2 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



July 23,1830. 



lion of tar, bolli in ll.-! sprin- i.nil e«rly (."rt °f 

 winter ; nnd, wlieii ll.v insecMs nre nuint^ioug, it 

 „,ay be necessary to tar bolli intlie aCtcrnuon iiiul 

 late hi the evfiiinfe'. ' 



Mijrli has lit-eii eaul respprlin;,' nn insect winch 

 ntta< ks Harli-v, ami several i-onnnnnicalions^ on 

 th ■ s.il.ject liave l.een puWisacil in the New Eng- 

 land Fann-r. Through llie polifness of Cheeyer 

 Newhall, L^-^q. I ohiaiiieM a few pie.es of .li ■ 



domyia dcslmdor, Sav,) and wheat fly, {C. (niici, ri-s of fittle spine« .-rossing it. , exterior half 

 " . :' , I This insect belimys to the genus JEgena, wel' 



That it is of the same genus tnay be conjectnr- known as coniainin- in it ll,e noxious hnrer olihe 

 cd frotn the siniih.rity of hal.it, an.l from its hav-| p.aeh tree. The species bears a co„8,deu,bU. .v- 

 in- a sinnlar parasite. The Hessian fly deposits, semblance lo t1,e male of that insect a.,d .s s,> 1 

 ,d the grul« proceeding therefrom arel n,ore like li.e cnrrant bnsh ^fi-ma, bnt m .mi<h 



si"uatcil bdtseen Iht sheathing buses of the lower 

 leaves and the haulms of the wheal. Whereas the 

 Barlev insects are found lo penetrate the haulms 



^n;!;r!:r;,r,nv:c:;;: dog ^v';;:; won;.s or themsll^es, andliee^.ealed be.^th t,.e,,ider.,^ 

 eased n.n ley Ml. n , & ^ l,Vn„. tbls slii'ht d fference in the moile ol ditai H 



hrva: which were new to me. ' K.acli larva was 

 imbedded in the substance of the siem, in a little 

 longitudinal cavity uliich it had formed for itselt, 

 and its presence is known by an oblong swellmg 

 upon the surfice. In some pieces the swellings 

 were so numenms as greaily to disfi-u.e ihe stein, 

 tlie circulation in which iiinsthave been very much 

 impeded if not destroyed. These larvs were 

 carel'ully watched, and early in the spring were 

 f.mnd to have entered the pupa state. Ou the 

 ].5tliof June the iierfect insects began to niMke 

 their escai>e through mimiie perforations which 

 they gnawed for that purpose. Seven of these 

 liltle lioles were counted iii a jiiece of straw only 

 i.alfauinch in leii-th. The perfect insects con- 

 tinued to lel-ase themselves from tbeir confiue- 

 nieiit till ihe 5tli of Julv, since which no more have 

 been seen. Mi.eh to my surprise these insects 

 proved to belong to those called by Limiieus M- 

 ncuinnis miaut?, luiuuto ieliuenmous, which are 

 I,arasilie,or prey, in the larva state, upon the 

 bodies of oth.'r insects. I had hoped lo have ob- 

 tained Ihe true cu'prits, whirl, probably :irc allied 

 to Ihe fhssviit flies, but the ichneumon had attack- 

 ed them, depositing an egg in every one, the lar- 

 va; frmii wliich bad destroyed those of the fly, 

 and, liavinn completed tbeir metamorphoses, have, 

 as b'eforo said, made tbeir escape from the straw 

 in the pel feet slate. 



From this slight diflerence in the mode of altio k 

 it would appear that the insects are not idriitical ; 

 and this conjecture is still fuitlier slreugtbened by 

 ihe fact that the parasite of the Harley insect %s 

 not the same spenies as that of the Hessbiu fly. 



A.'i-eeably to established usage A spfeeifie name 

 and 'character may here be given to this newly 

 discovered parasitic ins-ct. 



Irhneumon] Hordei. Black, slightly bairv ; bead 

 Mud thorax granulated, abdomen smoi.tli, polished ; 

 thighs at tip, legs and feet at base pale sebreous 

 yellow. Length abmit twelve liniidrcdlhs ol an inch. 

 We bave^-eason to believe that the grubs ol 

 the Barley fly remain in the straw during winter, 

 and that they assume iheir perfect forms in tlie 

 si.rin", in sp.asou to deposit their egL'S on the 

 ynung Barley. It is therefore essential to ,.revent 

 their assuming the ).erfect state, and this may be 

 done by burning the stubble, which contains 

 many of them, in the autumn, by des;royiug, m 

 the same wav, all the straw and refuse which is 

 nifit for fodder, and by keeping the grain in close 

 vessels over one year. In this way the insects, 

 which are disclosed from thu small heavy pieces 



laller than either of tliein. It may be named 

 uid defined. 



Mgeria Pyri. Body black, with a bluish ploes ; 

 pilpi, brea.-t, fore le-is, intermediate and posterior 

 llighs and feet, (except at lip.) and three narrow 

 hauls aeross the abdomen pale golden yellow. 

 Wbgs iraiis|iarent in the middle ; ihe nerviin-s, 

 inaigiu", together with the broail tip and small 

 trail verse s.uiiewhat Iriaiignlar band in the iiii- 

 leriin- ones covered wiih opaque brownish scales 

 aiij hairs. A small metallic spot on ilie tnins- 

 verse baiiil near tlii^ posterior" margin, and the lip 

 exlibirm^' some nieiallic reflLCiions.— Length three 

 ten lis of an ineb. 



With much respect, 

 Your humble servant, 

 Milton, July 10, 1330. T. W. II.\RRIS- 



iE.MARKS ON V K G E T A B L E S- 



[Cuntinued.j 

 TEA. 



Mills informs us in bis History of India, that the 

 Higlish Kast liidii Company sent iheir first order 

 firtea in the year 1667-S. «heii they ordered iheir 

 igents 'to send home by their ships one hundred^ 

 i)ounds weight of the best ley that j.m can get ;» 

 ifmd in the year 1676-7, tea to the value of one 



~ - - - '■.^"[hundred dollars was ordered on the Company's 



of straw remaining unwinnowed from the g'""n'L(.,.„„|,t. 

 will perish without an opportunity of escape. Worlidgn informs us in his Vinetum Brilanm- 



There is an insect which has lately '-ecu disJ ^^^^ ^^,,^j^.,j ^^.^^ published in 1675, that ' Mr 

 •overed in the trunks of the pear tree, '"''•"''"^-nio'mas Garway, in Exchange-alley, near |lie 



beneath the bark. 



pear trt 

 It is said that considerable ii 



These little ichneumons were examined and jury has 



carefully compa.e.l with descriptions of other 

 simibir insects, whence it ai.pears that they are a 

 species, which have nol yet been described. They 

 are very mm li like the parasitic insect which at- 

 tacks tfie grubs of the Hessian fly, belong to the 

 same genus, but are rather larger insects, of a jet 

 bliek color, exeej>t the legs, which are blackish, 

 wiih pale yellow j..iiits. Tlie female is thirteen 

 hundredths of an inch in length, the male is rather 

 siniller These miunle insects, then, are among 

 our friends ; they are those which an all-wise and 

 nrovi lent Creator has ni)|K.inle.l to cluck the in- 

 crease of the fly that attacks our Barley; and,jtl 

 thoiiMi disappointed in olnaining the latter in iti 

 perfe'i-t Slate, I bail with pleasure the appear 

 ance of its mortal enemy. 



Althongh the BorU.y fly has not been obtained 

 in the perfect slate, there does not exist the small- 

 est doubt in my nnnd that it is a two-winged in 

 sect like lUo' Hessian fly of Aiiieii<a and the 

 Wheat fly or Tipula of Emo| 



j,„, „„„ Ited from its attacks. An infested 



tree may be recognized by the castings thrust oiit 

 of the minute perforations made by the larva;; if 

 the tree be whitewashed the perforations (about 

 the size of awl-holes) and .castings are still more 

 readily discovered. Mr Downer furnished me with 

 some of these insects which had changed lo the 

 pupa state under the bark, enveloped in little cy- 

 lindrical brownish cocoons, cousisiing of fibres of 

 the bark inlerwoven with a silky siibst.ince. Tlir 

 waa during the summer of 1829, and in the an 



liS-al Exchange, was the principal, if not the first 

 iironioter and disperser of ibis leaf and liquor in 

 London. He had,' says Worlidge, ' a paper print- 

 ed, ileclaring the virines of this beverage against 

 ill'afl'ei lions of the head, and obstructions in the 

 stomach, the spleen, and the reins. It dii.lb up 

 ,11 vapors that offend the heail, and annoy the 

 .iffhi, it digcsiet'i anything that lieih heavy on 

 lire smmacKand resloreth h.st appetite, &c, &c.' 

 One of tiie primed bills isin the British Mnseu in 

 f.oni which we find that tea had only been known 

 ' grandees beloro 



,. , , , by presents sent to prince 

 lunin the perfect insect extricated its t'cad and ^^^^ jg^.^^ ^^,,j.„ jj g„|,| c,.,,^ 30 to .50 dollars 



legs from its pupa-shell, perforated its cocoon and ^^^^ ,,n,„„| weight. From these dates we may 

 the bark, and finally made its exit, leaving the old ^^,|,p,„jy^ ,!,„, ,i„. Dutch embassy in 165(> 

 pupa-sUin sticking half way ..lit of the h.de in the |^|.^^,,g|,j ;, f^,..^ ,„ l.:ur..pe. 

 bark, wheri? it was retained by the transverse se- j^^ ^j^^ prin'.e.l cir.'ular alluded to, Thomas Gar- 



f Obiections are sometimes .naile a-jjainst scion- 



tific names, but in this age of inquiry and know- 

 ledge no one can reasonably object to jjiving Us 

 proper name to any naturnl object, as this designates 

 •ii.a ».... ..... I it much more correctly and unequivocally than any 



Anyone who popular or vulgar appellations. The propriety of 

 J '. . _ 1- 111 t.« ^./.-innt tr. tKf^GP who reflect 



V one WHO popular .M viu^.i. •■.yi^^ - - . • a . 



: -■■ , ■ , . r .1 ,.,.„ l.,ne,- with this proceeding will be evi.lent to those who reflect 



wdl c.m.pare the l"story of the two att. . with tlus^ P^_^_^^^^^ ,^l indefinite, and mulliphed are 



wlinr is known of the Baib'V insect, will tirrive ai „f~,i.o „„„„lnr ..nines .riven lo insects. 



what is known of th 

 the sime concbisi..n. Boll, the Hessian fly and 

 B irley insect make tb.ir attack upon the culms or 

 liaidms of our cereal pn.duclions, which they 

 disfigure and injure to a great extent; and both 

 have a similar f..nr-wiiiged parasitic iehnenmon 

 nppropiiati'.l lo ihem. In addition lo this state- 

 ment the f..llowing coiij.-ctnre-, in difiiilt of fa.ts, 

 may be ofl"er.Ml. It is probable that the Barley 

 insect is a distirict species of the same g.niis (Cc- 

 cidomyia,) to which belong the Hessi.-ii. .My, [Ced 



manv of the popular nnines given lo insects 



\ This insect is not an Ichneumon as the genus 

 now stands ; but, as there are some doubts relative 

 to its (me place in the modern arrangement of these 



. oflTers his tea for sale, from sixteen to fifty 

 shillings per pound. 



Sir Kenelin Digby, in Ms Book of Receipts 

 ,8 vo London 1669,) has the f..ll..wing notice of 

 ancvvino,le of makinu' tea. 'The Jesuile that 

 CMue from China, anno 1664, told Mr Waller, (Ihe 

 Poet,) that there ihey use tea sometimes in ibis 

 maMer. To near a pint of the infusion take two 

 volk- of new-hii.l eggs, an.l beat tb.'m ve.-y well 

 with as niiicl. fine, sugar as is snttieient for this 

 ipiaiitily of Ihpior; when they are vei-y well in- 



to its true place in the modern arrangement oi mese .p...'....v >. -m 



insects I prefer retainins it in the old genus to corp.rate.l, pom the t. a upon in • -^ /^ 



which Linna^ns would have referred it. Mr Say and siir then, w.dl t..getlier, and so .liink it hoi, 



would probably call it a Ceraphron, while I am rath- ,i,ig |s good in :. morning, or wli.'n one letinns 



Pr disposed to arrange it, and the parasite o<^ ^'e [ i^^^i^ r,„jj,„e,, ,„„| faint ; in which case n plens- 



Ilessinn fly, in the genus Euryhma, .as |l'-fin'^'l''y i y„t,,.heverage dees not exist.' 



Laticille nnd Dalinnnn. It may be mentioned that . ..^ „^j,,.p'„,,, ,,„A lo servp it in n genteel nnd 



this bitle i .sect possesses the power of leapn.g "^"M „.„;eful" manner, is an uccumplishinent in which 



without any enlargement of the posterior thighs. g.atetui mannc, i» i 



