Na 7. 



Hessian Fly. 



219 



mends has been in practice by others, in this 

 country, and found to be proof against the 

 evil, while others, in the immediate vicinity, 

 and who sowed their seed at the same time, but 

 managed their ground differently, say after 

 oats, failed, then, and not till then, would I 

 be willing to follow his directions. Your 

 correspondent admits that he has never even 

 seen the fly. Now, then, I would ask, is it 

 likely that he is capable of informing others 

 of the cause of the malady, or point out a 

 remedy ? He says ; " why, man, it is you 

 who complain — why say a word about it ? 

 &c." Is it not natural for those who sutler 

 to complain 1 and this is the very reason that 

 I do not remain silent. If I did not suffer, I 

 should have no cause to complain ; but when 

 I suffer, and find others complaining of the 

 same evil all over the country, I naturally 

 grasp at any thing that has even the 7iame 

 of a remedy. Before I apply that remedy, 

 however, I desire better proofs of its efficacy 

 than the mere say-so of an anonymous corre- 

 spondent — and even his authority is brought 

 from Europe, where the fly does not e.xist ! 

 Although I have not seeded wheat on clover- 

 lay myself, I have seen many of my neigh- 

 bours do so, and I have very seldom seen 

 good crops on such ground : it is equally sub- 

 ject to the fly, and I have seen more than 

 one such field ruined by their depredations. 

 Vir is right, when he says " the plant remains 

 small during the autumn, on clover-lay" (and 

 by that means the weeds very oflen get the 

 advantage), but he is not right when he says 

 " it is not so subject to be winter-killed." I 

 have frequently noticed that the spring frosts 

 are much more severe on wheat on a clover- 

 lay, or on fallow ground, than on wheat sown 

 in oat-stubble ; and the fact, to me, is self-evi- 

 dent. The clover-lay, or fallow ground, hav- 

 ing nothing on the surface but the wheat- 

 plant (unless there are plenty of weeds), to 

 cover the ground, and this being small, there 

 are many vacancies for the frost to enter, and 

 raise the plant, notwithstanding two bushels 

 of seed should be sown on the acre ; while 

 on oat-stubble, in addition to the wheat-plant, 

 the ground is literally covered and protected 

 with stubbles and dung, thereby preventing 

 the frost from entering fhe ground, and raising 

 the plants to the extent it does in clover-lay. 



I agree with your correspondent, that the 

 unpropitious state of the season is the main 

 cause of the failure of the wheat crops; or, in 

 other words, that the seasons have been -un- 

 favourable, of late, to the wheat, but favour- 

 able to the fly. When the wheat-plant is 

 once injured at the root, which is always the 

 case when attacked by fly, rust and mildew 

 will follow, as naturally as darkness follows 

 the light. 



In regard to the plan as recommended, of 



hauling dung, in the spring, on the young 

 clover, or on the ground intended for mowing, 

 I do not approve of it, as our mowers prefer 

 to have a smooth surface to work upon, while, 

 on the contrary, when the ground is manured 

 in the spring, particularly with the coarse 

 litter of the previous winter, the straw and 

 dung remain on the surface undecomposed ; 

 and is a continual obstruction and inconve- 

 nience to the scythe, the rake, and all the 

 operations of haymaking. Vir says, " when 

 he manures his young clover in the spring, he 

 will no longer complain that the second crop 

 of clover-hay is worthless, as food for stock." 

 By this sentence I understand him as intend- 

 ing to convey the idea, that the application 

 of manure in the spring improves the quality 

 of the second crop of clover-hay, making it 

 more palatable, as food for stock. That it 

 will improve the quantity, I admit, but the 

 quality of the second crop would be still more 

 gross and unpalatable to the cattle in general. 

 The second crop of clover causes the slabber- 

 ing of horses; and I have seen milk-cows so 

 affected, that the water, or saliva, was stand- 

 ing in their troughs ; and I again assert, that 

 no stock, of any kind, will eat it, if good 

 wheat, oat, or barley-straw is placed within 

 their reach : to this assertion, I believe the 

 majority of practical farmers will assent. But, 

 with our large Pennsylvania barns, we are 

 enabled to give our cattle better protection, 

 and better fare, too, than to feed them on se- 

 cond crop clover-hay, and expose them to the 

 bleak hills, as your correspondent says they 

 do in Scotland, during the winter. As to the 

 " stalk of clover four feet three inches high, 

 which has stood erect, with its under leaves 

 and blossoms quite perfect, not having rotted 

 before coming into bloom," it may have been 

 a pet plant, tied to a stake, as I, some years 

 ago, raised a stalk of clover nine feet some 

 inches high, and not in bloom when killed by 

 frost. To explain, however, mine was from 

 South America, the trefolium giganticum. 

 It may be that the red clover, in some in- 

 stances, may be encouraged, by dunging, to 

 attain that height. 



When I commenced writing, I intended 

 that my reply should be brief; but, before the 

 subject is exhausted, I find my paper is full. 

 As the subject is of vital importance, not 

 only to farmers, but to the whole of the Ame- 

 rican people, I hope others, more capable 

 than myself, will give us their knowledge 

 and experience through the pages of the 

 Cabinet, and agitate the question until the 

 cause of the evil is more generally understood 

 and some remedy brought to light, as a pre- 

 ventive of the fly : and with this hope, 



I remain, very respectfully, yours, &c., 



Tycho Brahe. 



Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Dec. 26, 1840. 



