12 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



JULY 10, 18 ir. 



WHEAT. 



IMPORTANT DISCOVEUY. 



Tli*^ New York Fiinncr pulilislics a letter from 

 the Kev. Mr Colmaii, amiouiieing ini iiii|)oitaiit 

 iliscovcry for tUe ilestriiclion of tlio grain fly. 



The grain fly or insert, whieh, for a few years 

 past, has heen destruelive to wlieal in many parts 

 of the country, has tliis year extPiuled its ravages, 

 and excited, wlierever he made his appearance, 

 very serious alarm. An eminent tarnier in the 

 State "of New York, wrote to nie a year" since, 

 that lie must give up tlie cultivation of wheat, as 

 his crops were so much injured, that he harilly 

 obtained a return ecpml to the seed sown. I knew 

 anoiiier instance in the same State, where, though 

 the straw wa.-t large, ;nd the a()peuranoe proniis- 

 ing, yet from 13 bushels sown, not more than 7 

 were obtained. 



I have known other eases in which the whole 

 fiehl has been mowed and sold for litter; and in 

 a recent excursion up the valley of the Connecti- 

 cut, 1 have heard eomplainis every where, and 

 hun<lreds of acres so destroyed, that the grain 

 they would yield wouhl lianlly pay for reaping 

 I'.esides this, the same insect has destroyed many 

 fields of rye in the same manner as the wheat, and 

 has been found this yc'arin the oats: the progress 

 of the insect has been about 40 miles a year ; and 

 a distingnislied gentlemen in Vermont, a practical 

 iind e,xtensive farmer, remarked that he feared 

 they would on this account be obliged to relinquish 

 tlie cultivation of small grains. 



The habits of the insect have not yet been ac- 

 curately observed. I myself have not yet seen 

 the fly, hut have seen the worms in the kernel af- 

 ter the grain has been destroyed, lie is re])re- 

 scnted as being a small reddish fly, which is seen 

 hovering over the wheat fielils in immense num- 

 bers, while just in flower, and has been observd 

 to light upon tlie kernel or bud, to ascend it, ami 

 then descending to the inner side, to dei«osit her 

 egg between the stalk and the kernel. I pinpnse- 

 ly avoid the use of all scientific terms, wishing to 

 he understood by coininon farmers. From this 

 egg the worm is generated, which entirely con- 

 sumes the grain while in the milk, leaving notli- 

 ing hut the husk, in which are foniid sc!veral yel- 

 low worms, about an eighth of an inch in length. 

 As the work of destruction is now coir.jileled, any 

 farther observations arc of no importance, unless 

 we can some way reach so aa to destroy the germ 

 of thrf insect. No preparation of the seeil or ground 

 has yet been found effectual to this endi 



The continuance of the fly upon the grain is 

 thought not to e-tcced three or four days, and they 

 arc seen in great nuudiers just at night. Some 

 farmers have found late sowing a partial security, 

 ns the season for the flics has passed away before 

 the wheat was in I'ondition for their attack. 



Spring wheat sown as late as the 7lli and 8th 

 of June, has been untouched, though in case of 

 such very late sowing, the farmer will be fortu- 

 imte if, in attempting to usca])e the fly, he does 

 not get nipt by the frost. 



1 have now, however, the extraordinary happi- 

 ness of announcing, to the agricnltiual public, 

 what there is reason to believe, will prove an ef- 

 fectual, as it is a reasonable and feasible preven- 

 tive. Should it prove effectual, the remedy will 

 be worth millions and millions of dollars to the 

 country. It was communicated to me, on a late 

 tour of agricultural inquiry and observation, by 



Dr Eliquant Lyman, of Lancaster, New Hamp- 

 shire, an intelligent, enlightened, and practical 

 farmer, wliose crop of wheat usually averages 

 from ^5 to 30 bushels [)er acre. It consists in 

 the application of fine slackc<l lime to the wheat, 

 just at the time of its heading out and flowering, 

 at the rate of about a peck to the acre. 



It is sown broadcast u|)on the wheat while the 

 dew is on, and the field is rendered while with it. 

 The best mode of applying it is with the hand, 

 and for the person who sows it, taking his proper 

 breadth or cast, to walk backwards, so that he 

 may not cover himself with the lime. It must be 

 sown while the wheat is wet, or the dew is on, 

 and the philosophy of its ajiplication is very sim- 

 ple. The maggot of the fly is deposited between 

 the grain and the stalk. It is, of course, an ani- 

 mal substance. 1 he lime or alkali, mixed with 

 the dew, is carried down upon, and neutralizes or 

 ilestroys it. Dr Lyman has now tried this pre- 

 ventive three successive years, and has invariably 

 as he assures me, saved his crops, while those of 

 his neighbors have been destroyed. 



I visited, at the same time, the field of a Mr 

 Bellows, in the same town, who had been ad- 

 vised by Dr Lyman, to make this application. — 

 The field consisted of several acres. He did it ; 

 it has proveil successful, and what is strongly con- 

 firmatory of the value of this remedy, is the fact 

 that a field of rye, belonging to Mr Bellows, ad- 

 joining this wheat, and I think within the same 

 enclosiM-e, which was not limed, has been nearly 

 destroyed by the fly. 



These are certainly very important experiments, 

 and I make no delay in presenting them to the 

 pul)lic. Dr Lyman has promised me a more par- 

 ticular account of the experiment and result, and 

 likewise Mr Bellows, which as soon as received, 

 I shall be happy to communicate. I have receiv- 

 ed indirect and indefinite communications, that 

 the same experiment has been successfully made 

 in Gilmantown, N. H.; but I have net heen able 

 to obtain either the name or the fictails. 



Henry Colman. 

 Meadowbanks, May 10, 1837. 



about ten -days, when they stick themselves to the 

 bark and die. From this little carcase, arises a 

 speck of blue mould, which is most plain to !)e 

 seen between the 15th and 25th of June, and con. 

 tinnes about twenty days, and then gradually wears 

 off until the oM cat case a|i|)ears, which by this 

 tinie is formed into a new blister, and contains 

 the spawns or nits before mentioned. These blis- 

 ters prevent the circulation of sap in the tree, in 

 the same manner that filthiness and diseases of 

 skin retard the circulation of blood in the human 

 system, and prove as fatal to the tree as the can- 

 ker worm. 



In order to remedy the difficulty, I have made 

 some experiments within a few years, but princi- 

 [>ally to no good effect, not knowing then the par- 

 ticular season when these animalculaB could be 

 most easily destroyed. This I have found to be 

 any time between the 1st of Jutie and the 10th of 

 July. The application that 1 have fouml most 

 effectual, is washing the tree with ley. Lime, 

 .also, mixed with ley, to the consistency of white 

 wash, may be useful. And, although the small 

 liranclies cannot be cleansed in this manner with- 

 out much difficulty, still if the body of the tree 

 and the branches near the body are kept clean, 

 until there comes a rough bark, I think the lice 

 will not kill the tree, borne |)eople have recom- 

 mended the application of train-oil to the tree 

 which indeed is a powerful antidote against lice ; 

 but being of a glutinous nature, is very detrimen- 

 tal to the tree. Grafting has been proposed, 

 which I since found to have no effect at all on 

 the lice, except when the stock can be conven- 

 iently cut down below the surface of the earth ; 

 this process will extern)iiiate them without fail. . 



These lice are natural in the uncultivated for- 

 est, on what is called moose-wood and other bush- 

 es. Much care should be taken respecting lice 

 on tlieir first appearing in an orchard or ninsery, 

 as the cutting down and destroying a few youn^' 

 trees, is of no importance, conij ared with the 

 difllculty of having an orchard overrun by them. 

 Yours, &c. 



N. Harwood. 



■Liitlelon, June 20//i, 1837. 



(From rlie Ilorliculttiral Register ) 

 ON THE DISEASE OP TOIING APPLE TREES. 



Having, for some years past, discovered that 

 there was an evil sittendiug our young apple trees, 

 I have made some observations on the subject, 

 which I shall communicate, in hopes they may 

 be the means of leading to the discovery of some 

 more efiectual remedy. <, 



The difficulty is what is commonly called lice, 

 and is generally considered, by a superficial ob- 

 server, nothing more than a kind of natural cuta- 

 neous eruption of the bark ; hut they are, in fact, 

 living lice. They ajipear, in form, liire half a 

 kernel of rye, but not more than one-tenth part 

 part so large, with the flat side sticking to the 

 smooth bark of the tree. They resemble blisters, 

 and are near the color of the liark of the tree. — 

 These blisters ciTnlain nits or eggs, in form like a 

 snake's egg, which, in a common season, begin 

 to hatch about the 1st, and finish about the 15th 

 of Jmie. These nits produce a white animalcule 

 resembling a louse, so small that they are hardly 

 perr.e|itibltt by the naked eye, whicdi, immediately 

 after they are hatched, open a passage at the end 

 of the blister, and crawl out on the bark of the I Horses that are confined in a stable never havo 

 tree; and there remain, with but little motion, | the staggers. 



The Crops. — Grass throughout our country is 

 unusually light this year, we believe. Fanners ' 

 have informed us that it was extensively winter 

 killed — so much so, that many fields, in the hill 

 towns particularly, have, until very recently look- 

 ed almost as barren as a desert. It is believed 

 that neither hill nor meadow lots (all have sufl^er- 

 ed froiri this cause) will yield nuich more than 

 half the quantity of hay they di<l last year. Grass 

 is a number of days later this year than usual, 

 and our farmers will allow for this in harvesting. 

 Those who do not cut their grass too early, may 

 harvest one good crop. 



Corn promises well — looks bright and is grow- 

 ing bravely ; is earlier by some ilays than it was , 

 last year — hut not so forward as they would like j 

 to see it. However, if this and the next month, \ 

 (which are said to be the months for corn) are < 

 at all favorable, they will realize a pretty fair I 

 crop. 



Uye, generally, is not very promising, we un- 

 derstand. Thin from some cause or other. Ban- 



Eor Farmer. 



