62 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



recomnienclaiions oC further trial and observation. I that the esrgs were laid on the grain, and who 



It would seem that the farmer who uses seed- 

 wheat I'rom a district ravaged by ihis animal, 

 actually commits the ahsnrdiiy, ol planting Hes- 

 sian flics lor tlie benefit of this next year's crop! 

 The precise fieiiod at which the minute green 

 Avorm escafies from the hollow of the straw, to 

 repose and nnder<xo its subsequent chansze's be- 

 neath the sheath of the leal^ is not asceriained 

 wiih accuracy; and may furnish a question for 

 in\esligation. We are informed that Miss Morris 

 J8 continuing iier observations on urowing wheat ; 

 in which she will probably ascertain tiie fact. It 

 is in the power of our readers to coiillrm or reject 

 her conclusions, t'oth in this and in wluit she re- 

 gards as already eslablished. 



The observations above stated may perhaps 

 amount to stronger confirmation of the position 

 assumed than had belore appeared ; but cenainly 

 ihey do not cons'itute a " new discovery," or pre- 

 eent the opinion advocated lor the fiist time. Be- 

 sides other less fiuMiQ supporters (within our 

 •knowledge) of the opinion that the eggs of the 

 Hessian fly are deposited on, and sown within 

 the grains of vvlieai, there were three several ar- 

 ticles maintaining the doctrine, in the first volume 

 of the Farmers' Register, (See pages 851, 723 

 and 724.) But tliough the views of Miss Morris 

 have not the merit claimed for them, of origi- 

 nalit}', they will be suflicientlj' valuable to the 

 public, and honorable to her, if affording confir- 



supposed that Ihey had proved by fiill experiment 

 the certain means of destroying the eggs on 

 the grain, and thus avoiding all damage from the 

 fly. One of these gentlemen relied on steeping 

 the seed in salt water, and drying in ijuick-iime, 

 (as for smut,) and the other poureil boiling water 

 over his seed wheat. Each of i hem hilly confided 

 in his means of prevention, from a time; but after 

 a few yeais, both were satisfied of their mis- 

 lake, by their own later experience. 



But, still, we repeat, let experiments be again 

 and fairly tried. There are few subjects, in which 

 both animal find vegetable reproduction are con- 

 cerned, which are more capable than this of being 

 subjected to strict and accurate experiment. One 

 obvious mode of experiment, would be to sprout 

 grains of wheat on soil in a glass vessel, covered 

 with gauze too close to admit the Hessian fly, or 

 a small gnat. If the maggofs (or larvae) should 

 be nevertheless found on the spires of wheal, 

 (and we have heard such a fact asserted,) it 

 would b,e at least one strong proof in support 

 of the new doctrine. And if no maggots were 

 produced, under circumstances otherwise entirely 

 favorable to their production, it would be at least 

 strong confirmation of the opposite opinion. In 

 addition, other parcels of seed might be subjected 

 to various steeps, or kinds of exposure, and then 

 mation of an old opinion, heretofore deemed by sown, both in open air, and in places from which 



us, and most other reflecting or observing persons, 

 as entirely erroneous. 



But incredulity on this head does not forbid 

 an earnest desire to be ci nvinced that the opinion 

 of Miss Morris is right, and that ours, (that the egg 



the fly shall be excluded by coverings of gauze. 

 It would not cost as much labor as has already 

 been used in writing in support of this new doc- 

 trine, to prove its truth or its falsehood, beyond 

 all dispute. Perhaps a greater amount of expe- 



is deposited on the blade, after the coming up o( rimental labor, scientifically and carefully directed, 



the wheat,) is wrong. Therefore we present 

 this new reiteration of an old and before discredit- 

 ed opinion — and recommend to all wheat-growers 

 to Iry experiments in various ways to test the truth 

 of the opinion. This may be easily done ; and a 

 few careful and accurate experiments, in one sea- 

 son, may either overihroiv or establish this opin- 

 ion, which, if indeed true, would furnish the rea- 

 dily available means of saving millions of dollars 

 every year to the wheat-growing region of this 

 country. Besides the remedy named above, of ob- 

 taining seed from uninlected districts, there might 

 certainly be found some easy means to disinltcl 

 our own seed — that is, lo kill the egcs of the fly, 

 by some exposure that would not affect the vitality 

 of the grain. That would be all that would be 

 requisite to remove totally all future evil from this 

 heretofore destructive source. Either the keeping 

 seed wheat for a year or more before sowing — or 

 exposing it lo unusual degrees of heat, or cold — 

 or to certain acrid steeps — might serve the pur- 

 pose desired. We know of two farmers in our 

 own former neighborhood who held the opinion 



might ascertain the true source of the evil, and 

 hs certain remedy, it would be well (if disclos- 

 ed to do any thing for the benefit or relief of ag- 

 riculture) for each wheat-growing state to offer a 

 large and permanent premium for this discovery. 

 If Virginia had offered and reserved for this va- 

 luable object, the eight or ten thousand dollars 

 annually thrown away on the geological survey 

 of the state, we would have at least saved all that 

 has been given to support that jo6; and if the 

 premiums had been earned by the discovery 

 sought, the gain to the agriculture of our country 

 would have been incalculably greater than the 

 reward paid for it, enormous as the sum would 

 be deemed if it had been directed to that truly 

 valuable object, instead of lo its actual and com- 

 paratively worthless direction. — Ed. F. R. 



AGE OF TREES. 



Some of ihe cedars of Mount Lebanon, meas- 

 ured in 1660, by Maundrell and Pocock, were 



