38G 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



glass jar in the house, instead of being exposed to 

 the open air abroad. All of the insects except 

 two were identical with specimens obtained from 

 diseased barley straw in the spring of 1830, and 

 all of them were females. To the barley straw in- 

 sect I gave the name of Euryloma hordei; and the 

 same name must be applied to the insects obtained 

 from the diseased wheat straw. They belong to 

 the Chalcidian family, consisting of various kinds 

 and species of small Ichneumon flies, all of which, 

 so far as their habits have been observed, are par- 

 asitical, or live in their grub state within the bod- 

 ies of other insects. Two of the wheat straw in- 

 sects were smaller specimens, belonging to the 

 same family, but to the genus Plcromalus. Not 

 one species in this family has ever been known, 

 hitherto, to diflfer in habits from the rest; hence 

 all of them are supposed to be parasitical. Rea- 

 soning from analogy, therefore, when the Eurylo- 

 ma hordei was first obtained from the barley straw, 

 I inferred that it was a parasitical species, and that 

 the maggot in the straw from which it is devel- 

 oped was the young or larva of an unknown spe- 

 cies of Cecidomyia, the real cause of the injury to 

 the straw. The Hessian fly and wheat fly are spe- 

 cies of Cecidomyia, and both of them, in the mag- 

 got state, are preyed upon by Chalcidian parasites, 

 which are transformed to tiny four-winged flies. 

 These, being often seen in great numbers in the 

 wheat fields, where the maggots of the Hessian 

 and wheat fly have carried on their ravages, have 

 been frequently mistaken for the parents of the 

 real culprits. What has hertofore happened may 

 happen again ; and, as no person, so far as I can 

 learn, has yet succeeded in raising any species of 

 Cecidomyia from the diseased barley straw, or from 

 the joint- worm of the southern wheat, the Eury- 

 loma is likely to be charged with being the cause 

 of the mischief done to the stems of these plants. 

 It remains to be seen, from lull and careful obser- 

 vations, made on the wheat and barley at various 

 times, whether such charge can be sustained. I 

 am indifferent to the result, if only the truth can 

 be arrived at and made known ; hoping that there- 

 by some means for arresting the ravages of the in- 

 sect, whatever the latter may be, may soon be dis- 

 covered. 



Mr. Ruffin has already been referred to my ac- 

 count of Eurytoma hordei in the New England 

 Farmer, and in my work on insects injurious to 

 vegetation, which may be consulted by others, al- 

 so, who are interested in the subject. To this ac- 

 count, I have only to add another fact and a single 

 suggestion. 



It is well known that barley straw is occasional- 

 ly made use of, in New England, for summer beds. 

 Children and other persons, sleeping upon these 

 beds in May and June, sometimes suffer from ir- 

 ritating bites or stings, which are found to be 

 made by swarms of the Euryloma issuing from the 

 straw, and coming through the ticking. A case 

 of this kind fell under my own observation a few 

 years ago. To remedy this inconvenience, straw 

 should not be used for beds until it is more than 

 one year old, by which time all the insects will 

 have escaped from it. 



Dr. Fitch seems to think that the joint worm, 

 which lie examined, was a genuine larva of a < 'eci- 

 domyia, a circumstance which coincides with my 

 own impressions concerning the maggot in the bar- 

 ley straw. Part of the brood of joint worms, or 



maggots of the wheat and barley straw may escape 

 being attacked by the Euryloma, and may com- 

 plete their transformations during the first sum- 

 mer, at which time they do not seem to have come 

 under the notice of naturalists ; while another 

 portion of the brood, falling a prey to the Eurylo- 

 ma, may perish without change, or give issue only, 

 at a later period, to swarms of the parasitical 

 flies that alone have been hitherto seen. 



Cambridge, July 10, 1852. t. w. h. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 VERMIN ON HOGS. 



Mr. Editor : — Sir, — I do not remember to have 

 seen in any papers of our country an account of 

 lice on hogs ; therefore I wish you to inform me 

 through this paper what will effectacure. I have 

 tried various methods, but nothing seems to do any 

 good. I would inquire whether any remedy has 

 been discovered to your knowledge that has proved 

 effectual? A Subscriber. 



Braggvillc, July 5, 1852. 



Remarks. — Good keeping, a wet place to wal- 

 low in when they see fit, and a dry, clean bed al- 

 ways to go to when they please. These are in- 

 dispensable. Then, as all creatures have their 

 parasites, or lice, we must do something else. 

 Scatter, occasionally, a small quantity of ashes or 

 unslacked lime in their sleeping apartment. Take 

 the suds of the wash and pour over them once or 

 twice a month, following it up by scratching them 

 with a piece of sheet iron four inches wide and 

 five inches long, notched like saw teeth on the 

 sides with blunt teeth, and nailed to the end of a 

 handle of convenient length. Rub them with but- 

 termilk, or grease occasionally, and if sonie one 

 or all these do not prevent the vermin from troub- 

 ling your swine, then they are models of persever- 

 ance, and ought to have a fair chance for a living 

 with the rest of us ! 



All these operations are good for the animal if 

 he has no vermin, so that nothing is lost, wheth- 

 er they are exterminated or not. 



While speaking of swine, we will mention a mat- 

 ter too commonly overlooked by the farmer ; and 

 that is neglecting to give them, daily, a feed of 

 short, succulent, tender grass. We have known 

 a number of swine, in pens, nearly supported 

 through the summer by giving them the grass 

 from a lawn, which was kept clean and mowed 

 once in six or eight days ; they were not only sup- 

 ported, but gained well. They like the weeds from 

 the garden, and will make them take the place of 

 much meal if they can but get at them. 



Clover Seeds in One Cubic Inch. — A correspon- 

 dent says the number of clover seeds contained in 

 one cubic inch, is 'J. 053. In that ratio, one bush- 

 el contains 1 ( .),46G,571 seeds. Allowing a man to 

 count one hundred per minute, and to work ten 

 hours per day, if would require 324 days, 4 hours, 

 35 minutes, and 42 3-5 seconds, to enumerate 

 them. 



