156 



The Hessian Fly. — History of War. 



Vol. V] 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



The Hessian Fly. 



A few years ago I commenced the busi- 

 ness of farming;, more for the purpose of a 

 pleasant relaxation from professional life, 

 than with the hope of gain ; and my fond- 

 ness for the occupation, has led me into 

 many experiments and much close observa- 

 tion of things, pertaining to the subject of 

 agriculture ; and I do not know but it may 

 lead me to trouble you and your readers oc- 

 casionally with the result of them. If I 

 supposed I could add any thing to that spirit 

 of enterprise, which you and others seem to 

 have awakened among the farmers of this 

 day, or suggest an idea which a practical 

 farmer might turn to a valuable account, I 

 should feel gratified. In my pursuit of in- 

 formation on this subject, whenever I have 

 found an opinion with regard to a fact, — a 

 cause, or an effect, to be generally entertain 

 ed by farmers whose attention has been 

 called to the subject, I look upon it as entitled 

 to respectful consideration, even if it does not 

 at once command entire belief; it is worth 

 a book of philosophical theory. 



As you know, this is a wheat growing dis 

 trict, and our farmers may be supposed to 

 know something of whatever concerns the 

 cultivation of that grain. They entertain 

 an opinion with regard to the Hessian Fly 

 and its appearance, which is natural, and 

 which my own observation has convinced 

 me is in accordance with the truth. It is a 

 big-bellied insect, which makes its appear 

 ance in the fall, when the mildness of the 

 weather will admit, especially at that sea 

 son called Indian summer, and its coming 

 is easily discovered; when it alights upon the 

 ground, it divests itself of its wings and as 

 sumes the appearance of a large black ant, 

 and from its hurried manner, seems to be 

 seeking a place of deposit for its egg; this 

 it soon finds, either in the crevices of the 

 ground, under a clod, or in the wheat plant; 

 and not always in the latter as is sometimes 

 supposed. After the egg is deposited, the 

 insect seeks shelter for itself in the ground, 

 where it remains during the winter; and 

 either it or its progeny appears again in the 

 spring, to go through the same work of de- 

 struction. The opinion is entertained by 

 some, that the egg deposited in the fall, re- 

 mains to be hatched in the spring, — but not 

 so; nature makes better provision for her 

 creatures, than to cause the egg to be laid 

 in the fall, exposed to the frosts of winter, 

 to be hatched in the spring. The egg laid in 

 the fall does its injury to the grain, then or 

 not at all; its effect is then perceptible; and 

 it is the re-appearance of the fly in the spring 



which repeats the evil. My observation f 

 convinced me, that this is the Hessian Fl 

 and that there is a most infallible remedy 

 its destruction — as certain as it is simple 

 the use of the Roller. A very little ce 

 and observation, at that season of the y« 

 when the farmer expects its approach, w 

 discover its presence ; and then is the tin 

 whether it be spring or fall, to roll the whe 

 fields : the weight of the roller not only < 

 stroys the insect itself, whose size and sha 

 prevent escape, but it destroys also the t< 

 der egg, whether deposited in the whi 

 plant or elsewhere. I have used the rol 

 for six years, and I have never seen the 

 feet of fly in my wheat; while crops arou 

 me have been partially destroyed by it. 



W, 



Carlisle, 30th of October, 1842. 



History op War. — " I wish I owned 

 the pasture land in the world," said B 

 " Well, I wish I owned all the cattle in 1 

 world," said Ned. " How could you ft 

 them 1" asked Bob. " I'd turn them into y< 

 pasture," said Ned. " No, you wouldn' 

 "Yes, I would." " No, you wouldn't.' 1 '' "Y 

 I would." "You shan't." "I will." Tl 

 came the fisticuffs, and there was a dra 

 battle. First, one was uppermost, and tl 

 the other, for the animals were pretty nea 

 matched. At length, by some unlucky mo 

 ment, Ned got undermost, and in such c 

 couraging circumstances, that he had no h( 

 of retrieving his fallen fortune. " W01 

 you turn your cattle, into my pasture," as! 

 Bob, " if you owned all in creation, am 

 owned all the land !" " No, I wont !" cr 

 Ned. And these brave fellows let go th 

 gripe, and again stood erect. But thot 

 Ned had, for the moment, succumbed, 

 spirit of fight was still rife in his bosc 

 Watching his opportunity therefore, he thr 

 himself with his whole force, upon unsuspe 

 ing Bob, and made him, in his turn, feel t 

 his own case was hopeless. "Will you 

 me turn my cattle into your pasture 1" 

 quired Ned, accompanying the inquiry w 

 a thrust into the midriff', which seemed 

 hurry the spirit of accommodation into h: 



Yes, I will," shouted Bob. They again 

 up, and "shook their plumes," — these p 

 niless vagabonds — and felt how nobly tl 

 had struggled for their rights ! 



Let no man be ashamed to work. Let 

 man be ashamed of a hard fist or a sunbu 

 countenance. Let him be ashamed onlj 

 ignorance and sloth. Let no man be ashs 

 ed of poverty. Let him only be ashamec 

 idleness and dishonesty. 



