364 



The Hessian Fly. 



Vol. IX. 



unless abundantly used, and they may do an 

 immense amount of good. 



Yours, &c., CuEMico. 



lionesdale. Pa., June Gth, 18-1.5. 



The foregoing we consider a valuable communica- 

 tion. Partly in corroboration of some of the views 

 expressed, the editor recollects that in the use of liine 

 on his farm, there was no crop, unless perhaps it was 

 the oat crop, on which that material had so uniformly a 

 beneficial effect, as that of potatoes. The hints may 

 be easily made use of, and at little expense.— Ed. 



The Hessian Fly. 



Ohsprvations communicated at the request 

 of the Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, by E. C. 

 Her rick, Librarian of Yale College, Con- 

 necticut, 



The insect commonly called the Hessian 

 fly, which has for so many years ravaged tlie 

 wheat fields of our country, appears to have 

 been wholly unknown here before the Ame- 

 rican revolution. It is usually stated that 

 the iusect was first noticed in the year 1776 

 or 1779, on Staten Island and the westerly 

 end of Long Island, and was generally sup- 

 posed to have been introduced among straw 

 brought hither by the Hessian troops in the 

 service of Great Britain. The ravages ofl 

 the insect soon attracted general attention; 

 and as early as the year 1788, serious ap- 

 prehensions were excited in England that 

 "the destroyer might be conveyed thither in 

 some cargo of wheat. The alarm there 

 was so great, that the government took up 

 the matter; "the privy, council sat day after 

 day, anxiously debating what measures 

 should be adopted to ward off the danger of 

 a calamity more to be dreaded, as they well 

 knew, than the plague or pestilence ; ex- 

 presses were sent off in all directions to the 

 officers of the customs at the outports, re- 

 specting the examination of cargoes; des- 

 patches written ;to the ambassadors in France, 

 Austria, Prussia, arid America, to gain that 

 information, of the waat of which they were 

 now so sensible; and so important was the 

 business deemed^ that the minutes of the 

 council, and the documents collated from it, 

 fill upwards of 200 octavo pages." Kirby 

 and Spence, On the 25th of June of that 

 year, an order in council was issued, pro- 

 hibiting the entrance into Great Britain, of 

 wheat raised ia any of the territories of the 

 United Slates; intending, by this measure, 

 to keep out the much dreaded enemy. Soon 

 after the arrival of the news of this order, 

 the supreme executive council of Pennsyl 

 vania addressed a letter of inquiry to the 

 " Philadelphia Society for promoting Agri- 

 culture," which promptly replied that the 



plar. of the wheat alone was injured, and 

 ihat the insect was not propagated by sow- 

 ing the grain which grew on fields infected 

 with it. The prohibition was doubtless based 

 on the erroneous representation of Sir Joseph 

 Banks and Dr. Blogden, which they contin- 

 ued to enforce even after they were better 

 instructed by Dr. Currie. It is sufficiently 

 remarkable, that, although the wheat was 

 prohibited an "entry," it was allowed to be 

 stored ; so that the Hessian fly, if concealed 

 among the grain, would, after all, have had 

 a good opportunity to escape into the coun- 

 try. In eight or ten months, the govern- 

 ment bought the imprisoned wheat at prime 

 cost, kiln-dried it, and resold it at great loss, 

 and almost immediately took off the prohi- 

 tion. Memoir of Currie. 



In the course of a few years after this, 

 the Hessian fly was found in every part of 

 our country where wheat was cultivated. 

 From the period of the revolution down to 

 the i>resent time, no insect in the land has 

 received so much public attention, or has 

 called out so many scores of pages of obser- 

 vation and speculation. These are to be 

 found scattered through magazines, agricul- 

 tural journals, and common newspapers. 

 But, in defiance of them all, the Hessian 

 fly continues its destructive work, and is 

 probably, as little under the actual control 

 of man as it was half a century ago. 



Whether this insect was an original in- 

 habitant of this country, or was imported by 

 the Hessian soldiers, is a question not yet 

 settled. At the time of the discussion which 

 led to the prohibitory order, an extensive in- 

 quiry in Europe resulted in the conclusion 

 that the insect was wholly unknown there. 

 Yet, in the year 1834, it was found existing 

 in several places in Southern Europe,* and 

 injuring the wheat in the same manner as 

 in this country. This important discovery 

 was made by my friend, Mr. James D. Dana, 

 who had previously been engaged with me 

 in the examinaticHi of the Hessian fly, and 

 was well qitalified to decide upon the case. 

 American Journal of Sciences, xli, 153. 

 Moreover, we have an account firom the vi- 

 cinity of Geneva, in Switzerland, reported 

 by Duhamel, of an insect destroying the 

 wheat there as long since as 1732, in the 

 manner of the Hessian fly; and an account, 

 in 1823, by Raddi, of what is probably the 

 same insect, in various places in Italy. No 

 traces have been detected of any insect of. 

 the habits of the Hessian fly, in our country, 

 earlier than the year 1776; and if this in- 

 sect is a native of North America, what 

 plant sustained it before wheat, rye, and 

 barley were imported "? On the other hand, 

 we have no proof that the Hessian fly has 



