711 



a mere figurative warfare — it is a real and constant struggle with ene- 

 mies who assail his works at all points, and require the utmost care and 

 watchfulness to prevent the total annihilation of his anticipated gains. 

 If the agriculturist had no enemies — if he had but to plow Lis lands 

 and sow his seeds to enable him to reap an abundant harvest, he would 

 be relieved of by far the larger portion of the cares which now press 

 upon him. But a besieging general never watched with more eager 

 eyes a new breastwork thrown up by the enemy, that he may seize upon 

 the most fitting moment to turn bis destructive batteries upon it, than 

 does some enemy of the farmer watch every operation from seed time 

 to harvest, for the purpose of rendering his labors in vain. 



But it is a startling fact, if, as we believe, the number of these ene- 

 mies and their destructiveness are increasing year by year. I mear by 

 enemies, not simply living things that prey upon our crops, but the pes- 

 tilences also that seize upon them, and that are so destructive in their 

 character as to render it problematical with at least one crop, whether 

 when the farmer commits his seed to the earth he will harvest as much 

 as he plants. 



Let us review for a moment the list of these enemies — see if they 

 are not thickening around us and becoming daily more formidable, and 

 what, if such be found to be the case, it becomes us to do in the emer- 

 gency. 



The most important article of human food we produce is wheat 

 Habit seems to render it almost impossible for us to do without it at a 

 sbgle meal. The families are few, even among the poorest, that con- 

 sent to dispense with it at all, even when the equally nutritious and al- 

 most equally agreeable corn food is much less expensive. 



The wheat crop has its abundant enemies, and always has had ; but 

 one of them but recently appearing among us, seems likely to prove 

 far more dostructive than all the rest. Up to last season, the wheat 

 midge, or the weevil, as we commonly call it, was a stranger to our 

 State, and though we heard of it as approaching us from the east, from 

 whence all pestilences come, we could ncarcely anticipate the overwhelm- 

 ing visitation which it made us last summer. This year, the extraordi- 

 nary season that nearly ruined the crop in another manner, has saved 

 us from its ravages, but the foe is now planted among us, concealed by 

 its insignificant size from our attacks, and threatening every year to 



