9 
ESTIMATE OF LOSS 1,1' CHINCH BUGS, 
Summer of 1887. 
[Please indicate by underlining the proper words in columns below.] 
TO SMALL GRAIN. 
TO GRASS. 
TO CORN. 
1 . None 
1. None 
1. None. 
2 . Little 
2. Little 
2. Little. 
3 . Moderate 
3. Moderate 
3. Moderate. 
4 . Considerable 
4. Considerable 
4. Considerable. 
6 . Great 
5. Great 
5. Great. 
6 . Very Great 
6. Very Great 
6. Very Great. 
7. Nearly Complete 
7. Nearly Complete 
7. Nearly Complete. 
8 . Complete 
8. Complete 
8. Complete. 
Was injury greater in neighborhoods where wheat or barley was grown than elsewhere? 
Signature:. 
lounty:. 
'own:. 
Eight hundred and sixty-two assessors reported by the return of 
hese cards marked so as to indicate their judgment of the amount 
>f chinch-bug injury in their respective townships. 
STUDY OF DATA. 
In studying the data thus collected, the State was first divided 
nto six seciions; each section to be studied separately from all 
joints of view. Later, the two northern sections were thrown 
ogether, and also the three middle ones, the data being thus sum- 
narized separately for the three principal regions, Northern, Central 
ind Southern Illinois; and finally the State was studied as a 
vhole, without reference to geographical divisions. For each of 
hese areas the postal card township reports were distributed in 
groups according to the amount of damage done to each of the 
jrincipal farm crops,—first to small grain, next to grass, and 
inally to corn. For example, all the cards showing no injury to 
:orn were brought together in one group, all those showing a 
‘little’’ injury to the crop in another, all reporting “moderate” 
lam age in a third, and so on, until all the cards received were 
livided into eight lots, corresponding to the eight degrees of in- 
ury to corn distinguished. Then, lists being made of the town- 
hips belonging to each group as thus classified, the acreage in 
vheat for each township was taken from the tables of acreage 
ilready mentioned, and an average struck for each group corre- 
iponding to each grade of chinch-bug injury. These averages 
)eing set down fin the progressive order of increasing loss by 
•hinch bugs froit “none” to complete devastation, it was at once 
ipparent whether any connection between the wdieat area and the 
nsect damage was to be made out, the list of numbers showing 
he wheat acreage being, on the whole, an increasing series if 
oich connection existed, and otherwise not. 
