fourth Annual Repobt. 29 



in box about five days, and soattered them out through the wheat. Weather was 

 very warm and dry. In about four or five days put out another lot, and kept it up 

 until the wheat was cut. Could not see that I had killed any, though; thought at 

 the time that it was a failure. After cutting the wheat, the bugs went into the corn 

 in great numbers. As I could then catch them easier, I tried it again, with com- 

 plete success, as I could find them piled up most every place. In the meantime we 

 had two or three rains. I find that the disease spreads much more rapidly when the 

 earth is damp and moist. I am satisfied they saved me from $200 to $300 worth of 

 corn. I think it one of the greatest discoveries of the age. Some of my neighbors 

 that used diseased bugs were also successful in saving their crops, while others that 

 did not use them lost a great deal of corn. I am satisfied that if all the farmers 

 would take hold of it and scatter infected bugs through their fields, they could ex- 

 terminate them. 



W. A. Gallaher, Baden Baden, Bond county, III. — Successful. I followed your in- 

 structions after receiving the infected bugs. I found that in from two to three 

 days I could propagate the disease on the healthy bugs, in a box that I provided for 

 the experiment. I then distributed the dead and diseased bugs in the roots of the 

 corn. I find that the best time to place the diseased bugs on the corn is just after 

 a shower. Again, I find that I cannot spread the infection during very dry weather. 

 We had an unusually dry summer here, and the result of my experiment was not alto- 

 gether gratifying. I gave infected bugs to my neighbors for experimental pur- 

 poses, and they secured about the same result that I did. I think the best time to 

 distribute infected bugs is in the growing wheat just before harvest; in that way we 

 get at the first crop of bugs. I find that the fungus disease is peculiar to the chinch 

 bug, and often this disease springs up spontaneously when conditions are favorable 

 to the development of the disease, as wet weather. I worked under instructions of 

 our state entomologist, S. A. Forbes, with good results, notwithstanding the drought 

 of last summer. I will try again next summer, and will oommence my experiments 

 in the wheat fields, as I have a quantity of dead bugs that I will carry over for that 

 purpose. I think if all farmers of the infested chinch bug localities would labor to- 

 gether with the white-fungus disease, with favorable weather, would almost expel 

 the bugs — the greatest enemy that the farmer has to contend with. 



R. L. Gilbert, Sarcoxie, Kas. — Succcessful. On the 27th of June, 1894, I carried 

 a bottle of healthy chinch bugs to the University, was shown by the attendant the 

 process of propagating the diseased bugs, and received two boxes to take home. I 

 made up a box that night, and on the 30th another, and put in the balance of my 

 infected bugs. I examined the boxes every day, and soon began to find diseased and 

 dead bugs. On the 2d of July put out my first lot of infected bugs ; we had quite 

 a little rain the night before. On the 5th put out more, and again on the 9th. On 

 the 12th took out more, and soon found streaks of dead bugs all along the rows 

 where I had put out the first and second time. On the 14th I took out more, and 

 found dead bugs all around. That time I could hardly find enough live, healthy 

 bugs to take home to put in my infected boxes; the whole field seemed to be very 

 sickly. I am satisfied that if I had not done something I would have had no corn 

 in that field of any account, as the corn was black with bugs 50 or 60 rows from the 

 edge of the what field where they first entered. After putting out the infected bugs 

 they did not seem to go much further, and I had to stop trying to get live ones, 

 they were so hard to find. The field made very good oorn for the season, even where 

 it seemed they had killed it. A neighbor had corn north about 60 rods on the other 

 side of the wheat field. The diseased bugs must have traveled that way, as there 

 was any amount of dead bugs in his field, and be had fair corn. I tried some in- 



