THE GRAIN BUG. 5 



ternal appearance of ripened heads, but upon being pressed between 

 the fingers are found to be nearly, if not entirely, empty. With the 

 bearded varieties, the "beards " or awns stand out nearly at right 

 angles from the head instead of in the vertical position assumed 

 under normal conditions. (See fig. 2.) 



The stem is generally alive and green from the base to a point 

 within 5 or 6 inches of the head, but is dead and yellow above this 

 point. Upon grasping the head and exerting a slight pull, the stem 

 breaks at the junction of the living and dead portions. During a 

 wind or rain storm many of these stems are broken and the heads 

 fall to the ground. The damage caused by C. sayi is frequently of 

 such a nature that an unobserving person may attribute its effects to 

 hail or other weather influences. 



In the case of milo maize, feterita, and many of the native food 

 plants, the external appearance of injured plants does not differ 

 markedly from that of the normal. 



INTERNAL APPEARANCE OF INJURED HEADS. 



The grains of affected heads are shriveled in appearance and very 

 much reduced in size and weight. In some cases only a diminutive 

 grain remains. This f ollow^s as the natural result of the removal by 

 the insect of the liquid contents of the grain while still in the " milk 

 stage." 



The grains from injured heads of some plants, including milo 

 maize, appear normal even when damaged, but are very much 

 reduced in weight, lack the nutritive properties of normal grains, 

 and are totally unfit for seed. 



REDUCTION IN YIELD. 



The percentage of reduction in yield through depredations of the 

 grain bug is a point not always possible of determination. Fre- 

 quently the extent of the damage is not appreciated by the grower 

 until the crop is thrashed. Then the poor quality of the grain 

 becomes evident and the yield is far below expectations. In extreme 

 cases entire fields of small grains have been destroyed completely 

 and the crop was not worth harvesting. As previously stated. Dr. 

 A. W. Morrill (6) records the complete loss of 13 acres of milo maize 

 from grain-bug attack at Phoenix, Ariz., in 1911, and 12 acres of rye 

 were completely ruined at Cloudcroft, N. Mex., in 1913. From 70 to 90 

 per cent of an alfalfa seed crop was destroyed at Barstow, Tex,, in 

 1911. Mr. H. E. Smith records that at Eoswell, N. Mex., in 1913, 

 at least two-thirds of the barley heads were ruined in fields that 

 normally would yield from 40 to 60 bushels per acre. At Porter- 

 ville, Tex., in 1913, the wheat in a 150-acre field which promised a 



