FARMEES' INSTITUTES. 289 



quote from the diary) : The wheat on the ground this fall is not very promis- 

 ing, except ui)ou new ground and late sown ; tlie insects have entirely destroyed 

 hundreds of acres. Many farmers plowed and sowed over again ; the fall was 

 warm, and frosts late, which gave the ily a chance to do much damage. The 

 spring of 1855 was an early one ; the spring birds made their appearance on the 

 15th of IMarch. On the 11th of April I sowed spring wheat, and on the first 

 of May the ily commenced depositing their nits upon it in great numbers. On 

 May 12th they had nearly destroyed it; the yield was five bushels of poor 

 wheat per acre. " This season," I found larvos in every joint of the straw, 

 and some in the heads. The season was also destructive to the wheat on 

 account of the wet weather, which caused it to sprout and grow before it was 

 cut; this is remembered as the wet harvest. This season tested the fly-proof 

 qualities of a new kind of wheat, called Mediterranean ; a bearded variety 

 with large dark colored berry; it proved to be all that was claimed for it, and 

 I have no doubt was instrumental in destroying the fly. I sowed 40 bushels of 

 this wheat early, and (record of September 12th says), the fly have deposited 

 their nits upon the Mediterranean wheat in great numbers. I find from 20 

 to 100 upon each plant, and I shall sow no more until I see tlie effect, (Sept. 

 23d) the insects do no injury to Mediterranean wheat; they go down into the 

 plant and die. I think the coating of the leaves contain so much silicia that 

 the larva? are unable to get nutriment from them. This wheat became very 

 popular, and in many localities was the only kind sown ; while some would sow 

 it early and tiie white wheat late, getting good crops of each, also getting rid 

 of the insect. But I know of no wheat now raised that will withstand the 

 attacks of the fly as did the Mediterranean. 



Prof. Cook's advice to sow a strip around the field very early as a decoy, for 

 the fly to deposit their nits upon, and in case they do, to plow it under and sow 

 it again later, when the main army of the pests has gone, is I think (from the 

 result shown in sowing the Mediterranean) sound, and if followed by all the 

 farmers, would aid materially in lessening, if not exterminating for a time this 

 great enemy. In comparing the effects of the weather upon the fly in the sea- 

 son referred to, we find that when the fall and spring were cold and wet, and 

 the summer favorable, the crop was a good one and not materially damaged 

 by the fly. The seasons of 1852 and '53 were of this character. But the sea- 

 sons of '54 and '65 were favorable for them ; there was plenty of early sown 

 Avheat, warm weather in the fall and spring, and the fly revelled in luxury, 

 causing Avide^pread destruction to the crop, and damage and dismay to the 

 farmers, who were now aroused to a sense of their danger, and the question 

 asked by every one was, what shall we do to get rid of the Hessian Fly? Some 

 advocated feeding of the wheat in the fall and spring. Others claimed that late 

 sowing was a sure remedy, and those who had an antipathy against tlie Black 

 Mediterranean (as they called it) laid their scruples aside and sowed it, be- 

 cause it was fly-proof and could be sown very early. All of these modes were 

 tried, with beneficial results. 



Nature also, as if to make some amends to the farmers, favored them with 

 cool weather. In the springs of 1856 and '57, there were frequent frosts in the 

 month of May, which were very injurious to the propagation of tlie spring 

 brood of flies, and their numbers rajiidly decreased, until they were too few to 

 do much damage. I tliiuk it is proven be3'ond a doubt that the fly connot pro- 

 pagate their species in cold wet weather, and while we cannot control tlie 

 weather, we can control the sowing, so as to be absolutely certain to escape 



