54 THE CHINCB BUG. 
!ll:-l AkiMHlAl CULTIVATIONS OF SPOROTBICHUM GLOBT7LIFERTJM. 
Iii A"|>ril. L891, Dr. Roland Thaxter succeeded in cultivating S. 
globuliferum artificially on agar-agar, and a month later Professor 
Forbes made similar cultures on the mixture of corn meal and beef 
broth, this last being an exceedingly valuable discovery, as it revolu- 
tionized our method of distributing the fungus by securing chinch 
bugs to be kept for a time with those diseased and then sent out to be 
scattered over the field: — a cumbersome method which was never satis- 
factory. The writer's own work in Ohio was based on material ob- 
tained from Professor Forbes, and the first year he distributed in- 
fected chinch bugs, but after that be \\-v^\ the artificial base of beef 
broth and corn meal, finding the latter far more satisfactory to 
handle, and. so far as could be determined, equally effective. 
RESULTS OF FIELD APPLICATIONS IX OHIO. 
In regard to the writer's own experience, it is unnecessary to go 
into details, except to state that, under the most favorable laboratory 
conditions, he was able to kill apparently perfectly healthy chinch 
bugs within three day- after bringing them in contact with the Spo- 
rotrichum. In the fields, during the season of 1895, though upward 
of 750 packages of diseased bugs were sent out to farmer-, and -ome 
astonishing reports of results received therefrom, yet his own obser- 
vations led him to believe that in many cases these were rather more 
imaginary than real. Over the areas where local showers occurred 
during the season of development of the first brood of young the 
effect was much more satisfactory 7 . But in many cases the request 
for help came hue. and soon after the fungus was applied the bugs 
scattered out over the fields, disappearing to the eyes of the ordinary 
farmer, who. of course, attributed all to the effect of the Spo- 
rotrichum. In 1896, however, meteorological condition- changed, 
and at last the writer had the good fortune to secure the very oppor- 
tunity for which he had been waiting for years. All through April 
and up to the LOth of May in southern Ohio there was little rain, and 
even during the remainder of the latter month the light rain- hardly 
sufficed to break the drought, so that there was a perfect breeding 
son for the chinch bug during the forepart of the breeding period. 
The result was that oxer some section g. 7) there were myriads 
of young bug-. Then the rain- came on. and there were presented 
the two essentia] requisites for success with the fungus, viz. chinch 
bugs and wet weather. 
Soon the demand- for supplies o! Sporotrichum began to pour in. 
and 1,200 package- wen' distributed within a few week-, instructions 
being given to place the content- of the boxes where the chinch bugs 
