Vol. 1 — No. 30. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



235 



of a triangle, with its apex applied to the ti- 

 bia. Its technical characters ure intermedi- 

 ate between the two general melipona and 

 trigona, of M. Latreille, one of the mandi- 

 bles being toothed, and the other nearly en- 

 tire. It has a leaning towards the trigona, 

 but its general appearance is entirely that of 

 a melipona, approaching very closely to that 

 of melipona favosa, Latr." apis favosa, Fab. 

 Some curious anecdotes are related by the 

 possessors as to the manners of these bees, 

 one of which deserves to be recorded. They 

 assert that at the entrance of each hive a 

 sentinel is placed, to watch the outgoings 

 .and incomings of his fellows, and that this 

 sentinel is relieved at the expiration of twen- 

 ty-four hours, when another assumes his post, 

 and duties for the same period. Of the du- 

 ration of this guard some doubts may be rea- 

 sonably entertained ; but of its existence am- 

 ple evidence has been obtained by repeated 

 observations. At all times a single bee was 

 seen occupying the hole leading to the nest, 

 who, on the approach of another, withdrew 

 himse'f within a small cavity apparently 

 made for this purpose on the left hand side 

 of the aperture ; and thus allowed the pas- 

 sage of the individual entering or quitting 

 the hive, the sentinel constantly resuming 

 the station immediately after the passage had 

 been effected. During how long a period 

 the same individual remained on duty could 

 not be ascertained ; for although many at- 

 tempts were made to mark him by introdu- 

 cing a pencil tipped with paint, he constant- 

 ly eluded the aim taken. With the paint 

 thus attempted to be applied to the bee the 

 margin of the opening was soiled, and the 

 sentinel, as soon as he was free from the an- 

 noyance he suffered from the thrusts repeat- 

 edly made at his body, approached the for- 

 eign substance to taste it, and evidently dis- 

 liking the material, he withdrew into his 

 hive. A troop of bees was soon observed ad- 

 vancing towards the place, each individual 

 bearing a small piece of wax, or of propolic, 

 in his mandibles, which he deposited in his 

 turn upon the soiled part of the wood. The 

 little laborers then returned to the hive, and 

 repeated the operation, until a small pile 

 rose above the blemished part, and eonse- 

 -uiently relieved the inhabitants from the an- 

 noyance. 



DESCRIPTION AND MORBID EF- 

 FECTS OF SPURRED RYE. 



Causes of the Spur in Rye — One of the 

 most poisonous substances which has ever 

 been undesignedly mixed up with aliment, 

 and eaten, is spurred rye, or ergot, (secale 

 coniutum,) the mutterkorii or rogenmutter of 

 the Germans. It is the grain of rye altered 

 by disease, which occurs most frequeutly in 

 damp seasons, and in moist clay soils, par- 

 ticularly those recently redeemed from waste 

 lands in the neighborhood of forest-. Ofall 

 the places where the spur has been hitherto 

 observed, none combines these candition so 

 perfectly, and none has been so much infect- 

 ed with the disease as the district of Solog- 

 ne, situated between the rivers Loire and 

 Cher in France. It has been ascertained 

 that the rye of this distrtct, after being thresh- 

 ed, contained on an average, about a forty- 

 eighth part of ergot, even in good seasons; 

 but in bad seasons, and taking into account 

 a considerable portion which is shaken out of 

 the rars and sheaves before they reach the 

 bam, the proportion of ergot in the whole 

 c*op has been estimated so high as a fourth, 

 or wen a third. According to WiUerinow, 



it may be produced at any time, by sowing 

 the rye in a rich damp soil, and watering 

 the plants exuberantly in warm weather. — 

 The spur does not extend itself by conta- 

 gion. The immediate causes of the disease 

 are not clearly known. Some believe that 

 the spur is formed by a diseased process from 

 the juices of the plant: others, that it is a 

 fungus vegetating at the expense of the ger- 

 men ; and others, and the most numerous, 

 assert, that it is the work of an insect, a spe- 

 cies of butterfly ; and, in support of that doc- 

 trine, Fontana, Read, Tillet, and others, a- 

 ver, that they have found the ova and larva; 

 of the insect on the spur. Confirmatory of 

 this statement are the observations of Gen- 

 eral Martin Field in our own country. 



Description of the Spur. — The spur varies 

 in length from a few lines to two inches, and 

 is from two to four lines in thickness. The 

 substance of the spur is of a dull whitish or 

 grayish tint : and is covered with a bluish, 

 black, or violet husk, having two, sometimes 

 three streaks of dotted gray. It swims in 

 water, while the rye sinks in it, so that they 

 are easily separated from each other. The 

 powdered spur is disposed to attract moist- 

 ure, and has a disagreeable heavy smell, and 

 a nauseous, slightly acid taste. It imparts its 

 taste and smell both to water and alcohol. — 

 Bread which contains it is defective in firm- 

 ness, liable to become moist, and cracks and 

 crumbles soon after being taken from the 

 oven. 



Effects of Spurred Rye on Man and Ani- 

 mals. — The use of ergot mixed up with rye 

 flour in bread, has been at different times, 

 productive of fatal and wide-spreading dis- 

 eases in Silesia, Bohemia, parts of Russia, 

 Hesse, Lusatia, Saxony, Sweden, & France. 

 The effects vary with the time, during 

 which it has been used, and with the quanti- 

 ty taken. In those who have eaten it for a 

 short time, it produces a variety of nervous 

 symptoms, indicating a disease called convul- 

 sive ergotism ; while that caused by eating 

 larger quantities, and for a longer period 

 has obtained the name of gangrenous ergo- 

 tism. 



The first or convulsive variety of the dis- 

 ease is ushered in by an uneasy sensation in 

 the feet ; a kind of tickling or creeping, 

 soon followed by heartburn, disorder in the 

 head, and trembling of the hands. To this 

 succeed convulsions, foaming at the mouth 

 burning thurst, vertigo, and the symptoms of 

 intoxication, ending at times in madness or 

 stupor. Almost all those affected, as if with 

 epilepsy, die. In many, the face was cover- 

 ed with an eruption resembling flea bites. — 

 In the milder cases, in the intervals between 

 the fits, the appetite was voracious, pulse nat- 

 ural, as were all the excretions. 



The gangrenous form of ergotism, com- 

 mences with a tingling sensation of the part, 

 which assumes a roseate hue — the pulse is 

 generally weaker, and finally ceases to beat; 

 then follows a coldness, swelling, violet col- 

 or, and death of the limb, with its separation 

 in part, or entire, from the body. 'In anoth- 

 er variety, which has been witnessed in va- 

 rious parts of Germany, the chief symptoms 

 were spasmodic, contraction of the limbs at 

 first, and afterwards weaknesof mind, vora- 

 city, and dyspepsy, which, if not followed by 

 recovery, as generally happened, terminated 

 in fatuity or gangrene.' 



Ergotic bread used by nurses for four or 

 five days, dries up the secretion of milk. Of 

 the irralicirrai powev-s of ergot we have noth- 



ing to say in this place. It is sufficient to 

 remark, that they cannot be inferred from 

 what has been said above of its detrimental 

 effects when mixed up with aliment. 



Animals into whose food spurred rye has 

 largely entered, have, after a time, been af- 

 fected with a gangrene of the limbs, ears, 

 and tail, and inflamation of parts of the di- 

 gestive canal. 



NEW ENEMY TO WHEAT. 



We have just returned from examining e 

 field of Spring Wheat, belonging to the Hon. 

 J. II. Hubbard of this place. On approach- 

 ing the field, the appearance promised a 

 good crop. On examining the heads, mi- 

 nute black spots were found, generally near 

 the centre of the chaffy covering of the ker- 

 nels, which appear to have been made by 

 some insect, piercing the chaff to deposit its 

 eggs. On removing the chaff, the kernels 

 were found to be infested with small yellow 

 worms, subsisting upon its juices. They 

 commence their operations on the surface- 

 of the kernel, where the egg was at first de- 

 posited. In some cases, only a slight injury- 

 is inflicted, the growth of the kernel on that 

 side is checked, and the kernel grows 'out of 

 shape.' In others, where the mischief seems 

 to have commenced earlier, the juices of the 

 kernel have been wholly consumed, and a 

 mere speck remains. Several worms were 

 commonly found feeding on the same kernel. 

 On one we counted eleven. Some heads 

 are nearly destroyed, others less, and others 

 little if at all. There will be from one fourth 

 to half a crop. They were first observed a- 

 bout the middle of the last week, when they 

 were much larger and more active than at 

 present. We hear that several other fields 

 of Spring Wheat have sustained similar in- 

 jury. Some fields of Winter Wheat have 

 escaped ; others have not. 



Here is work for our entomologists, scien- 

 tific farmers, and Lyceums. Let us learii 

 the whole history of this insect, and we shall 

 doubtless find some way to attack him suc- 

 cessfully. In order to this, many persons 

 must busy themselves in collecting facts, 

 and these facts must be brought together, 

 compared and arranged. We invite atten- 

 tion, therefore, to the following points : 



1. A description of the perfect inset; the 

 time when, and the circumstances under 

 which, it first appears and deposits its eggs. 



2. How long before the egg becomes a 

 worm ; and are there any circumstances, 

 which hasten or retard the change? 



3. What other changes does it undergo, 

 before it becomes a perfect, and, as it prob- 

 ably does, a winged insect ; and how long 

 is the time; arid what effect has any kind o: 

 weather, or other circumstances, on its pro- 

 gress ? 



4- Where, and in what condition, does it 

 spend the winter ? 



5. Does it, in any of its states, feed on a- 

 ny plant except wheat ; and if so, on what? 



6. Are there any kinds of wheat, which it 

 does not attack, — and if so, what appears to 

 be the reason ? 



Any one can collect information on these 

 and similar points, and all, put together, will 

 teach us how we may best guard against this 

 new enemy of our agricultural interests.™ 

 Windsor Vt. Chronicle. 



Soak red flannel in strong beef orpork brine.aruj 

 bind it round sprained Emtis, and you hive a rea- 

 dy remedy. 



