Sixth Annual Report. ape 
EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS IN 1896. 
_ Sporotrichum.—While no such general epidemic of Sporotri- 
chum was noted in this year as occurred in 1895, yet the disease 
seemed present in those parts of the state visited, wherever 
favorable conditions existed, and in fields whether artificially 
infected or not. Fewer applications for infection material were 
_ received in this year than in 1895 which may be accounted for 
: aa by the prevalence of Sporotrichum in the fields and because by 
_ this time farmers have pretty generally been taught the appear- 
ance and methods of use of the diseased bugs. Wherever these 
are to be obtained in neighboring fields there is no necessity of 
applying to the Station. 
_ ¢ From studies made in the hibernating period, Sporotrichuim 
2 was proved to be present among the bugs in three counties of 
aa the state in January, February, March, and April. It became 
most abundant in June, over the state in general, when it di- 
' minished in quantity, and in August comparatively little could 
be found in the fields, even where the bugs were numerous and 
the conditions not unfavorable. Bugs kept in infection boxes 
in August and others taken from their winter quarters in No- 
_ yember showed very little of the disease. Though the winter 
was a very humid one and Sporotrichum was present, the bugs 
did not die from the disease in their winter quarters. Indeed, 
_ we have never known chinch-bugs to be killed by Sporotrichum 
in their winter quarters, nor to be thus killed in the field at any 
3 time when the daily temperature does not rise to at least 70° 
a Fahrenheit. 
Empusa aphidis. —Empusa | was found on the bugs in their 
winter quarters, and later to some extent, but was of far less 
importance than Sporotrichum. 
No Bacterial Disease Found as Yet-—We have found no real 
evidence of the existence of a true bacterial disease. Dead 
ugs are often found in the field, and commonly in the infec- 
ion boxes, that show no signs of the presence of a fungus, but 
ave their bodies swollen up to twice their normal size. At 
rst we thought that these were bugs killed by a bacterial dis- 
‘a 
