16 THE WHITE-FUNGUS DISEASE IN KANSAS. 
year, and become epidemic over large portions of this area in occasional years. 
The object of my experiments has been to artifically introduce the disease at 
times when they are not naturally raging in the fields. It was found in 1S91 
that there was no evidence of a natural existence of the three diseases in any 
part of the State of Kansas. This statement is abundantly substantiated by 
the detailed report of my field agent. Mr. Hickey, and by the reports of many 
farmers. 
In his final report Dr. Snow makes this comment : 
While no such general epidemic of Sporotrichum was noted in this year 
(1896) as occurred in 1895, yet the disease seemed present in those parts 
of the State visited, wherever favorable conditions existed, and in the fields, 
whether artificially infected or not. 
It was therefore doubtless true that in the later years of Dr. 
Snow's campaign many spontaneous outbreaks occurred, and that 
conditions were perhaps not widely different from what they are 
to-day. Owing to a lack of scientific data, however, there is room 
for doubt as to the absence of Sporotrichum from Kansas soil prior 
to the recorded observations in 1891. 
The investigations summarized in this paper had chiefly to do 
with the following problems: 
1. Extent to which the white fungus disease of the chinch bug is 
naturally present in Kansas soil. 
2. Practicability of artificial infection of fields in which the fungus 
disease is found to be naturally present. 
3. Practicability of artificial infection of fields in which the fungus 
disease is shown to be scarce, or at least ineffective. 
4. Experiments with barriers and insecticides. 
Among other matters considered were (1) laboratory methods of 
propagating Sporotrichum; (2) artificial inoculation of chinch bugs 
with spores. 
Natural Distribution or Sporotrichum in Kansas. 
In any investigation to determine the efficacy of artificial infec- 
tion of a field with a parasitic fungus, the presence or absence of 
the fungus is one of the first points to be determined. If its ab- 
sence be proved, a widespread persistent application of the infec- 
tion might result in a considerable mortality of bugs, provided, of 
course, they are numerous enough to spread the contagion among 
themselves ; but if the presence of the fungus is shown to be general, 
the problem resolves itself into that of attempting to improve natural 
conditions by artificial ones. Theoretically, at least, such a thing 
would be possible, but its practicability must be determined by actual 
experiment under a variety of conditions. It would have to be shown 
that enough bugs, beyond wmat naturally would have died, succumbed 
to the artificially sown fungus to make the effort worth while. 
