THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



197 



known as the Partridge in the Northern States, 

 feeds habitually upon Chinch Bugs, whenever 

 it can get a chance. Tl>e tact was long ago 

 published to the world; and assuming the 

 (rntii of it, this bird ought to be protected from 

 the gun of the sportsman, and the not of the 

 "pot-hunter" in every State where the Chinch 

 T)Ug has ever been known to run riot. We were 

 informed, indeed, in the autumn of 180S, by 

 yW. Joseph Conet, of llock Island, 111., that in 

 order to test this question, he purposely exam- 

 ined the contents of the stomachs of about 

 twenty Quails, and at least ten of the whole 

 number in the summer, and found no insects 

 therein, but only corn and seeds. But as these 

 observations must have been made in some of 

 the years when Chinch bugs were very rare, 

 owing to the long-continued rainy season of 

 18G.5, and the seasonable showers of the years 

 "OG and '07, we do not think that they prove 

 much either one way or the other. 



'• The Chinch Bug," said Dr. Fitch in the 

 year 18uG, " so far as we yet know, is exempt 

 from any molestation by prcdaceous insects and 

 otlier animals. No bird probably has a relish 

 for such an unsavory morsel as one of these 

 fetid insects."* But it seems to be a tolerably 

 well established fact that tlic Quail is not too 

 dainty to prey ravenously upon them, which 

 possibly may be one cause of the line "game 

 flavor," which makes this bird so acceptable a 

 dish at the table of every epicure. And we 

 liave already enumerated no less than six in- 

 sects, four of which are Beetles, one a True 

 llalf-winged Bug {Heteroptera) and one a 

 species belonging to the Net-winged Flies 

 {jSfeiiroptern) , a.nA 9.\\ of which probably prey 

 upon Chinch Bugs, while two of them un- 

 (luestionably do so. Whatever croakers and 

 grumblers may chuse to say, the Entomologi- 

 cal World, as well as the Moral and the Politi- 

 cal World, does undoubtedly move. If we have 

 not yet discovered any Universal and Infallible 

 Ilemedy for the Chinch Bug disease, we are yet 

 on the high road towards that desirable con- 

 summation. For the more we know of the 

 habits and the Natural History of any noxious 

 insect, the more likely we are to discover some 

 efficient means of counterworking its depreda- 

 tions, or at all events some palliation of the evil. 



Ainonnt of Damage done by the Chinch ling. 



According to Dr. Shimer's estimate, which 



we consider a reasonable one, in the year 18G4 



" three-fourths of the wheat and one-half of the 



corn-crop were destroyed by the rhincli Bug 



'New York Re/iorls, 1. p. i'.l.j. 



throughout many extensive districts, compris- 

 ing almost the entire North-west." At the av- 

 erage annual rate of increase, according to the 

 U. S. Census, in the State of Illinois, the wheat- 

 crop of 18G4 ought to have been about thirty 

 millions of bushels, and tlie corn-crop about 

 one hundred and thirty-eight million bushels. 

 Putting the cash value of wheat at $1.25 and 

 that of corn at 50 cents, the cash value of the ^ 

 corn and wheat destroyed by this insignificant 

 little bug no bigger than a grain of rice, in one 

 single State aad in one single year, will there- 

 fore, according to the above figures, foot up to 

 the astounding total of over sevekty-thrkf. 

 Jirr.Lioxs OF dollars! Put it as low as we 

 chuse, it is still "a big thing;" and it is unne- 

 cessary to argue a question any further, when 

 facts and figures speak so plainly. 



Remedies against the Chinch Bug. 



It has long been noticed that the Chinch Bug 

 commences its ravages in the spring from the 

 edges of a piece of grain, or occasionally from 

 one or more small patches, scattered at random 

 in the more central portions of it, and usually 

 drier than the rest of the field. From these par- 

 ticular parts it subsequently spreads by degrees 

 over the whole field, multiplying as it goes and 

 finally taking the entire crop unless checked up 

 by seasonable rains. In newly-broken land, 

 where the fences are new and consequently no 

 old stiiffhas had time to accumulate along them, 

 the Chinch Bug is never heard of. These facts 

 indicate that the mother insects must very gen- 

 erally pass the winter iu the old dead stufl" that 

 usually gathers along fences. Hence, by way 

 of precaution, it is advisable, whenever pos- 

 sible, to burn up such dead stufl' in the winter 

 or early in the spring, and i)articularly to rake 

 together and burn up the old corn-stalks, in- 

 stead of ploughing them in, or allowing them, 

 as is often done, to lie littering, about on some 

 piece of waste ground. It is true, agriculturally 

 speaking, this is bad fiirraing; but it is better 

 to lose the manure contained in the corn-stalks 

 than to have one's crop destroyed by insects. 

 Whenever such small infected patches in a grain- 

 field are noticed early in the season, the rest of 

 the field may often be saved by carting dry straw 

 on to them and burning the sti-aw on the spot. 

 Chinch Bugs, green wheat and all ; and this will 

 be still easier to do when the bugs start along 

 the edge of the field. If, as frequently happens, 

 a piece of small grain is found about harvest- 

 time to be so badly shrunken up by the bug, as 

 not to bo worth cutting, the owner of it ought 

 always to set fire to it and burn it np along with 



