﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  FIELD 
  AGENT. 
  29 
  

  

  BACTERIAL 
  DISEASE. 
  

  

  Certain 
  phases 
  of 
  our 
  experiments, 
  in 
  the 
  laboratory 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  held, 
  seem 
  

   to 
  admit 
  of 
  no 
  explanation 
  except 
  on 
  the 
  assumption 
  that 
  a 
  bacterial 
  disease 
  

   was 
  at 
  times 
  prevalent. 
  We 
  were, 
  however, 
  unable 
  to 
  produce 
  disease 
  in 
  

   chinch-bugs 
  by 
  spraying 
  both 
  bugs 
  aud 
  their 
  food 
  with 
  pure 
  cultures 
  of 
  bac- 
  

   teria, 
  which 
  were 
  obtained 
  from 
  the 
  abdominal 
  contents 
  of 
  sick 
  and 
  dead 
  bugs. 
  

   On 
  comparison 
  with 
  a 
  slide 
  sent 
  us 
  by 
  Professor 
  Forbes, 
  these 
  are 
  apparently 
  

   Micrococcus 
  insectorum, 
  Burrill. 
  In 
  our 
  infection 
  cages, 
  from 
  the 
  beginning 
  

   of 
  our 
  experiments 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  till 
  the 
  last 
  of 
  August, 
  the 
  bugs 
  at 
  times 
  hud- 
  

   dled 
  together, 
  and 
  died 
  by 
  the 
  thousands, 
  while 
  the 
  abdominal 
  contents 
  of 
  sick 
  

   and 
  dead 
  bugs 
  were 
  teeming 
  with 
  bacteria. 
  Pure 
  cultures 
  were 
  obtained 
  of 
  

   these 
  bacteria 
  and 
  spraying 
  experiments 
  were 
  repeated 
  at 
  various 
  times 
  during 
  

   the 
  summer, 
  but 
  in 
  no 
  case 
  was 
  disease 
  in 
  this 
  way 
  communicated 
  to 
  healthy 
  

   bugs. 
  The 
  bacterial 
  disease, 
  however, 
  like 
  the 
  tw 
  r 
  o 
  fungus 
  diseases, 
  was 
  read- 
  

   ily 
  communicated 
  from 
  infected 
  bugs 
  to 
  healthy 
  bugs. 
  

  

  Ill— 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  FIELD 
  AGENT. 
  

  

  To 
  the 
  Director 
  of 
  Experiment 
  Station 
  : 
  

  

  As 
  your 
  special 
  agent 
  to 
  watch 
  and 
  report 
  the 
  development 
  and 
  progress 
  

   of 
  the 
  chinch-bug 
  infection 
  in 
  the 
  field, 
  I 
  have 
  the 
  following 
  report 
  to 
  submit 
  : 
  

  

  In 
  my 
  spring 
  and 
  summer's 
  work 
  there 
  have 
  been 
  visited 
  and 
  worked, 
  as 
  

   thoroughly 
  as 
  time 
  and 
  circumstances 
  would 
  allow, 
  18 
  counties, 
  namely: 
  Wil- 
  

   son, 
  Labette, 
  Anderson, 
  Chautauqua, 
  Cowley, 
  Elk, 
  Greenwood, 
  Butler, 
  Riley, 
  

   Clay, 
  Cloud, 
  Washington, 
  Jewell, 
  Mitchell, 
  Ottawa, 
  Dickinson, 
  Marion, 
  and 
  

   Harvey. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  earlier 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  season 
  more 
  failures 
  were 
  met 
  than 
  during 
  

   the 
  last 
  month 
  of 
  investigation 
  ; 
  indeed, 
  comparatively 
  few 
  successful 
  results 
  

   were 
  reported 
  and 
  observed 
  from 
  bugs 
  sent 
  from 
  our 
  laboratory 
  during 
  the 
  

   month 
  of 
  May, 
  from 
  the 
  9th 
  to 
  the 
  29th. 
  The 
  boxes 
  of 
  bugs 
  sent 
  out 
  during 
  

   that 
  time 
  contained 
  chiefly 
  bacterial 
  infection, 
  which 
  did 
  not 
  flourish 
  in 
  the 
  

   field 
  until 
  midsummer; 
  but 
  in 
  nearly 
  every 
  case, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  ascertained, 
  where 
  

   a 
  second 
  box 
  containing 
  Sporotrichum 
  infection 
  was 
  sent 
  out 
  satisfactory 
  re- 
  

   sults 
  were 
  obtained. 
  

  

  Again, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  remembered 
  that 
  during 
  the 
  earlier 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  season 
  

   .there 
  was 
  a 
  superabundance 
  of 
  rainfall, 
  together 
  with 
  an 
  extreme 
  low 
  tem- 
  

   perature 
  for 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  — 
  conditions 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  the 
  most 
  favora- 
  

   ble. 
  While 
  it 
  was 
  extremely 
  wet, 
  the 
  persons 
  by 
  whom 
  the 
  experiments 
  were 
  

   made 
  did 
  not 
  make 
  the 
  tests 
  as 
  thoroughly 
  as 
  they 
  could 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  

   under 
  more 
  favorable 
  circumstances, 
  nor, 
  perhaps, 
  as 
  carefully 
  as 
  they 
  should 
  

   have 
  been 
  made 
  under 
  existing 
  circumstances. 
  It 
  must 
  be 
  remembered 
  — 
  

  

  First, 
  That 
  live 
  bugs 
  were 
  not 
  then 
  easily 
  obtained 
  to 
  be 
  infected 
  and 
  dis- 
  

   tributed 
  when 
  infected. 
  

  

  