Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 June 1911 — WHEAT CROP IS A FAILURE [ARTICLE]

WHEAT CROP IS A FAILURE

Almost Completely Wiped Out in Gillam Township HESSIAN FLY DOING DAMAGE Farmers Suffer Heavy Loss by Ravages of this Pest—Many Are Plowing up Fields and Sowing Com. Former township trustee John P. Ryan was down from Gillam tp., Wednesday. Corn is looking fine up there, the oats fairly good, and a medium crop of hay will be cut. But the wheat is practically all ruined by ravages of the Hessian fly. For several years Gillam has been raising considerable wheat, increasing its acreage each year as it had done well and was the best paying crop grown. Last year a big crop was raised and the farmers nearly all doubled their acreage last fall. Mr. Ryan says he the average put in last fall was about 40 acres to the farm, many farmers having double that amount Almost every acre of this has been completely killed by the fly, and where the farmers are in shape to 'handle it they ar plowing up the fields and putting it into corn. It means a great loss, both in seed and labor, and as most of the farmers had out about all the corn th could tend they are not in shape to put all the wheat ground into corn at this late dav. They fly is working all through that section, Mr. Ryan says, and over in east of Medaryville, in Pulaski county,; and he thinks will get about all of it. In his own his case, Mr. Ryan states, he took the advice of the Purdue University experts and sowed late, but the fly is now at work in it and he thinks will get it all. So far as learned no damage has been done in this section of the county, perhaps because the farmers down here have not been growing wheat for so long a time as those in Gillam.