87 
the treated stalks. Thorough search for dead bugs made every¬ 
where in the vicinity, but wholly without success. Chinch-bugs 
as abundant in this field as when it was first visited. 
No. 16. August 8. Field infection experiment on farm of Mr. 
Thomas, near Odin, Illinois. Bugs behind sheatls of corn dusted 
with spores from artificial culture on corn meal. Spores were 
freely used on a number of hills marked by cutting the tassels. 
September 8, corn treated August 8 has been cut and shocked. 
No dead bugs could be found in the field. 
No. 17. August 8. Field infection experiment on farm of Mr. 
John Bartle. Spores of cultivated Sporotrichum dusted on young . 
bugs (with a few old ones intermingled) behind leaf sheaths of 
several hills of corn in different parts of a thirty-five acre field. 
Mr. Bartle and his oldest son closely scanned the treated hills 
from time to time, and only once—two days after infection and 
following upon a light shower of rain—were dead bugs noticed. 
At that time two dead specimens covered with fungus are said to 
have been seen in the midst of the cultivated material placed up¬ 
on the stalk September 8. Although several cf the hills treated 
August 8 yet retained traces of the cultivated infection material, 
not a single dead or diseased bug could be found anywhere upon 
this farm after prolonged search extending through a considerable 
part of the day. 
No. 18. August 15. A farmer’s field infection experiment; 
material from my laboratory. As this is the only possibly suc¬ 
cessful field experiment of the season, it may well be reported in 
some detail. 
A vial of spores of Sporotrichum globulifenim from a corn meal 
culture was sent on the above date to Mr. C-, a farmer living 
three and a half miles from Xenia, in Clay county, with the following 
letter of advice and direction: 
“I send you by this mail a vial of spores of Sporotrichum globu- 
liferum, the chinch-bug fungus with which we are again experiment¬ 
ing this season. Our method of applying it is substantially as follows: 
“Place the infected material in a tight wooden box— say 18x20 
inches —having a layer of leaves and stalks of corn placed in the 
bottom, wetting freely the sides and bottom of the box. Then 
introduce live chinch-bugs—the more the better, a quart would not 
be too many—and set the box in a shady place,— a cellar does 
nicely,—renewing the food occasionally, and each time wetting the 
inside of the box. In a few days, if the experiment succeeds, the 
bugs will begin to die and become covered with a white mold. 
Live bugs are supposed to become infected within forty-eight 
hours of the time of placing in the infection box. They may then 
be liberated in the fields. The disease will be more likely to 
spread if introduced into the field during or after a rain. 
“By leaving some of the diseased bugs in the box and introduc¬ 
ing fresh lots of live bugs from time to time, a supply of the 
material may be kept throughout the season. 
“Do not place too much reliance on this as yet uncertain 
method, but use other measures of defence as noted in my arti¬ 
cle recently sent you, copies of which are still available.” 
