El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-10-21

passes them through, rejecting as
much Of the vegetable ana oJner usDLLs
as he can get rid Of
Inasmuch as the colonies in December
and January are usually buried be
meath some feet OF snow, 1t would not
be possible to find them but Tor the
little sketch maps previously maze on
cards in the manner already descrl0 eu-
Provided with these maps, the pug
hunters know just where 10 look.
Their task however, is d1ItlculI ana
laborious Often at the risk Of their
lives they are Obliged to travel over
traczless' wastes among the mountain
peaks, fOrding streams OF icy water
and irnpeded in their movements by
huge sacks Of beetles which must be
brought back to camp somehow.
Carried Ont on aek Trains.
once a week a pack train Of mules
comes over the mountain trail to the
camp to bring supplies and to carry
away the sacks Of bugs which nave
been accumulated. BY this means the
beetles are conveyed to the nearest
railroad ste ton, a dozen miles away,
where a small bUz1di1g has been erected
for use as paChl-g house. here me
bug crop is cleaned. put up In suitable
packages, and made ready for the next
summers distribution.
The first thing necessary Is to sepa-
rate the beetles from the leaves pine
needles. and dirt with which they are
more or less mixed. For this purpose
sufficiently, that is to say, to make
them crawl and then are dumped out
upon long tables so arranged as to
serve the purpose Of runWays. The
tables are darkened at the ends where
the bugs are, but brightly Illuminated
at the other by light from windows.
Seeking the light, the insects crawl
away from the leaves and debris and
at the further end of each table they
are trapped and resacked like so mucn
cleared grain.
The next stem in the process is to
pour the bugs from the sacks into an
ingenious machine which counts them.
They are counted. that is to say. by
measurement Dropping into q sort OF
hopper, they are measured as they pass
through, falling thereupon into small
wooden boxes specially made for the
purpOSe. These boxes or crates, are
IS inches long, - inches wide and eight
inches deep. but two sides OF each are
covered only with fine mesh wire net
in order that the insects gnay have
plenty Of air
Must Be Kept Alive.
They are now in the final packages
ready for distribution. But the time
when they are wanted viii not ar
rive for six months, and meanwhile
they must be kept alive and in first
class condition. This indeed. is the
most difficult part Of the whole bust
ness-the problem being, as viii be un-
derstOOd, to extend by artificial means
the natural alternating period Of the
beetles in such a way that they may
not lose any of their vitality. For. be
it observed they must be ready when
summer arrives to play the part of
soldiers in the defense Of the melon
crop.
In order that this nav be accom-
plished, they must be kept cold, with
out exposure to any marked change Of
temperature If they are allowed TO
become warm, even for a little while
they viii die 1t is found most eXpe-
dent to retain them at the mountain
packing house until spring is on the
point of arriving. and then ship them
to Sacramento, where, at the insectary.
they are placed in cold storage A
temperature Of 40 degrees Fahrenheit
serves the purpose exceuently. but
plenty Of ventilation is needed, and 1t
is necessary that the air shall be moist.
Expert Watches Crop.
Early in spring an expert field agent
is sent by DR.. Carnes into the I'm
perial valley to look things over. The
acreage of melons in that district is
enormous, and il is desirable that he