134 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



States, it is said that a pound of copperas dissolved in a pail-full of soft- 

 soap, "wlien tbiuued with water, and applied to the onions, is good to 

 keep off the uiaggots, and also to promote the growth of the plant. A 

 preventive is suggested in Mr. Packard's last report, (1S72,) which is to 

 sow the seeds deeper than usual, so that the tly cannot so readily get at it 

 to lay its eggs ; it is, however, especially recommended that all yellow or 

 diseased onions (or other bulbs and roots) should be at once removed 

 from the beds, with as much of the roots and fibers as possible, and 

 burnt or otherwise destroyed immediately. For other insects injuring 

 roots, such as PsUa rosa', the small fly injuring carrots in Europe, 

 Pj„ 04 Anthomyia rapJtani, and radicum, which injures rad- 



° ishes, &c., many of the same remedies as have been 



recommended for A. ceparmn will answer. 



The larvae of some of the Ortalidw feed in the fruit, 

 stems, and leaves. The larva of one species, Ortalis 

 Jiexa, (Fig. 24,) is injurious to the onion in the Western 

 States ; the remedies for this insect, however, will be 

 found under the head of Anthomyia c€j,mrum. 

 The Trypetid(c are small flies with mottled, marbled, or variegated 

 wings; some of their larvte feed in fruit, others are leaf-miners, while 

 others form galls on ];)lants ; they, however, as yet, have done very little 

 harm, and are merely mentioned as they are common on flowers in 

 summer. 



The larva? of several species of small flies, Chlorojys, Ocin is, «&c., in Europe 

 are very destructive to all kinds of grain, wheat, barley, rye, &c. One 

 species alone, G. frit, is said to have caused a loss of $100,000 in one year 

 in Northern Europe to the barley crop. The larvte of this species live in 

 the grain, and cause it to shrivel. Another of these larva? injures grain 

 by destroying the central shoot, and still a third, C. tccnioims, does great 

 damage to wheat and barley by destroying the plant, and causing a 

 peculiar swelling at the joint, popularly known by the name gout. It 

 is somewhat singular that we hear no particular or decided complaints 

 from our own farmers of any insects in the stalk of wheat, excepting the 

 well-known joint- worm, which is a hymenopterous insect, and has four 

 wings instead of two. We have several species of Chloroijs in this 

 country, the flies of which are extremely abundant among the plants in 

 grain-fields, and, no doubt, do attack our grain in the same manner as 

 the European species, but as yet they have not done damage sufficient 

 to attract the attention of the agriculturist. In Europe, where these 

 insects do much damage, the remedy is to change the crops to others 

 which do not attract the fly, and it has been suggested that perhaps the 

 parent flies themselves might be decoyed to their own destruction by 

 some poisoned liquid ; and, although one authority states that plowing 

 and harrowing are of use, as the pupa? are formed under the earth, yet 

 it appears plausible that a good rolling, plowing, and harrowing would 

 so disturb the pup* and throw many of them to the surface, where they 

 would i^erish from exposure, and, at the same time, bury the rest so 

 deep under the earth that, even if they completed their transformations, 

 they could not struggle through the sui^erincumbent earth, to appear 

 as flies the next season. In Europe Chloropfi tmiiojnts is destroyed by a 

 parasitic four- winged fly, Ccdimis niger. 



The larva? of the Agromyzidcv are generally leaf-miners. One species, 

 A. tritici, of Fitch, is accused of injuring wheat by sucking the grains 

 when immature, and causing them to shrink in a similar manner to 

 those injured by Di])losis tritici, or the common wheat-midge ; and the 

 same remedies will answer for both insects. It is, however, destroyed 



