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  CONTAGIOUS 
  DISEASES 
  OF 
  THE 
  CHINCH-BUG. 
  

  

  Second, 
  That 
  the 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  ground, 
  in 
  the 
  majority 
  of 
  wheat 
  fields, 
  was 
  

   too 
  soft 
  for 
  the 
  farmer 
  to 
  enter 
  the 
  field 
  to 
  systematically 
  distribute 
  the 
  diseased 
  

   bugs. 
  

  

  Third, 
  While 
  it 
  was 
  wet 
  and 
  cool 
  the 
  farmers, 
  as 
  a 
  rule, 
  did 
  not 
  fear 
  that 
  

   serious 
  damage 
  would 
  result 
  to 
  the 
  growing 
  crops. 
  So 
  long 
  as 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  

   greatly-increased 
  rainfall, 
  it 
  was 
  thought 
  that 
  the 
  chinch-bug 
  could 
  not 
  do 
  

   much 
  damage, 
  and 
  the 
  belief 
  was 
  generally 
  entertained 
  that 
  the 
  rains, 
  accom- 
  

   panied 
  by 
  a 
  decrease 
  of 
  temperature, 
  would 
  destroy 
  the 
  young 
  brood. 
  

  

  It 
  has 
  been 
  observed, 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  instances, 
  that 
  heavy, 
  dashing 
  rains 
  have 
  ob- 
  

   scured 
  the 
  experiment, 
  producing 
  in 
  some 
  fields 
  a 
  temporary 
  check, 
  in 
  others 
  

   a 
  permanent 
  one. 
  As 
  an 
  illustration 
  of 
  this 
  fact, 
  the 
  field 
  of 
  Mrs. 
  Helen 
  M. 
  

   Huggs, 
  at 
  Howard, 
  Elk 
  county, 
  may 
  be 
  cited. 
  The 
  trial 
  was 
  made 
  during 
  the 
  

   first 
  two 
  weeks 
  in 
  June. 
  Mrs. 
  Huggs 
  noted 
  that 
  her 
  infection 
  jars 
  were 
  work- 
  

   ing 
  satisfactorily. 
  In 
  six 
  or 
  eight 
  days 
  after 
  putting 
  the 
  infection 
  in 
  the 
  field, 
  

   dead 
  white-fungus 
  bugs 
  were 
  found 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  on 
  the 
  ground. 
  Live 
  bugs 
  

   taken 
  from 
  infected 
  spots 
  died 
  within 
  five 
  or 
  six 
  hours. 
  In 
  the 
  field 
  the 
  dis- 
  

   ease 
  was 
  raging 
  fiercely 
  when 
  several 
  successive, 
  dashing 
  rains 
  fell, 
  completely 
  

   obscuring 
  the 
  experiment. 
  Traces 
  of 
  the 
  disease 
  were 
  no 
  longer 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  

   field. 
  

  

  Another 
  fact 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  firmly 
  established 
  is 
  that 
  long-continued 
  rains 
  

   do 
  not 
  ordinarily 
  kill 
  the 
  chinch-bug. 
  No 
  attempt, 
  however, 
  is 
  made 
  to 
  deny 
  

   that 
  hard 
  rains 
  hinder 
  the 
  pest's 
  work 
  of 
  destruction, 
  nor 
  to 
  deny 
  that 
  a 
  se- 
  

   vere 
  rain 
  or 
  rains, 
  together 
  with 
  a 
  low 
  temperature, 
  may 
  destroy 
  the 
  very 
  

   young 
  brood. 
  While 
  the 
  test 
  with 
  Sporotrichwn 
  was 
  being 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  wheat 
  

   field 
  of 
  E. 
  F. 
  Hudson, 
  Piedmont, 
  Greenwood 
  county, 
  so 
  great 
  was 
  the 
  rainfall 
  

   that 
  the 
  field 
  was 
  entered 
  with 
  much 
  difficulty. 
  The 
  bugs 
  were 
  almost 
  com- 
  

   pletely 
  exterminated 
  in 
  this 
  field, 
  where 
  they 
  had 
  been 
  present 
  in 
  alarming 
  

   numbers. 
  But 
  let 
  it 
  be 
  noted, 
  that 
  after 
  the 
  wet 
  season 
  cleared 
  away, 
  in 
  un- 
  

   infected 
  fields 
  in 
  the 
  immediate 
  neighborhood, 
  chinch-bugs 
  were 
  found 
  in 
  

   damaging 
  and 
  increasing 
  numbers. 
  

  

  To 
  successfully 
  handle 
  infection, 
  it 
  is 
  necessary 
  that 
  the 
  directions 
  be 
  closely 
  

   followed. 
  The 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  careless 
  operator 
  does 
  not 
  receive 
  the 
  best 
  results 
  

   was 
  forcibly 
  presented 
  in 
  one 
  of 
  our 
  central 
  Kansas 
  counties. 
  Two 
  neighbors 
  

   obtained 
  infection 
  conjointly 
  from 
  the 
  Station; 
  they 
  used 
  the 
  same 
  infection 
  

   jar; 
  both 
  experimented 
  in 
  wheat 
  fields 
  equally 
  promising, 
  and 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  

   two 
  miles 
  distant 
  from 
  each 
  other. 
  In 
  these 
  two 
  fields 
  the 
  bugs 
  were 
  about 
  

   equally 
  numerous. 
  The 
  one 
  field 
  showed 
  a 
  complete 
  failure 
  as 
  to 
  results 
  from 
  

   the 
  use 
  of 
  diseased 
  bugs, 
  and 
  almost 
  a 
  failure 
  as 
  to 
  yield. 
  The 
  other 
  field 
  

   showed 
  a 
  great 
  success; 
  the 
  bugs 
  were 
  completely 
  exterminated, 
  and 
  the 
  

   owner 
  of 
  the 
  field 
  reported 
  that 
  the 
  few 
  infected 
  bugs 
  he 
  had 
  received 
  had 
  

   saved 
  his 
  crop. 
  It 
  was 
  ascertained 
  that 
  the 
  first 
  man 
  had 
  been 
  careless 
  and 
  

   indifferent, 
  but 
  the 
  second, 
  although 
  skeptical, 
  had 
  made 
  a 
  fair 
  and 
  system- 
  

   atic 
  trial, 
  for 
  he 
  "wanted 
  to 
  give 
  the 
  thing 
  a 
  fair 
  show." 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  

   failures 
  observed, 
  when 
  directions 
  have 
  been 
  carefully 
  followed, 
  has 
  been 
  com- 
  

   paratively 
  few 
  when 
  the 
  conditions 
  have 
  been 
  at 
  least 
  somewhat 
  favorable. 
  

  

  