80 



A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



About the first of May the second generation of lice ap- 

 pears, and the little brown ants transfer them to the roots 

 of the young corn plants. During the summer the lice con- 

 tinue breeding with great rapidity, all the while sucking the 

 juice from the young roots of the growing corn. About the 

 middle of September the last brood of females begin to lay 

 eggs for the winter. These females are usually carried by 

 the ants to their nests, where the eggs are laid. 



Rotation of crops, proper fertilization of the soil, deep 

 fall plowing, or early spring plowing, followed by repeated 



FIG. 13. THE CHINCH BUG 



deep disking to destroy the ants' nests, are some of the suc- 

 cessful methods of combating the corn root-louse. 



The chinch bug. The great arch enemy of the corn crop 

 is the chinch bug. This insect is about one-tenth of an inch 

 long, and does its work of injury by sucking the juice from 

 the stalks of the growing corn, completely destroying whole 

 fields. The insect goes into winter quarters as an adult bug, 

 and there remains until the warm weather of the next April 

 or May. It is hidden away at the roots of various grasses, 

 and in accumulations of weeds, leaves, and other rubbish. 



