﻿190 
  CONTAGIOUS 
  DISEASES 
  OF 
  THE 
  CHINCH-BUG. 
  

  

  had 
  a 
  rain 
  shower, 
  and 
  after 
  that 
  the 
  bugs 
  were 
  gone. 
  Our 
  man 
  gave 
  the 
  shower 
  the 
  

   credit 
  for 
  doing 
  the 
  work, 
  but 
  as 
  we 
  had 
  cold 
  rains 
  all 
  spring 
  and 
  they 
  did 
  not 
  stop 
  

   the 
  bugs, 
  we 
  hardly 
  think 
  a 
  warm 
  shower 
  would 
  kill 
  them." 
  

  

  Report 
  No. 
  473. 
  — 
  Correspondent 
  writing 
  October 
  10 
  says: 
  "The 
  next 
  day 
  after 
  I 
  

   put 
  bugs 
  out 
  a 
  very 
  hard 
  rain 
  fell. 
  I 
  watched 
  closely, 
  but 
  could 
  not 
  see 
  any 
  results. 
  

   About 
  three 
  weeks 
  after, 
  I 
  found 
  a 
  few 
  dead 
  bugs 
  near 
  where 
  I 
  put 
  the 
  infection. 
  The 
  

   bugs 
  in 
  field 
  multiplied 
  greatly, 
  and 
  when 
  corn 
  and 
  other 
  crops 
  were 
  too 
  dry 
  they 
  went 
  

   to 
  crab-grass 
  and 
  purslane. 
  I 
  think 
  the 
  test 
  was 
  not 
  a 
  fair 
  one, 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  a 
  dash- 
  

   ing 
  rain 
  after 
  I 
  put 
  out 
  the 
  bugs." 
  

  

  Report 
  No. 
  479. 
  — 
  Correspondent 
  writing 
  June 
  22 
  says: 
  "My 
  farm 
  is 
  alive 
  with 
  

   bugs." 
  Writing 
  September 
  3, 
  correspondent 
  says: 
  "When 
  I 
  put 
  out 
  the 
  first 
  bugs 
  

   that 
  had 
  been 
  inoculated 
  a 
  rain 
  came 
  up 
  in 
  less 
  than 
  six 
  hours, 
  and 
  I 
  feared 
  that 
  the 
  

   bugs 
  would 
  be 
  destroyed 
  or 
  washed 
  away 
  before 
  I 
  could 
  get 
  any 
  good 
  out 
  of 
  them, 
  

   but 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  the 
  bugs 
  were 
  dead 
  and 
  lying 
  in 
  piles. 
  We 
  followed 
  it 
  up 
  for 
  a 
  few 
  

   days, 
  but 
  it 
  was 
  difficult 
  to 
  get 
  live 
  bugs 
  to 
  inoculate." 
  

  

  The 
  testimony 
  of 
  the 
  quotations 
  and 
  data 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  reports 
  of 
  the 
  

   farmers 
  is 
  certainly 
  opposed 
  to 
  the 
  admission 
  of 
  any 
  immediate 
  and 
  local 
  

   seriously 
  destructive 
  effect 
  of 
  excess 
  of 
  moisture. 
  Even 
  young 
  bugs 
  appear 
  

   to 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  cope 
  with 
  water 
  and 
  low 
  temperature 
  with 
  an 
  unfortunately 
  

   large 
  degree 
  of 
  success. 
  I 
  take 
  it 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  unnecessary 
  to 
  call 
  attention 
  

   specifically 
  to 
  the 
  statements 
  in 
  the 
  foregoing 
  extracted 
  quotations. 
  Many 
  

   of 
  the 
  correspondents 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  had 
  plainly 
  in 
  mind 
  the 
  popular 
  notion 
  

   concerning 
  the 
  inimical 
  effect 
  of 
  wet 
  weather, 
  and 
  their 
  testimony 
  is 
  probably 
  

   the 
  more 
  valuable 
  for 
  that 
  reason. 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  others, 
  the 
  data 
  are 
  ob- 
  

   tained 
  more 
  by 
  implication 
  perhaps 
  than 
  by 
  definite 
  references 
  to 
  this 
  ques- 
  

   tion. 
  For 
  example, 
  in 
  reports 
  60 
  and 
  96 
  the 
  fact 
  as 
  stated 
  that 
  the 
  infection 
  

   experiments 
  were 
  unsuccessful 
  implies 
  that 
  the 
  bugs 
  remained 
  in 
  force. 
  In 
  

   both 
  these 
  cases, 
  however, 
  wet 
  weather 
  prevailed. 
  Presumably, 
  therefore, 
  the 
  

   wet 
  weather 
  did 
  not 
  destroy 
  the 
  bugs. 
  The 
  writer 
  of 
  letter 
  No. 
  255 
  ( 
  Mr. 
  D. 
  

   G. 
  Smith, 
  of 
  Allen, 
  Lyon 
  county) 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  had 
  plainly 
  before 
  him 
  the 
  

   significance 
  of 
  his 
  observations 
  when 
  he 
  says: 
  "This 
  explodes 
  the 
  theory 
  that 
  

   wet 
  weather 
  kills 
  the 
  young 
  bugs, 
  as 
  the 
  eggs 
  have 
  been 
  laid 
  and 
  the 
  young 
  

   hatched 
  in 
  the 
  wettest 
  season 
  Kansas 
  ever 
  saw." 
  

  

  My 
  field 
  agent, 
  Mr. 
  Hickey, 
  was 
  instructed 
  to 
  pay 
  especial 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  

   wet 
  weather 
  question, 
  and 
  his 
  opportunities 
  for 
  observation 
  give 
  his 
  opinions 
  

   in 
  the 
  matter 
  a 
  considerable 
  value. 
  I 
  quote 
  as 
  follows 
  from 
  his 
  report 
  to 
  

   me 
  (see 
  p. 
  30 
  ) 
  : 
  

  

  Another 
  fact 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  firmly 
  established 
  in 
  my 
  mind 
  is, 
  that 
  long-continued 
  

   rains 
  do 
  not 
  ordinarily 
  kill 
  the 
  chinch-bug. 
  No 
  attempt, 
  however, 
  do 
  I 
  make 
  to 
  deny 
  

   that 
  hard 
  rains 
  hinder 
  the 
  pests' 
  work 
  of 
  destruction, 
  nor 
  do 
  I 
  deny 
  that 
  a 
  severe 
  rain 
  

   or 
  rains, 
  together 
  with 
  a 
  low 
  temperature, 
  may 
  destroy 
  the 
  very 
  young 
  brood. 
  While 
  

   the 
  test 
  with 
  Sporotrichum 
  was 
  being 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  wheat 
  field 
  of 
  E. 
  F. 
  Hudson, 
  Pied- 
  

   mont, 
  Greenwood 
  county, 
  so 
  great 
  was 
  the 
  rainfall 
  that 
  the 
  field 
  was 
  entered 
  with 
  

   much 
  difficulty. 
  The 
  bugs 
  were 
  almost 
  completely 
  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 
  uninfected 
  fields 
  in 
  the 
  immediate 
  neighborhood, 
  chinch-bugs 
  

   •were 
  found 
  in 
  damaging 
  and 
  increasing 
  numbers. 
  

  

  