276 [Senats 



Mr. Shirreff upon another of these cannot but interest the reader. He 

 says, " Upon presenting four Jarrse (of the wheat-fly) to an ichneumon^ 

 it soon stung, or, according to Mr. Kirby, deposited an egg in each of 

 their bodies, and stung one of them a second time. The maggot 

 writhed in seeming agony, and straggled upon my thumb-nail, where 

 it was again stung three times by the same fly ; and in a second strug- 

 gle, both fell to the ground." 



ARTIFICIAL MEANS FOR ARRESTING ITS RAVAGES. 



These may be divided into two classes, as they refer to the protec- 

 tion of the grain from the fly when in its winged form and depositing 

 its eggs ; or as they directed to the destruction of the fly itself, in the 

 previous stages of its existence. 



Several measures have been proposed, and some of them with much 

 confidence and plausibility of reasoning, for protecting the wheat crop 

 from this insect during the period of its blossoming. The more pro- 

 minent of these I will advert to. 



The smoke of a number of smouldering fires, or of brimstone 

 matches, in different parts, and particularly upon the windward side 

 of an infested field, has been recommended. The known eflEicacy of 

 smoke in repelling the musketoe renders it probable that this remedy 

 would be of signal utility, were it not for the discouraging amount of 

 labor that is required to make so thorough and protracted a use of it 

 as would be necessary. 



It has been suggested that the anal follicles of the skunk {Mephitis 

 americana, Desm.) might be extracted, and that yarn impregnated 

 with the fluid contained in them, and suspended through wheat-fields, 

 would, by its intolerable odor, banish the wheat-fly. I imagine that in 

 carrying this suggestion into practice, the operator would be the great- 

 est sufferer — " unless my nose deceives me." 



Sowing the field with lime at the time the wheat is in blossom, has 

 been repeatedly, and by some with much confidence, urged. This re- 

 medy has been much resorted to, and very conflicting statements with 

 regard to its eflEicacy have been laid before the public. A simple ex- 

 periment, directly to the point, is of more value than a thousand cases 

 that tend to support any particular opinion ; and such an experiment 

 I am prepared to narrate. Jarvis Martin, Esq., the owner of the infes- 

 ted field repeatedly alluded to, at my suggestion, repaired to it one 



