The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1921-11-25
Farm Bureau Notes
The Chinch Bug

present in wheat or corn this year, one
may expect some damage next year
.. What can be done now to pre-
vent this damage? A. The majority
of the chinch bugs pass the winter IN
clumps of bunch grass found along
roadsides, railroad right-of-ways, and
in other waste places. These should
be burned over the latter part OF No
venber or early December, thus kill
ing many of the bugs and exposing
the remainder to the cold during the
winter. Care should be taken to burn
at time when the elumps are dry
enough to burn close to the ground.
8. Will the chinch bugs winter over
lin shocks of corn, piles of hay or rub
bish? A. If the corn shocks are left
standing in the field until some time
in March, many of the bugs will come
through the winter alive, Most OF
those wintering in small piles of hay,
rubbish, ETC., will be killed, as these
places usually get moist or wet during
the winter and freezing kills the bugs.
The chinch bugs are very numerous
in the fall and they attempt to winter
in mild, only those which crawl into
the clumps of bunch grass remain
alive until spring.
4. How can one tell whether the
clumps of bunch grass have chlnch
bugs in them or not? A. Any time
after one or two killing frosts, exam
ine the bunch grass by taking some
of the dry leaves, mold, etc, in the
\center of the bunch next to the
ground and rub it between the hands
and smell for the characteristic chinch
bug odor. 1t is also well to take
white cloth and spread out on 1t the
loose material at the crowd of the
bunch grass and some of the top soil.
While warming this at a fire, the
bugs will begin to crawl and can be
easily seen. All trash and rubbish
should be examined and if bugs are
found. it should be burned. Where
possible all the farmers in commun-.
ity should cooperate in the burning
as the bugs from one unburned ares
win scatter in the spring to places
which have been burned over.
The above questions and answers
are taken from Circular 81, printed
bv the College of Agriculture, Agri-
cultural Extension Service.
That chinch bugs are on many
farms in the county, is well known by
many farmers. Also, large per cent
of the farmers are going to burn the
bug harbors. Why not have a 100 per
cent clean up? 1t pays to hunt the
nests and then fight them. Don't
trust the weather to kill them. 1t may
do so, yet it may not. Be on the safe
side. Clean up those fence rows,
those sloughs, those woodlands. Let's
po. all together, next week for h
whirlwind campaign! Talk to your
neighboris and point out the danger to
them.
Prevent That Waste
Soil erosion, or the washing away
of earth by water, costs the farmers
of the United States $1,00O,OOO every
wear. Soil losses from this cause oc-
cur in every state of the union, and IN
almost every county of every state.
Nine years ago, the National Conser-
walton Congress reported that 4'OOO'-
900 acres of farm land had been prac-
tically ruined by soil erosion
Does St. Francois county lose any
soil by erosion? Can the amount be
estimated? The next time you travel
the public road, count the fields that
lose some soil. Can this loss be pre-
vented? 1t can be prevented to
great extent and at a small cost No
expense is attached to the operation,
except the labor and "a few pieces Of
lumber. A frame to mount carpen-
ter's level on, can be made in short
time. With this, anyone can learn to
run off the contour lines. Then, with
plow and grader, the terrace dams
can be run. These dams can be farm
ed over and not not prevent cultiva-
tion. If you want to learn how to do
this work, see the County Agent and
help arrange demonstration.
A demonstration was held on the
West farm, southeast of Bismarck,
last week, and one was held this week,
on the O'Bannon farm west of Knob
Lick. Do you want one staged on
your farm next week? If you do,
write card or call up.
Keep Records of Dairy Cows
Do you know how much milk and /
butter fat your individual cows give? I
1t is well known that there is a vast !
difference in the amount of milk diff
ferent cows will produce. One COW
.,-,. ,-;,lJ thraa tinaS as ynlfch mill, /