﻿HISTORY 
  OF 
  THE 
  DISEASES 
  IN 
  THE 
  UNITED 
  STATES. 
  193 
  

  

  attaining 
  their 
  maturity, 
  and 
  no 
  insect 
  enemy 
  or 
  other 
  efficient 
  cause 
  to 
  be 
  observed 
  

   capable 
  of 
  producing 
  this 
  important 
  result. 
  

  

  July 
  22. 
  On 
  the 
  low 
  grounds 
  the 
  young 
  chinch-bugs 
  are 
  all 
  dead 
  from 
  the 
  dis 
  i 
  

   ease 
  above 
  alluded 
  to, 
  and 
  the 
  same 
  disease 
  is 
  spreading 
  rapidly 
  on 
  the 
  hills 
  and 
  high 
  

   prairies. 
  

  

  July 
  28. 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  Great 
  numbers, 
  in 
  all 
  stages 
  of 
  their 
  development, 
  are 
  dying 
  of 
  

   the 
  prevailing 
  disease. 
  

  

  August 
  8. 
  The 
  majority 
  of 
  the 
  chinch-bugs 
  yet 
  alive 
  are 
  in 
  the 
  imago 
  state, 
  but 
  

   "they 
  are 
  being 
  rapidly 
  destroyed 
  by 
  the 
  prevailing 
  epidemic 
  disease, 
  more 
  fatal 
  to 
  

   them 
  than 
  the 
  plague 
  of 
  Asiatic 
  cholera 
  ever 
  was 
  to 
  man. 
  Scarcely 
  one 
  in 
  a 
  thousand 
  

   of 
  the 
  vast 
  hosts 
  of 
  young 
  bugs 
  observed 
  at 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  June 
  yet 
  remain 
  alive, 
  but 
  

   plenty 
  of 
  dead 
  ones 
  may 
  be 
  seen 
  everywhere 
  lying 
  on 
  the 
  ground, 
  covered 
  [with 
  the 
  

   common 
  mould 
  of 
  decomposing 
  animal 
  matter, 
  and 
  nothing 
  else, 
  even 
  when 
  exam- 
  

   ined 
  by 
  the 
  microscope. 
  Even 
  of 
  those 
  that 
  migrated 
  to 
  corn 
  fields 
  a 
  few 
  weeks 
  ago, 
  

   in 
  such 
  numbers 
  as 
  to 
  cover 
  the 
  lower 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  corn 
  stalks, 
  very 
  few 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  

   remaining 
  alive; 
  but 
  the 
  ground 
  around 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  corn 
  hills 
  is 
  almost 
  literally 
  

   covered 
  with 
  their 
  mouldering, 
  decomposing 
  dead 
  bodies. 
  This 
  is 
  a 
  matter 
  so 
  com- 
  

   mon 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  observed 
  and 
  often 
  spoken 
  of 
  by 
  farmers. 
  They 
  are 
  dead 
  everywhere, 
  

   not 
  lying 
  on 
  the 
  ground 
  alone, 
  but 
  sticking 
  to 
  the 
  blades 
  and 
  stalks 
  of 
  corn 
  in 
  great 
  

   numbers, 
  in 
  all 
  stages 
  of 
  their 
  development 
  — 
  larva, 
  pupa, 
  and 
  imago. 
  

  

  September 
  13. 
  After 
  a 
  whole 
  day's 
  searching 
  in 
  the 
  corn 
  fields, 
  I 
  have 
  just 
  been 
  

   able 
  to 
  find 
  two 
  larva? 
  and 
  a 
  few 
  imago 
  chinch-bugs, 
  against 
  the 
  great 
  number 
  al- 
  

   luded 
  to 
  in 
  the 
  corn 
  about 
  this 
  time 
  last 
  year. 
  This 
  disease 
  among 
  the 
  chinch-bugs 
  

   was 
  associated 
  with 
  the 
  long-continued 
  wet, 
  cloudy, 
  cool 
  weather 
  that 
  prevailed 
  

   during 
  a 
  greater 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  period 
  of 
  their 
  development. 
  The 
  disease 
  was 
  at 
  

   its 
  maximum 
  during 
  the 
  moist, 
  warm 
  weather 
  that 
  followed 
  the 
  cold 
  rains 
  of 
  June 
  

   and 
  the 
  first 
  part 
  of 
  July. 
  During 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1866 
  the 
  chinch-bugs 
  were 
  very 
  

   scarce 
  in 
  all 
  the 
  early 
  spring, 
  and 
  up 
  to 
  near 
  harvest 
  I 
  was 
  not 
  able, 
  with 
  the 
  most 
  

   diligent 
  search, 
  to 
  find 
  one. 
  At 
  harvest, 
  I 
  did 
  succeed 
  in 
  finding 
  a 
  few 
  in 
  some 
  lo- 
  

   calities. 
  

  

  Later, 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  article, 
  Doctor 
  Shimer 
  says 
  : 
  "lam 
  convinced 
  that 
  the 
  

   efficient 
  cause 
  of 
  their 
  destruction 
  exists 
  in 
  the 
  continuance 
  of 
  the 
  epidemic 
  

   among 
  them," 
  and 
  finally, 
  considers 
  it 
  proven 
  "that 
  epidemic 
  diseases 
  are 
  in- 
  

   comparably 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  agents 
  in 
  all 
  nature 
  in 
  destroying 
  noxious 
  

   insects." 
  

  

  In 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  observations 
  and 
  conclusions 
  of 
  Doctor 
  Shimer, 
  Dr. 
  Cyrus 
  

   Thomas, 
  one 
  time 
  State 
  Entomologist 
  of 
  Illinois, 
  says 
  in 
  the 
  chinch-bug 
  

   bulletin 
  issued 
  by 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Department 
  of 
  the 
  Interior 
  in 
  1879: 
  

  

  Although 
  the 
  plague 
  among 
  the 
  bugs 
  in 
  this 
  instance 
  appears 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  some- 
  

   what 
  extraordinary, 
  yet 
  it 
  is 
  in 
  accordance 
  with 
  facts 
  ascertained 
  in 
  reference 
  to 
  

   other 
  insects; 
  and 
  as 
  Doctor 
  Shimer 
  is 
  both 
  a 
  competent 
  and 
  reliable 
  authority, 
  we 
  

   accept 
  his 
  statement 
  as 
  correct, 
  and 
  believe 
  with 
  him 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  owing, 
  as 
  the 
  orig- 
  

   inating 
  cause, 
  to 
  the 
  damp 
  season. 
  But 
  we 
  are 
  inclined 
  to 
  believe 
  that 
  the 
  moisture 
  

   gave 
  rise 
  to 
  a 
  minute 
  fungus 
  as 
  the 
  direct 
  cause 
  of 
  the 
  death 
  of 
  the 
  chinches. 
  I 
  rec- 
  

   ollect 
  very 
  distinctly 
  of 
  a 
  similar 
  wholesale 
  destruction 
  of 
  house 
  flies 
  in 
  southwestern 
  

   Virginia 
  and*east 
  Tennessee 
  in 
  1849 
  by 
  an 
  epidemic. 
  So 
  rapidly 
  was 
  the 
  disease 
  

   propagated, 
  and 
  so 
  great 
  the 
  destruction 
  among 
  the 
  flies, 
  that 
  the 
  utmost 
  caution 
  

   in 
  cooking 
  and 
  drinking 
  water 
  was 
  necessary. 
  Every 
  moist 
  spot 
  was 
  covered 
  with 
  

   the 
  dead 
  and 
  dying. 
  This 
  I 
  am 
  satisfied 
  was 
  caused 
  by 
  a 
  fungus. 
  I 
  observed 
  a 
  

   somewhat 
  similar 
  epidemic 
  prevailing 
  among 
  the 
  grasshoppers 
  in 
  western 
  Minne- 
  

  

  