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  FIELD 
  OBSERVATIONS 
  ON 
  THE 
  WHITE 
  GRUBS. 
  

  

  Since 
  the 
  preparation 
  of 
  an 
  arfeicle 
  on 
  the 
  white 
  grubs 
  in 
  a 
  discus- 
  

   sion 
  of 
  insect 
  injuries 
  to 
  the 
  seed 
  and 
  roots 
  of 
  Indian 
  corn, 
  published 
  

   in 
  my 
  Seventh 
  Report,* 
  an 
  unusual 
  opportunity 
  has 
  presented 
  itself 
  

   for 
  a 
  study 
  of 
  an 
  extraordinary 
  outbreak 
  of 
  this 
  insect 
  pest 
  in 
  Cen- 
  

   tral 
  Illinois. 
  In 
  the 
  years 
  1894 
  and 
  1895 
  white 
  grubs 
  became 
  so 
  

   abundant 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Taylorville, 
  in 
  Christian 
  county, 
  as 
  to 
  

   have 
  caused, 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  most 
  intelligent 
  estimates 
  at 
  my 
  com- 
  

   mand, 
  a 
  damage 
  of 
  not 
  less 
  than 
  twenty 
  to 
  thirty 
  thousand 
  dollars 
  

   in 
  a 
  single 
  township. 
  This 
  damage 
  was 
  chiefly 
  manifest 
  in 
  grass 
  

   lands 
  and 
  in 
  fields 
  of 
  corn, 
  although 
  beans, 
  strawberries, 
  potatoes 
  and 
  

   other 
  garden 
  vegetables, 
  and 
  also 
  an 
  occasional 
  field 
  of 
  wheat 
  or 
  oats 
  

   suffered 
  considerably. 
  

  

  Desirous 
  of 
  improving 
  as 
  fully 
  as 
  the 
  exigencies 
  of 
  other 
  work 
  at 
  

   the 
  office 
  would 
  permit 
  the 
  chance 
  thus 
  given 
  me 
  to 
  study 
  the 
  rela- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  agricultural 
  conditions 
  and 
  management 
  to 
  injuries 
  of 
  this 
  

   insect. 
  I 
  sent 
  three 
  assistants 
  in 
  succession 
  to 
  Taylorville 
  in 
  the 
  fall 
  

   of 
  1895, 
  and 
  later 
  distributed 
  a 
  circular 
  of 
  inquiry 
  to 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  

   hundred 
  farmers 
  whose 
  crops 
  were 
  known 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  injured 
  by 
  

   the 
  grubs. 
  From 
  the 
  reports 
  of 
  assistants 
  and 
  replies 
  from 
  eighty 
  

   farmers 
  the 
  data 
  were 
  collected 
  which 
  are 
  presented 
  and 
  discussed 
  in 
  

   this 
  article. 
  

  

  M> 
  first 
  notice 
  of 
  the 
  local 
  outbreak 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  a 
  descrip- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  an 
  injury 
  to 
  a 
  timothy 
  meadow 
  sent 
  me 
  September 
  11, 
  1894, 
  

   by 
  Mr. 
  Wm. 
  T. 
  Vandeveer, 
  a 
  banker 
  at 
  Taylorville 
  and 
  large 
  land 
  

   owner 
  in 
  Christian 
  county. 
  The 
  injury 
  was 
  not 
  great, 
  but 
  patches 
  

   of 
  grass 
  were 
  killed 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  in 
  this 
  meadow, 
  weeds 
  growing 
  in 
  

   these 
  spots 
  the 
  following 
  year. 
  The 
  extraordinary 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  

   occurrence 
  is 
  shown 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Vandeveer's 
  statement 
  that, 
  although 
  

   long 
  a 
  resident 
  there, 
  insect 
  injury 
  of 
  this 
  description 
  was 
  new 
  to 
  him. 
  

  

  The 
  situation 
  became 
  much 
  more 
  serious 
  in 
  1895, 
  the 
  grass 
  in 
  the 
  

   meadow 
  just 
  mentioned, 
  for 
  example, 
  being 
  completely 
  killed 
  that 
  

   year. 
  In 
  response 
  to 
  earnest 
  representations 
  made 
  to 
  the 
  office 
  early 
  

   in 
  September, 
  Mr. 
  C. 
  A. 
  Hart 
  went 
  to 
  Taylorville 
  September 
  6 
  for 
  

   an 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  situation 
  with 
  special 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  species 
  

   of 
  white 
  grubs 
  principally 
  responsible 
  for 
  the 
  damage. 
  On 
  the 
  2nth 
  

   of 
  the 
  same 
  month 
  another 
  assistant 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  Laboratory. 
  Mr. 
  

   B. 
  M. 
  Duggar, 
  engaged 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  upon 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  diseases 
  of 
  

   insects, 
  was 
  sent 
  to 
  Taylorville 
  to 
  make 
  observations 
  with 
  special 
  

  

  * 
  Pp. 
  10!>-144. 
  

  

  