150 INDIAN COEN. 



ing the young and tender spindle of the maize. Its 

 ravages usually commence at an early stage of the 

 growth of the plant, while the spindle is yet but little 

 developed. The presence of this miscreant is indicated 

 by the withering of the leaves, which may be taken 

 hold of and drawn out along with the spindle. A 

 small hole may be detected in the side of the plant, 

 near the surface of the ground, entering into the centre 

 of the stalk, where the worm will be found a small, 

 yellowish insect, with the head nearly black. The 

 moth produced from this insect, according to Dr. Har- 

 ris, differs from the other nonagrians somewhat in 

 form, itsforewings being shorter and more rounded at 

 the tip, and the hind wings of a yellowish gray. The 

 surest way to check the ravages of these insects is to 

 destroy them in the caterpillar state. If permitted to 

 turn to moths, they escape, with the certainty of prop- 

 agating another brood. 



The APHIS MAYIS, or corn-plant louse, belongs to 

 an exceedingly numerous tribe. The aphis, of one 

 kind or another, is found upon almost every plant in 

 the vegeteble kingdom, and multiplies with a rapidity 

 truly amazing. So prolific are they, according to 

 Reaumur, that one individual, in five generations, 

 may become the progenitor of nearly six thousand 

 million descendants. The corn aphis, according to 

 Dr. Harris, is found mostly below the surface of the 

 ground, deriving its nourishment from the roots of the 

 plant, and the crop, in light poor soils, is liable to 

 suffer seriously from this cause. These insects, small 

 as they are, might, by their numbers, become truly 



