214 SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. [Chap. IL 



the country before, and it might also have been imported. It was first pub- 

 lidv noticed in 1770, at Fhitbush (L. I.), and on Staten Island, in the vicinity 

 of Sir "William Howe's debarkation of those mercenaries of King George, 

 and it was quite in keeping with the feelings of the people that they should 

 rjadily credit the charge, that they had brought this among the other evils 

 of war. At any rate, it multiplied and spread rapidly, and was for a time 

 looked upon as a scourge almost as great as fire and sword. Of late years, 

 liowev^r, it appears to bo dying out. It is subject to the attack of parasites, 

 which have done more than all the arts and strength of man to rid his laud 

 of this pest. 



The greatest destroyer of the Hessian-fly is a shining black four-winged 

 flv, about the tenth of an inch in length. Do not mistake this friend for 

 ;^-:->nr foe, and compass its destruction. Many sensible men have made this 

 mistake, and very aptly, too ; for, as they will tell you, they have actually 

 seen the fellow come out of the dried skin of the Hessian. So they did ; but 

 not until the destroyer of wheat had been destroyed by an insect that fed 

 ujion his vitals. 



The parasite of the Cecidomyia destructor is the Ceraphron desUntctor of 

 Say, and it is a question of vast consequence to wheat-growers what they 

 can do to promote the growth of this insect, which has already been of such 

 vast benefit to them. 



We have no doubt that the parasite of the wheat-midge will do the same 

 kind of service, and perhaps exterminate that pest. 



The Hessian-fly is a very small two-winged gnat. The female deposits 

 her eggs soon after the wheat begins to grow, say in October, for lat. 39^, 

 40=*, 41°, in the cavities between the little ridges of the blades. In from 

 four to fifteen days the eggs hatch, and the diminutive maggots work down 

 into the leaf-sheath and there spend the winter. The fly works from August 

 to January, according to latitude and climate influences, so that what would 

 be a remedy in one place would not be in another. In fact, it is asserted that 

 the fly sometimes works upon wheat in the spring ; so the following recom- 

 mendation would not be eflectual. That is : 



About the middle of August sow a strip of wheat adjoining where you 

 intend to put your crop — say one or tM'O acres. About the middle of Sep- 

 tember sow your field. When that has come up and shows cleverly, jilow 

 under the first sown ; turn it under well. Your fly is headed and your crop 

 is safe. 



In the particular locality of the man who says " that remedy wont fail," 

 perhaps it will not. 



The maggots within the leaf-sheath lie dormant through the winter, and 

 do not stop the growth of the wheat until just before it is ready to blossom, 

 when if there are several on a stalk, it withers and dies. The worms do not 

 eat the stalk, but suck up the sap and poison it. A full-sized maggot is 

 three twentieths of an inch long, with a hard skin, of a bright chestnut color, 

 and looks as much like a flax-seed as anything it can be compared to. This 



