20 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



brownish leathery covering resembling a flaxseed. This is 

 found at the base of the plant in the fall. 



There are two generations of the fly during the year, one 

 in the spring and one in the fall. The adults issue from the 

 flaxseed on the stubble in September and deposit their eggs 

 on the young plant. The larvae hatch and work their way 

 down into the leaf sheath, where they change to the flaxseed 

 stage and remain over winter. The infested plant has no 

 central shoot, is leafy and stocky, and is likely to die out in. 

 the winter. The spring generation of the fly attacks the stem 

 near the joints, weakens the stem, and causes the plant to 

 fall before the harvest. 



Proper fertilization and culture may assist the plant to 

 resist the attack of the fly, and late sowing may avoid 

 infestation. 



The joint- worm. The adult of this worm is a small, black, 

 four-winged insect resembling a winged ant. The grub is 

 white and about an eighth inch long. The entire life history 

 of this pest is spent within the stem of the wheat. In the 

 spring the larva changes to the pupa, and this soon changes 

 to the adult, which gnaws a hole in the stem and emerges. 

 The stem is often warty and knotty at the joints, causing it 

 to bend or break. Upon opening one of these joints a small 

 grub will be found. There is no remedy once a field becomes 

 badly infested with joint-worm. The plants can be strength- 

 ened and helped to resist the attack only by maintaining 

 soil fertility and good cultural methods. 



Keeping up the fertility of the soil so that plants may be 

 properly fed, good systems of crop rotation, and clean culti- 



