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plow under very deep all the stubble of the small gram as soon as cleared of other rubbish 

 by burning. Rolling the field as soon as the grain is sown, and again when it is four or five 

 inches high, destroys many of the eggs. 



There seems to be no effectual remedy for exterminating these pests, and the best method 

 is to make the land very fertile and give the crop an early and vigorous growth before they 

 make their appearance, that it may be able to better withstand the attacks, and be less injured 

 by it. Prof. C. V. Riley says: 



&quot; Not to mention the different means to be employed in counteracting the ravages of 

 this insect, a diversified agriculture is undoubtedly one of the most effectual. It must neces 

 sarily follow that the more extensive any given crop is cultivated to the exclusion of other 

 crops, the more will the peculiar insects which depredate upon it become unduly and inju 

 riously abundant. The chinch bug is confined in its depredations to the grasses and cereals. 

 Alternate your timothy, wheat, barley, corn, etc., upon which it flourishes, with any of the 

 numerous crops on which it cannot flourish, and you very materially affect its power for 

 harm. A crop of corn or wheat grown on a piece of land entirely free from chinch bugs 

 will not suffer to the same extent as a crop grown on land where the insects have been breed 

 ing and harboring. This fact is becoming partially recognized, and already hemp, flax, and 

 castor beans are to some extent cultivated in localities where they have not hitherto received 

 much attention. But there are many other valuable root and forage plants that may yet be 

 introduced and grown as field crops; and if the late calamities only awaken the farmers of 

 this country to a full realization of the importance of greater diversification in their culture, 

 the lesson will not be too dearly bought. 



Of root crops that would escape the ravages of the winged insects, and which would 

 grow in ordinary seasons, and furnish excellent food for stock, may be mentioned turnips, 

 ruta bagas, mangel wurzel, carrots (especially the large Belgian), parsnips and beets. Of 

 tubers that are not as profitable but of which it would be well to plant small quantities in 

 locust districts, for the reason that they grow with such ease, and are less likely to be injured 

 by the insects, the Chinese Yam, Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), and the Chufa 

 (Cyperous esculentus), are worthy of trial.&quot; 



Hessian Fly. This insect is so called because it is supposed to have been introduced 

 into this country from Germany, by the Hessian troops, in their straw, during the year 1776, 

 at which time the British army, then occupying Staten Island, received large re-enforcements 

 of Hessians under General De Heister. It is very destructive to wheat, and produces two or 

 three broods each year. It is found in the winter wheat from late in the autumn through 

 the winter, until about the middle of April, the larvae of this brood being found between the 

 stalk and sheathing-base of the leaf of the young grain near the root, and slightly beneath 

 the ground. The second brood attacks the wheat in the late spring and summer, and are 

 an inch or two above the surface of the ground at the lower joints of the stalk. 



&quot; In the ordinary course of nature, therefore,&quot; says Fitch, &quot;our crops of winter wheat 

 are liable to two attacks of the Hessian fly, one generation reared at its roots producing 

 another, which occupies the lower joints of the stalks. Thus the larvae and pupae are present 

 in it almost continually, from the time the tender young blades appear above the ground in 

 autumn till the grain ripens and is harvested the next summer Our spring wheat, on the 

 other hand, can rear but one brood of these insects; they consequently resort to it but little, 

 if at all. Nor can the Hessian fly sustain itself except in districts where winter wheat is 

 cultivated, in which for it to nestle during the autumn and winter.&quot; 



The first brood usually appears in April and May, the second in August and the early 

 part of September, while a third sometimes appears in October. There is no doubt that, as 

 is the case with all other insects, the varying degrees of heat and cold will accelerate or 

 retard the various transformations of the Hessian fly. In from four to eight days after the 



