HOW SCIENCE IS HELPING THE FARMER. 109 



hundreds of thousands of dollars. What is known as the fluted 

 scale insect had for about twenty-five years a foothold in the 

 orange and lemon groves, and bade fair to cause enormous losses 

 to the orchardists. A study was made of the parasites affecting 

 this scale insect, and in 1888 the United States Government sent 

 two entomologists to Australia to study the parasites of the scale 

 insects in that country, and bring live specimens to California to 

 distribute in the orange and lemon groves. Suffice it to say that 

 these parasites rapidly multiplied and fed upon both the white 

 and fluted scale, to their destruction. With surprising rapidity 

 the beneficial insect destroyed the injurious one. Says Dr. C. V. 

 Riley, United States Entomologist,* " The history of the introduc- 

 tion of this pest (scale insect), its spread for upward of twenty 

 years, and the discouragement which resulted, the numerous ex- 

 periments which were made to overcome the insect, and its final 

 reduction to unimportant numbers by means of an apparently in- 

 significant little beetle imported for the purpose from Australia, 

 will always remain one of the most interesting stories in the rec- 

 ords of practical entomology." 



I have just quoted Mr. Howard's statement that the chinch 

 bug in 1887 caused $60,000,000 of losses in nine States. A few 

 years ago the attention of entomologists was drawn to the fact 

 that chinch bugs occasionally died in large numbers from a pecul- 

 iar disease. The bugs were found on the ground dead and cov- 

 ered with a white fungus. This disease seemed to be infectious, 

 and several entomologists gave special attention to the matter. 

 Prof. F. H. Snow, of the University of Kansas, pushed the inves- 

 tigation and thought it possible to artificially induce the disease 

 and communicate it to healthy bugs, and thus diminish their 

 numbers, and for the past three years Prof. Snow has worked 

 upon this line. The Legislature of Kansas appropriated $3,500 

 for carrying on his investigations during 1891-'92. 



In his annual report to the Governor of Kansas, describing his 

 investigations, Prof. Snow gives a list of 1,400 persons who con- 

 ducted experiments under his direction in 1891, to assist in dis- 

 seminating the disease. Of these 1,071 were successful, 181 unsuc- 

 cessful, and 148 doubtful, in their attempts. As a result of their 

 season's work, Prof. Snow estimates that, on the basis of the re- 

 ports rendered, $200,000 in crops were saved to those 1,071 persons 

 who worked under his instruction.! Four hundred and eighty- 

 two farmers reported to him an estimated saving of $87,244.10 

 through scattering the diseased insects among the healthy, thus 



* United States Department of Agriculture Report, 1889, pp. 334, 335. 

 f University of Kansas Experiment Station, First Annual Report of the Director, for the 

 Year 1891, p. 171. 



