290 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 9 



it." The wheat was almost completely destroyed in the badly 

 infested fields where the poison bran mash was not sown. 



Hessian Fly Campaign in Missouri 



Every section of Missouri was covered in the campaign against 

 the fly dm-ing August and September. More than sixty meetings 

 were held and about three thousand farmers studied the fly and learned 

 more about its habits and the methods of controlUng it. The insect 

 was studied at first hand in its different stages in the fields and valuable 

 information and data was obtained. 



At the beginning the idea was to acquaint the wheat-growers with 

 the habits, adaptations and characteristics of the insect, beheving 

 that such a knowledge would help them combat the pest. With this 

 in mind many meetings were held in the old wheat fields where it 

 was usually possible to study the Hessian fly in the egg, maggot, 

 flaxseed and adult stages. Here in a few minutes the farmers were 

 able to learn more about the fly than any amount of reading or lec- 

 turing could possibly teach them. 



During every field meeting the farmers seemed freer to ask ques- 

 tions and a great deal more interest was manifested than is usually 

 the case in the schoolhouse or lecture room. It was said many times 

 by wheat-growers that they had learned more about insects during 

 the 20 or 30 minutes spent in the wheat field than they ever knew 

 before. 



Many meetings were held in the fields where the farmers were 

 threshing wheat, filling the silo or making hay. In some cases the 

 Hessian fly was discussed with individuals or with groups of four or 

 five until all the farmers present had been reached, while at other 

 times all the farmers were addressed at the noon horn*. In this way 

 the meetings did not interfere with their work. By means of samples 

 of old wheat stubble and volunteer wheat the discussions were made as 

 practical as possible. 



Rural schools and high schools were visited. The pupils were 

 taught by means of charts and field specimens the life history of the 

 Hessian fly, its habits and the best methods of controlling it. After 

 the meetings it was common to hear the farmers say: "Well, if I had 

 known as much about the fly last year as I do now it would have saved 

 me several hundred dollars." 



The writer was employed last year by the Kansas State Agricultural 

 College as Extension Entomologist and on the first of August, 1915, 

 he accepted a similar position with the Missouri College of Agriculture. 



