^\'PIE 



WHE 



said it was sent to him from Western 

 New- York for seed, and lie was try- 

 ing to sell it as such. As long as 

 such seed is sown, we shall have 

 those fanners that helieve wheat will 

 degenerate into chess. In selecting 

 the best winter variety, I will name 

 the ones that I believe will do best 

 on the different soils where wheat is 

 sown. There are some varieties that 

 succeed better on some soils than 

 others. If the soil is rich clay loam, 

 it is important to sow a small and 

 early variety : the Kentucky white, 

 better known as Hutchinson wheat ; 

 Mediterranean; or Wheatland red. If 

 sandy, gravelly loam, the improved 

 white Flint, old Genesee red. Chaff 

 bald, Saul's wheat, and Flint. In se- 

 lecting the variety that will do best 

 on all soils, I am confident the im- 

 proved white Flmt stands first for the 

 quantity and superior quality, produ- 

 cing more flour of superior quality 

 than any other of nearly forty differ- 

 ent varieties that I have had under 

 cultivation. I know of no spring va- 

 riety that will come up to the winter 

 where they succeed well. In some 

 sections of country none but spring 

 varieties will succeed. The Black 

 Sea red. Chaff bearded, are the hard- 

 iest and most productive "f any of 

 the spring varieties of good quality. 

 The Tea wheat is a very beautiful 

 spring wheat, white, chaff bald, berry 

 white. It is not as pioductive^s the 

 Black Sea ; the quality is superior." 



WHEAT, COW. See Cow Wheat. 



WHEAT GRASSES. Grasses of 

 the same genus as wheat (Triliann), 

 of which tlie couch grass (T. repcns) 

 is best known. They are not indige- 

 nous in the United States, and, al- 

 though very nutritious, are not ob- 

 jects of special cultivation. 



WHEAT, INSECTS OF. The 

 two most severe enemies are species 

 of Cecidomyta, a genus resembling 

 the gnat. 



The Hessianfly {C. destructor), Fig., 

 h, is represented of the natural size 

 at c; it has a black head, thorax, and 

 wings, with a brownish body. Two 

 generations appear in the year : the 

 first in spring, the second in Septem- 



860 



her and October. The females lay 

 their eggs on the young shoots of 

 spring or fall wheat. The worm, 

 which is hatched in a few days, de- 

 scends to the lower parts of the stem 

 near the earth, where they become 

 changed into grubs of the size and 

 appearance of a flaxseed {d) ; here 

 the winter generation remain, and 

 are converted into winged insects in 

 spring. They destroy the plant by 

 sucking its juices, and hinder the de- 

 velopment of flower steins. The most 

 effective means to avoid this fly is by 

 selecting wheat with a tough straw, 

 as the Mediterranean, by sowing ear- 

 ly, and preparing the ground and seed, 

 so as to give it a good start. Scat- 

 tering lime, and using nutritious ma- 

 nures, such as guano, early in the 

 spring, may do good. Close feeding 

 by sheep is also adopted where the 

 grubs are found early. Burning the 

 infected straw is a preventive. The 

 Hessian fly is attacked by ichneumon 

 flies, which deposite their eggs in the 

 body of the grub. 



The wheat midge, or fly (C. tritici), 



Fig., a, has been of late a severe pest 



in the Northern and Eastern States. 



j It is smaller (c) than the Hessian fly, 



I of a yellow colour, with clear wings. 



They are seen in June, when the 



wheat is in flower, and the eggs are 



deposited during dusk in the scales 



of the chaff. '^I'he maggots (/) are 



of a yellow colour, changing to brown, 



, and eat the young seed as it is form- 



I ed. g represents one of the worms 



1 magnified. The masgots fall to the 



