famed battles between ants. 1t is
rather that slow, but pitiless and in
cxorablc. battle in which nature seems
termination of the individual fighter,
but tho ruin of his children by the
thousands.
These allies OF Mr. Reeves and of the
farmers arc parasites. They get in
their deadly work upon the eggs Of the
Ilessian fly. Those eggs it finds along
the blades Of wheat, and the female
parasitic ally goes up and down those
sclt-samc blades. She picrccs the eggs
of the Hessiau ny. and in each egg de
posits her own egg. She does her work
very thoroughly going NJ. and down
the blades and piercing every egg that
can bo found. The results Of her la.
Dor are not Immediately apparent But
i'll the course of time her offspring uu.
failingIy destroys the host in which its
mother has logged it,
Thus science promises TO furnish
modern counterpart for the battle of
Trenton. Now, as hen, the enemy bore
the name of '!Hessans. - Then Wash.
ington crossed the Delaware in the
midst of floating ice Now the
troops. y according to the present out,