42 THE WHITE-FUNGUS DISEASE IN KANSAS. 
to be deserted by the bugs, and the corn dry and in some instances 
moldy. Skins of molted bugs were very numerous, and Sporo- 
trichum-covered carcasses were in considerable abundance, but aside 
from the latter there was no evidence of dead bugs, i. e., that might 
have been killed by sour juice, for instance. Evidently the great 
majority had migrated, leaving comparatively few dead behind as 
the result of infection by fungus. 
The corn piles made on June 27 were in good condition, the corn 
being green and fresh. Chinch bugs still swarmed through them in 
multitudes, and there were old skins and quite a number of diseased 
bugs. There were a few more diseased bugs in the Metcalf corn 
pile than in that in the Botkins field, and the difference may have 
been chargeable to the artificial infection. The percentage of 
diseased insects when compared with living, however, still remained 
very small, so that as an effective means of propagation of Sporo- 
trichum disease, the corn piles were a comparative failure. Quite 
the reverse might have been expected, since the chinch bugs remained 
exposed for over a week to infection under shade and moist con- 
ditions. With negative results under such circumstances artificial 
infection could hardly be expected to work in the open field. Almost 
every chinch bug in the corn piles must have come into contact with 
the fungus spores sooner or later, especially where artificial infec- 
tion was used. After leaving the piles the bugs transported the 
spores to various parts of the field, but there was no evidence that 
the spores took effect. 
By July 6 nearly all of the corn in the full 50 rows was destroyed. 
Infection of chinch bugs on corn by the use of fungus culture was 
made on this date and again on July 17. Cultures mixed with earth 
or used directly were employed in dusting spores on the insects. 
Final observations were made on July 28, five weeks after the first 
lot of the fungus was sown in the corn. From a practical stand- 
point everything was negative. At no time did the Sporotrichum 
disease appear to be working except in the smallest way. Perhaps 
the weather conditions were not just right, but at Cherry vale they 
were apparently right for at least part of the time and that long 
enough to have started an epidemic. 
If the relation between climatic conditions and successful fungus 
propagation, however, is so exact that not once did anything like 
a really destructive epidemic occur during all the series of experi- 
ments and observations from April till nearly the first of August, 
then farmers should not for a moment think of depending on arti- 
ficial infection or on the fungus disease at all for the saving of 
their crops. Whatever good had come from Sporotrichum as a 
destroyer of chinch bugs came of itself without the aid of artificial 
sowing of spores. 
