REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON DISEASE. 
613 
straw that was infested with these insects. The next question 
which arises in my mind with regard to chinch-bug infection 
is this : Could chinch bugs that are affected with the fungus 
disease, known as the white muscardine (sporotrichum globuli- 
ferum), cause such symptoms as I have just described ? In 
order to discover something with regard to this question, I 
addressed a letter to Prof. S. A. Forbes, the entomologist at 
the University of Illinois, who had been making experiments 
with this chinch bug disease, and during the past year has 
distributed infected bugs in the various counties of this State 
where this pest existed. I also addressed a letter to Prof. F. 
A. Snow, of the University of Kansas, and one to Prof. Paul 
Schweitzer, of the Missouri State University. I received re¬ 
plies from Profs. Forbes and Snow. I desired, to know how 
rapidly this fungus disease of bugs could spread in a certain 
neighborhood when infected bugs were placed into the fields 
for the purpose of exterminating chinch bugs. 
I beg leave to quote the following extracts from the bul¬ 
letin by Prof. Forbes, dated June 7th, 1894; 
THE CHINCH BUG IN ILLINOIS. 
In Bulletin No. 19 of the Agricultural Experiment Station of 
the University of Illinois, published in February, 1892, notice 
was given of an extensive outbreak in southern Illinois, with 
warning of its probable development in the following year. 
According to our advices at that time, eight ^ounties in the 
southern and south-central part of the State were injuriously 
infested, and eighteen other counties were mentioned, in 
which the chinch bug was reported as a general occurrence 
in unusual numbers. 
“ This attack increased in intensity during 1893, and this 
spring the chinch bugs emerged from their winter quarters 
in numbers sufficient to do great mischief in no less than 
twenty-four counties throughout the regions above men¬ 
tioned. The area seriously infected is practically the same 
as that to which attention was called in 1892. 1 he counties 
now involved being Williamson, Jefferson, Perry, Washing¬ 
ton, Clinton, Madison, Bond, Marion, Fayette, Clay, Rich- 
