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 THE WHEAT C 
 
 
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 BY THE fiEV. GEO. S. J. HILL, B.A.; 
 
 ' s^- ■' ■ .^ -■%H) KKCTOU, MAUKHAM. 
 
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 lessian |Ig, Wi\ai piJige, 
 
 A>°u UTUER l^'8ll:cTs iMcmoca lu 
 
 THE WHEAT CROPS. 
 
 BY THE REV. GEO. S. J. HILL, B.A., 
 
 BECTOR, MARKHAM. 
 
 TO WHICH WA8 AWARDED BY THE BUREAU OF AOBICULTURE AND 
 
 STATISTICS 
 
 THE SECOND PRIZE. 
 
 " Mo.v et frumentis labor nddittis.'' 
 
 TORONTO: 
 
 RE PRINTED FROM THE JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS Ot' THE 
 
 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 1858. 
 
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 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Iiisoclw (loslniotivo to Wliont Croi), iiitiodnrtioii oi" tlio siihjoct niifl clnfSiTicnfion . . . 1 
 
 CHAPTER TI. - 
 
 Wirp-Avorni. Woovil. »Vf .. Xiiliuc iind haltits of T 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ()itlio]itom^ — not imvtienlnrly dcRtnutivo 11 
 
 CH-APTER IV. 
 
 Chinch I>u;r, 'l'lni[>s, iVo — IVvastations mid Konifdios !•''> 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Anij-oiiiiKiis Motlu (Jraiii-AVoi in. itc. — History of jind HomodiP8 10 
 
 CHAPTER Yl. 
 
 .loiiit-worin — Kavajros id" nnd I'rovontivcs l!i 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Tho Ilossiaii Fly iind Whoat Midjro M 
 
 OIIAPTEl} VIII. 
 
 Conclnsiim — Practical IJoiiiodics siiirgestcd 'M> 
 
 S[Il'PJii:MENTAKY (CHAPTER. . 
 Disonscs of Whoai — Mildow, llust, Smnt, \r 39 
 
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 EUllATUM— PAGE 40. 
 
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 PRIZE ESSAY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INSECTS DBSTBUOTIVE TO THE WHEAT CROP. 
 
 CONTENTS : 
 
 Importauoo of the subjoot proposed. — One worthy of the attention of a wise and paternal 
 Qovernmont. — The best means of increasing qualified Observers. — European Uovern- 
 ments have taken similar steps. — Exertions of Privy Council in England regarding 
 Hessian Fly in 1788. — Premium offered by French Oovernment in 1786. — By Society 
 
 of Arts in London. — Angoumois Moth French Commissioners appointed concerning 
 
 it. — Difficulty of investigating such subjects from the ignorance of those suffering 
 most from Insects. — The name "Weevil" misapplied to every species of Insect 
 attacking grain. — Importance of properly classifying Insects. — Stages of an Insect's 
 life. — Transformations. — Farmers and Gardeners should become acquainted with 
 them. — Seven Orders of Insects. 
 
 When wc consider the vostness of the interests depending upon the wheat 
 crop, forming as it does the most valuable item of Canadian exports, and the 
 chief article of food for our population, we cannot be surprised at the anxiety 
 which is common amongst all classes of the community with regard to the 
 alarming devastation of that important crop by insects of various kinds. The 
 mysterious character of the visitation and the uncertainty which generally exists, 
 respecting the origin, nature, and habits of these creatures, adds not a little to 
 the alarm which their ravages have caused ; it well becomes then, a wise and 
 paternal Government to take such steps as may serve to procure the greatest 
 amount of information on this subject, and thus increase the number of qualified 
 ibscrvcrs throughout the country, by whose combined exertions some effectual 
 iMothod of guarding against these ravages may be adopted. This course has 
 Itecn pursued under similar circumstances by some of the most enlightened 
 countries of Europe, who have not considered the interests of Agriculture a> 
 subject beneath their notice, or the devastations o;' insects which might scourge 
 their countries with famine, as a matter of little consideration. 
 
 We learn from Young's Annals of Agriculture,* that when an alarm was ex- 
 cited in England in 1788, by the probability of importing in cargoes of wheat 
 from North America the insect known by the name of the Hessian fly, the privy 
 council sat day after day anxiously debating what measures should be adopted 
 to wurd off the danger of a calamity more to be dreaded, as they well knew, than 
 the plague or pestilence. Expresaep«srere sent off in all directions to the officers ' 
 of the Customs at the different oid[pofts respecting the examination of cargoes — ) 
 despatches were written to«thexiAmbassadors in France, Austria, Prussia, and"^ 
 America, to gain that information, of the want of which they were so sensible; ' 
 and so important was the business deemed, that the minutes of Council and the ' 
 documents collected from all quarters fill \i^wards of two hundred octavo pages.f ^ 
 
 In the year 1785, many provinces in France were so ravaged by cock-chafers, ' 
 
 * Annals xi. 406. 
 
 f Kirby & Spence. 
 
 -»«r. 
 
 B 
 
PRIZE E8BAY: 
 
 that a premium was offered by Govcrnmont for the best mode of deatroyiof; them. 
 The Society of Arts in London, during many years, hold forth a premium for 
 the best account of this insect and the means of cheeking its ravages, but 
 ivithout having produced one successful clrimant. For more than a century an 
 insect destructive in granaries has prevailed in the western parts of France, and 
 has gradually been extending in an easterly and northerly direction. In the pro- 
 vince of Angoumois it continued to increase for many years, till at length the 
 attention of Governmont was directed to its fearful depredations. This was in 
 1760, when the insect was found to swarm in all the wheat fields and granaries 
 of Angoumois, and of the neighbouring provinces, and the afHictod inhabitants 
 were tncreby deprived not only of their principal staple, wherewith they were 
 wont to pay their annual rents, their taxes, and their tithes, but were threatened 
 with famine and pestilence from the want of wholesome bread. Two members 
 of the Academy of Sciences of Paris, the celebrated Duhamcl du Monccau and 
 M. Tillct, were then commissioned to visit the province of Angoumois, and 
 inquire into the nature of this destructive insect. The result of their inquiries 
 wafi^ ^HNpmuuicated to the Academy, in whose history and memoirs it may be 
 found) and was also subsequently republished in a separate volume.* 
 
 Such then are some of the instances where Governments have endeavoured, 
 by pfiJcring premiums and enlisting the services of scientific persons, to procure 
 sue)) information as may serve to avert the calamities caused by destructive 
 iusects amongst the valuable products of the soil. And no small part of the 
 difficulty which arose in making such investigations, was caused by the ignorance 
 of the farmers with regard to the nature of the insects from whoso ravages they 
 had suffered so much. One would have supposed that men who had lost entire 
 cfopfr by an insect whose transformations must have come under their notice in 
 et«ry stage of its existence, ought to have been able to give all the information 
 Wbica was required respecting its nature, propagation, and economy. So far, 
 however, was this from being the case, that many of those from whom informa- 
 tion was sought, seemed to be ignorant whether the insect was a moth, a fly, or 
 wii&t they termed a bug, indeed so various and contradictory were the statements 
 regarding the Hessian Fly, submitted to the celebrated entomologist, Sir Joseph 
 mAks, by the Privy Council of England in 1788, that though he had a largo 
 QMuw of materials before him, he was unable to reach any satisfactory conclusion, 
 aid it ircmained for the American Entomologist, Say, to determine, satisfactorily, 
 the- Species and genus of the insect in question. The frequent misapplication of 
 nMttes, by persons unacquainted with Natural History, is one of the greatest 
 ol^sttMles to the progress of science, and shows how necessary it is that things 
 sluoMld be called by their right names, if the observations communicated re- 
 sf^ng them are to be of any service. For instance, the name '' weevil " is used 
 in this country to describe any insect that destroys the wheat plant ; it is given 
 to jit lea^t six different kinds of insects, two of which are moths, two are flies, 
 and iwo ve beetles. Now nearly four thousand species of weevils have actually 
 b%afl^:8cie|itifically named and described. When mention, therefore, is made of 
 "]th<9< weevil,'' it may well be a subject of doubt to which of these four thousand 
 sp^^i^s reference is made; if the scientific name of the species in question were 
 m&4^:^own, this doubt would at once be removed. Every intelligent farmer is 
 capable of becoming a good observer, and of 'making valuable discoveries in 
 Nptjor^l. History, but if he be ignorant of the proper names of the objects ex- 
 aipiii^, or if he give to them names which have previously been applied by 
 otiier persons to entirely different abjects, the result of his observations will be 
 ta cpnfuse instead of throwing light upon the subject. 
 
 ^'^istoire d' un Insecte qui devore Ics grains de 1' Angoumois, 12mo., Paris, 1762. 
 
 b2 
 
DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS. 
 
 8 
 
 It will bo well thoroforo to give the namci of the orders under which different 
 inscctH may bo claued, before wo proceed to consider the nature, habits, and 
 economy of thono which are to form the subject of this essay. This subject is 
 particularlj important to all persons who^ are interested in agricultural pursuits. 
 The arrav of scientific names and terms which it presents may seem formidable, 
 but the few that will bo required in treating of the Hessian fly, weevil, &c., 
 may bo understood and impressed upon the memory without much liSculty. 
 The advantage of these scientific names is, that they are understood by well edu* 
 cated persons in all parts of the world, whereas the common names by which 
 insects are known in different countries are very limited in their application, 
 and are also often misapplied. The technical words or phrases used by the 
 farmer, the blacksmith, or the carpenter, in their different callings, seem to the 
 inezpcrionocd difficult and unintelligible, yet to the skilful workman are full of 
 moaning and seem quite appropriate. So, too, to the lover of Natural History, 
 the terms of science lose their forbidding and mysterious appearance, and become 
 ns familiar to him and as full of meaning as tho technical words used by the 
 mechanic are to him in tho pursuit of his trade or art. 
 
 Before we proceed to the classification of insects, it will bo well to prefix a few 
 remarks on their structure, and explain tho meaning of the different terms used, 
 together with a short, and consequently imperfect sketch of their an&tomy, and 
 the transformations they undergo. i 
 
 I . ,; ! .< 
 
 ' / 
 
 , j J ; 
 
 OATERriLL.VR — FIG. I. 
 
 MOTH — no. in 
 
 MOTH. 
 
 The word Insect is derived from the Latin, and means out into or notched, 
 and is designed to express one of the chief characters of this tribe, their bodies 
 being marked by several cross-lines or incisions, the parts between these lines 
 being called segments or rings, and consist of a number of jointed pieces more 
 or less moveable on each other. Insects do not breathe through their mouths, 
 but through little holes called spiracles, generally nine in number, along eeoh 
 side of the body. Some, howevever, have the breathing holes placed in the 
 hinder extremity, and a few young water insects breathe by means of gills. They 
 are never spontaneously generated from decayed animal or vegetable matter, but 
 
■\'-'; 
 
 PRIZE essay: .. 
 
 V. ■ 
 
 arc produced from eggs. A few, suob as some plant lice, do not lay their eggs, 
 but retain them within their bodies till the young are ready to escape. Others 
 invariably lay their eggs where their young, as soon as tney are hatched, will 
 find a plentiful supply of food immediately within their reach. 
 
 There are three periods in the life of an insect, more or less distinctly marked 
 by corresponding changes in the form, powers, and habits. In the first, or 
 period of infancy, an insect is technically called a larva. Linnaeus, with happy 
 application, adopted this name from the Latin word signifying a mask ; justly 
 considering that the real form of the insect while it remained under this covering 
 was disguised or masked. There are two terms in common language corres- 
 ponding to this, although by no means so expressive, and in themselves indefi- 
 nite. The larvsQ of butterflies, moths, and insects of the same class (lepidoptera) 
 are called caterpillars ; while those which are white, somewhat inactive, and are 
 found either in the ground, or enclosed in other substances, bear the common 
 name of grubs or maggots. This name larva is applied not only to caterpillars, 
 grubs, and maggots, and to other insects that undergo a complete transformation, 
 but also to young and wingless grasshoppers, and indeed to all young insects 
 before the wings begin to appear. Iv. this period of their lives, during which 
 they eat voraciously, and cast their skins several times, they continue a longer 
 or a shorter period, some only a few days or weeks, others several months or 
 years. It is in this larva or caterpillar state that they mostly do the greatest 
 injury to vegetation. 
 
 After the larva has attained its. full size, the second change takes place, 
 wherein those insects that undergo a partial transformation, retain their activity 
 and their appetites for food, continue to grow, and acquire the rudiments of 
 wings, while others at this age entirely lose their larva form, take no food, and 
 remain at rest in a death-like sleep. This is called the pupa state, from a slight 
 Tesemblanee that some of the latter prcsert to an infant trussed in bandages, as 
 was the fashion among the Romans. The pxt,pse. from caterpillars are commonly 
 -called chrysalids, because some of them, as the name implies, are gilt or adorned 
 witli golden spots. 
 
 We come now to the third and last state of an insect. After continuing a 
 certain time in the pupa or chrysalis state, it again casts its skin and issues forth 
 a perfect and full grown moth, fly, or beetle, to deposit its eggs for future gene- 
 rations. When an insect assumes its adult or perfect state, Linnaeus termed it 
 an imago, because having laid aside its mask, and cast off its swaddling bands, 
 being no longer disguised or confined, or iu^ any respect imperfect, it is now 
 become a true representative or image of its species, and is qualified to fulfil the 
 laws of nature in perpetuating its kind. 
 
 The body of a caterpillar generally consists of a head and twelve segments. 
 In winged or adult insects, two of the transverse incisions are deeper than the 
 rest, so that the body seems to consist of three principal portions, the first of 
 ihese is the head, the second or middle portion the thorax or chest, and the 
 third or hindmost the abdomen or hind-body. The eyes of adult insects, though 
 apparently two in number, are compound, each consisting of a *>umber of single 
 eyes closely united, and incapable of being rolled in their sockets. The eyes of 
 grubs, caterpillars and other completely transforming larvae, are not compound, 
 but consist of five or six eyelets clustered together on each side of the head. 
 Some, such as maggots, are blind. Near to the eyes are the antennse, two 
 jointed members, corresponding in situation with the ears of other animals, and 
 are supposed to answer the purposes of feeling and hearing. The mouth of 
 some insects is made for biting or chewing, that of others for taking food by 
 suction. 
 
 The parts belonging to the thorax arc the wings and the legs. The former 
 
DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS. 
 
 ^ 
 
 are two or four in number, the under side of the thorax ia the breast, and to this 
 are fixed the legs, which are six in number in adult insects, and in the larvae 
 and pupae of those that are subject only to a partial transformation. The parts 
 of the legs are the hip joint, by which the leg is fastened to the body, the thigh 
 {femur), the shank {tibia), and the foot which sometimes consists of one joint 
 only, more often of two, three, four, or five pieces {tarsi) connected end to end, 
 like the joints of the finger, and armed at the extremity with one or two claws. 
 The abdomen or hindmost and largest part of the body, contains the organs of 
 digestion, and other internal parts, and to it also belong the piercer and the 
 sting with which many wi-^geu or adult insects are provided. The parts belong- 
 ing to the abdomen of larvaa are various, but are mostly designed to aid them in 
 their motions, or to provide for their respiration. 
 
 Antennae. 
 Eyes 
 
 1st pair of legs.. 
 
 Istpairof winfs 
 2n(l pair of legs. 
 
 2nd pair of wings 
 8rd pair of legs. 
 
 ■ ■ '7 
 
 Tibia 
 
 Tarsus 
 
 Head. 
 
 Thorax. 
 
 Abdomen. 
 
 It is most important that all persons interested in gardening^and agriculture 
 should become acquainted with the transformations that insects undergo, and of 
 which a short sketch has been given above. They will never bo able to check 
 their ravages efiectually until they have acquired some knowledge of their habits 
 and modes of existence. For instance, with regard to noxious caterpillars, 
 how few are aware that they proceed from the eggs of butterflies, moths, <&c., 
 and that the best method of preventing their attacks is to destroy the female fly 
 before she has laid her eggs. If the research was carried still further so as to 
 detect the pupa, the work might be more effectually accomplished. Kirby and 
 Spence, in their introduction to entomology, tell us that in Germany the gar- 
 deners and country people, with great industry, gather whole baskets full of a 
 destructive caterpillar, and then bury them, thinking by this means they have 
 rid themselves of the pest ', but they might as well try to drown a fish with 
 water, for these caterpillars, as they undergo their next transformation beneath 
 the ground, instead of being destroyed by this manoeuvre, are placed in a posi- 
 tion most favorable to their appearing in greater numbers the following year. 
 Again, Providence has ordained that certain insects should be active agents in 
 destroying the noxious species, and preventing their increase. The wheat fly, 
 for instance, is the prey of three parasitical insects, yet ignorant persons have 
 
¥ 
 
 i 
 
 n 
 
 PRIZB ESS AT: 
 
 taken these de^royers of oar enemies for their parents ; we learn from this how 
 necessary it is chat agrioUt^rists.shoold be einapl^d to distio^giuah thqir fneadis 
 
 firom their enemieii. ' '.^'Z^7 _■.'.'' '.y.'-'-T. \ .''^.''Vs...^ \r..i\ .,.'?, •\.i ,■. ., s,,, 
 
 The utility of a knowledge of the natural history of insects in the practical 
 arts of life is forcibly shown in the case of Linnaeus, " who at once gave to 
 natural science its language and its laws, and also pointed out its economical 
 advantages." On one occasion this great naturalist was consulted by the King 
 of Sweden upon the cause of the decay of the ship timber in the royal dock- 
 yards. He traced the destruction to the depredations of insects, ascertained their 
 history, and then directing the timber to be sunk under water during the season 
 when these insects made their appearance in the winged state and were engaged 
 in laying their eggs, he effectually secured it from future attacks.* These in- 
 sects have increased to an alarming extent in some of the dock-yards of France, 
 and in one of them at least, have become very injurious, wholly in consequence 
 of the neglect of warnings given by a nayal officer, who was also an entomologist, 
 and pointed out the source of the injury, together with the remedy to be 
 applied. 
 
 In order to facilitate the study of insects, of which the varieties are so numer- 
 ous, it will be necessary to adopt some^ind of classification; the basis of this 
 classification is founded upon the structure of the mouth in the adult state, the 
 number and nature of the wings, and tl^e. transformations. The first great divi- 
 sions are call orders, of which the^ foUgwii^ seven are very generally adopted by 
 naturalists. • ^'%.,^:^i^:^^ % 
 
 I. CoLEOPTERA—(J5fec</fl«)-<Ii»' these '^nsects the mouth is furnished with 
 jaws, but destitute of any probosrcis, the upper wings appear as two hard cases, 
 protecting the under pair, which alone are organized for flight — transformation 
 complete — larvae, called grubs, generally provided with six true legs, sometimes 
 also with a terminal prop-leg ; more rarely without legs — pupa with the wings 
 and the legs distinct and unoonfincd. Many of tE^se insects, particularly in the 
 larva state are very injurious to vegetation. /" '• 
 
 II. Obthoptera — (^Cockroaches, Crickets, Grasshoppers, dec.) — Insects with 
 jaws, two upper wings thick and opaque, overlapping a little on the back ; two 
 under wings larger and thinner, and folded in plaits like a fan — transformation 
 partial — larvae and pupae active, but wanting wings. 
 
 m. Hemiptera — i^Bugs, Locusts, Flant-Uce, dec") — Insects without jaws, 
 but having a horny beak for suction ; four wings, the upper harder than the 
 Jower, coriaceous (or leathery) and folded — transformation partial — ^larvae and 
 pupae nearly like the adult insect, but wanting wings. ,: 
 
 IV. Neuroptera — (^Dragon Flies, May Flies, Lace'toinged Flies, (frc.)-^ 
 Insects with jaws, four reticulated or netted wings, the hinder ones largest, with- 
 out any sting. ";o7j^-;. • ; •: m . ;; : ■ , .;■ "-1; ,. :y<.l::ui •■'.' .! .:; ; J; ; •<;. 
 
 V. Lepidoptera — (^Butterjlies and Moths') — The perfect insect without jaws, 
 and lives by suction, the proboscis being spirally coiled, four wings highly deve- 
 loped, covered with bran-like scales — transformation is complete. The larvae 
 are caterpillars, having six true legs, and from four to ten fleshy prop-legs — 
 pupa with the cases of the wings and of the legs indistinct and fastened to the 
 breast. 
 
 VI. Hymenoptera — (^Ants, Wasps, Bees, dec.) — Insects with jaws, four 
 ^'^^&t gl^^y? and marked with strong nerves, the hinder pair being the smallest 
 
 
 ^Kirby and Spenee. 
 
WIRE-WORM, WEEVIL, &C. 
 
 iJ.T 
 
 — tail usually armed with a sting — larvas mostly like maggots ; some like "O&tcfr- 
 pillars — Pupse with the legs and wings unconfined. 
 
 Vn. DiFTERA — {Flies, Mo$qiv' Onatt, <fcc.) — Insects with a hoitay' or 
 fleshy proboscis, two wings only, . two organs called ballancers or poi3er£i 
 behind the wings. The larvoe'are ii-iggots — transformation complete. .J„ 
 
 ,^.. 
 .M 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 
 ,:,:-,> ,,•,); 'i ■ ''^ ■>. r COLEOPTERA. •• •''.,' 
 
 Cockchafers — Spring Beetles — ^Wire-worm— Weevils^Naturo and habits of these Iti^e%|8 
 — Their derastations — Best means of preyenting them. ' 
 
 The insects comprised in this order are very numerous, we shall here ^mplj 
 notice those which are injuriorjs to the wheat crop ; thede are the Cockchc^s 
 or May Flies, the Elater or spring beetles, with their destructive laryee tKe 
 ioire-worm, and one of the numerous family of weevils. | .. 
 
 Beetles, it will be remembered, are biting insects, and are providi^d wit^ftir^ 
 pairs of jaws moving sidewise ; their wings are covered and concealed by a pair 
 of horny cases or shells, meeting in a straight line on the top of the back, KvA 
 usually having a small triangular or semi-circular piece called the soutel^ we&ea 
 between their bases. Hence the order to which these insects belong is caff^" 
 Coleoptera, a word signifying wings in a sheath. Beetle, in old English "^ 
 bytl, or bitel, means a biter or insect that bites. 
 
 The Cockchafer beUngs to the genus meloldntha, a word used by the (jrrei^^ 
 to distinguish the same kind of insects which were supposed by them to ha-^/i 
 duced from or with the flowers of apple trees, as the name itself implies. Tt^ 
 following are the general characters of the family of Melolonthadse, or M(^lK)Ion|-| 
 thians — the body is oblong oval, convex, and goijcrally of a brownish colour,, Jkhe 
 head is enclosed in a corselet, which is slightly narrowed in front, and most 
 commonly attached to the elytra or wing-case behind. The antennae &Te:a63oa»r 
 posed of ten joints terminating in a mass like a plume, which the insect diaplayfii 
 at will, sometimes to the number of seven leaves, larger and more perfectly ae(ve<-[ 
 loped in the males than females. The bodies of melolontha are very often Telveti 
 like, and covered with hairs and imbricated scales, differently coloured like the.' 
 butterflies. The powerful and horny jaws are admirably fitted for outtins and 
 grinding the leaves of plants, upon which these beetles subsist, their double 
 claws supporting them securely on the foliage, and their strong and jagged folre. 
 legs being formed for digging in the ground, point out to us the place of t%iift 
 transformations. :.: -[ 
 
 The cockchafer (Melolontha vulgaris) is hatched from an egg, which the- 
 pare^it deposits in a hole about six inches deep which she digs for the purpc^s'^.' 
 The eggs are oblong, of a bright yellow colour, and are placed regularly side by' 
 side ; each female lays from one to two hundred, which she abandons as soian its 
 deposited, generally ascending to the surface again, and perishing in a shc^rt^l 
 time. From the eggs are hatched in the space of fourteen days, sometime^' 
 longer, little whiteish grubs or maggots, each provided with six legs near, the^ 
 head and a mouth furnished with strong jaws. They now feed upon the 'roots 
 of plants with great voracity, and sometimes commit ravages of so deplorable' a 
 kind as totally to disappoint the best founded hopes of the husbandman. ' As- 
 they increase in size and strength, they become able to make their way with e^^' 
 under ground, and continue their ravages upon the roots of plants. Wheiir i&e 
 grub has attained its greatest size, it is an inch and-a-half long, and half-an-%'db 
 thick, perfectly white with a red head, having a semi-circular lip, and a strofa^ 
 pair of jaws. It has two antennae, but is destitute of eyes. The subterraneaiii" 
 
8 
 
 PRIZE ESSAY: 
 
 1- 
 
 '1' 
 
 •I 
 
 existence of these animals is extended to four years, and as their food is not 
 accessible during the cold weather, they burjr themselves sufficiently deep in the 
 soil to be safe from the frost, and paas the winter in a state of torpidity. When 
 the spring restores them to animation and activity, they revisit the upper stra- 
 tum of the ground, having at each annual awakening undergone a change of 
 skin. At the end of three years they have acquired their full growth as larvn. 
 — they then cease eating, and void the residue of their food. If opened at this 
 period, the skin is found to be completely filled with a mass of white, oily matter, 
 resembling cream, apparently destined as a reserve for the alimentation of the 
 insect during the period of its remaining in the form of a nymph, which is 
 scarcely less than six months. To undergo their final change, these larvse bore 
 into the earth to the depth of two feet or more ; there, by its motions from side 
 to side, each grub forms an oval cavity which is lined with some glutinous sub- 
 stance thrown from its. mouth. The larva being thus secured pmoi iniJ '^? 
 ;up? state bj bursting its skin, coming forth as a soft whitish nyiJJve^tibiting 
 the rudiments of elytra, antennfig, &o. The ins^^t then graduuly acquires con- 
 sistence and colour, becoming of a brownish hue, and thus it rem*'*^^ «y^*'[i *je' 
 month of February, when the thin fibre enclosing thfi body is rent, and three 
 months afterwards the perfected beetle digs ita way to the surface, escaping from 
 Its grovelling mode of life, to soar throu|sh the air and disporting in sunshine 
 »nd shade. From this circumstance the German name Mmka^er, and the 
 English May hug or beetle has been given. From Kirby and Spence we learn 
 that the larvae of the cockchafer will destroy whole acres of grass. They under- 
 mine the richest meadows and so loosen the turf, that it will roll up as if cut 
 with a turfing spade.* These grubs did so much injury to a poor farmer near 
 Norwich that the oonrt of that city allowed him .3625, and tho man and his ser- 
 
 *"?«.!??!? ^i *^ '^«»*^«ed eighty bushels of the beetle. It waa f<* 
 the destruction of these grubs thaf. *V- n."' ^^^.t of Vva^Jlr,A ii\ a • x 
 
 of ArtsiuLon.l'^- - ^oveiT^^^* ^r France and the Society 
 
 iA ♦*•* -v/u onered the premiums as mentioned aoovfi ill the introduction 
 
 , .»iis essay. Attempts have been made to turn these insect.8 to good account, 
 by procuring oil from them. M. Breard, Mayor of Honfleur in France, and 
 proprietorof an oil mill, having offered one franc per bushel for cockchafers, 
 procured seventeen bushels, from which he obtained twenty-eight quarts of good 
 lamp oil. A kind of grease has also been made from them in Hungary, f 
 
 In their winged state, these beetles, with several other species, act as con- 
 spicuous a part in injuring the trees, as the larvae do in the destruction of her- 
 bage, young wheat, and other plants ; after escaping from the ground in their 
 perfect state, they pass the greater part of the day upon trees, clinging to the 
 underside of the leaves, in a state of repose. As soon as evening approaches, 
 they begin to buzz among t:io branches, and continue on the wing till near mid- 
 night. Their flight is very irregular, darting hither and thither, hitting against 
 objects in their way with a force that often causes them to fall against the 
 ground. They frequently enter houses at night, attracted by the lights. The 
 boldness with which they will rush against objects, seeming to threaten an 
 attack without the power of causing harm, has caused them to be called dors, 
 that is darers ; while their seeming blindness and stupidity have become pro- 
 verbial in the expressions " blmd as a beetle," and beetle headed. The rava- 
 ges they commit amongst the leaves of trees and shrubs is sometimes so great 
 as to resemble a visitation of locusts, and is the cause of much misery to the 
 inhabitants of those districts infested by them. MoufTet relates that in the year 
 1574, such a number of them fell into the river Severn, as to stop the wheels, 
 of the water mills ; and in the Philosophical Transactions, it is stated that in th& 
 
 *Kirby and Spence. f Ibid. 
 
 In 
 
 chi 
 
 in 
 
WIRE-WORM, AC. 
 
 4 
 
 year 1688 they filled the hedges and trees of Galway, in such infinite numbers, 
 as to cling to each other like bees when swarmine; and when on the wing, 
 darkened the air, annoyed travellers, and produced a sound like distant drums. 
 In a short time the leaves of all the trees, for some miles round, were so totally 
 consumed by them, that at midsummer the country wore the aspect of winter.* 
 
 Every attentive observer must be familiar with the appearance of the cock' 
 chafer as it flutters about in the warm evenings of May, although many are not 
 aware of the destruction it commits amongst plants and trees in its iarva es well 
 as in ita perfect state; as these beetled frequently commit serious ravages on 
 fruit trees it may be well to mention that they can be effectually exterminated 
 by shaking them from the trees in the morning upon clothes spread to receive 
 them when they fall, after which they should be thrown into boiling water to 
 kill them, and may then be given as food to swine. As the methods of destroy- 
 ing the grubs of this beetle are similar to those employed for eradicating the 
 wire-worm or grub of the spring-beetle — they will be mentioned when 'treating 
 of the latter insect. 
 
 The Elater, or spring-beetle, belongs to a group of coleopterous insects, form- 
 ing the type of the order Elateridx, many of which species are the parents of 
 the numerous kinds of wire-worms which so dreadfully infest the crops of the 
 farmer. These wire-worms are not to be confounded with the American 
 wire-worm — a species of lulus — which is not" a true insect, but belongs to 
 the class Mtriapoda, a name derived from the great number of feet with 
 which most of the animals included in it are furnished, whereas the true 
 wire-worm has only six feet. The body of the elater is comparatively long, 
 the head is sunk to the eyes in the thorax, the antennae are of moderate length, 
 and more or less notched on the inside. The legs are short and slender and the 
 feet are five-jointed; on the under side of the breast, between the bases of the 
 first pair of legs, there is a short blunt spine, the point of which is usually con- 
 cealed in a corresponding cavity behind it. When the insect by any accident 
 falls upon the ground, its legs are so short and its back so convex, that it is un- 
 able to turn itself over, it then folds its legs close to its body, benda back the 
 head and thorax, and thus unsheaths its breast spine, then by suddenly straight- 
 ening its body, the point of the spine is made to strike upon the e<k;e of the 
 sheath, which gives it the power of a spring, and reacts upon the body of the 
 insect so as to through it perpendicularly in the air ; thus, by a half somerset, they 
 have the power of regaining their natural position ; hence the entomological 
 name of elaters, and the popular name of spring-beetles, skip-jacks, click-beetles, 
 &c. The elaters are of various colours, some are of a reddish browD, some 
 mouse coloured, and some black. 
 
 The eggs of these beetles are very minute, of a yellowish white colour and 
 slightly oval. The larvae are at first almost invisible to the naked eye ; they grow 
 slowly, and become when full grown three-fourths of an inch in length ; they 
 have a wire-like form, a smooth surface, and extreme toughness, hence they are 
 called wire-worms. They live five years in the proper state of larvae, and cast 
 off their skin, probably at three successive periods as they increase in size. The 
 wire-worm is of a pale ochreous colour, becoming darker when dead, with a few 
 hairs scattered over its skin; the back is round, the beUy rather flat, the head 
 w^edge-shaped ; there are twelve abdominal segments, the three first being fur- 
 nished with six short legs. There are two little antennae in front of the head, 
 they have each three joints, and similar to the palpi in form ; on each side of the 
 head behind the antennae is a minute dot, like a little eye. When the wire- 
 worm arrives at maturity it descends a considerable depth into the earth, and 
 
 *Kirby and Spence. 
 
10 
 
 PRIZE essat: 
 
 IK c 
 
 m 
 
 forms there an oval cull; it thou oasts its skia again and becomes a pupa. The 
 puj^a is long aud narroir in form like the perfect insect, but is of a yellowisli 
 white colour; the insects commonly remain in this state two or three weeks. 
 When the appointed time for their transformation comes, they t>V|rst froin tUeir, 
 tombs and arrive at the surface perfect beetles. " ri ' ! •' ''! '. ' 
 
 The most important crop which suffers from the wire-worm is wheat. A 
 writer in the Linnean Transactions estimates the loss of crops of this grain sown 
 upon clover leys, recently broken up pastures, pea and bean stubbles, at about 
 a twentieth part of the whole; the proportion is sometimes greater, and some- 
 times the destruction is so excessive as to require the whole field to be ploughed 
 up. The attacks in general do not begin until spring, and are indicated by the 
 dying off of the lower leave?, and in the worst cases oy the falling of the plant. 
 The wire-worm attacks other crops besides wheat, such as oats and barley ; oats 
 when sown on newly broken leys suffer excessively, but wheat suffers the most 
 among the grain crops, and white turnips among the green ones. The writer 
 just above mentioned estimates the loss of wheat in England from the ravages 
 of the wire-worm annually at 60,000 bushels. 
 
 Three of the most effectual preventives of the ravages of the wire-worm are, 
 judicious fallowing, the judicious breaking up of leys and pastures, and the judi- 
 cious surface treatment of ploughed lands. A clean and careful summer fallow, 
 when accompanied with such a thorough burning of rubbish as will surely de- 
 stroy both the eggs and larvae of these beetles, is a perfect remedy against wire- 
 worms, and if it occurred at regular intervals would always be a more or less 
 powerful hindrance to their obtaining any lodgement, more especially if all the 
 couch grass and other similar weeds whose roots might afford sufficient susten- 
 ance to the worms till the corn crop had struck root, were carefully gathered and 
 burnc. In breaking up any old pasture a breast-plough should be used, to take off 
 not more than two inches of the turf in the first instance, which will secure the 
 crop from any attacks of the wire-worm ; for an additional depth of two inches 
 has so encouraged the pest that it has been known to destroy an entire field of 
 wheat. The advantage of the shallow paring is, that the roots of the herbage 
 die ; whereas, if the sod is ploughed four inches deep they lie and vegetate, and 
 afford sufficient sustenance to the worms until the wheat plants are forward 
 enough to furnish them with a more agreeable food. Planting the soil with 
 white mustard or woad has been found an effectual method of banbhing the 
 wire-Worm in England, there being something in those crops very obnoxious to 
 these insects; but this remedy is not applicable to Canada as such crops are not 
 grown here. 
 
 Another good remedy for wire-worms is the application, by sprinkling, top- 
 dressing, or intermixture with manure, of some substance which without injur- 
 ing the plants, would kill the larvas. Any strong saline solution would probably 
 have the desired effect, and at the same time would benefit the soil. Nitrate of 
 soda thus applied proved iu one case most beneficial. Lime and soot if applied to 
 the soil before sowing any grain will, it is affirmed, kill the wire-worms. Common 
 salt on light lands is highly efficacious in destroying them. In England they 
 slice potatoes, turnips and other T6getables, aud place them over the field or 
 garden which attract the larvee, and they are then picked off every morning by 
 women and oh'^dren appointed for this purpose. 
 
 Bierkander, a Swedish observer, who tried many experiments in order to de- 
 stroy these p^ts, found after all that hand-picking is one of the best remedies. 
 On one occasion he employed a ehild to follow the plough and pick up the 
 worms, by this means three hundred and fiffcy-ome were coHeoted in a piece of 
 land 600 feet lone and 56 broad. He considered it would he serviceable if 
 children always followed the plough and gathered these yellow worms into a 
 
wBsyiitS* 
 
 m 
 
 ravages 
 
 and 
 
 bottle, as they would by that means be considerably dimlnisliccl; nad pcrhap^iit^^^ 
 time completely czte^mLated. ^ t ", to 
 
 Birds of many kinds, both tame and wild, are greedy destroyers of ^%|{ 
 
 worms 
 
 ; the chief are ducks, turkeys, common poultry^ night-hawks, and aJM^^^ 
 all rooks. These last will fearlessly follow ihe plougn to feed upon tbe mrcr. 
 worms and other insects ; the form of his bill, his strength and assiduity espccji 
 adapt him for detecting these larvas in their hiding places. A writer on ' 
 subject states that he had repeatedly examined the crops of rooks : in six yc^ogj; 
 that had been shot, the crops were nearly filled with wireworms; in the oxp^^ 
 of oAcrs he found the larvae of the cockchafer and other grubs. The following; 
 remarks by a Mr. T. G. Clithero are very interesting: " In the neighbour] 
 of my native place, in the county of York, is .a rookery bckloogi^ 
 Vavasour, Esq., of Weston, in Wharfdale, in which it is estiinate^ tiulHitil^e'are 
 10,000 rooks : that one pound of food a week is a veiy modeiate aflbwancc 
 for each bird, and that nine-tenths of their food consists of jrprms, insects, 
 and their larvae. Here, then, there is the enormous quantity of 468,0001bs., or 
 209 tons of worms, insects, and their larvae, destroyed by the rooks of a single 
 rookery in one year. To every one who knows how very destructive to vegeta- 
 tion are the larvae of insects as well as worms fed upon by rooks, some slight 
 idea may be formed of the devastation which rooks are the means of preventing^.' 
 
 These fapts regarding the destruction of injurious insects by birds are wdlj 
 worthy of the earneist attention of Canadian farmers; too many of whom showsuQn.,. 
 a want for taste in neglecting to plant shrubs and trees about their premises, ancL , 
 thus deprive insect-devouring birds of necessary shelter and encouragement jtou.,; 
 increase in cleared settlements; nature has wisely provided a remedy for neai^.^, 
 every evil, but by not paying attention to the economy of nature, man, by 1^37^ 
 shortsightedness, too often deranges its operations, and renders its wise provisim^ . , 
 useless. Although, the ravages of these wire-worms are not so alarming in theii;,,v 
 extent in Canada as they have proved in Europe, yet, as the settlements beconi&r,! 
 older, and the slovenly farming so often witnessed is pursued, we may expec| ", 
 their ravages to increase. Our insect-eating birds ought therefore to be cherisKed."', 
 and encouraged for their valuable services in destroying these plagues. Althougtj^^ 
 we have no rooks we have crows, which may be seen in spring feeding on t]^V' 
 grubs turned up in a newly ploughed field; possibly, as the climate of Canad^'j! 
 becomes ameliorated and the winters less severe, colonies of rooks may be i^^ , 
 duced to take up their residence amongst us.* Those who have never seen a ', 
 rookery are referred to that quaint description of one which is so happily pour- 
 trayed by Washington Irving in his " Bracebridge Hall." 
 
 In addition to birds, many quadrupeds such as the weasel, skunk, rat, and mole, 
 are devourera of these beetles, which are also sometimes the prey of other species 
 of coleopterous insects. In France the golden ground beetle (^Scarabonus auratus) 
 devours the female dor or chafer at the moment when she is about to deposit 
 her eggs. This beetle, with several others equally predaceous, are found on this 
 continent, and contribute to check the increase of the destructive Melolonthadse. 
 
 The Weevil is the next of the coleopterous order of insects which will ei|r 
 gage a portion of our attention. This tribe is veiy numerous— nearly 400^1 ^ 
 species having been scientifically named and described — in consequence of thi^ "^ 
 fact many have ridiculed the idea of attempting to make the agricultural coni/ ^^ 
 munity acquainted with the leading characteristics of those speeies which ar^^r* 
 injurious to vegetation — more especially to the wheat crop. Now, it so happens f 
 that only one species of the weevil, the calandra granarCa, or curculio granarx4i 
 
 ''Since the above was written the author has learnt that an attempt to introduce rookai^i 
 from England into Virginia, U. S., has been tried once but proved a failure. ) 
 
12 
 
 PRtZE ESSAY : 
 
 of Linnasua is found to destroy wheat; and it does not attack the growine 
 crop, but the stored ^rain. As has been mentioned before, the name " weevil ' 
 has been given in this country to at least six different kinds of insects, two of 
 which are moths, two are flies, and two are beetles; this has caused a great deal 
 of confusion, and many communications to agricultural and other journals from 
 intelligent and observant persons have been of no practical use in consequence 
 of this misapplication of names. A few remarks, therefore, on the grain weevil, 
 although it is not actually injurious to vegetation, may be useful as tending ta 
 prevent future mistakes. 
 
 TBI Tnoif— Magnified. 
 
 Nat. Size. 
 
 CATERPILLAR. 
 
 ^^QHJXU* 
 
 OkrmTlUKR—MagmfiedL 
 
 The weevils belong to a group called Mki/nchopJioridoe, or snout-beai'er?. 
 The characters of this group are v\rell defined and enable a very lAiperficial 
 observer readily to distinguish its species from those of all other ikmilies, except 
 perhaps the Xylophagi, or vtrood-eaters. The snout or beak of a weevil is its 
 grand characteristic. Another distinctive mark of the whole family is fur- 
 nbhed by the antennae, which are usually knobbed at the end, and are inserted 
 on the muzzle or snout, on each side of which there w generally a short groove^ 
 to receive the base of the antennae when they are turned backwards. Their 
 feelers are very small, and for the most part concealed in the mouth. Few 
 weevils are much observed on the wing, many which confine thenoselves to 
 the ^ound have the olytra or wing cases soldered together at the suture, and 
 are mcapable of using Uiem. The body is usually more or less arched length- 
 wise,^ and in many instances is pear-shaped. The legs are short, not fitted for 
 runuine or digging. The feet are four-jointed, thus distinguishing them from 
 the melolonthians, the feet of which have five joints. Thry make use of their 
 snouts not only in feeding, but in boring holes into which they afterward drop* 
 their eggs. 
 
 WHXAT WKSViL.— Ca/andra Granaria. 
 (Natural Size.) 
 
 tTHBAT WBKViL. — (Magnified.) 
 
 The larvsQ of the snout beetles are mostly short fieshy grubs, of a whitbh' 
 colour, and without legs. The head is covered with a hard shell, and the seg- 
 ments of their bodies are very convex. These characters will serve to distin- 
 guish then from the larvae of flies. Their jaws are strong and horny, and with< 
 them they gnaw those parts of plants which serve for their food. It is in the 
 larva state that weevils are most injurious to vegetation. Some of them bove- 
 into and spoil fruits, grain, and seeds ; some attack the leaves and stems of plants,, 
 ausio^ them to swell and become cankered; others penetrate into the solid 
 od, interrupt the course of the sap, and occasion the branch above the seat of 
 
 i\ 
 
 „-j . .-rf — .^..^^^ .. 
 
WEEVILS. 
 
 13 
 
 attack to wither and d Most of these grubs are transformed within the vege- 
 table substances upon ;yioh they have lived, some howevar, when fully grown, 
 go into the ground, where they are changed to ^upa, and bfterwards to beetles. 
 
 The true wheat weevil ( Calandra granaria) is a slender beetle of a pitchy red 
 colour, about one-eighth of an inch long; its antennas are scarcely longer than 
 the head and the rostrum or snout; the terminal joint of its antennso h a eomc' 
 what ovate club. The snout is slender and rather long, its thorax is elongate 
 and a little narrowed in front, and covered with long oblong punctures ; its 
 elytra do not cover the abdomen, and are marked with deep lines, faintly punc- 
 tured in the bottom. The larva is a small whitish worm about a line in length, 
 comprising nine segments; the body soft, and tlxe only external organs a pir of 
 strong jaws. The pupa is white and somewhat transparent, and lies within the 
 envelope of a grain of wheat like the kernel of a nut within the shell. The 
 female deposits her eggs upon the wheat after it is housed, and the young 
 grubs when hatched, immediately burrow into the wheat, each individual occu- 
 pying a single grain, the substance of which it devours so as to leave nothing 
 but tne hull; and this destruction goes on within, while no external appearance 
 leads to its discovery, loss of weight being the only evidence of the mischief 
 caused among the grain. The ^cundity of the female is so vast, that in a 
 single season (according to one authority) upwards of 23,000 individuals may 
 descend from one mother ; Kirby and Spenco say 6000 descendants may spring 
 from a single pair ; even from this calculation we may estimate the countless 
 millions, equal in their effects to an Egyptian plague, which may spring up when 
 the breeders are numerous. The perfect insect, also, feeds upon the grain, at- 
 tacking kernels which have not been used by the larvse, and eating portions of 
 their substance ; it does not appear to consume much of the interior of the grains, 
 but seems to inflict damage principally by its numerous piercings and fractures 
 of their envelopes. 
 
 There have been many remedied proposed against the attacks of the corni 
 weevil. The passing of the grain through a fanning machine, as near as possible 
 to the time when the great proportion of the insects are transforming from larv8e> 
 to pupae, is cheaper and easier than any other proposed method, and if all the 
 damaged grains were blown away, as from being very light thev probably would, 
 the insect might in a season or two, by this means, be expelled from the pre- 
 mises hitherto infected. These weevils may be effectually destroyed by kiln- 
 drying the wheat; there is danger, howtfver, of over-drying or calcining the grain 
 by this process. Another scheme proposed, which is much approved, is to pro- 
 vide a small heap of grain, (barley is the best, as the insects are fondest of it,) 
 this is to be placed near the principal store, which is then to be continually 
 moved about ; the weevils fond of quiet, will resort to the undisturbed heap. 
 When collected there in sufficient numbers, they ma^be scalded in the heap 
 with boiling water; this practice has been attended wvEh highly favourable- 
 results. Grain that is kept cool, well ventilated, and is frequently moved, is 
 said to be exempt from attack. 
 
 The pea weevil (Bruchus Pisi) is one of the most destructive of this familv 
 to the growing crops of the farmor. It is knovirn in this country by the incorrect 
 name of the pea-bug, but it is a weevil, and if supposed to be a native of the 
 United States. The original meaning of the word Bruchus means devourer, 
 a most appropriate name for this insect, so destructive to the pea crop. 
 
 Few people are aware how many insects they swallow unconsciously, while 
 enjoying the luxury of early green pease. If the pods are carefully exanuned, 
 small discoloured spots may be discovered inside, each one corresponding to a 
 similar spot on the opposite pea. If this spot be opened, a small whitish grub 
 destitute of feet will be found ; this is the larva of the pea weevil, whirh lives 
 
 . .MiiiiiBmia i aM 
 
 5'r«l«-*a*..;i«t#ii'.*«*<«fcl 
 
 :%: 
 
 -.—,,—.*—«-•— 
 
u 
 
 PRIZE E68AT: 
 
 upon the substance of the poa, and arrives at its full size by the tinae that the 
 pea becomes dry. This larva bores a round bole from the hollow in the centre 
 of the pea to the hull, but leaves the latter and generally the germ untouched. 
 Hence these damaged peas will frequently sprout and grow. The larva is 
 transformed to a pupa within its cell in the pea, in the autumn, and before the 
 spring, casts its slcin again, becomes a beetle, and gnaws a hole through the 
 thin hull in order to make its escape, which frequently does not happen before 
 tlie peas are planted for a crop. The weevil lavs its eggs singly in the punc- 
 tures which it makes in the tender pod, just as the peas are formed, the vrubs 
 as soon as they are hatched penetrate the pod and enter the peas, making a 
 hole so fine as hardly to be discovered, ana which is soon closed up. Sume< 
 times evety pea in a pod will contain a weevil grub, and in some parts so great 
 has been the injury, that the inhabitants have been compelled to give up the 
 cultivation of this crop.* 
 
 In order to destroy this pea weevil, one plan recommended is to keep the 
 seed peas one year over before planting them, in tight vessuls. Others recom- 
 mend putting the peas in hot water just before sowing them, by which means 
 the weevils will be killed, and the sprouting of the peas will be quickened. 
 Late sown peas escape the attacks or this weevili as they are limited to a cer- 
 tain period for depositing their eggs, r,, •;...;,.., . ,1 4fi 
 
 The curculio which attack plums, peaches, and many other fruits, also 
 causing a black warty disease on the branches of plum trees, is a beetle of the 
 weevil tribe, called Rhynchoinui Nienuphar, or Curculio Nenuphar, hxxt bb a 
 description of these would be foreign to the proposed object of ^tho present 
 essay, we wiH not now dwell upon tnem. 
 
 The rice weevil ( Calcmdra Oryzx) is very destructive in the Southern States 
 to the growing crops of rice, it also attacks stored grain ; the remedies for 
 them, aretho same as those mentioned for the grain weevil, Calamha Granaria. 
 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ,,fi r- ' , . ORTHOPTBRA. 
 
 ,ikla. jfo Insect under this ordor particularly destruotiye to Wheat. — Locusts. 
 
 ■ -'I 
 
 This order of insects will need, but a very brief notice from us on the 
 present occasion, for although it embraces the family of locusts, so well known 
 for ages as extensive destroyers of vegetation, yet as Canada has so far escaped 
 their ravages, they cannot receive a place in an essay devoted principally to 
 insects injurious to the wheat crop. We may observe in passing, that locusts 
 at various times have appeared in ^reat abundance in different parts of the 
 United States. In the State of Maine they often u)pear in great multitudes, ' 
 and are greedy destroyers of the half parched herbage. In 1749 and 1754, 
 they were very numerous and voracious — no vegetables escaped them — they 
 even devoured the potato tops; and in 1743 and 1756, they covered the whole 
 country and threatened to devour every thing green. So great was the alarm 
 they occasioned, that days of prayer and fasting were appointed on account of 
 the threatened calamity. Their voracity extended to every vegetable* even to 
 the tobacco plant and the burdock. The garments also of labourers, hung up 
 in the field while th^ were at work, were destroyed in a few hours.f In 
 1838 the vicinity of Bialtinc ore, Marvland, was infected by insects of this kind, 
 and the crops of the Mormons, in tho territory of Utah, have suffered dread- 
 fully from their ravages. 
 
 ii i.M rt'.TI f» 
 
 * Harris. f Harris. 
 

 CniNCU BUG, TURIPS, AC. 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 lIBMIPTEnA. ? 
 
 Chinch Bug.— Thripi.— DeTftstationa and Remodieg. 
 
 16 
 
 .ri V. r^ Yvv /'i 
 
 Uiv]oi' thiH head or order are classed the numerous family of Aphides and 
 Buffs, which infest plants and commit great depredations. Of these, the 
 Chinch Jiutj and Thnpn are found to be hurtful to the wheat crop. 
 
 The Chinch Bug. The word bug[ is used by entomologists for various kinds 
 of insects, all, like the bed-buffs, havincrthe mouth provided with a slender beak, 
 which, when not in use, is Dent under the body, and lies upon the breast 
 between the legs. Bugs have no jaws, but live by sucking the juices of ani- 
 mals and plants, which they obtam b^ piercing them with their beaks. Owine 
 to the peculiar construction ot the wing-covers of these insects, the hinder half 
 of eacn being thin and filmv like the win^s, while the fore part is opaque, tho 
 order is called Ilcmiptera, literally half wings. There are other insects having 
 the same kind of beuk, whose wing-covers are entirely transparent, and are yet 
 classed under this order, because they so much resemble them in structure 
 and habits. Bugs undergo three transformations, but retain nearly the same 
 form in all their stages, the transformations consisting of a gradual develope- 
 ment of wing-covers and wings, and increase in the size of thoir bodies. 
 
 Kerby and Spenco in their Introduction to Entomology, mention the chinch 
 bug in the following terms : — " America suffers also in its wheat and maize 
 from the attack of an insect, which, for what reason I know not, is called the 
 " chintz bug-fly." It appears to be apterous, and is said in scent and colour to 
 resemble the bed-bug. They travel in immense columns from field to field, 
 like locusts, destroying everything as they proceed, but their injuries are con- 
 fined to the States south of the 40th degree of north latitude. From this 
 account the depredator here noticed should belong to the tribe of Geocorisee, 
 Latrcillo ; but it seems very difficult to conceive how an insect that lives by 
 suction, and has no mandibles, could destroy these plants so totally." 
 
 This description of the chinch bugs is not quite correct. They are not con- 
 fined to the States south of the 40th degree ; for Harris found one in his own 
 garden in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also received specimens from Wis- 
 consin and Illinois. He also ascertained that tho chinch bug is the Lygstut 
 leucopterus, or white-winged Lygaeus described by Mr* Say. In its perfect 
 State it is is not apterous, but is provided with wings, and then measures about 
 threo'twentieths of an inch in length. It is ^adily distinguished by its white- 
 M^g covers, upon each of which mwce is ashort centtal line, and a large mar- 
 gm2 oval spot of a black colour. The irest of the body is black and downy, 
 except the beak, the legs, the antenncB at base, aad the hinder edge of the 
 thorax, which are reddish yelloWt and the -fore part of the thorax which has a 
 grayish lustre. The young and wingless individuals are at first bright red, 
 changing with age to brown and black, and are always marked with a white 
 band across the back. Tho eggs of the dubch bug are laid in the ground, in 
 which they have been found in great abundance, at the depth of an inch or 
 more. They make their appearance on wheat about the middle of June, and 
 may be seen in their various stages of growth on all kinds uf grain, on com, 
 and on herds grass, during the whole summer.* 
 
 The Thrips are such exceedingly minute insects, that to the naked eye they 
 seem but as little specks, or rather like short lines, not exceeding the length and 
 thickness of the letter i. In spring, these minute creatures may be found nin- 
 uing about the petals of flowers, particularly the dandelion ; but in summer 
 
 * Harris. 
 
ii 
 
 PRIZE essay: 
 
 and autumn thoy flv into houses in considei-able numbers, alighting upon the 
 hands and face, and occaaioning that troublesome irritation which many people 
 experience during hot weather, without knowing the cause. These insects are 
 highly noxious to the farmer, by deriving their nourishment from the embrvo 
 grains of the wheat plant, insinuating itself between the internal valve of tne 
 corolla and the grain, it inserts its instrument of suction in this last, and causes 
 it to shrivel bv depriving it of all its juices. In 1806 one-third of the wheat 
 crop on the richest plains of Piedmont was destroyed by this seemingly insig- 
 nificant little insect ; in the same year the wheat in England also suflTered fVom 
 the same cause. In its larva state this insect is smaller than the maggot of the 
 wheat fly ; it is orange coloured, and is provided with six legs, two antennae, 
 and a short beak, and is very nimble in its motions. It may probably be de- 
 stroyed by giving the grain a thorough coating of slacked lime. The Aphidet 
 or plant-lice to v^ich ramilv the thrips belong, are exceedingly prolific; Reau- 
 mur computes that each aphis may produce about 00 young, and that, in con- 
 sequence, in five generations the descendants from a single animal would amount 
 to the astonishing number «^,904,900,000, or nearly six billions. 
 
 . CHAPTER V. 
 
 LEPIDOPTERA. 
 
 Angoumoiu Moth. — Nootua Cubioularia, or Orain-Worm. — Tinoa Granella, or Orain- 
 Moth. — Anacampsis Gerealella, or Angoumois Moth. — History. — DeTafltation. — 
 Remedies. 
 
 This order comprises butterflies, hawk-moths or splinges, and moths. Their 
 larvffi are called caterpillars, than which there are no insects so commonly and 
 so universally destructive ; they are inferior only to locusts in voracity, and 
 exceed them in their powers of'^ increase. As each female usually lays from 
 two hundred to five hundred eggs, some idea may be formed of Uie millions 
 which would spring from one hundred butterflies in the course of three or four 
 
 1 ii i» 11 • 
 
 f'j.iyj.\-'fcji; 
 
 generations.' Caterpillers generallj sjiboijt on vegetal (a food, hence their 
 injuries to vegetation are very great, ^d liiust have attracted the notice of 
 every attentive observer. 
 
MOTHS, kC. 
 
 17 
 
 The word hpidopli'va moans scaly wings. The moaly powder witli]which 
 the wings of butterflies and moths are covered, when magnified by a powerful 
 lens are found to consist of little scales, lapping over like the scales of fishes. 
 The body of those insects is also more or less cu cied with the same kind of 
 Ncales, together wit)' hair or down in some species. 
 
 All lepidopteroi insects maybe arranged under thite primary divisions 
 which •re |ierceptihle to the most inexperienced obf- " ver : 
 
 1?*. The ButterHies {^Papilioncs) have the antennro krinUbed at the sid, and 
 Hy by doy only. 
 
 2nd. The Hawk-Moth (Sphtngei) generally have the ontennie thick '^ned in 
 the middle, and tapering at ^ach end, They fly in the morning and ovefi'nflr 
 twilight. 
 
 3rd. The Moths (Phalcnet) thb antennae taper ft-om the base the ex:- 
 tremity, and are either naked or ore feathered on each side. They i. mostly 
 by night. 
 
 The insects of this order, that are injurious tc 'vheat, are the larvae of the 
 noi'lua cubicularii, the tinea granella, and the anacampth cerealella, all of 
 them moths, and the two latter confining their depredations to stored grain . 
 
 NocTUA CuDicuLABiBS. — The larvae of these moths are small caterpillars, 
 which have been found very injurious to the wheat crop in England, by eat- 
 ing the grain before and after it is npe. It is figured and described by Mr. 
 J<Min Curtis, in the Journal of the Koyal Agricultural Society of England. 
 They also exist in North America and are known by the names, roheat-worm, 
 gray-worm, and brown-weevil. The name of grain-worms 'has likewise been 
 applied to them, hence, they may have sometimes been confounded with the 
 larvae of the wheat-midge, C'idkl<ami/ta Tritici ; they are, however, completely 
 distinct, and do not belong to the same order of insects. The larva is from three 
 to five-eighths of an inch long, of a yellowish brown color, it has twelve legs, 
 and ^' »e power of spinning and suspending itself by a thread. It feeds on 
 the kernel in the milky state, and also devours the germinating end of the rip- 
 ened grain. It is found in n;reat numbers in the chaff* when the grain is 
 threshed. Unlike the maggots of the wheat-fly, with which they have been 
 confounded, they remain flavouring the grain until after the time of harvest. 
 They have been seen in ini.t«en«< numbers upon bam floors after the grain has 
 been threshed, but they soon cruvvl away and conceal themselves in crannies 
 where they most likely undergo their transformations. They are supposed by 
 some to be identical with tiio clover-woi m. They may be distinguished from 
 the maggot of the wheat-miuge ny rtieir brownish colour, being three-eighths 
 of an inch in length, having legs, and capable of suspending themselves by a 
 thread of their own spinning. Whereas the whent-midge maggot is of a deep 
 
18 
 
 PRIZB essay: 
 
 yellow colour, only one-tunth of an inch long, destitute of leg^, and un&ble to 
 •pin a thread. > 
 
 These destructive caterpillars may be neparated from the wheat by thresh- 
 ing and Y/innowing ; the chaff containing them should be put into large tubs 
 and boiling water poured upon it sufficient to kill all the insects. 
 
 Tinea Granella, or com moth. — This insect sometimes attacks grain in 
 the sheaf, but principally infests granaries, feeding on all sorts of grain, but 
 most partial to wheat. The perfect moth does not exceed half an inch in 
 length ; its wings when laid over each other slope at the sides. The upper 
 wings are whitish coloured, with dark brown and dusky spots ; its body is 
 brown variegated with white, and its head has a thick tun of yellowish-white 
 hairs. Thirty eggs or upwards are laid by each female ; they are so minute 
 as to be scarcely observable to the naked eye ; one or two are attached Jo each 
 grain of wheat. The larva is speedily hatched, and immediately bores its way 
 into the grain, closes up the opening by which it entered, and remains in the 
 interior till it eats up every thing but the husk ; this process it keeps on re- 
 peating in different grains till it is full grown; it glues together all the grains 
 which it has used, and tracks all the path over which it passes wi^ a silken 
 and somewhat excrementitious web ; when full grown it leaves the chain of 
 emptied grains on which it has fed, and runs across all the neighbouring grain, 
 covering it with greyish-white webs. 
 
 The full grown caterpillar is about half an inch long and has 16 feet, its 
 bocly is yellowish-white, its head brownish-red, and its neck marked with two 
 transverse brown stripes. When running across the grain they are in search 
 of a retreat in which to undergo their transformation, they get into cracks in 
 the floor and around the corn bin, and each spins arounds itself an oval pod or 
 cocoon about the size of a grain of wheat, from which in due time the full 
 grown moth escapes. This insect prevails in all parts of North America and 
 has been mistaken for the corn weevil. 
 
 In order to destroy these insecLa when the existence of the chrysalids is 
 known or suspected, the floor walls and roof of the granary ought to be well 
 swept with a hard brush, or washed with some caustic solution, such as the ley 
 of wood ashes. When the caterpillars have effected a lodgment and the corn 
 is not to be used for sowing, the whole of the grain should be kiln dried. 
 
 ' • • ANGOUMOIS MOTH. 
 
 iyi^ii^« 
 
 Majrniflcd Cattcrpillar. 
 Natural Size CattcrpiUar. 
 
 ^^^^ 
 
 Natural Size Moths. 
 
 Magnified Moth. 
 
 Anacampsis Cerealella, or Angoumois Moth, has been found to be more 
 destructive in granaries in some provinces of France than the preceding 
 kind. In its perfect state it is a little moth of a pale cinnamon-brown colour 
 above, having the lustre of satin, with narrow broadly fiingeJ hind wings of an 
 ashen or leaden colour, two thread-like antennae, a spiral tongue of moderate 
 length, and two tapering feelers turned over itc head. It lays from sixty to 
 ninety eggs, placing them in clusters of twenty or more on a single grrain. 
 From these are hatched, in from four to six days, little caterpillars not thicker 
 than hairs. They immediately disperse, and each one selects for himself a 
 single grain and burrows into it at the most tender part, commonly where the 
 
MOTHS, JOINT-WORM, AC. 
 
 19 
 
 germ springs forth. Remaining concealed there it devours the mealy sub- 
 stance within the hull ; and this goes on so secretly that the loss is only de- 
 tected hy the softness of the grain or by deficiency in the weight. The cater- 
 pillar IS not more than one-fifth of an inch long, of a white colour with a 
 brownish head, six small pointed legs, and ten very small prop le^s. Having 
 eaten out the heart of the grain, which is enough for all its wants, it spins a sil- 
 ken web or curtain to divide the hollow grain lengthwise into two unequal cham- 
 bers, the smaller containing the rejected fragments of its food, and the larger 
 cavity serving instead of a cocoon, wherein the insect undergoes its transforma- 
 tions. The insects of the first, or summer brood, come to maturity in about 
 three weeks, remain but a short time in the chrysalis state, and turn to winged 
 moths in the autumn, and at this time may be found in the evening in great 
 numbers, laying their eggs on the grain stored in bams and granaries. The 
 moth-worms of the second brood remain in the grain through the winter, and 
 do not change to winged insects till the following summer, when they come 
 out, fly into the fields at night, and lay their eggs on the young ears of the 
 growing grain. Besides the two principal broods others are produced during 
 the whole summer, the production of the insects being retarded or accelerated 
 by differences in the temperature of the air. When damaged grain is sown 
 it comes up very thin, the infected kernels seldom sprout, but the insects 
 lodged in them remain alive, finish their transformations in the field, and in 
 due time come out of the ground in the winged form."* g^ 
 
 The Angoumoiij moth is unknown in England ; but has been found in several 
 parts of the United States, more particularly those between the thirty-sixth 
 and fortieth parallel of north latitude ; it has also been found in New England 
 where the cold weather has probably checked its progress. There is reason 
 to believe that it has been introduced into the States from Europe, and persons 
 fond of introducing seed wheat from foreign parti into this country should he 
 on their guard, lest they bring in this plague also. 
 
 These moths may be efTectually destroyed by drying the damaged grain in 
 an oven or kiln, at a heat of one hundred and sixty- seven degrees, Fahrenheit, 
 for a period of twelve hours. Or the heat may be reduced to one hundred 
 and four degrees and the time lengthened to two days. Fumigation in close 
 vessels with the gas of burning charcoal, is an effectual remedy which has the 
 advantage of neither imparting a bad flavour to the grain, or impairing its 
 powers of vegetating. A low temperature checks the propagation of the com 
 moth ; the larvae not being able to survive the winter in those places where the 
 thermometer falls to zero. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HYMENOPTERA. ' 
 
 Joint-worm — Habits — Ravages — and Preventives. 
 
 Under this order comes the Joint Worm, (Eurytoma hordei) an insect which 
 hns committed great depredations in the wheat crops of Virginia and other parts 
 of the United States. The body of the Eurytoma Hordei is jet black, and 
 slightly hairy. The head and thorax are opaque, and rough with dilated punc- 
 tures. The hind body is smooth and polished. The thighs, shanks, and claw 
 joints are blackish ; the knees and other joints of the feet are pale yellow. The 
 females are twelve or thirteen-huadredths of an inch long. The males are rathor 
 smaller, and arc distinguished from the females by the following characters. 
 
 ♦Hams, who compiled the above from the " Memoires " of Reaumur. 
 
*■ -1 
 
 20 
 
 PRIZE ES8AT: 
 
 ill 
 
 They have no piercer. The joints of their antennae are longer, and are surrounded 
 with whorls of little hairs. The hind body is shorter, less pointed behind, and 
 is connected with the thorax by a long stem or peduncle. The female lays 
 several eggs in the outer sheath of the stalk of the wheat plant, above the joints, 
 sometimes in the joint itself, the substance of which becomes enlarged and dis- 
 torted. The hollow of the stem becomes entirely obliterated at some parts by 
 the pressure of the enlarged sheath, while the surface exhibits several long pale 
 spots, slightly elevated like a blister. Each of the blistered spots covers an 
 elongated cavity, which contains a footless worm or maggot about the eighth of 
 an inch in length, of a pale yellow colour, of an oval form, and divided into 
 thirteen segments.* 
 
 Injured stalk and cells. 
 
 ^^ ^ am ^ffffffified Pupa, 
 
 Magnified Larva. "^ -» — 
 
 l^>>1ii%'iB? 
 
 Male.— {Mag.) 
 
 JOIST WORM. — {Eurytoma hordci.) 
 
 Female, — (Mag.) 
 [A] Nat, Size. 
 
 The ravages of the joint worm, according to Harrlf;, In the wheat fields of 
 Virginia, were first observed in Albemarle County, about ten years ago, and have 
 since extended to an alarming extent in many of the adjacent counties ; the loss 
 occasioned amounting often to one-third of the crop, in some cases, the farmers 
 did not reap as much as they sowed. As the disease is seated mostly near the 
 base of the straw, in or near the second or third joint, the greater part of the 
 diseased portions will be left in the stubble when the grain is reaped. Mo3t of 
 the insects remain unchanged in the stubble until the following year, consequently 
 it is of no use to plough under the stubble, as it has been found in Massachusetts 
 that the insects undergo their transformations when so turned under ground, 
 and easily make their way to the surface when the transformations are completed. 
 The most effectual method then of destroying these insects is to burn the stubble 
 containing them. All the refuse and straw unfit for fodder should likewise be 
 burnt. These precautions should be observed for several successive years, and 
 if carefully performed, will almost be sure to exterminate the Eurytoma. 
 
 " At the Joint Worm Convention, held at Warrentown, Virginia, in 1854, 
 the following method was recon>mended : — Prepare well the land intended for 
 wheat, and sow it in the beginning of autumn, with the earliest and most thrifty 
 and hardy varieties, and do nothing to retard the ripening of the crop, by 
 grazing or otherwise. Use guano or some other fertilizer liberally, particularly 
 when seeding corn land or stubble. Burn the stubble on every field of wheat, 
 rye, or oats, and all thickets or other harbors of vegetable growth, contiguous to 
 the crop. Sow the wheat in as large bodies, and in as compact forms as prac- 
 
 * Patent Office Report, U. S., 1854. 
 
HESSIAN FLY, MIDGE, AC. 
 
 21 
 
 ticable, and if possible, neighbours should arrange amongst themselves to sow 
 adjoining fields in the same year. Feed all the wheat, or other straw, which 
 may be infected, in racks or pens, or on confined spots, and in April set fire to 
 all refuse fragments about the racks, and on or before the first of May carefully 
 burn all the straw which has not been fed. The refuse of wheat, such as 
 screenings, &c., should also be destroyed, as the pupa case is hard, and not easily 
 softened by dampness or wet.."f 
 
 These directions are worthy of careful attention,* as being the remedies pro- 
 posed by those who have become painfully and practically acquainted with this 
 destructive insect. A free use of manure and thorough tillage, by promoting a 
 vigorous and rapid growth of the plant, is likely to render it less liable to suffer 
 from the attacks of this insect. Large fields, sown with a liberal supply of seed, 
 will probably escape better than those that arc smaller and thinner sown, as the 
 insects will not be able to penetrate so far when about to lay their eggs. Hence 
 the advantage of neighours combining where possible, to have their wheat sowa 
 in a large block. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 DIPTERA. 
 Cecidomyioe — Hessian Fly — Wheat-midge — History — Devastations — Remedies. 
 
 Under this order are classed all insects having only two wings, with two little 
 knobbed threads in the place of hind wings, and a mouth formed for sucking or 
 lapping. The word Diptera signifies two-winged. The young insects hatched 
 from the eggs of gnats and flies belonging to this order, are fleshy larvae, usually 
 of a whitish colour, and without legs. 
 
 W 
 
 ^ 
 
 Ventral view of the 
 terminal tegmenta 
 of the abdomen. 
 {Mag.) 
 
 Joints of Antmnoe. 
 Male.— [Mag.) 
 
 Nat. Size. HESSIAN flt. M"/''. — (Mag.) 
 
 The far-famed Hessian fly, and the wheat midge, belong to the family called 
 Cecidomyiadat, or gall gnats. The insects of this family are very numerous, 
 and most of them in the maggot state live in galls or unnatural enlargements of 
 the stems, leaves and buds of plants, caused by the punctures of the winged 
 insects in laying their eggs. The Hessian fly, wheat midge, and some others, 
 differ from the majority in not producing such galls. The proboscis of these 
 insects is very short, and does not contain the piercing bristles found in the long 
 proboscis of tlie biting gnats and mosquitos. Their antennae are long, composed 
 of many little bead-like joints which are more distant in the males than in the 
 other sex, and each joint is surrounded with short hairs. Their eyes are kidney 
 shaped ; their legs long and slender ; their wings have only two, three, or 
 four veins in them, and are fringed with little hairs round their edges; when 
 not in use their wings are generally carried flat on the back. The hind body of 
 
 * Harris. 
 
22 
 
 PRIZE essat: 
 
 Ir 
 
 h'?' 
 
 the female often ends with a retractile, conical tube, wherevrith thcj deposit 
 their eggs. Their young are little footless maggots, tapering at each end, and 
 generally of a deep yellow or oraoge colour. They live on the juices of plants, 
 and undergo their transformations either in these plants, or in the ground. 
 
 The Hessian Jli/. The American Entomologist, Say, was the first who satis- 
 factorily determined the species and genus of this insect, under the name of 
 Cecidomyia destructor. It obtained its common name from a supposition which 
 seems well founded, that it was brought to this continent in some straw by the 
 Hessian troops under the command of Sir William Howe in the War of the 
 Revolution. The statement of Sir Joseph Banks in his Report to the "British 
 Government in 1789, that " no such insect could be found to exist in Germany 
 or any other part of Europe," is not correct, for this insect or one like it, had 
 long been known in the vicinity of Geneva ; an account of it was given by 
 Duhamel in his *' Practical Treatise of Husbandry/'* and in a communication 
 made to the Duke of Dorset, in 1788, by the Royal Society of Agriculture of 
 France. It was not until the autumn of 1833, that this destructive insect, or a 
 species closely allied to it, was observed in Hungary, whether from its previous 
 rarity it had been overlooked, or had not found its way into the Austrian do- 
 minions, is not known. Kollart states that it appears from a report transmitted 
 to the Arch-Duke Charles, that in the beginning of June the ears of wheat were 
 observed to droop and the straw to bend, on his estates at Altenburgh, although 
 the crop was previously in fine condition. In a few days, patches on the poorest 
 soil in different parts became entangled, as if matted together by heavy rains or 
 high winds, which were supposed at first actually to have been the cause. This 
 soon proved to be unfounded, for the mischief gradually spread from the poor to 
 the best lands, until the whole crop was blighted. Two-thirds of the straw at 
 least was laid in less than a week, and the work of devastation was completed by 
 the heavy fall of rain which took place during the latter part of June. The 
 straw thus prostrated produced only small abortive ears ; the few grains they 
 contained were shrivelled, and would scarcely ripen, and the straw was of a very 
 bad quality. On examining the roots of those plants which had died off, the 
 soft straw where the larvae had stationed themselves in families, within the 
 sheath of the leaf, appeared withered, tough, and brown, yet not wounded. At 
 this period the larvaae were transformed into pupa, which W0re found in clusters 
 inside of each leaf sheath, at the first joint next to th^ crown of the root. On 
 the estates of the Duke of Saxe Cobourg, at Weikendorf, and in other parts of 
 the neighbourhood, whole fields were destroyed. In the year 1834, it was dis- 
 covered in Minorca, near Toulon in France, and in the vicinity of Naples. It 
 never seems to have been detected in Gi'^at Britain, and was first observed on 
 this continent in the year 1776, in the neighbourhood of Sir William Howe's 
 debarkation on Staten Island, and at Flat Buoh, on the west end of Long Island. . 
 Having multiplied in these places, the insect gradually spread over the southern 
 parts of New York and Connecticut, and continued to proceed inland at the rate 
 of fifteen or twenty miles a year. They reached Saratoga, two hundred miles 
 from their original station, in 1789. They were found west of the Alleghany 
 Mountains in 1797, having apparently advanced about thirty miles every sum- '^ 
 mer. Wheat, rye, barley, and even timothy grass were attacked by them, and 
 so great were their ravages in the larva state, that the cultivation of wheat was 
 abandoned in many places where they had establishv-d themselves. In a com- 
 munication by Mr. J. W. Jeffreys, published in the sixth volume of Buel's 
 " Cultivator,'' it is stated, that soon after the battle of Guilford in North Caro- 
 lina, the wheat crops were destroyed by the Hessian fly in Orange County, 
 
 ♦Page 90, 4to., London, 1759. 
 
 t KoUar's Treatise. 
 
HESSIAN FLY. 
 
 2S: 
 
 through which the British Army, composed in part of Hessian soldiers, had pre- 
 viously passed. Harris, to whose valuable work we are indebted for these state- 
 ments, seems to think that in this instance the chinch bug {Lygxut leucopterus) 
 may have been taken for the Hessian fly, and he says, it shows how prevalent 
 was the belief respecting the introduction of this fly by the Hessian troop?, which 
 opinion he thinks deserving of some credit.* 
 
 *& 
 
 ^ 
 
 Nat. Size. 
 
 Joints o/tht Antenna— (Maff.) 
 
 HESSIAN PLT. Female. — (Mat/.) 
 
 The head, attennaj, and thorax of the Hessian fly are black, the hind body is 
 tawny, more or less widely marked with black on each wing, and clothed with 
 fine grayish hairs ; the body measures about one-tenth of an inch in length. 
 The egg tube of the female is rose-coloured, the wings are blackish, except at 
 the base where they are tawny and very narrow ; they are fringed with short 
 hairs, rounded at the tip, and expand one quarter of an inch or more. After 
 death the hind body contracts and becomes almost entirely black. The legs are 
 pale red or brownish, and the feet black. The antennae are surrounded with 
 whorls of short hairs, the number of joints vary from fourteen to seventeen, be- 
 sides the basal point which seem double. The form of the joint differs according 
 to the sex ; those of the male being globular, and those of the feiqale, except at 
 the base, oblong-oval, f 
 
 Two broods of this insect are brought to maturity in the course of a year, and 
 the flies appear in the spring and autumn, earlier or later according to the lati- 
 tude of the place. It has been asserted by some that the flies lay their eggs on 
 the grain in the ear ; whether thb be true or not it is certain that they uo lay 
 their eggs on the young plant long before the grain is ripe, generally speaking 
 as soon as the grain is sprouted, and begins to show a leaf or two, the flies ap- 
 pear in the fields, and having paired, begin to lay their eggs, Vfhich occupies 
 them for several weeks. In the eighth volilme of the Gultivator, there is an 
 
 h I 
 
 Stem of Autumn wheat with the while 
 colored maggot upon it. 
 
 Stem with the maggot in pupa or 
 "flax seed" ttatt. 
 
 account, by Mr. E. Tilghman, of Queen Ann County, Maryland, of these insecta, 
 and the manner in which they deposit their eggs. He says : " By the second 
 
 •^Harris. f Harris. 
 
24 
 
 PRIZE ESSAY 
 
 If 
 
 1 { 
 
 \i 
 
 week of October, the first sown wheat being well up, and having generally put 
 forth its second and third blades, I resorted to my field in a fine warm afternoon 
 to endeavour, to satisfy myself, whether the fly did deposit the egg on blades of 
 th«>^owing plant. Selecting a favorable spot, I placed myself in a reclining 
 position in a furrow, and had been on the watch but a minute or two, before I 
 discovered a number of small black flies alighting and sitting on the wheat 
 plants around me, and presently one settled on the ridged surface of a blade of 
 a plant completely within my reach and distinct observation. She immediately 
 began depositing her eggs in the longitudinal cavity between the little ridges of 
 the blade." Dr. Chapman, who wrote in 1797, says, that the Hessian fly lays 
 her eggs in small creases of the young leaves of the wheat. Mr. Havens, who 
 wrote a history of this insect, which is contained in the first volume of the 
 Transactions of the Society for the promotion of Agriculture in New York, says, 
 that the fly lays her eggs on the leaves. In the fortieth number of the Connec- 
 ticut Farmer's Gazette, Mr. Herrick says : " I have repeatedly, both in autumn 
 
 Appearance of a healthy [a] aud of a^liacnsed [c] 8hoot of whcnt in autumn, the wormi4 lying at [c]. 
 
 and spring, seen the Hessian fly in the act of depositing eggs on wheat, and 
 have always found, that for this purpose she selects the leaves of the young 
 plant. The eggs are laid in various numbers on the upper surface of the strap- 
 
THE HESSIAN FLV. 
 
 25 
 
 shaped portion, or blade, of the loaf." The number on a single leaf, ho says, is 
 often twenty or thirty, and sometimes much greater. The egg is about a fiftieth 
 of an inch long, and four thousandths of an inch in diameter, cylind"'cal, trans- 
 lucent, and of a pale red colour. Under favourable circumstances, if the weather 
 prove warm, they will hatch in four days. 
 
 "The maggots or larvoo, when they first come out, are of a pale red colour. 
 They immediately crawl down the leaf, and work their way between it and the 
 main stalk, passing downwards till they come to a joint, just above which they 
 remain, a little above the surface of the ground, with the head towards the root 
 of i.he plant. Having thus fixed themselves they become stationary, and never 
 move from the place till their transformations are completed. They do not eat 
 the stalk, neither do they penetrate within it, as some persons have supposed, 
 but they lie lengthwise upon the surface, covered by the lower part of the leaves, 
 and are nourished wholly by the sap, which they appear to take by suction. 
 
 Appeaiauce of larvic of the Hessian fly in tlie pupa (flax seed) state, on stems of wheat 
 plants from -wliich the leaves haA-c been stx-ippecl. 
 
 They soon lose their reddish colour, turn pale, and become clouded with whitish 
 spots ; and through their transparent skins, a greenish stripe may be seen in the 
 middle of their bodies. As they increase in size, and grow plump and firm, 
 they become imbedded in the side of the stem, by the pressure of their bodies 
 on the growing plant. One maggot thus placed seldom destroys the plant, but, 
 when two or three are fixed in this manner around the stem, they weaken and 
 impoverish the plant, and cause it to fall down, or to wither and die. They 
 Tisually come to their full size in five or six weeks, and then measure about 
 three-twentieths of an inch in length. Their skin now gradually hardens, 
 becomes brownish, and soon changes to a bright chestnut colour. This change 
 usually happens about the first, of December."* 
 
 The insect in this form, has been commonly likened to a flax-seed, and this 
 has been called the flax-seed state. While this change of the colour and tex- 
 ture of the skin is going on, the body of the insect, gradually becomes detached 
 from the skin, and lies within it a motionless grub. This flax-seed shell has 
 been correctly called a, ptiparnim or pupa case, because the pupa is subsequently 
 matured within it. The process of growth goes on, and, by and by, on opening 
 the leathery skin or puparium, you find the pupa so far advanced that some of 
 the members of the future fly are discernible through the skin which envelopes 
 and fetiers it on all sides. Towards the end of April, and in the fore part of 
 May, as soon as the weather becomes warm enough, the insects are transformed 
 to flies, making their escape by breaking through one end of their shells.f 
 
 " Very soon after the flies come forth in the spring, they are prepared to lay 
 their eggs on the leaves of the wheat sown in the autumn before, and also on the 
 
 * Harri?. f Harris. 
 
26 
 
 PRIZE ESSAY 
 
 'i4i'^' i 
 
 spring sown wheat; which begins, Lt this time, to appear above the surface of the 
 ground. They continue to come forth and lay their eggs for the space of three 
 weeks, after which they entirely disappear from the fields. The raaggota batched 
 from these eggs, pass along the stems of the wheat, nearly to the roots, become 
 
 TIKW OP DOBMANT LARVA lAKEX FROM THE LARVA CASK. 
 
 \V\ 
 
 p 
 
 :i! 
 
 ii> 
 
 Vig. 1 
 
 Fill 2. 
 
 Fig. a 
 
 Fig. 4 
 
 1. Mnuiiified arponrancn of the worm wlicu t.ikon out of its larva case. 2 J 
 (iraotive larva. 3. Mamiitleil view of tlm "flax seed" or larva ciwe. 4. J 
 5. Mai^nlllfil lateral view of the Harne. 6. Tlie puiu removed frum the pi 
 
 FlK. 5. Fig. 0. 
 
 .Magninod dorsal view of tho worm 
 Magiiitled veutiul view of the «ume. 
 pupa case. 
 
 stationary, and tako tho flax-seed form in June and July. In this state they are 
 found at tho time of harvest, and when the grain is gathered they remain in the 
 stuble in the fields. To this there are some exceptions, for a few of the insects 
 do not pass down so far as to be out of the way of the sickle when tho grain is 
 reaped, and consequently will bo gathered and carried away with the strav/. 
 Most of them are transformed to flies in tho autumn, but others remain 
 unchanged in the stubble or straw till the next spring. Hereby, says Mr. Ha- 
 vens, it ap<;.oarj evident that they may bo removed from their natural situation 
 in the field, and ^o kept alive long enough to be carried across the Atlantic ; 
 from which jircumstancc it is possible they might have been imported in straw 
 from a foreign country. In the winged state, these flies, or more properly gnats, 
 are very active, and though very small and apparently feeble, arc able to fly a 
 considerable distance in search of fields of young grain. Their principal migra- 
 tion.s take place in August and September in the Middle States, where they 
 undero'o their final transformations earlier than in New England. They some- 
 times tako the wing in immense swarms, and being probably aided by the wind, 
 arc not stopped in their course by mountains or rivers."* On their first appear- 
 ance in Pennsylvania, they 'vcrc seen to pass the Dolawi'.re like a cloud. Their 
 numbers were so great that in wheat harvest the hou&es swarmed with them, to 
 the extreme annoyance of the inhabitants. They filled every plate or vessel that 
 was in use, and five hundred wore counted in a single glass tumbler, exposed to 
 them a few minutes with a little beer in it.f 
 
 Several means have been recOi imcnded for lessening or preventing the rava- 
 ges of the Hessian fly ; perhaps tae most effectual method will be to burn the 
 stuhllc immediately after harvest, and then ploughing and harrowing the land; 
 as the, greater proportion of the pupa:;, from the spring laid eggs, remain in the 
 stubble after harvest, it is evident that burning tho stubble must get rid of so 
 many of them. It is also recommended to procure seed from uninfected dis- 
 tricts, but it is rc({uisitc that whole neighbourhoods should join in this precau- 
 tion and persevere in it for two or more years in successiv^n. It has been found 
 in the States that luxuruoit crops more often csca2)e injurv than those that re 
 thill and lijht. From this: we learn the importance of choroughly working tho 
 land and bringing it to a high state of tilth truforu sowing wheat in it ; a liberal 
 use of fertilizing manures, and every thing that can be done in the way of early 
 sowing or any thing that will insure a vigorous and forward state of the crop, 
 will, in a groat measure, act as proveutives against the devastations of these 
 destructive insects. Sowing the fie'is with wood ashes in the proportion of two 
 bushels to an acre, in the autumn, and again in the first and last weeks in April, 
 and as late in the month of May as the sower can pass over the wheat without 
 injury to it has been found aseful. Mr. Herrick, a writer in the American 
 
 o2 
 
 *IIarris. fKirby ami Spence. 
 
TJIE HESSIAN FLY. ;|7 
 
 Journal of Science, '•cconuiicnds, that, the stouter yarietics of wheat ought 
 ftlTra^r to be chosen, nnd the land should be kept in good order. If fall wheat 
 is sown late, some of the eggs will bo avoided, but the risk of winter killing the 
 plants will be incurred, added to which they will still be liable to the insects 
 depositing their eggs in the spring. Favourable reports have been made upon 
 
 A). J. (•in'niifc of a healthy (*'•■■) anil two diseased 'stalks of vlicul, at |lini\cst-timc. (ff) 
 .Stalk broken, from being weakened by the wonn?. (??) I'asc of sheath swollen fi'om 
 worms having lain under it, and perforated by parasite? coniing from those worms. 
 — From Dr. Fitch's Report. 
 
 the practice of allowing sheep to feed off the crop Into in the autuum, and it has 
 also been recommended to turn them into the fields again in the spring, iu order 
 to retard the growth of the plant till after the fly has disappeared ; but this 
 uiethod must be regarded as very hazardous ; and probably the practice of burn- 
 ing the stubble, procuring seed from uninfected districts, or fumigating infected 
 seed with the gas of burning charcoal in tight vessels, or submitting it to the 
 vapour of chloroform in similar vessels, together with judicious management of 
 the soil, will be found the best means of lessening the evils arising from the 
 depredations of this noxious insect. 
 
 A benevolent Providence has ordered l^iat tlje eggs, larvcc, and pupae of the 
 Hessian fly should be the prey of a host of paraeitical insects. A large propor- 
 tion, probably more than nine-tenths of every generation of this fly is thup 
 
28 
 
 PRIZE ESSAY: 
 
 i 
 
 destroyed, uccordiog to Mr. Ilorrick'a statement. These parasites are all minute 
 Hymonoptcrous insects, similar in their habits to the true ichneumon flies. The 
 chief parasite of the pupa is the camphcon destructor of Sav, a shinini^ black 
 four-winged fly, about one-tenth of an inch in length. This has often been 
 taken for the Hesdian fly, from being seen in wheat fields in vast numbers, and 
 from its being found to come out of the dried larva-skin of that fly. In the 
 month of Juno, when the maggot of the Hessian fly has taken the form of a 
 flax seed, the ceraphoon pierces it, through the sheath of the leaf, and lays an 
 egg in the minute hole thus made. From this egg is hatched a little maggot, 
 which devours the pupa of the Hessian fly, and then changes to a chrvsalis 
 within the shell of the latter, through which it finally oats its way, after being 
 transformed to a fly. This last change takes place both in the autumn and in 
 the following spring. Some of the females of this or of a closely allied species 
 come forth from the shells of the Hessian fly, without wings, or with only very 
 short and imperfect wings, in which form they somewhat resemble minute ants. 
 Two more parasites, which have not yet been described, also destroy the Hes- 
 sian fly, while the latter is in the flax-seed or pupa state. The egg parasite of 
 the Hessian fly, Mr. Herrick says, is a species of 2)latyyaster, which is very 
 abundant in autumn, when it lays its own eggs, four or five togethev, in a single 
 egg of the Hessian fly. This, it appears, docs not prevent the latter from hatch- 
 ing, but the maggot of the Hessian fly is unable to go through its transforma- 
 tions, and dies after taking the flax-seed form. Meanwhile its intestine foes 
 are hatched, come to their growth, spin themselves little brownish eocoous with- 
 in the skin of their victim, and in due time arc changed to winged insects, and 
 eat their way out. 
 
 So wonderful arc the ways of God I All creation teems with life, and over- 
 flows with the glory of the Creator, exhibiting in myriads of instances the most 
 exquisite contrivances for the production of beneficial parasitical animals, and 
 the destruction of noxious ones, each minute insect performing its own proper 
 functions, and showing an exact fitness for the purpose for which it waj; 
 appointed by the infinite wisdom of Him who created all things and pronounced 
 them good. 
 
 The WiiEAT-MiDOE, {^Cecldomyia tritlci) or wheat-fly, as it is commonly 
 called, is nearly allied to the Hessian fly, or cccidomi/ia di'stnictoi; both are de- 
 
 Wkcat Mid'ie Kat, Sizr. 
 
 Pariofa Female An(e)v:a, 
 Magnified. 
 
 • '- Magnified female clear vingedsWfieat Midge — (Cecidomgia Trilici.) 
 
 structive to the wheat crop, but differ in their mode of operation. The larvae 
 of the Hessian fly ^eeds upon the stem of the plant, exhausting its juices and 
 
THE WHEAT MIDUE. 
 
 2y 
 
 causiug it nt length to wither and fall. The wheat-fly, txcUhmyut trtttci lays, 
 it8 egg8 in tho young oar of wheat just as it blossoms, where the young maggot 
 as soon ns it is hatched feeds on tho pollen and juices of the ovary of the blos- 
 som, thus destroying the reproductiveness of the floret in which it is lodged, so 
 that the seed never forms aud tho young germ shrivels up and decays. 
 
 " The wheat-fly is very minute, scarcely exceeding the twelfth part of an inch 
 in length, and resembling a small gnat or midge. The female is orange-coloured, 
 her eyes are intensely black, meeting on tho crown, and covering nearly tho 
 whole head. Tho antenna) arc pale brown, long as the body and clothed with 
 • longish hairs, they consist of twelve joints, which, except two at tho base, are 
 oblong, oval, and narrowed somewhat in the middle. Tho abdomen is rather 
 ,«hort and tapering to tho apex, which is furnished with an ovipositor nearly 
 thrice as long as the body. The wings are incumbent in repose, longer than 
 the body, yellowi.sh white, and beautifully iridescent, or rainbow like, and 
 fringed with delicate hairs. The two halteres, or poiscra, arc large and capitate. 
 The six legs arc long, slender, aud nearly of equal length. The thighs and 
 shanks arc equally long. The tarsi, or feet, five jointed. The claws arc very 
 minute. Tlie male is moie rarely seen, they arc usually smaller than tho fe- 
 males and somewhat paler in colour. The antenna; of the males arc twice as 
 
 Part (I J' a Mule An/nvui. 
 
 Foot of ^Vflcat Mi(hj( liijhbj 
 magnified. 
 
 Ion 
 
 ilnynificd Male of Ihe clcnr-Kinged Wheat Midge. 
 
 as the body and consist of twenty four-joints, which, except the two basa 
 ones, arc globular. The ovipositor of the female is not seen, and would not by a 
 stranger be supposed to exist in the ordinary condition of the fly; but is readily 
 discovered by pressing the anus, or at the season of oviposition, or laying the 
 
 oggs. 
 
 >>'A: 
 
 The wheat-midge makes its appearance in wheat fields just about the time when 
 the ear is beginning to emerge from its leafy envelope, most commonly in the 
 early part of June. It readily escapes the observation of persons ignorant of its 
 character, or not looking out for it, but to an intelligent observer it may be seen 
 on calm evenings swarming about in small undulating clouds, in the manner of 
 gnats and other kindred species, and it is occasionally seen also in the mornings 
 and during the day. Each female usually chooses as the receptacle of her eggs 
 an ear just emerging from the sheath, and she introduces them by means of her 
 ovipositor into the floret, and while doing so keeps her arms nearly at right 
 
 *Rural Cyclopedia. 
 
80 
 
 PUIZU EcitJAV ; 
 
 angles with the iiiurgiii uf tho florets gluwo, or outer husk. Hho in bo engrossed 
 with her oceupntion that she is not onsily disturhcd, and may oven go on with 
 her operations though a magnifying glass sliould be held close to her by an ob- 
 server ; and she slowly introduces her ovipositor, and slowly parts with her eggs, 
 and then cautiously and dcliboratcly withdraws tho instrument. So many as 
 
 Wheal Mi<l</c at rent, tcUh 
 
 its wings in (heir natural 
 
 position — mnynificd. 
 
 tMfUjnificil winy "/ sj'ollrd 
 winpc'l Wheat Midgr. 
 
 Spotted ivinyed Wheat Midje [C.Corcalis] 
 magnified. 
 
 thirty-tive flics may sometimes be seen at one time upon one car. INIr. Kirby, 
 after some vain attempts to sec tho eggs pass through tho long retraotilo tube, 
 eventually witncssscd that curious phenomenon. " I gathered," said he, " an 
 ear upou which some of the insects were busy, and held it so as to let a sunbeam 
 all upon oiiO of them ; examining its operations under tho three glasses of a 
 pocket ^ Icroscope, I could then very distinctly perceive the eggs passing, one 
 after another, like minute air-bubbles through the vagina, tho aculeus being 
 wholly in(jcrt,ed in the floret." The eggs in passing through the oviduct, receive 
 a coating of glutinous matter, which causes them to adhere firmly to the glumes 
 or outer husk of the floret ; and they are deposited in small clusters varying in 
 nuiuber from two to upwards of twenty, and they amount in the aggregate to so 
 vast a multitude as might seem to threaten terrible desolation or even utter 
 destruction to wheat crops. The eggs are oblong, transparent, and of a pale 
 buff colour, and arc hatched in tho course of ten or fourteen days. Tho minute 
 maggots which proceed from them have the same general form as other dipter- 
 ous larva;, and are at first transparent and colourless, but soon begin to assume 
 hues of straw colour, yellow, saffron, and orange, according to their ago. They 
 then feed upon the young germ, perhaps eating the pollen or fructifying prin- 
 ciple of tho flower, thus preventing the impregnation of the grain, so that the 
 seed never forms, and the parts of fructification lose all their virus and shrivel 
 and decay. So many as forty-seven have been counted in one floret, and even 
 the smallest number ever present seem to be perfectly competent to do the work 
 of destruction. The flies are not confined to wheat alone, but deposit in barley, 
 aye, and oats, when these plants are in flower at the time of their appearance. 
 T^e maggots have been found within the seed scales of grass, growing near to 
 wheat fields. Being hatched at various times during a period of four or five 
 weeks, they do not all arrive at maturity together. They do not exceed one 
 eighth of an inch in length, and many, evc" whon fully grown, arc much smal- 
 ler. In warm and sheltered situations, and in parts of fields protected from the 
 wind by fences, buildings, trees, or bushes, the inscciS are said to be much 
 more numerous than in fields upon high ground or other exposed places, where 
 
THE WHEAT MIDO^. 
 
 ■-I 
 "an 
 
 being 
 
 thu graiu i» kept iu oon!<tunt motion by tbu wind. Gruiu id comnr/nly mure 
 iafentcd by tlioui during the i«'rond thm tho fir«t year, ichfii t/roun tipou tfu 
 same (/round in anneHH/oH^ and it ("offers more in tlio vicinity of '>ld tiuids, than 
 in pliicea nioro remote. Thiy j»k>«j qu thr.' whtsat in tlie milky state, nnd oeasc 
 tbeir nivages when the gram becomes hard. Tbcy do not burrow in the kcrnoLv 
 but live on the pollen, and Hoft matter of the grain, which they probably extract 
 from tho base of tho gerniH. It appears from various statements, that very early 
 and very late wheat escapes with comparatively little injury; the amount of 
 which, in other cases, dcp( ids upon the condition of the grain at tho time when 
 tho maggots arc hatched. When tho maggots begin their depredations soon 
 oftcr tuo blossoming of tho grain, they do tlie greatest injury; for the; kornek 
 never fill out at all. When attacked iu a more advanced state tho grains pre- 
 Hont a .shrivelled appairancc. Tho hulls of the shrunk grain will always bo found 
 split open on the convex side, so as to expose the eujbryo. 
 
 Towards tho ead of July and the beginning of August, tho full grown mag- 
 gots leave off eating, and become sluggish and torpid, preparatory to moulting 
 their .skins, which takes place in tho following manner. The body of tho maggot 
 gradually shrinks in length within its skin, and becomes more flattened and less 
 pointed. The torpid state lasts only a few days, after which the insect casts off 
 Its skin, leaving the latter entire, except d little rent in one end of it. The cast 
 skins are exceedingly thin and colourless, and, through a microscope arc seen to 
 bo marked with eleven transverse lines. Numbers of tho skins may be found in 
 tho wheat ears immediately after the moulting process is completed. Sometimes 
 the maggots descend from tho plants and moult on the surface of tho ground, 
 where they leave their cast skins. Late broods are sometimes harvested with 
 the grain, and carried into tho barn without having moulted. 
 
 Kirnd of Wheat, the ch'iffpulhd 
 
 doun to show tho ma'/ffots 
 
 iu their usual silualion. 
 
 A MATCRE MAOaOT.--//(7/i/»/ 
 
 Mapniflcd. 
 
 After shedding it' skin the maggot recovers its activity, writhing about, but 
 taking no food. It is shorter, somewhat flattened, and more obtuse than before, 
 and is of a deep yellow colour, with an oblong greenish spot in tho middle of the 
 body. Within two or three days after moulting, the maggots either descend of 
 their own accord, or are shaken out of the ears by the wind, and fall to the 
 ground. They do not let themselves down by threads, for they are rot able to 
 spin. Nearly all of them disappear before the middle of August, and they are 
 rarely found in the grain at the time of harvest. In an account of the damage 
 done by these insects in Vermont, in the summer of 1833, it is stated, that, after 
 a shower of rain, they have been seen in such countless numbers on the beards 
 of wheat, as to give the whole field the coloiir of the inseet. Mr. E. Wood, of 
 Winthrop, Maine, makes the following remarks : " This day, 9th August, a 
 warm rain is falling, and a neighbour of mine has brought mo a head of wheat 
 which has become loaded with worms. They are crawling out from the husk or 
 chaff of the grain, and were on the beards, and he says he saw great numbers of 
 them on the ground." From this it appears that the descent of the insects is 
 facilitated by falling rain and heavy dews. 
 
 Having reached the ground, the maggots soon burrow under the surface, some 
 
32 
 
 PRIZE essay: 
 
 times to the depth of an inch, those of them that have not moulted casting their 
 i^kins before entering the earth. Here they remain, without further change, 
 through the following winter. In June they are transformed to pupae. This 
 change is effected without another moulting of the skin. The pupa is entirely 
 naked, not being enclosed either in a cocoon or in the preparium formed by the 
 outer skin of the larva, and has its wings and limbs free and unconfined. The 
 pupa state lasts but a short time, a week or two at most, and probably in many 
 cases, only a few days. Under the most favourable circumstances, the pupa 
 works its way to the surface before liberating the included fly ; and when the 
 insect has taken wing, its empty pupa skin will be seen sticking out of the 
 ground. In other cases, the fly issues from its preparium in the earth, and 
 comes to the surface with flabby wings, which soon expand and dry, on exposure 
 to the air. This last change occurs mostly during the months of June and July, 
 when great numbers of the flies have been seen apparently coming from the 
 ground, in fields where grain was grown the year before. 
 
 The ravages of the wheat midge are not equally great in every place, and are 
 veiy variable in their character, insignificant one season and excessive in 
 another; but, in the aggregate of years, they are much greater than most farm- 
 ers are aware of, or would readily believe. Mr. Kirby estimated the loss in a 
 field of 15 acres which he particularly examined, at one-twentieth of the whole 
 produce ; or at an average of about two grains in each ear. Mr. Gorrie estimated 
 the loss in the late sown crops in Perthshire, in 1828, at one-third of the whole 
 produce, Mr. Bell, of Mid-Loch, writing in June, 1880, expresses apprehensions 
 respecting the crops of Scotland, fully in accordance with Mr. Gorrie's estimate, 
 and says : " Another year or two of the wheat-fly will make two-thirds of the 
 farmers here bankrupts." Mr. Sidney says: **The author can assert that in the 
 autumn of 1845, he found great quantities of the larvre, not only in a first rate 
 wheat district in Norfolk, but in other parts of the country. Ear after car was 
 examined by him, and the contents shown to farmers who never before had even 
 heard of such things, and who were perfectly astonished when they saw them. 
 Often has he also entered a barn and taken up a handfull of dust from the floor 
 where wheat had been winnowed, turned out the little orange-coloured devourers, 
 now in their membraneous cases, one after another, but scarcely ever met with 
 any person who had previously noticed them. If they had been seen they took 
 them for the seeds of some kind of weed. 
 
 This insect has been observed for several years in the northern and eastern 
 parts of the United States and in Canada. It has been mistaken for the grain 
 weevil, the Angoumois grain-moth, and the Hessian fly, and its history has been 
 so confounded with that of another insect, also called the grain worm, in some 
 parts of the country, that it is difficult to ascertain the amount of injury done 
 by either of them alone. This grain worm has been already described in this 
 essay, as the larva of a moth called Noctua cuhicularis (order Lepidoptera), 
 these larva are provided with legs, and suspend themselves by a thread of their 
 own spinning ; they remain depredating upon the ears of corn until after the 
 time of harvest ; and these characteristics will easily enable persons to dis- 
 tinguish them from the writhing maggot of the wheat-midge, destitute of legs 
 and unable to spin a thread. The larvas of the Noctua cuhicularis crawl about. 
 The maggot of the wheat-midge, move in a wriggling manner, and by sudden 
 jerks of the body. 
 
 " The wheat-midge, or wh ""^t-fly as it has sometimes been called, was first 
 seen in America about the year 1828, in the northern part of Vermont, and on 
 the borders of Lower Canada. From these places its ravages have gradually ex- 
 tended, in various directions from year to year. A considerable part of Upper 
 Canada, of New York, New Hampshire, and of Massachusetts, have been visited 
 
THE WHEAT MIDCJE. 
 
 33 
 
 
 by it, ami in 1834, it appeared in Maine, which it has traversed, in an easterly 
 course, at the rate of twenty or thirty miles a year. The country over which it 
 has spread, has continued to suifer more or less from its alarming depredations, 
 the loss by which has been found to vary from about one-tenth part to nearly the 
 whole of the annual crop of wheat ; nor has the insect entirely disappeared in 
 any place, till it has been starved out by a change of agriculture, or by the sub- 
 stitution of late sown spring wheat for other varieties of grain."* 
 
 In the report upon the census of the Canadas for 1851, so carefully and cor- 
 rectly compiled by Wm. Hutton Esq., we learn, that, " the worst wheat crops 
 in Canada West in the year 1851, were in those counties where the weevil (wheat 
 midge) was most prevalent. It committed the most serious depredations, in very 
 many cases having rendered whole fields of most promising wheat, not worth 
 the threshing. This fly, which deposits its larva) (eggs) in the blossom of the 
 wheat in order to feed upon the milk of the grain as it ripens, was unfortunately 
 in that year most abundant in the counties of Fiontenac, Lennox, Addington, 
 Hastings and Prince Edward, and is travelling gradually west at the rate of 
 about 9 miles every summer, and remains from 5 to 7 years in a locality. 
 The only prevention yet discovered has been to sow early seed on early land, 
 and very early in the Autumn, so that the wheat may blossom before its enemy 
 takes wing, the period for which depends much upon the earlincss of the season. 
 So destructive was the fly in 1851, that the fine agricultural county of Lennox 
 produced only 6 bushels per acre, Hastings about 10, and Prince Edward, 
 Addington and Frontenac about 11. It had not in that year reached the 
 county of Northumberland, but was very destructive in that county in the fol- 
 lowing year, 1852." 
 
 In this extract we find the popular name " woevil " used in speaking of the 
 wheat-fly or midge ; from page 18 of this essay it will bo observed that the true 
 grain weevil is a coleopterous insect, a slender beetle with a long snout, which 
 does not attack growing crops of wheat, but confines its depredations to stored 
 grain. The account given of the wheat fly in the Census Report is otherwise 
 substantially correct and will be found to agree with that set forth in the pages, 
 of this essay. 
 
 The whcat-midgc is generally believed in England, to have strong preferences' 
 and dislikes in reference to the commonly cultivated wheats, and has been sup- 
 posed or observed to do prime injury to some, secondary injury to others, and 
 little cr no injury to others. One reason why some wheats are little aff"ected by 
 it may be, that they are generally sown at a time, which, conjointly with their 
 habits, occasions their coming into ear at a period when the midge is not in a 
 condition to attack them ; and another reason why the same or other varieties 
 onjoy comparative safety may be that they have too hard an envelop to be 
 readily pierced by the midge's ovipositor. " The species of Woolly eared, Lam- 
 mas red, and Kivct wheat," says Mr. Sherriff", " have been stated in East 
 Lothian, to resist the attack of the fly. The two first mentioned kinds come 
 into ear about a week sooner, the last about a week later than those commonly 
 cultivated, and to these peculiarities owe their occasional escape, earing either 
 before or after the general depositing of eggs takes place. The fly, however, 
 does not always appear in strict conformity with the growth of the wheat plant, 
 and i\]e earing of diff'erent species is late or early, compared with the general crop, 
 according to the time at which they are sown. The eggs of the wheat-fly arc 
 generally deposited when the car is escaping from the sheath, — and when delayed 
 beyond this period, the grains either become dimi^iutive, or the maggots perish ; 
 and, therefore, a species of wheat in some measure impervious to the ovipositor 
 
 •■Harris. 
 
34 
 
 PRIZE essay: 
 
 of the fly at this stage of the plant's growth must toad to mitignte the ravages 
 of the fly. There is such a species cultivated iu many countries, the name of 
 which is the Polish wheat, Triticum polonicwn. It is characterised by a 
 large exterior chaff, which closely envelops the cups when the ear is escaping 
 from the sheath, and at this time defends the flower in a great measure from the 
 fly's ovipositor. I have grown the polonicum on a small scale amongst other 
 kinds; and although it did not altogether escape the attack of the fly, it was 
 much less injured than any of those which came into car at the same time." 
 
 As the Polish wheat is very far from being eminent in other good agricultu- 
 ral qualities, the farmer must look for some other kind superior in quality yet 
 possessing an equally thick chaff. Mr. Gorrie in the course of comparative 
 experiments during the prevalence of the wheat-midge in 1829, found a wheat 
 belonging to the species Triticum (ingidum, nearly akin to the Rivet wheats, 
 possessing a tall vigorous stem, yielding a very large produce, though inferior in 
 quality to those of the common winter wheat, to be completely proof against the 
 midge. "I had a fall of it," says he, " growing in the centre of a field of com- 
 mon wheat, which came into ear on the 22nd of June, exac^^ly at the same time 
 with the common variety. At that period I visited the field every evening for 
 a week, and although the flies were numerously and busily employed on every 
 ear of the common wheat (the half of which they destroyed), I, and my friends 
 who went frequently with me, could only detect one solitary fly at work on the 
 new variety ; and although the ear was marked, no maggots could therein be 
 aterwards discovered." The field of 15 acres examined by Mr. Kirby was 
 planted partly with common white wheat, and partly with common red ; and the 
 result of his examination was, that the white wheat was destroyed at the rate of 
 not quite 2} grains per ear, while the red was injured at the rate of not quite 
 1 J grains per ear. 
 
 But all these experiments, it is feared, are more or less deceptive ; and the 
 different results may have been owing to the accidental circumstance of one 
 crop being more exactly in the stage of fitness for the insect's use than another, 
 or to the influence of the gregarious habits of the midge, whose swarms usually 
 assemble and remain in the neighbourhood of the spot where they first make a 
 settlement ; and the farmer had better, perhaps aim at bringing the common 
 varieties of wheat into early development before the time of oviposition of the 
 fly, or delaying the season of blossoming until after the fly has laid its eggs, 
 rather than trust to the reputed anti-fly properties of any variety. 
 
 Kirby recommended remedies or preventives directed immediately against 
 the life or operations of the perfect fly as most likely to prove successful. '' By 
 a set of experiments first made upon a small scale," says he, •' the intelligent 
 farmer may possibly find out some method that will prevent this insect from lay- 
 ing its eggs in the wheat. These should commence as soon as the ear begins to 
 quit the folium vaginalis or hose ; and they ought to be continued until the 
 gennen is impregnated, or to use the rural phrase, the wheat is off the blossom: 
 Perhaps fumigations of tobacco or sulphur, if made when the wind is favourable, 
 might render the ear disagreeable to this insect." But either fumigation of 
 any such kind or medical aspersions, or any other applications which might be 
 suggested, in order to be made on a sufficiently entensivc scale to produce 
 decided effect, would probably cost as much trouble and expense as the crop 
 would be worth. 
 
 Remedies against the matured larvoo or pupao have been recommended by 
 some. "It is possible," says Mr. Duncan, "that Mr. Gorrie's plan of plough- 
 ing the wheat stubbles, and having what is called a skim coulter attached of such 
 a construction as would cut and lay about an inch of the surface at the bottom 
 of the furrow, would bury many of the pupre at such a depth as to render their 
 
PREVENTIVES PROPOSED. 
 
 85 
 
 ravages 
 
 |ame of 
 
 by a 
 
 leaping 
 
 Jiu the 
 
 other 
 
 it was 
 
 resurrection improbable." This mcf od, however, could not be adopted where 
 the field was laid down with grass anu clover seeds ; which would also be a rea- 
 son for not adopting the next remedy proposed, viz : 
 
 Burning the Stubble after the crop has been taken oflF. This, perhaps, as 
 in the case of the joint-worm and Hessian fly will be found the most effectual 
 method of lessening the numbers of the wheat-midge. When the stubble is 
 short and scanty, the conflagration may be assisted by straw, or other inflamma- 
 ble matters, if it is rank the fire will be sufiicient to hejit the whole surface of 
 the ground, and in all probability will destroy the greater part if not the whole 
 of the pupae, heat being speedily fatal to them. The farmer can take the pre- 
 caution of laying down his clover aud grass seeds with barley or some other 
 spring crop, and even where clover has been laid down with wheat it would be 
 better to sacrifice it, if at the same time, the destructive flies can be got rid of. 
 
 As a large proportion of the larvaj which live to become pupae remain attached 
 to the harvested grain till separated from it by the process of threshing, when 
 they pass away with the chaff dust, and are apt to return directly or indirectly 
 to the ground, care must be taken to prevent such a contingency, by carefully 
 separating the chaff dust and burning it. A method of doing this has been 
 suggested by Professor Henslow which is both simple and efficient. He says, 
 " It occurred to me, that if a wire gauze sieve were plactvl before the winnowing 
 machine in a sloping position, so as to allow the chaff to fall upon it, and then 
 roll from it, the pupae would pass through, and might be caught with the dust 
 in a tray placed below the sieve. The plan was tried and found to answer satis- 
 factorily J and doubtless might be made the means, were it generally adopted, of 
 collecting and destroying myriads on myriads of the pupae of this destructive fly. 
 
 "Several cases of the efficacy of fumigation in preventing the depredations 
 of these insects, are recorded in the agricultural papers of the United States.* 
 For this purpose brimstone has been used in the proportion of one pound to 
 every bushel of seed sown. Strips of woollen cloth dipped in melted brimstone, 
 and fastened to sticks in various parts of the field, and particularly on the wind- 
 ward side, are set on fire, foi" several evenings in succession, at the time when 
 the plant is in blossom ; the smoke and fumes thus penetrate the standing grain 
 and prove very offensive or destructive to the flies, which are laying their eggs. 
 A thick smoke from heaps of burning weeds, sprinkled with brimstone, around 
 the sides of the field, has also been recommended. The Rev. Henry Colman, 
 Commissioner for the Agricultural Survey of Massachusetts, says that lime or 
 ashes strewn over the grain when in blossom, is a preventive which may be 
 relied on with confidence. For every acre of grain, from one peck to a bushel 
 of newly slacked lime, or of good wood ashes will be required, and this should 
 be scattered over the plants when they are wet with dew or rain. Two or three 
 applications of it have sometimes been found necessary."t 
 
 Harris says, that, in those parts of New England where these insects have 
 done great injury, the cultivation of Fall wheat has been given up ; and this 
 course he believes to be the safest for some years to come. Spring wheat sown 
 after the 15th or 20th of May, generally escapes the ravages of these destructive 
 insects; but the time of sowing varies with the latitude and elevation of the 
 place, and the forwardness of the season. liate sowing has almost entirely ban- 
 ished the wheat-flies from those parts of Vermont where they first appeared. 
 Fall wheat, if grown, should be sown very early, so that the grain may have 
 become hard before the flies make their appearance. 
 
 The wheat-midge is kept powerfully in check by some natural enemies sent in 
 
 * Cultivator, vol. V. page 136. f Harris. 
 
36 
 
 rRIZB ESSAY: 
 
 mercy by lleaveu as niinuto benefactors of our race. Particularly three species 
 of icbneumons. One of these Encryius inserens is black and shining, and about 
 half the length of the wheat-midge ; another, Eiwytoma penetrans, is black 
 T?ith a brassy lustre, the abdomen glossed with blue, coftipressed and truncated 
 behind ; and the third, and most important, Plati/gaster tipnloe, is a minute 
 black midge-like fly, with the legs and base of the antennae red — the male quite 
 black and rarely seen — the female of a pitchy colour, with a sharp ovipositorial 
 point at her tail, exceedingly abundant and active in all infested fields in the 
 months of July and Atigust. Superficial observers have mistaken the ichneu- 
 mon for the parent of the larvae of the wheat-midge, and have condemned it as 
 the origin of the very evils it is destined to diminish. This little platygaster 
 may be readily found on the glumes or chaffy covers of the wheat ears in the 
 months of July and August. It loins rapidly over the ears and seems to know 
 well those wliich are occupied by the larvae of the midge. The female ichneu- 
 mon deposits one egg, and only one, in each of the larvaa of the wheat-midge. 
 When these eggs are hatched, the young maggots which they produce, and 
 which are the catterpillars of the ichneumons, feed upon the fleshy or muscular 
 parts of the caterpillar they are attacking, carefully avoiding the vital parts. At 
 length the caterpillar they have been thus devouring dies, or, as frequently 
 happens, it changes to the state of chrysalis before it is destroyed. The ichneu- 
 mon caterpillars also pass to the chrysalis state, and cither remain within the 
 body of the dead caterpillar, or oome out before they assume the fly stole. 
 Each specios of ichneumon is restricted in its attacks to one, or at most to a few, 
 species of caterpillar j and the females instinctively proportion the number of 
 eggs they deposit in each individual to the relative size of their dwn offspring 
 and that of the insect on which they are destined to prey. 
 
 . . OHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Conclusion — Farmers can Icnin to distiuguish noxious insects without becoming thorough 
 entomologists — Birds useful in destroying Insects — Insects' most destructive in poor 
 crops — Importance of well working land — Fallows — Wheat-fly worst in old settle- 
 ments — Travel from East to West — Whole neighbourhoods should combine in adopt- 
 ing remedies — pcrticularly the one sometimes adopted of starving out the Wheat-fly. 
 
 From the foregoing pages it will be seen that all those insects which have 
 caused so much loss to the farmer by their devastations amongst his principle 
 crop, wheat, are intimately known and their origin and habits familiar to scien- 
 tific men. Order is Heaven's first law, and the same Almighty power that 
 keeps the planets in their courses, and orders their goings, does not disdain to 
 govern the tiniest insects, by the came immutable law. To trace this harmony 
 and evidence of design in Mie works of the creator has been the study of the 
 lovers of natural history ; and the conviction that there wns such a law, assis^d 
 them greatly in their investigations. The scientific arrangement of the different 
 orders of insects is so perfect that although it has been computed that there are 
 upwards of 400,000 varieties or species of them, yet a naturalist has but to men- 
 Gion its generic and trivial names, and thus by the aid of two words alone he 
 can speak of any one of them so distinctly that an entomologist in any part of 
 the world knows instantly the very species that is meant. Now, it is not to be 
 supposed that every farmer can beccme an experienced entomologist; but, it is 
 not too much to expect that he wiU eiideavour to make himself practically ac- 
 quainted with those destructive insects, whose effects he so often painfully expe- 
 riences in the devastation of his most valuable crops. Their ravages are of so 
 appalling a nature as sometimes to blast the best founded hopes of the husband- 
 man, and threaten to entail all the horrors of famine upon the land; yot their 
 
CLEAN CULTURE. 
 
 37 
 
 !cies 
 bout 
 >lack 
 iatcd 
 nuto 
 uito 
 orial 
 
 the 
 neu- 
 it as 
 aster 
 
 the 
 
 idge. 
 
 species arc not vcvj' numerous, and in the preceding pages the intelligent agri- 
 culturist will find the result of the- investigations of learned men m Europe 
 and America with regard to the nature and habits of those insects most inju- 
 rious to the wheat crop. It should be a source of encouragement to the farmer 
 when threatened with their ravages, to reflect that he has not to contend with a 
 minute enemy, whose nature and habits are shrouded in mystery : for not only 
 have these been clearly and distinctly detailed by careful and experienced 
 observers, but the results of their investigations are within his reach, and at the 
 same time are of such a nature as easily to be understood. Destructive insects 
 are under the control of a superintending providence; they have their appointed 
 trsks and are limited in the performance of them ; if a destructive species should 
 for a while preponderate, yet counter checks are provided, and, as has been seen, 
 many of them become the prey not only of birds and quadrupeds, but even of 
 their own race. There is no reason to supposa that any new species are created 
 from time to time j those that are now attracting observation from their remarkable 
 depredations, have either been brought to this country from other lands or, by the 
 clearing of the forests, being deprived of those shrubs and plants on which they 
 subsisted, are in a manner compelled to resort to cultivated plants for food. The 
 wanton manner in which insect-eating birds are destroyed, deprives man of a most 
 valuable auxiliary in keeping noxious insects within bounds, and, even when not 
 recklessly destroyed, the neglect of providing ornamental shrubs and trees about 
 Canadian dwelling houses, entails the loss of the valuable services of these 
 feathered destroyers of the insect race, who would otherwise be encouraged to 
 increase uad multiply, if the necessary shelter were provided. The naked and 
 desolate appearance of Canadian farms without a single ornamental tree or shrub, 
 has long been a reproach to the country ; let it bo hoped when farmers find that 
 these plantations are not only ornamental but useful, they will take pains to pro- 
 cure them. In '' Anderson's recreations," it is stated, that a cautious observer 
 having found a nest of young jays, five in number, ren)arked that each of these 
 birds while yet very young consumed at Ic.st fifteen full sized grubs in one day; 
 he then goes on to calculate that this one family of jays, including their parents, 
 would consume twenty thousand grubs in the course of three months ; if these 
 jays were encouraged to remain or return to the same spot, we can easily conceive 
 what myriads of destructive grubs would be removed by these birds and their 
 descendants in the course of two or three years. 
 
 But perhaps the too anxious desire of the farmer to hasten to l ow rich, 
 which leads him to over crop his lands, or propare it in a hasty and slovenly 
 manner, has proved one of the greatest encouragements to the devastations of 
 noxious insects. It is well known that animals in a sickly state are always more 
 liable to the attacks of vermin, and it is 'equally true of plants, that the want of 
 a healthy and vigorous growth encourages the attacks of parasitical insects. 
 From what has been stated in the previous pages it will be seen that this has 
 proved to be the case both in Europe and America. Baron Kollar mentiong 
 that in a report made to the Areh-Diike Charles of Austria on the Hessian fly, 
 its ravages first commf need on patches of the poorest soil, and then gradudly 
 proceeded to the plants ,,. owing on the best. And in the United States, accord- 
 ing to the authority of Harris, it has been found '* that luxuriant crops more 
 often cacape injury than those that are thin end ii[/Jit." 
 
 From this the farmer will see the importar.ee of thoroughly working his land 
 and bringing it to the highest state of tilth. Too often he has been encouraged 
 by the high prices which have lately been given for wheat, to put in that grain 
 after peas or other spring crops; the consequence is that the larv.'.e of many 
 destructive insects which ahound in the stubble of such crops are turned under 
 
38 
 
 PRIZE essay: 
 
 with a slight furrow in a position most favourable to come fortii in summer aud 
 destroy the plants of growing wheat, the well known inferior luxuriance of crops 
 so put in proving an encouragement for the attacks of such inaects. 
 
 A naked fallow wili always be found the best preparation for the wheat crop. 
 By it the soil becomes thoroughly pulverized and mellowed, and rendered fit for 
 the reception and growth of the young plants, an opportunity is afforded to rake 
 up all the weeds and roots of plants, which are often full of the eggs of insects, 
 and which can then be burnt. The eggs, larvrc, and burrowing adults of insects 
 are also destroyed by mechanical and chemical action, and partly by exposing 
 them to the attacks of birds. Facility is also afforded for the early and effective 
 sowing of the wheat, which cannot be done when it is sown after a crop raised 
 the same summer on the ground. From the investigations of that emineut 
 chemist Liebig, it has been found that a summer fallow enriches the land by 
 the disintegration of its mineral constituents, the dissolving of its organic 
 remains, and the general results within it of chemical and electric action, so 
 that one-half of the manure which would otherwise be required is sufficient for 
 the luxuriant growth of the crops that follow. 
 
 The weeds and rubbish that collect around large stones and sti'"^jps of trees, 
 and the briars that are often allowed to gather in fence corners, all prove to be 
 harbours and an encouragement for the resort of destructive insects ; it has been 
 found that in the neighbourhood of such places, crops suffer the most from 
 their devastations. The fanner then, has an additional inducement why he 
 should get rid of such unsightly objects, as he thereby not only improves the 
 appearance and value of his property, but lessens the casualties to which his 
 crops are subjected by the ravages of destructive insects. 
 
 The theory that the wheat flies are most destructive ou poor and worn out 
 soils, is borne out by the fact, that on this continent they have commenced their 
 ravages in the oldest settlements and from thence have gradually followed the 
 progress of emigration and consequent clearing of the land. In Canada their 
 progress has been from East to West, and the only exception to this rule has 
 been in the state of Maine, where they advanced in an easterly direction, possibly 
 because the Western part of the state was first settled, and the flies have only 
 followed their usual instinct, in first commencing their depredations in the old 
 and worn out settlements aud gradually spreading to the later cleared ones. 
 From the Canada Census Report for 1851,* already quoted, we learn that the 
 wheat fly is travelling gradually west at the rate of about nine miles every 
 summer. When we connect with this circumstance the fact, that in Vermont 
 and other places the wheat fly has been starved out, by abstaining from sowing 
 Fall Wheat in those parts, and sowing the Spring Wheat so late as to escape 
 the season in which the flies deposit their eggs, it becomes a matter for serious 
 consideration whether it would not be well for the farmers in Canada in the 
 neighbourhood of the infested districts, to agree not to sow any fall wheat for 
 two to three years, and thus interpose a belt of country, from two to three 
 or more miles in width, between the infected and non-infected districts. 
 From the great prices which are procured for fat cattle, and the rough grains, 
 it is a question whether the production of them would not be equally remu- 
 nerative with that of wheat; added to which is the certainty of the fact, that 
 sooner or later the farmers, unless sc-me precautionary measures are t?ken, will 
 suffer iu their turn from the attacks of the fly, and possibly be compelled to 
 adopt an alternative, which, had they observed in time, would have averted the 
 plague not only from themselves, but from their neighbours further wast. 
 
 "VVnatever measures may be adopted either in the way of prevention or 
 
 
 William Hutton, Eaq. 
 
DISEASES OF WHEAT. 
 
 80 
 
 remedy, it will be necessary for whole neighbourhoods to combine in observing 
 them, otherwise they will pro\e of no effect. In the foregoing pages the result 
 of the observations and experience of persons who have been practically 
 acquainted with the evils in question, have been set forth for the ins :ruotion 
 and information of the Canadian farmer. The, . remarks have necessarily been 
 very brief, but it is hoped that they will be sufficient to enable the agriculturist 
 to identify the insects most injurious and beneficial to his crops, to become 
 acquainted with their habits, and to point out the best methods of repelling or 
 destroying those which are most detrimental either in the larva, pupa, or perfect 
 state. This information is the more necessary, since the injects which are the 
 most destructive, the Hessian fly, the wheat midge, and the joint worm, are so 
 minute as scarcely to be distinguished by the naked eye, without careful obser- 
 vation, and consequently their presence is apt to be overlooked until their rava- 
 ges show, too late, where they have been. The study of the natural history of 
 these insects will tend to impress upon those observing them a conviction of the 
 providential superintendence of an Almighty and all wise Creator. The losses 
 which they suffer from the devastations of such minute creatures will teach them 
 a lesson of humility, and impress upon them a sense of dependence upon Him 
 whose servants these insects are, who can at any moment afflict them with these 
 plagues, and who in mercy hath promised to restore to the well-doing "the 
 years that the locust hath eaten, the canker worm and the caterpillar, and the 
 palmer worm, my great army which I sent among you." 
 
 DISEASES OF WHEAT. 
 
 MiiiUEw, kuowu ill all ages — Various opinions respecting cause of — True origin of — 
 Fungus plant Pucdnia graminia — Remedies — Clay soils offer greatest resistance to 
 mildew — Moist weather favourable to it — Judicious culture of the soil a good pre- 
 vention — Early sowing — Clean state of land — Application of salt a good remedy — 
 RvsT — caused by a fungus plant — Two varieties Uredo ruhigo and Urcdo linearit — 
 Remedies same as those for riiildew — thick crops less liable to attack than thin ones 
 — Frequent repetition of wlioat crop encourages these diseases — No amount of 
 manuring will justify frequent cropping with wheat — Smut — Two species — Uredo 
 Hcc/diim — Uredo fcetida — Astonishing fecundity of these fungi — Remedies — Steeping 
 in certain solutions — Lime water — Ley from wood ashes — Brine — Glauber salts — 
 Even crops suflFer the least — Importance of thoroughly working the land — Healthy 
 and vigorous crops best resist the attacLs of insects and diseases — wheat thinned out 
 by snow drifts liable to smut — reason why — importance of scientific researches into 
 these diseases — Farmers cannot apply proper remedies until their true nature is dis- 
 covered. 
 
 The principal diseases to which the wheat crop is liable are mildew, nist, and 
 smut. 
 
 Milder^ has been known and dreaded in all ages as one of the greatest foes of 
 grain crops, and as one of the mightiest instruments employed in the hands of 
 the Almighty when he has seen fit to scourge a land with the horrors of famine. 
 Its devastating nature was well known to the ancient Israelites. When their 
 crops were blasted with mildew, God, bj his prophet Amos, reminded them, " I 
 have smitten you with blasting and mildew, when your gardens and your vine- 
 yards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees increased, the palmer worm 
 destroyed them" — and again by the prophet Haggai, " I smote you with blast- 
 ing and with mildew, and with hail in all the labours of your hands." It was 
 also known to the Greeks. Theophrastus, in his "History of Plants" written 
 about 320 years before Christ, observed that it occurs more frequently to corn 
 
40 
 
 PRIZE ESSAY: 
 
 than to pulse ; the Greeks found by experience that crops growing on higli 
 lands were seldom attacked hy this disense, but that when situated in hollow 
 places, surrounded by hills, where the winds could not get at them, they were 
 more frequently infected. To the Romans the mildew was known under the 
 name of " rubigo." Pliny in his ** History of Plants," tells us, that tho pre- 
 vailing opinion was that this disease arises from certain dews settling upon the 
 corn and obtaining a burning (juality from tho intense heat of tho sun. He, o> 
 the contrary, thought that the disease arose from cold, and that the infection 
 first occurred during the absence of the sun, and always about the new or full 
 moon. Columella says that mildew is induced by hoeing grain crops durinr 
 wet weather. Horace in his Odes speaks of it as the " sterile rubigo " and 
 Virgil alludes to it in his Georgics : 
 
 ■ ' '• Mix et fninicntis labor niUlitus, ut mala culmos, 
 
 Essct rubigo, &c." 
 
 The Greeks and Romans were conscious of the dcf;truction it would inflict oa 
 their crops, and regarded it as an instrument of vcn^ encc directed by a particu- 
 lar deity, to whom they applied the same name as thi.t by which the plague was 
 known. A festival to propitiate this deity, entitled Ruhlyalia was instituted by 
 Numa 704 years before the birth of Cnrist. Reddish coloi;/ed bitches were 
 sacrificed because the lesser dog star was then in the heavens, and was considered 
 ^inpropitious to corn. 
 
 In the prophet Joel, where the Almighty promises to the Jews, " I will 
 vcstore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker worm and the 
 caterpillar, and the palmer worm," — this passage is rendered in the Latin Vul- 
 "ate, '' Et reddam vobis annos, qnos comcdit locusta, hrucJitts, et ruhigo, et 
 .;r«'.'rt." Now, under the head weevil, it has been pointed out in this essay, 
 that one of the most destructive insects injurious to the farmer is the Bruchut 
 pisi or pea weevil, so that the latter part of this passage from the Vulgate may 
 be rendered, "the loecvil, the rust or wu'Wcw, and the caterpillar" — which 
 .singularly enough are the subjects of consideration in the present treatise. 
 
 The mildew has long been krowu in Great Britain as one of the greatest 
 scourges of the farmer. A writer in the 9th volume of the Quarterly Journal of 
 Agriculture treating of it says : — ** Of all the other diseases which attack our 
 cultivated plants, not one is so destructive as the mildew. It is the plague of 
 our wheat crops. So constantly present is this destmctivc disorder, that in the 
 fairest fields of wheat, grown in the richest corn districts of England, and in the 
 most genial yea'-s, I never saw a single acre entirely uninfected. Every year 
 the farmer is more or less injured by this disease ; for the produce of each acre 
 of wheat is unquestionably reduced annually several bushels. Yet those who 
 jiuffer most by the loss, the farmers themselves, are almost universally ignorant 
 of the fact, and their attention is rarely arrested by it till a year occurs in which 
 their crop of wheat is nearly annihilated." 
 
 Opinions reapnctinrj the cause of mihlev) arc various. It is ascribed in the 
 writings of ancient naturalists, in tlie writings of modern ajtriculturists, and in 
 the opinions of practical farmers of the present day to a number of causes, some 
 of them very conflicting and some very absurd. As we have seen before, the 
 Romans in the time of Pliny ascribed mildew to the settling of certain dt ,"s upon 
 the corn, and to its obtaining a caustic quality from the heat of the sun. Pliny 
 himself ascribed it to cold. The French agriculturists of the early part of last 
 century imputed it to dry gloomy weather, about the time of the corn being at 
 the height of its vegetation. M. Duhamel concurs with this opinion, saying — 
 " I have many times observed that when a hot sun has succeeded dry hazy 
 weather, the corn became ru?ted within a few days aft>.r. The distemper is not 
 
 
 ^ 
 
MILDEW. 
 
 41 
 
 common in clear and dry hot years ; but when spring is wet, the finest fields of 
 wheat run great hazard of being destroyed, by the mildew, which generally 
 appears upon the breaking ou'- of the sun in the morning, after close and sultry 
 weather, during which there has not been any dew." 
 
 M. Tillet ascribes mildew to a sharpness in the air in dry cloudy weather, 
 which breaks the vascular tissue of the stfins and leaves, and makes them dis- 
 charge a thick oily juice of such a natu. - as to be changed by heat into a rusty 
 powder. 
 
 Other writers of the last century supposed it to bo a thick clammy vapour 
 which settled upon the stems c : the grain and so stopping the pores as to pre- 
 vent perspiration, and impeding the circulation of the sap. A modern writer, 
 Mr. R. Somerville, iu a communication to the Board of Agricultuve, ascribes 
 mildew to the attacks of insects introduced with the manure ; these insects how- 
 ever are found to be minute acari, which are almost always found upon decay- 
 ing vegetable matter, and which in the case of mildew is thi follower and not 
 the cause of the disease. 
 
 The (rue origin of the Mihlcio has been found to be due to the regular para- 
 sitic growth of the Fuccinia gm minis a fungous plant, belonging to the hypo- 
 dermii division of the eutophyti class of coniomycetes. The name Fuccinia, is 
 derived from a Greek work which .signifies "closely" or " thickly," and alludes 
 to the crowded manner in which the minute fungi are packed in the tufts and 
 patches in whicli they grow. When a stem of wheat begins to be mildewed, a 
 number of ''.ark coloured spots will be seen under the epidermis, some of an 
 orange hue, and others of a dark brown tinge ; in a short time the outer cuticle 
 is ruptured, and through the openings are protruded dark clusters of spores, 
 amassed in dense, diffuse tufts, often confluent or running .'nto one another, so 
 as to form long parallel lines, and commonly possessing nt first a brownish 
 
 PrcciNiA Graminis [Qommon Mildeiv.'] 
 
 yellow colour, and changing afterwards to black. The spores or seed vessels 
 generally grow immediately beneath the stomata, (or openings of the pores,) of 
 the stems, and after they burst through the epidermis, they appear, under the 
 mictoscope, like dense masses of pear shaped bodies, all distinct from one 
 another, exhibiting diversities of form and outline, and each resting on a stalk 
 into which it gradually tapers. Two compartments or chambers exist in every 
 spore, and are filed with sporules, or the puff'-like and surpassingly minute rudi- 
 ments'of another race of fungi. So wonderfully small are not only the sporules 
 but the spores, that in the opinion of Sir Joseph Banks, from 20 to 40 spores 
 may germinate in the hollow boocath any single stoma, (or mouth of a pore) ; 
 while the stoma itself cannot possibly be detected by the naked eye, anci requires 
 to be seen through a good microscope. 
 
 The ribbed appearance presented by a stem of wheat when seen through a 
 common magnifying glass, is caused by alternate longitudinal partitions of the 
 epidermis or rind, the one sot raised and imperforate, and theother set depressed 
 
/ 
 
 42 
 
 PRIZE ES?«AY 
 
 and furuidlieil tliroufflKUt their lonp'th with ouo or two row^ of stomatu or niiuuto 
 orifices, which iti dry weather are closed, and iu wet weather are open, and 
 which .serve the purpose of iuibibiug n»oisture according; to tlie wants and con- 
 dition of the plant. The leaves and glumes or chaffy covers of oars of wheat 
 are provided with similar stomata, whicli also are to be found on the leaves, stems 
 and branches of all plants, and are the means provided by nature through which 
 plants obtain necessary moisture. Now these stomatn, while imbibing moisture, 
 also take in with it the sporules or seeds of the pturintti yraminis. Each of 
 these fungou-s plants sheds some hundreds of sporules, lighter and more minute 
 than those of the puff ball ; and as even a healtliy crop of wheat produces myriads 
 of pHccinia, while a mildewed crop supplies inconceivably numerous myriads, 
 we can imagine what vast invisible clouds of sporules are wafted by every wind 
 during the sporing period, which lusts from ]\Iay till October, and how they 
 must become intimately mixed with all the dews and moisture wliich the thirsty 
 plants imbibe. The llev. Edwin Sidney, in hi.s work entitled "Blights of the 
 Wheat," says : " The rapidity with which mildew sometimes spreads is aston- 
 ishing. Only let the circumstances be favorable, and millions upon millions of 
 sporules seem ready to enter the stomata, and germinate beneath them. The 
 atmosphere is charged to an inconceivable extent with such invisible organs of 
 reproduction. Fries declares the sporules to be so infinite that they rise like 
 thin smoke into the air by evaporation, and arc dispersed in innumerable ways, 
 as for instance, by the attraction of the sun, by insects, by wind, by elasticity, 
 or by adhesion. Ho asserts that in one individual lie calculated, on good grounds, 
 that there were at least ten millions if not more. Thus a stoma can scarcely 
 ever perform the function of inhalation without taking in more or less of these 
 sporules; and it is a happy circumstance that they refuse to grow except in cer- 
 tain places, and under peculiar conditions, for if their vegetation were general 
 the produce of the earth would be almost entirely consumed by them." 
 
 When the sporules of puciinia have entered the stomata of wheat, and 
 effected a lodgement beneath the epidermis or rind of the plant, they both prey 
 upon the tissues, and intercept a portion of the sap which ascends from the 
 roots for the forming and nourishing of the grain ; hence the grain never comes 
 to perfection, but shrivels up, containing comparatively much bran and little 
 flour, so that wheat which has been mildewed, has been found from accurate 
 investigations to lose from 31 to 75 per cent, of flour. 
 
 Remedies of Mildew. From the above account of the nature of mildew wo 
 may easily perceive that it would be impossible wholly to exterminate the fung- 
 ous plants which are the cause of it. But though it cannot be whi Uy extermi- 
 nated, yet the power of controlling it remains in the hands of the observant and 
 skilful agriculturist. The conditions of soil and culture, and the healthy or 
 unhealthy state of the wheat plants, upon which the progress of mildew very 
 much depends, may be powerfully modified by the skill and the arts of enlight- 
 cnrd husbandry. All soils are subject to mildew, but some yield more readily 
 to it than others. Clay soils offer the greatest resistance to it, in consequence 
 of their tendency to keep up an equable temperature about the plants, and thus 
 save them from frequent vicissitudes of heat and cold. Calcareous and sandy 
 soils, on the contrary, from their opposite tendency encourage mildew on the 
 crops raised upon them, hence the importance of an abundant mixture of clay 
 among a sandy soil, at once improving its texture and lessening the tendency to 
 mildew. 
 
 Moist and " muggy " weather has been found to be most^favourable to the 
 spread of mildew, and although the farmer cannot influence the weather, yet by 
 judicious surface draining of all marshy places, and subsoil draining of all wet 
 fields, much might be done to ameliorate the very climate, and remove th } 
 
i'RKVENHVi:S OF MILDKW. 
 
 aud 
 
 !W we 
 fung- 
 ternii- 
 it and 
 piy or 
 very 
 iliglit- 
 leadily 
 luence 
 thus 
 Isandy 
 in the 
 clay 
 toy to 
 
 [o the 
 
 jet by 
 
 111 wet 
 
 re th) 
 
 cau80 of those damp unwholoMoino fogs which may ofloii bo Hccn to hover exclu- 
 sively over moist Bituatious, and which are a fertile caubo of the spread of 
 mildew. 
 
 The / 'h'( I'ous iitUiirr of fhr noif, bringing it into such a Btate aH is moiiit 
 favourable to the health aud vigour of the wheat plant, has been found u good 
 preventive. A writer in the Journal of the lloyal Agricultural Society of Eng- 
 land says ; — '< A general healthy stato of the wheat plant without any over luxu- 
 riance of vegetation, is most likely to secure a crop against the attacks of the 
 rust aud mildew fungi ; but whatever tends to render the plant sickly, whether 
 it be excess of heat or cold, drought or wet, sudden changes of temperature, 
 poverty of soil, over manuring, shade, &c., must bo considered as a predispos- 
 ing cause to these diseases." Another author remarks, " wherever the farming 
 is of the best kind, and whore drainage is good, the mildew fungus will not be 
 found in any alarming degree. Just as the clean skin of animals is a defence 
 against nauseous living parasites, so by an nnalagous method, the soil will be 
 rendered free from the destructive fungi which cause mildew in corn. Improved 
 domestic habits in our peasantry, are well known as tending to check the spread 
 of epidemic diseases, and in the same way a better system of cultivation will avert 
 diseases from our corn fields. Slildew was once more prevalent than it is at pre- 
 sent, and doubtless its diminution is in a great measure to be ascribed to a 
 better husbandry." 
 
 All varieties of wheat are liable to mildew, but some are more liable than 
 others. The white is generally the earliest affected, and the bearded wheat the 
 latest ; the cuticle of the latter being of a firmer texture,* the openings of the 
 Btomata offer more resistance to the entrance of the sporules, and when any of 
 these have entered, \.he harsh skin does not so readily yield to the outbursts of 
 the fungi as they are being developed. 
 
 As a general rule carl^ sown wheat is more likely to pass the time of bloom- 
 ing before the crop becomes attacked extensively. Late sown crops are green 
 and full of sap at the very season when the moist chill dews of autumn are most 
 rife, and arc therefore more liable to the vigorous attacks of mildew. Excessive 
 manuring, or any combination of circumstances which will tend to make a crop 
 very rank, invites the attack and spread of mildew. 
 
 A clean state of the land is a preventive against mildew. A foul state is an 
 encouragement. Weeds, especially those which come early to maturity, are all 
 harbours for the mildew fungi, where they feed and multiply preparatory to 
 severe aud extensive attacks upon the wheat plant. '' Mildew," says the Rev. 
 Edwin Sidney, " will seldom prevail to any extent where the precaution of hoe- 
 ing the land and keeping the surface clean is observed, but wherever there are 
 many weeds on the land, the straw will be generally found more or less affected 
 by it. The author can say from experience, that ho has seldom, if ever, failed 
 to meet with it in unclean lands." 
 
 The steeping of seed corn in various mixtures is of no benefit in preventing 
 mildew ; it may possibly be a defence against the sporules that are lying in the 
 ground and prevent their absorption by the roots of the plants, but they can 
 offer no resistance to the attacks of the puccinia when the plants are in bloom 
 and are assailed externally. 
 
 A solution of common salt has been found beneficial in killing the mildew 
 fungus, and thus acting as a cure for the disease. Hence wheat grown by the 
 sea side has been found to be free from attacks of mildew. Well authenticated 
 instances of the advantages of using salt as a cure for mildew are on record, the 
 remedy has been tried by many and found to be successful. The proportion of 
 
 *In consequence of containing more siliceous particles in its composition. 
 
I'lUZB kshay: 
 
 Folt is one pound to a gallon of water, laid on with a plasterer's brush, tho opera- 
 tor walking down one furrow and up another, thus sprinkling both sides of the 
 land. Or tho mixture may bo applied with a watering pot; in either case, there 
 must be a second person to replenish tho supply to tho operator. Two pcrsonn 
 will thus sprinkle four aercs a day. Tho modim-ojiemmti of tho salt destroying 
 the puccinia is this : this plant being a fungus, its principal constituent is water, 
 upon salt being applied, tho watery particles arc immediately absorbed, and thus 
 tho mildew plant is destroyed. The action of salt upon mushroom.s, in making 
 mushroom catsup, explains this theory. 
 
 Rust is also a disease of tho wheat plant caused by a minuto fungus of the 
 ooniomycetous order of plants. Tt is commonly ascribed by botanists to two 
 species of tho genus Ureuo — UrcJo luhhjo, and uredo luicarin, which probably 
 are mere varieties of tho mildew fungus or imcclnia. It attacks wheat at all 
 stages of its growth. The fungi have commonly an oraugo brown or rusty irou 
 colour, when tho ppores are spherical tho disease is termed V. nihiyo, when 
 they are oblong the fungus is called l\ linearis. Tho plants when affected 
 seem as if they were dusted with a rusty powder, especially after the sporules 
 have burst through the epidermis or skin of the stem. It is said to prevail more 
 among tho rough chaffed wheats than others The rust is not so injurious as 
 the true mildew, though it causes great havoc when it appears in the later stages 
 of growth of the wheat plant. Tho predisposing causes arc the same as in the 
 case of mildew ; it is sometimes readily dissipated by an outburst of sunny 
 weather, especially when attended with a healthy breeze playing over the grow- 
 ing crop. The remedies arc the same as those mentioned for mildew. In the 
 case of both mildew and rust it has been found that thick crops arc less liable to 
 
 WKCTION AXl) I'OUTION OK A STOCK OF «: 
 
 T AFFICT«D WITH lUST. 
 
 (!) (1) (1) Masses of the Rubigo. (2) Stnmata. "r brenthing pores. (3) Cellular 
 tissue. (4) Cuticle. (5) Epiderwiis. 
 
 their attacks than thin ones, that fields which have received a liberal supply of 
 seed have resisted the disease when thin M)wn ou" ■< have boci* destroyed. A too 
 frequent repetition of the wheat crop aUo eD<<;ouragc« • aese diseases. Some 
 farmers think if they only supply plenty of manure, tliey can go on growing 
 wheat crops without end. This is a reat mistake, and one into which Canadian 
 farmers at the present time are t'.^ apt to be betrayed, in consequence of the 
 high prices offiered just now '^'v " eat; the liberail supply of manure with 
 which they hope to renew the \ ' ^( the soil, doeb but increase the rankness 
 of the straw, thereby encouraginii ' •■ attacks of these diseases while the ears of 
 
UUST, SMIT, AC. 
 
 45 
 
 ar 
 
 )ply of 
 A too 
 Some 
 owing 
 aadiaa 
 of the 
 5 with 
 nlcness 
 ears of 
 
 graiu, oven 
 
 liscrablo hhruuk 
 
 if they escape disoubc, tire only half filU d, yieldins after threshing a 
 iruuk huiuple, instead of bold plump wlieat. The lawrf of nature are 
 
 Ubrdo Rraifio (Common Jiiisl.) 
 
 invariable and eannot bo disrc<,'arded with impunity, the productive powers of 
 kho soil have a limit, beyond which man, with all his fancied skill, cannot force 
 them ; and ho who, in his haste to p;row rich, endeavours to over-tax those 
 powers, will find that he is only killing the bird which laid him the golden 
 
 «ggs. 
 
 Smut is a disease of the cars of growing grain, by which the substance which 
 should form flour, becomes entirely changed into a black powder, similar to a 
 puff ball, or dusty mushroom. It seems to have prevailed in the time of the 
 Roman Empire, f nd is mentioned by Pliny and Columella. It has been ascribed 
 by all classes of cultivators to a diversity of causes, which for the most part are 
 all erroneous. Jethro Tull ascribed it to moisture; Lord Somerville to insects; 
 Linnoous and Walker ascribed it to the same cause. Sir Humphrey Davy was 
 of opinion that it was produced by a small fungus. Bauer, of Kow, who sup- 
 plied some interesting articles to the Penny Magazine on the subject, discovered 
 that it was occasioned by a very min'.te fungus, and from the researches of skil- 
 ful men, aided by powerful micro^^ . .pes, it has been ascertained that smut arises 
 entirely fioni two minute fungi if t' o coniomycetous order.* The iircfJo srje- 
 tuni and the uredo fatuhi. 
 
 These two species of fung^ whic-'h produce smut, and whose spores constitute 
 the tine, powdery, soot-like siubstance of the disease, have distinct characteris- 
 tics, by which they may Ik> easily distinguished from each other. 
 
 The nredo segctum Iwis no smell, and attacks wheat, barley and oats. It 
 Bometimes affects the leaves and stems of the plants, but in general attacks only 
 khe ear — this it completely destroys. It first injures the interior parts of the 
 flowers of the plants, so as to destroy their productive powers ; it next makes the 
 little stalks of the florets swell and become fleshy ; it then consumes this fleshy 
 3aass, and at last appears through the chaff, scales or glumes, in the form of a 
 ■oot-like powder. It generally comes to maturity some time before the crop is 
 ready for the harvest, and the spores, which resemble fine lampblack in appear- 
 ance, are profusely swept away and scattered by the winds before the grain Ls 
 cut, so that although it max have committed great devastations, it is seldom seen 
 at the time of harvest. It is comparatively rare in wheat, does not seem to 
 occur at all in rye, is very common in barley, and still more so in oats. The 
 straw of crops affected by this form of smut, is said to be very distasteful to 
 cattle, and probably is very unwholesome. 
 
 * Derived from honis, dust, and mtiktes, mushroom. 
 
46 
 
 PRIZE ESSAY: 
 
 The .ircdofoctida, or t^mut ball, occurs only in the grain of wheat, has a dis- 
 gusting smell, and is a well known and much dreaded disease. It occurs in the 
 young grain at its earliest stage, and when fully developtd occupies the whole 
 interior of the grain . Mr. Bauer discovered it ia the. ovule of a young plant 
 of wheat, sixteen days before the ear emerged from the hose, and twenty days 
 before the sound ears, springing from the same root, were in bloom." At that 
 early stage the inner cavity of the ovum is vory small, and after fecundation, is 
 tilled with the albumen or farinaceous substance of the seed, and already occu- 
 pied by many young fungi, which, from their jelly-like root or spawn, adhere to 
 the membrane which lines the cavity, and from which they can be easily 
 detached in small flakes with that spawn. In that state their very small pedi- 
 cles may be distinctly seen. At first the fungi are of a pure white colour, and 
 when the ear emerges from its hose, the ovum is much enlarged, but still retains 
 its original shape, and the fungi rapidly multiplying, many of thom have then 
 nearly come to maturity, assumed a darker colour, and having separated from the 
 spawn, lie loose in the cavity of the ovum. The infeoted grains continue grow- 
 ing, and the fungi continue to multiply till the sound grains have attained their 
 full size and maturity, when the infected grains are easily distinguished from 
 the sound ones, by their being geoerally larger and of a darker green colour, and 
 if opened appear to be filled to excess with these dark-coloured fungi. But the 
 grains infected with the uredo foetida very rarely burst, and these fungi are 
 seldom found on the outside of the grain, but if a grain be bruised, they readily 
 emit their offensive smell, which is worse than that from putrid fish. When 
 the sound grains are perfectly ripe and dry, and assume their light brown colour, 
 the infected grains also change, but to a somewhat darker brown, retaining how- 
 ever the same shape that the ovum had at the beginning, the rudiments of the 
 stigma also remaining unalterod." 
 
 The sporules of both U. segetum and U. foetida are surpri.singly minute. Not 
 fewer than seven millions, eight hundred and forty thousand of the spores of the 
 U. segetum would be required to cover one square inch. A single smut-ball of 
 the U. faitida contains about four millions of spores ; some idea of the reproduc- 
 tive powers of these destructive fungi may hence be formed. They are supposed 
 to find their way into the plants by entering the spongioles of the roots with the 
 moisture, and then ascending with the sap. They are carried into the ground 
 with the infected seed, and are thus readily absorbed by the root during the ger- 
 mination of the seed iVom which the plant has sprung. If the tainted seed be 
 thoroughly cleansed, the plants will not bo infected; this has been well ascer- 
 tained, and hence the practice of washing seed-wheat universally prevails. 
 
 The chief preventive of smut is the steeping of seed wheat in some solution 
 which, while it is powerful enough to kill the spores, yet will not destroy the 
 vegetative powers of the grain. The spores which are dispersed at the time of 
 thrashing are of an oily, grea.sy nature, and cling with considerable tenacity to 
 the grains of wheat. Hence alkaline solutions, combining with this oily matter 
 and forming soap, are found to be the best washes in which to steep seed wheat. 
 Lime water, ley from wood ashes, and common salt, are all good and much to be 
 preferred to violent poisons, which arc very dangerous, and were perhaps first 
 applied from the mistaken notion that smut was produced from insects. Fields 
 in the vicinity of the sea are rarely injured, and never extensively, by the rava- 
 ges of smut ; this happens, no doubt, from the prevalence of saline particles. The 
 effect of salt on the mildew fungi has been already noticed, and there is every 
 reason to suppose that it will be found equally effectual in destroying the vitality 
 of the sporules of the U. foetida. Stale pickle, in which meat ha& been pre- 
 served, will be found very useful as a wash for seed wheat. If the grain be 
 poured into a large tub containing pickle, the unbroken smut-balls will float to 
 
 <v 
 
 fj 
 
 dl 
 
 ai 
 bl 
 
 bl 
 
 it 
 si 
 
TREVENTIVES OF SMUT. 
 
 47 
 
 IS 
 
 
 the top and may be skimmed ofi". After the graiu is thorougkly saturated it 
 may be placed on a sieve or riddle and thus the wheat can gradually be drained, 
 when it should be spread upon the barn floor and dried with fresh powdered 
 lime, which may be scattered over it, and thoroughly mingled with the grain by 
 raking it about. 
 
 A solution of sulphate of soda (glauber salts) in the proportion of 17 « lbs. to 
 22 gals, of water has been found very efficient; as this salt does not readily dis- 
 solve, the solution should be made the day before it is wanted. Mr. Bauer 
 recommends lime water, but perhaps nothing will be found more eiFectual, 
 cheaper, or more easily procured than a pickle of salt and water. 
 
 A field of wheat that presents an even appearance, the stalks all being of .equal 
 height, suflFers less from smut than an uneven field where some stalks ara shorter 
 than others, it will generally be found that the short wheat is all smutty j this 
 may be accounted for in this way. When a field has been thinly sown, or when 
 from winter killing or other causes the plants have been thinned out, those that 
 are left are induced to stool out, and send up a fresh supply of stalks ; th^^se, of 
 course, are later, and not so vigorous, as the parent stems, consequently they are 
 more liable to the attacks of disease, and accordingly are the first to suffer from 
 the smut. Farmers no doubt have often observed that wheat, growing near 
 fences which have encouraged largo snow drifts in winter, is always smutty. 
 This is occasioned by the deep snow-drift killing out the wheat, or lying so 
 long on the field after spring has set in, as to impair the vitality of the plants ; 
 consequently they become stunted and weak, and as a ipattcr of course the first 
 to be affected by smut. 
 
 From this we learn the importance of thoroughly working the land, and sow- 
 ing a liberal supply of seed, in order that the crop may present as even an 
 appearance as possible, and that the plants may be in such a healthy vigorous 
 state as to enable them to resist the attacks of disease. In the older settlements 
 of Canada the land has not that freshness and fertility it once possessed, conse- 
 quently more seed is required than when the land was first cleared. For the 
 same reason the soil requires more judicious management, and more attention to 
 be paid to the rotation of crops, when wheat will be sown only in due turn, and 
 after a thorough fallowing of the laud. Throughout this essay, the bringing 
 the land into a good state of cultivatioi^, avoiding over cropping it with wheat, 
 and so inducing a healthy and vigorous state of that grain when it is sown, has 
 been pointed out as one of the best means of averting the devastations caused 
 by the insects and diseases injurious to the wheat crop, that form the subjecL ")f 
 the present treatise. As a general rule it will be found that the crops of the 
 industrious, intelligent, and observant husbandman, will, in consequence of 
 attending to such directions as above, (directions which are founded on experi- 
 ence, and approve themselves to common sense,) escape these calamitous evils, 
 while those of the lazy, negligent, and slovenly farmer arc sure to be the first 
 to fall a prey to them. 
 
 It may be asked, if the seed is properly cleansed where does the smut come 
 from that attacks the sickly and defective wheat plants 't How can the snow 
 drift that kills out the wheat affect the few plants that remain with smut 't The 
 answer to this is, that no doubt the spores of smut fungi which are carried about 
 by the wind, arc deposited on the fences, on briars and weeds, and on the stub- 
 bles of the crops which have been reaped j in the fast case they are ploughed 
 into the ground ready to attack any wheat plants that are predisposed by their 
 sickly state to receive the infection through their roots, or in case of those spores 
 which are lodged on the fences, &c., the unhealthy plants receive them into 
 their system through th^ir stomata, in the same manner as the mildew and rust 
 
48 
 
 PRIZE ESSAY. 
 
 fungi impregnate the culms or stems of wheat with their spores, which obtain an 
 entrance through the stomata on the surface of the plants. 
 
 This theory may be erroneous ; but it will deserve a place until a better is 
 substituted. Certain it is, that short and weakly plants of wheat, owing their 
 defective state to the causes already mentioned, are the most liable to disease ; 
 and it will be well, therefore, even though wo cannot account satisfactorily for 
 tho origin of the disease, to try and avoid those causes which predispose the 
 plants to receive it. 
 
 And here we learn the advantage of those researches of scientific persons who 
 have thoroughly examined and satisfactorily determined the true causes, nature 
 and history of these diseases. So long as their true origin was unknown, it was 
 impossible for the agriculturist to apply the proper remedies ; he was contending 
 in the dark with an enemy whose evil effects he experienced, but of whose 
 nature he was thoroughly ignorant, and consequently all his efforts to subdue it 
 were useless, and the remedies he applied inapplicable. But this is no longer 
 the case ; learned men have discovered the true origin of these diseases, and 
 the result of their investigations has been gathered in the foregoing pages for 
 the Information and benefit of the intelligent farmer; the remedies and preven- 
 tives mentioned may not be the most effectual, but now that the husbandman 
 knows the nature cf those evils which devastate his crops, he can use his own 
 judgment, and bring his practical experience to bear upon the best method 
 which may be employed to counteract their calamitous effects. No amount of 
 human prudence or foresight can altogether prevent their attacks ; but, when 
 contending against them, the farmer will now have the satisfaction of knowing 
 that, being acquainted with the origin and nature of the diseases, ho has gained 
 more than half the victory over thctu. 
 
 ii 
 
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