No. 105.] 245 



I would further remark that the barn floor on which the wheat was 

 threshed, was an old floor with several large cracks in it by which 

 I am confident a number of quarts were lost ; this being the first 

 threshing done on it this season, and I had not examined and stop- 

 ped the crevices till after threshing the wheat. 



One further remark respecting the wheat fly, commonly (though 

 erroneously) called the weevil. I discovered none of these insects in 

 or about the wheat till nearly the whole of it had gotten so far ad- 

 vanced as to be beyond the reach of this pest of the wheat grower. 

 But as there were a few apple trees standing in the field, under which 

 in consequence of their shade, the wheat was several days later than 

 elsewhere, I noticed that the wheat under the trees was seriously af- 

 fected by the fly, and that immediately after the rest of the wheat 

 had passed out of their reach, or power to harm it, they were quite 

 numerous through the whole of it, from which I naturally inferred 

 that, had I sown the wheat much later than I did, the whole of it 

 might have been materially or fatally injured by the wheat fly. 



Deer field J December, 1845. 



EXTRACTS FROM WASHINGTON COUNTY REPORT. 



JAMES STEVENSON. 



A statement of the mode of culture of a crop of wheat raised in the 

 town of Argyle, county of Washington, embracing the following par- 

 ticulars. 



1st. The kind of soil upon which was raised said wheat, may be 

 ranked as gravel, and subsoil is also gravel. 



2d. The situation was upon the hill-side, inclining to the west, 

 and is a dry situation. 



3d. The previous condition of field for the last thirty years has been 

 various; it has been under culture for at least thirty years, and has 

 uniformly yielded a good crop ; for three years previous to its being 

 sown with this crop of wheat it was pastured, 



4th. There was no manure or other fertilizing agent employed up- 

 on the field for the last four years. 



5th. The ground was first plowed on the 25th or 26th of June, 

 1844, and again plowed and sown about the 26th day of August, 

 1844, and harrowed over twice; once with a double, and once with 

 ,a single stroke. 



6th. There was eight bushels of the white bearded wheat, sown 

 upon the whole four acres of ground, and there was no preparation 

 of the wheat before it was sown. 



7th. There was no subsequent cultivation after the wheat was 

 sown. 



