58 Indian Mnsevm Nof.ex. [ Vol, III, 



State paper of Kansas-, the Topeka Daily Cafital. From my last report, made ou 

 July 15, I quote as follows : — 



"Since making the last report, June 15, the wheat has ripened and mostly been 

 harvested. The clinch bugs at harvest time left the wheat fields and invaded the 

 fields of young corn. The experiments of 1889 and 1890 were carried on among 

 bugs in the corn-fields, and the experiments of this year in wheat fields are thus new 

 features in the work. The results have been gratifying, but the reports from this 

 year's corn fields and the investigations of my field assistant, Ml-. Hickey, show that 

 the massing of the bugs in the hills of corn offers more favourable conditions for the 

 successful workings of the disease than the usual conditions incident to the presence 

 of bugs in wheat. 



"The hatching and appearance of the young bugs is a feature in the work added 

 since the last report. It is with satisfaction that I note the conimunicability of the 

 disease from old to young bugs by contact. The young bugs are as susceptible to the 

 infection as the old ones. 



"The part of the State reporting bugs in the corn-fields lies between 96° 30' and 

 98° 01' west longitude ; or between a line drawn through Marshall, Pottawatomie, 

 along the eastern boundary of Geary, Morris, Chase, and along the eastern boundary 

 of Greenwood, Elk, and Clautauqua Counties, and a line drawn along tlie eastern 

 boundary of Jewell, Mitchell, Lincoln, Ellsworth, liice, Reno, Kingman, and Harper 

 Counties, This bug-infested belt extends clear across the State from north to south. 

 Scattering reports of the presence of the bugs are in from various eastern counties, 

 and from a few west of the 98° 30' line. 



"' Up to date (11a.m., July 15) infected bugs have been sent out from my labora- 

 tory to 1,700 applicants. To several of these applicants second lots of infected bugs 

 liave been sent, owing to failure to use the first lot for various reasons, and occasionally 

 because of failure to get good results from the first experiment. But as many, if not 

 more, persons have got dead bugs from fields wherein the bugs are dying because of 

 infection sent out from my laboratory as have received bugs directly from me« 

 Each successful field experiment has been the means of establishing a secondary dis- 

 tributing centre. It is evident that the experiment oi killing clinch bugs by infection 

 with fungoid and bacterial disease is being given a trial on a large scale. The reports 

 for the past month (June 15 to July 15) have been gratifying, in that they show a 

 good percentage of success. However, reports are not made out as carefully as they 

 should be, and worse, many experimenters make no reports. I desire to liave a report 

 on every lot of infected bugs sent out. 



" Because of the difficulty of getting careful reports from the field, I sent out 

 Mr. E. C. Hickey, an intelligent University student doing special work in natural 

 histor_v, as a field agent. Mr. Mickey's last trip was through Chautauqua, Harvey, 

 Sumner, Cowley, Butler, Greenwood, and Elk Counties, lasting from June 12 to Jul \' 6. 

 He visited seventy-two persons who had experimented with infected bugs, and found 

 over 80 per cent, of the seventy-two experiments successful. Mr. Hickey personally 

 visited the corn-fields, and verified by careful observations the statements of the 

 farmers. 



"The laboratory facilities for sending out infected bugs have been largely 

 increased, and all demands can be promptly met. Application for infected bugs 

 received in the morning's mail are answered with bugs and directions on the noon 

 outgoing trains. The work of scientific investigation in the laboratory is going on 

 steadily and carefully. Inoculation experiments from pure cultures of S-porotrichum 

 will be reported on next month. A feature of the work unnoticed previously in thi.s 

 report is the prevalence of Empusa, the fungus |witli which the first successful 



