﻿81 
  

  

  Injuries 
  to 
  Different 
  Crops. 
  — 
  The 
  region 
  affected 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  varied 
  

   character, 
  comprising 
  lands 
  originally 
  prairie 
  and 
  others 
  from 
  which 
  

   the 
  forest 
  had 
  been 
  cleared, 
  together 
  with 
  many 
  remaining 
  remnants 
  

   of 
  the 
  forest 
  tract 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  completely 
  cleared 
  of 
  underbrush 
  

   and 
  used 
  as 
  woodland 
  pastures. 
  This 
  forest 
  soil 
  differs 
  of 
  course 
  

   from 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  prairies, 
  and 
  may 
  itself 
  be 
  divided 
  into 
  upland 
  and 
  

   bottomland 
  portions. 
  The 
  agriculture 
  is 
  but 
  little 
  diversified, 
  corn 
  

   and 
  grass 
  being 
  the 
  principal 
  crops 
  of 
  the 
  county. 
  The 
  area 
  in 
  each 
  

   of 
  these 
  crops 
  (including 
  pastures) 
  was 
  not 
  far 
  from 
  a 
  hundred 
  

   and 
  ten 
  thousand 
  acres 
  in 
  1895, 
  while 
  that 
  in 
  all 
  of 
  the' 
  small 
  grains 
  

   was 
  only 
  about 
  half 
  that 
  amount. 
  In 
  other 
  words, 
  wheat 
  and 
  oats 
  

   each 
  occupied 
  about 
  one 
  tenth 
  the 
  agricultural 
  area 
  of 
  the 
  county, 
  

   and 
  corn 
  and 
  grass 
  about 
  four 
  tenths 
  each. 
  I 
  have 
  accounts 
  from 
  the, 
  

   various 
  sources 
  above 
  mentioned 
  of 
  sixty-eight 
  fields 
  in 
  Christian 
  

   county 
  in 
  crops 
  which 
  were 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  injured 
  by 
  the 
  white 
  grub. 
  

   Thirty-four 
  of 
  these 
  fields 
  were 
  in 
  corn, 
  twenty-five 
  were 
  in 
  grass 
  

   (usually 
  blue 
  grass), 
  two 
  were 
  a 
  mixture 
  of 
  timothy 
  and 
  clover, 
  one 
  

   was 
  in 
  wheat 
  and 
  one 
  in 
  oats, 
  and 
  five 
  were 
  in 
  potatoes 
  and 
  other 
  

   vegetables. 
  Thus 
  only 
  three 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  these 
  injured 
  fields 
  reported 
  

   were 
  in 
  small 
  grain, 
  while 
  the 
  general 
  small 
  grain 
  acreage 
  for 
  the 
  

   county 
  was 
  twent}- 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  — 
  additional 
  evidence 
  of 
  

   the 
  concentration 
  of 
  loss 
  in 
  corn 
  and 
  grass, 
  as 
  already 
  mentioned. 
  

  

  The 
  injury 
  reported 
  ranged 
  from 
  that 
  characterized 
  as 
  little 
  or 
  

   slight 
  to 
  a 
  total 
  destruction 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  crop, 
  whole 
  pastures 
  being 
  

   deadened, 
  extensive 
  meadows 
  lying 
  uncut, 
  and 
  no 
  corn 
  being 
  gathered 
  

   from 
  fields 
  of 
  many 
  acres. 
  The 
  general 
  average 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  grades 
  of 
  

   injury 
  on 
  these 
  sixty-eight 
  reported 
  fields 
  was 
  forty-six 
  per 
  cent. 
  

  

  As 
  an 
  example 
  of 
  extreme 
  damage, 
  mention 
  may 
  be 
  made 
  of 
  a 
  pas- 
  

   ture 
  tract 
  of 
  two 
  hundred 
  and 
  twenty-five 
  acres 
  in 
  sod 
  for 
  twenty 
  

   years, 
  the 
  entire 
  area 
  of 
  which 
  was 
  deadened 
  except 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  

   a 
  small 
  patch. 
  The 
  roots 
  of 
  the 
  grass 
  were 
  so 
  thoroughly 
  eaten 
  

   away 
  a 
  little 
  distance 
  below 
  the 
  surface 
  that 
  the 
  dead 
  sod 
  could 
  any- 
  

   where 
  be 
  rolled 
  up 
  like 
  a 
  carpet. 
  In 
  another 
  infested 
  field 
  twelve 
  

   to 
  fourteen 
  grubs 
  to 
  the 
  square 
  foot 
  were 
  found, 
  and 
  in 
  still 
  another 
  

   one 
  hundred 
  and 
  twenty-seven 
  were 
  collected 
  from 
  twelve 
  square 
  

   feet. 
  A 
  dozen 
  to 
  fifteen 
  were 
  ol)tained 
  from 
  single 
  hills 
  of 
  corn 
  in 
  

   a 
  ninety-acre 
  field, 
  the 
  crop 
  on 
  which 
  was 
  a 
  total 
  loss. 
  Where 
  injury 
  

   to. 
  meadows 
  and 
  pastures 
  was 
  in 
  comparatively 
  limited 
  patches, 
  the 
  

   grubs 
  were 
  of 
  course 
  the 
  most 
  abundant 
  around 
  the 
  margins 
  of 
  such 
  

   areas, 
  where 
  the 
  grass 
  was 
  still 
  partly 
  alive. 
  

  

  Mclations 
  of 
  Injury 
  to 
  A<jricultu)-al 
  Historij 
  of 
  Land. 
  — 
  By 
  a 
  tab- 
  

   ular 
  arrangement 
  and 
  summarization 
  of 
  the 
  facts 
  reported 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  

   shown 
  that 
  the 
  current 
  supposition 
  is 
  correct 
  that 
  crops 
  following 
  

   upon 
  grass 
  are 
  more 
  liable 
  to 
  injury 
  by 
  the 
  white 
  grub 
  than 
  those 
  on 
  

   lands 
  which 
  have 
  a 
  different 
  recent 
  history. 
  For 
  example, 
  on 
  forty- 
  

   two 
  fields 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  in 
  grass 
  in 
  1891 
  the 
  average 
  injury 
  by 
  the 
  

   white 
  grub 
  was 
  reported 
  at 
  fifty-six 
  per 
  cent., 
  while 
  on 
  nineteen 
  

   fields 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  in 
  grain 
  in 
  1891 
  the 
  average 
  injury 
  by 
  the 
  

   grub 
  was 
  twenty-eight 
  per 
  cent., 
  or 
  just 
  half 
  the 
  above 
  amount. 
  On 
  

   those 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  in 
  grass 
  for 
  two 
  years 
  preceding, 
  that 
  is, 
  for 
  

  

  