KO. 5. 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



73 



pressed out of a biisiiel, is about eeven 

 quarts. Not knowing the number of bushels 

 that may ordinarily be expected from an 

 acre, we cannot make an estimate of tiie 

 product and profit of land devoted to the cul- 

 tivation of tliis plant. \Vc learn, however, 

 from the Cincinnati prices current, tliat the 

 beans are sellinnr from $l,!JO to !ii2,5U a 

 bushel, and castor oil is quoted in the New- 

 York prices current from $1,75 to $2,00 a 

 gallon. The duty on imported castor oil is 

 40 cents a gallon, and the quality of Ameri- 

 can cold pressed is esteemed preferable to 

 foreign, and it invariably commands a higher 

 price in market. Experiments on the culti- 

 vation of this valuable plant may be easily 

 and cheaply made, and we have no doubt it 

 would be found to be one of our most profita- 

 ble crops. 



From the American. 

 A Preventive of the Wheat Fly. 



Messrs. Editors — Some time since in a 

 communication published in the Baltimore 

 papers, I stated my views on the destruction 

 of wheat by the Hessian fly, and offered a 

 remedy against its ravages. As this season 

 will be remarkable for the devastation com- 

 mitted by this insect, and as the time is ap- 

 proaching for seeding for the next crop, I re- 

 quest a small space in your columns to bring 

 before our farmers again the remedy then 

 proposed, fully believing that if followed 

 much good will result from it. 



On observation it has been found that the 

 insect producing the fly progresses with the 

 growth of the wheat ; and if the wheat is 

 early sown, and the season is favorable to a 

 luxuriant vegetation, the fly will be very 

 perceptible in the autumn. The progress 

 of the insect, as is observed in a former com- 

 munication, is from the seed and upwards, 

 and as many as six or ten have been observa- 

 ble on one stem between the root and surface 

 of the earth. The question then arises, how 

 is this insect generated, and what means 

 should be used to destroy it] It is either 

 generated in the grain of wheat similar to the 

 bug which infests the pea, or the insect when 

 in its winged state depositcs an egg on the 

 surface of the grain when in the ear and thus 

 when the wheat is sown and begins to vege- 

 tate the egg vivifies and the destructive worm 

 is formed. 



For the fi^llowing reasons I am strongly 

 inclined to the latter opinion. It is known 

 that this insect releases itself by bursting the 

 blade that covers it, when the head is form- 

 ing, and assumes its winged stale, and there 

 is to my mind no doubt that this deposits its 

 egg on the reheat when filling and coming 



to perfection. If I had any doubts on this 

 t^ul'ject they would le renjovcd by the fact 

 that with tlic aid of'a microfcope the ei^g is 

 dis-cernable in the form ofa glutinous matter, 

 if this opmion be correct, the remedy is sim- 

 ple, and worthy at leatt ofa fair trial. Provi- 

 dence inflicts no evil upon mankind without 

 also providing some remedy, and unless this 

 is intended as a special curse upon the hus- 

 bandman there is and must be a remedy 

 which he must find out by actual experiment. 



In the course of twenty years experience 

 in this matter, I have known but one experi- 

 ment made to destroy this fly, and that prov- 

 ed successful. An intelligent farmer in Lou- 

 doun county, Va., having understood that 

 some of his neighbors with the aid of a mi- 

 croscope, had discovered a glutinous matter 

 on the surface of the \vlieat which they be- 

 lieved to be the egg of the fly, determined 

 to try an experiment for its destruction, and 

 succeeded in that crop; but unfortunately it 

 was not followed up, and whether it will be 

 an eflectual remedy in all seasons, remains 

 yet to be tested. The plan which he follow- 

 ed, and which it is the object of this commu- 

 nication to recommend to the notice of the 

 flirmers, is simply to pass the seed wheat 

 through a strong brine or pickle, washing it 

 well, and then rolling it in slackened lime, 

 (similar to rolling it in Plaster of Paris,) not 

 preparing at one time more than a day's 

 sowing. Washing the wheat in brine, and 

 rolling it in the lime are done primarily for 

 the purpose of destroying the egg, but it an- 

 swers another good purpose, that of prevent- 

 ing the growth of smut. The lime will also 

 be found to act as a powerful stimulant to 

 the growth of the wheat, and superior to that 

 of plaster. 



This remedy being so simple, and as I 

 firmly believe so efficacious, I hope there 

 will be many farmers disposed to make trial 

 of it, and thereby fully test its correctness. 



If I should be instrumental in arresting 

 the progress of this direful enemy of the 

 farmer, I shall be amply compensated in the 

 recollection that I have discharged my duty 

 to the communit}'. 



An Aoriculturist of Maryland. 



TIic Weevil. 



Salt is said to be a complete preventive 

 against the destruction of wheat by weevil. 

 Mix a pint of salt with a barrel of wheat, or 

 put the grain in old salt barrels, and the 

 weevil will not attack it. In stacking wheat, 

 four or five quarts of salt to every Jiimdrod 

 sheaves, sprinkled among them, will entirely 

 secure them from the depredations of this 

 insect, and render the straw more valuable 

 as food for cattle. — Ilor. Register. 



