136 LAPRAIRIE WHEAT-FLY. 



instructions and letters by Mr R. A , who had passed 



through them a few weeks before, and on whose attentions I 

 had not the slightest claim. We arranged to leave Montreal 

 by the mail stage, on the afternoon of the 5th ; but receiving a 



call from Mr , whom I had met with in Scotland, and who 



once farmed in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, it was agreed 

 that we should accompany him to his residence on the op 

 posite side of the St Lawrence, and be driven in his waggon 

 a considerable part of our route, next morning. Accordingly, 

 we crossed to Laprairie in a steamer, at ten A.M., and pro 

 ceeded on the road to St Philip s three or four miles, till we 

 reached Mr s residence. 



Laprairie is a small mean-looking village, inhabited almost 

 entirely by French Canadians, and deriving its chief import 

 ance from being the entrance and depot of farm produce from 

 the States to Montreal, and from its inhabitants enjoying the 

 privilege of an extensive grazing common, which was part of 

 the Jesuits confiscated property. 



This part of the country differs from any we had yet visited 

 inhabited by French Canadians, having many single trees 

 interspersed over the surface, and a few on creek banks. The 

 soil is invariably clay of the strongest texture, in bad con 

 dition, and stands much in want of draining. 



In this neighbourhood I observed wheat ears exhibiting 

 ravages of wheat-fly, and on examination found many capsules 

 filled with shrivelled grains, or altogether empty. The mag 

 gots having left the ears and descended to the earth, I was 

 unable to determine whether this insect is identical with the 

 wheat-fly of Britain ; but the collapsed state of the chaff pre 

 sented the same appearance as the crop in East-Lothian 

 when injured by fly, while spider-webs on the ears contained 

 fragments of flies resembling ichneumons. I was told the 

 French inhabitants around St Philip held meetings and pro 

 cessions a few days previous, for staying the plague of worms 

 in wheat ears, and I have no doubt they were delighted with 

 the apparent success of their measures ; knowledge of the 

 habits of the insect would, however, have taught them the 

 futility of their attempts at so late a period of the season. 

 The same insect caused extensive injury in 1825. 



