11 1 1 



PRACTICE OF AGUICTLTUnE. 



Part III. 



codtm and thick ; the *vtnri alio. inAle.nl of Irf-inj; fmdf'd over 

 i m u otbsr,an datlaxed, and cniiir.i a tha tidal «>f tin- i«>-u. 



Tun. if }i li in*, i* ,i"> w haraopteroui Inaccut rn Engl <"d ; 



Inn tlu- frog-hopper Cicada ipumarta L.) in ;i Hood example 

 when in its pi-rfis t or winded *Uto. Tin- larva raal d ai m a 



rlrnt. .r fr"th of its own ni.tkmir, and is then commonlv known 

 as tli' cackoo-cpU Insect ; in fcedlnji upon tin- sap it causes the 

 laSTM I" curl up, and the growth of young plants is Ihui md- 

 trrully checked. 



7tiJ4. The dUJtTent order* of insect* vn have unw enumerated are connected by others of an inferior 

 extent, ami which are called osculent onler*. But aa a description of these is nut essential to our present 

 purpose, ami as the) ilti nt>t contain any decidedl] injurious insects, we shall merely refer the reader to 

 the Horn; Entomologies of Mat hay, and the Entomology of Messrs. Kirby ami Spence, 



* SuBSECT. 3. Insects injurious to live Stuck. 



7655, All organised being*, whether animal or vegetable, axe subject to be attacked and destroyed by 

 Insect*, Even man himseU i- not exempt from the dominion of these small but formidable creatures. 

 Fur some « i-i' hut unknown purpose, there are peculiar species appropriated to receive their nourishment 

 from man alone, and which cannot exist in any other situation. The remedies for these must be pre. 

 scribed by the physician ; but it is the business of the intelligent agriculturist to make himself acquainted 

 with such as are injurious or hurtful to the animals ami plants, upon which, the success of his operations 

 mainly depends : for there are as yet no agricultural physicians, to whom the farmer can apply for advice 

 or Information when his labours are counteracted by insect devastators. We shall therefore briefly notice 

 the domesticated animals and cultivated plants most subject to these injuries, pointing out the most 

 efficient modes by which they may be checked. 



76.V5. Tin- horse. The principal foes to this noble animal are the horse-bee (ffi'strus equi) and gad-fly 

 ((K. hoemorrhoidalis). The first deposits its eggs on such parts of the body as are liable to be licked by 

 the tongue ; and the animal, unconscious of what it is doing, thus conveys its enemy into its stomach ; the 

 young larva.- are there nourished, and become whitish rough maggots (Jig.SQO. c), which are known by 



the name of bots. They attain their full size about the latter end of May, and are voided by the anus 

 from that time until the end of June. On dropping to the ground, they find out some convenient retreat, 

 where they change into a chrysalis ; and in six or seven weeks the fly appears. The female (6) is distin- 

 guished from the male (n) by the lengthened shape of her body. The inside of the knee is chiefly selected 

 for depositing her eggs, which will frequently amount to four or five hundred on one horse. The other 

 species (ffi. ha?morrhoidMis /,.) is still more troublesome ; it deposits its eggs upon the lips, and causes ex- 

 cessive ami distressing uneasiness to the animal. Mr. Bracy Clark, who has investigated the history 01 

 these insects with great ability, observes that in ordinary cases it is not improbable that they are beneficial 

 to our cattle, by acting as perpetual stimuli or blisters ; yet, when they exceed certain limits, they produce 

 disease, and sometimes death. (Clark in Linn. Trans, vol. iii.) The prevention of bots belongs to the 

 farmer, the cure to the veterinary surgeon. The first may be effected by watching the animal at the 

 Benson when the female deposits her eggs (usually in August and September), and should the horse ap. 

 pear much agitated in its pasture, there will be good reason to suspect it has been attacked by the fly ; the 

 eggs may then be removed by the brush ami currycomb, or bv a pair of scissors. When the disease is 

 certain, one of the best methods to destrov the insect is to fasten a bag net on the horse, for the purpose 

 of catching the excrement, as well as the lull fed larva?. By throwing the dung everv morning into a deep 

 pit, any larva that may be enclosed in it will thus be prevented from working their way to the surface 

 when their last transformation is about to take place, and their death will cut off a numerous progeny. 

 I'here are other dipterous insects which (Veil upon the blood both of horses and cattle ; the most formi- 

 dable ol these are the horse-flies (Tabani, /■, I) ; others, much smaller (Stomoxys calcitrans), assail him in 



every situati luring summer, ami dart their long probosces into his legs and belly. But none are more 



trying to him than the forest fly | Hippobosca equina I..), which runs sideways or backwards like a crab, 

 and shelters Itself in those part* least covered by hair: it may, however, be caught bv the band, when the 

 animal is in his stall j but its substance is so hard, that it can only be destroyed by rolling it between the 

 finger ami thumb. 



7657. Hoi net ■alllr are likewise subject to the attacks of a peculiar species of gad-fly {OS bbvis, d, c, f), 

 which causes them great terror and distress, The larva [e is smooth and fat: and the chrysalis,/) 

 opens by a lid m when the insect d) emerges from it. The herdsman mav know when this insect ap- 

 pears among his flocks, by the agitation liny exhibit ; the whole herd, with' their tails erect, or carried 

 in some grotesque attitude, gallop about and utter loud lowing* When oxen are employed in agricul- 

 ture, the attack of this fly is often attended with danger, as they become quite unmanageable, and, whe- 

 ther in harm- ,.r yoked to the plough, will run directly forward. Their harness at this season should 

 therefore be so constructed a- In be Basil] I tosened. The eggs are deposited within the skin of the animal, 

 and in a wound made by a tube resembling an auger, with which the female is provided. These flies 

 only attack young ami healthy subjects . but, independently of the terror they create do not appear to 

 occasion any material injury. The cattle of Hungary and the neighbouring countries, as also those 

 of Abyssinia, are subject to more deadly enemies, which fortunately are unknown in England. 



7658 Sheep ire also infested by another species ofgad-flj OB. 6vis /.., p, h,i), which deposits its 

 eggs in the inner margin of their nostrils. The moment the llv touches this part Of the sheep, thev 

 shake their heads, and strike the ground violently with their fore feet ; at the same time, holding their 

 noses close to the earth, they run away looking about them on every side, to see if the fly'pursues : they 

 will sometimes crowd together in a rut or dusty road with their noses close to the ground. The larva? (i) 



white, flat on one side ami convex on the other; they inhabit the cavities of the maxillary sinuses, 



and crawl, when the animal is dead, int" those of the horns and frontal sinuses; when full grown, they 



