102 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



vatiug acre of land to raise the same number of 

 bushels, which ho has now learnt by jjroper 

 mauugcment may he gathered from one, with 

 far less lahour and expense. The signnl im- 

 provements which arc apparent in the hreeiis 

 of domestic ansmals can scarcely he dated back 

 further than the organization of this Society ; 

 And the advances made in liomr nK\nul';ictnres 

 have been greatly fiicililatcd from llic same 

 cause. Abriit^cdj'rnia the .MklilUI'unj Paper. 



From (hf Old Colony Mimoiial. 

 The Dcsintcdve IVorm more particularly investi- 

 gated. 

 The worm wliicli has arrested considerable 

 attention in the O. C. Memorial, is no other 

 (han the grub-worm hatched from the eggs, of 

 that species of beetle known by the several 

 names of Chafer, Cock-chafer, iMay-bcetle or 

 more commonly .May-bug. It is the scaraboeus 

 melolantha Linnajus. In Wiilich's Domestic 

 Encyclopedia will be foujid the fqllowing histor- 

 ical detail of the insect in its several stages. 

 " The May-bug or Cock-chafer has a pair of 

 cases to its wings, of a reddish brown colour, 

 sprinkled with whitish dust, which is easily sep- 

 qpBted. The necks of these insects are, in some 

 years, covered with a red plate ; in others, with 

 a black; but they are distinct varieties. Their 

 fore legs arc very short, and thus better calcu- 

 lated for burrowing in the ground, to which 

 the}' instinctively retreat. Chafers are well 

 known by the buzzing noise they make, in the 

 evening, when rising in the air; but particular- 

 ly for the irrejiarable mischief they occasion to 

 the industrious cultivator; having been found, 

 in some seasons, so numerous, as to consume 

 every vegetable production. These pernicious 

 vermin arc generated from eggs which the fe- 

 males usually deposit, about six inches deep in 

 the ground. Three months after, the inclosed in- 

 sects begin to break the shells and crawl forth, 

 in the form of small grubs, or maggots, which 

 feed upon the root, of whatever vegetables 

 they meet with. In this worm state they con-: 

 tinue for more than three or four years, de- 

 vouring the roots of every plant they approach,' 

 and burrowing under the ground with the utmost 

 celerity for food. At length they exceed a wal-' 

 nut in size, being large, white, thick maggots, ' 

 with red heads which are frequently found iu 

 newly turned earth, and arc much sought after | 

 by every species of birds. When largest, they; 

 <ire an inch and a half long, of a whitish yellow- 

 colour, with bodies composed of twelve seg- 

 ments, or joints ; on each side there are nine 

 breathing holes, and three red feet. The head \ 

 is larger in proporton to the body, of a red- 1 

 dish colour, with a forceps, or pincer before, 

 and a semi circular lip, with which they cut 

 the roots of plants and suck out their moisture. 

 They have no ejcs, but are furnished with two 

 feelers, which serve to direct their motions un- 

 der ground. .\t the expiration of four years, 

 these destructive insects prepare to emerge 

 from their subterraneous abode. About the lat- 

 ter end of iiutiunn, the grubs begin to perceive 

 their transformation :ipproaching; when they 

 bury themselves deeper in the earth, some- 

 times even six feet below the surface, where 

 they form rapacious a|)artnients, the walh of 

 which become very smooth and shining, by 

 the exertions of Ihi'ir boilies. Soon after, they 

 ))egin to shorten llumselvcs, to swell, and burst 



ihcirlasi skin, preparatory to their change into 

 a chrijsulis. This appears at first to be ot a yel- 

 lowish colour, which gradually heightens, till at 

 length it becomes almost red. Its external fig- 

 ure clearly displays the characters of the future 

 winged insect, all the fore parts being distinctly 

 seen ; while, behind, the animal seems as if 

 wrap|)ed in swaddling clothes. In this state, 

 the young cock-chafer, or may-bug, continues 

 for about three months longer ; when, towards 

 the beginning of January, the aurelia divests it- 

 self of all its impediments, and becomes a com- 

 plete winged insect. I!ut it has not attained il-^ 

 natural health, strength, and appetite : unlike 

 all other insects, which arrive at their state oi 

 perl'ection as soon as they become flies, the 

 cock-chafer continues feeble and sickly. Its col- 

 our is much brighter than in the perfect an- 

 imal ; all its parts are soft, and its voracious na- 

 ture seems suspended. In this state, it is fre- 

 quently found, and is erroneously supposed In 

 those who are ignorant of its real history, to be 

 an old one, of the former season, wh.ch has bu- 

 ried itselfduring the winter, in order to revisit 

 the sun the ensuing summer. The fact is, the 

 old one never survives the season, but perishes, 

 in the same manner as every other species of 

 insects, from the severity of the cold, during 

 winter. 



Towards the latter end of May, these insecis 

 burst from the earth, the first miKl evening tiiai 

 invites them abroad : after having lived from 

 four to five years under ground. They are 

 then seen to emerge from their close confine- 

 ment, no longer to live on roots and imbibe on- 

 ly the moisture of the earth, but to choose the 

 sweetest vegetables for their food, and to sip 

 the evening dew. An attentive observer will, 

 at that time of the year, see ever}' pathway 

 strewed with them ; and, in warm eveuiUgs or 

 May, myriads of them are buzzing along, tlnp- 

 ping against every thing that impedes their 

 flight. The heat of the niid-day sun, however, 

 seems to be too powerful for their constitution ; 

 they therefore, conceal themselves in clusters, 

 under the foliage of shady trees, but particular- 

 ly of the willow, which appears to betlieir most 

 favourite food, and which they seldom quit, till 

 they have consumed all its verdure. In seasons 

 favourable to their propagation, they are seen 

 in an evening, in considerable swarms ; their du- 

 ration, however, is but siiort, asthc3' never sur- 

 vive the summer. They begin to p:iir, soon 

 after they have emerged from their sublerrane- 

 ous prison; and the female then carefully bores 

 a hole in the ground, with an iusirument for 

 that purpose, with Avhich she. is t'urnislied at 

 her tail, and deposits her eggs there generally 

 to the number of sixty. In the year 1751 they 

 were so exceedingly numerous in the county of 

 Norfolk, England, that they destroyed not only 

 all the verdure of the fields, but even the roots 

 of vegetables. Many crops in that country were 

 then almost ruined hy the devastations these 

 insects committed, in their worm state ; and 

 when they took wing next season, trees and 

 hedges were in many parishes, completely strip- 

 ped of their leaves. James Ebden, a Norfolk 

 farmer, made oath, that he gathered eighty bu- 

 shels ; but their number did not seem much di- 

 minished, except in his fields. Neither the se- 

 verest frosts in our climate, nor even water, 

 will kill them ; as on being exposed to the sun 

 and air, for a few hours, they will recover, and 



resume their former lively state. One of th 

 best methods to be adopted for preventing thei_ 

 transformation, is, to plough up the land in thi 

 furrows, to employ children to pack them up i 

 baskets, and then strew salt and quick lime o 

 ;he ground and harrow it in." 



It is well known that swine, turkies, hew 

 crow-, and other birds have a high relish fc 

 both the may-bug and grub-worm, and whenei 

 er opportunity will permit, they will destro 

 immense numbers of those vermin. But as 

 conceive, the employment of the hoe would b 

 a more effectual method than has been as yt 

 s;iggested. During the summer, or autumi 

 when the grub-worm i? feeding on ihe roots ( 

 griiss and vegetables, not more than an inch c 

 two below the surface, the task would not be 

 very laborious one to go over the ground wit 

 hoes, and destroy every grub that can be di; 

 covered. Let a neighborhood of farmers unit 

 iheir exertions in this service as a pastime, an 

 they may probably enjoy the satisfaction of e 

 feeling in some measure, at least, the annihih 

 lion of the race, and fVee themselves for man 

 years from the loss of crops by their devast; 

 tions. In meadows, or pastures, where th 

 worm has already destroyed the roots of th 

 Trass, and the sward, the hoeing may be pe 

 formed with great facility, and perhaps in som 

 instances it might be deemed useful, at the sam 

 t me, to hoe ui grain or grass seed for a cro] 

 I'lie method of intei-sectmg the fields with ditcl 

 *'s, has sometimes been serviceable, in checkin 

 a more extensive progress of these worms, ; 

 they penetrate through the sides, and fall inl 

 the ditch where they may be easily destroyed 



J. T. 



rtymoi'lh, Oct. IG. 1822. 



m^ M* i^absimjb* 



BOSTO.Y .—SATURDAY, OCT. 26, 1822. 



A'jsards at the Brighton Cattle fihow. 

 We have given in this day's paper the whole of tl 

 Reports of the several Committees, to "vvhom was e 

 trusted the arduous and delicate task of awarding pr 

 miums for animals, manufactures, &c. exhibited at tl 

 last Fair, in Brighton. They are ■wortliy of atteutii 

 not only from those whose feelings or interest are i 

 volved in the amicable contest for the prize of agrici 

 tural or manufacturing excellence, but of all wl 

 have the interests of the husbandman and manufa 

 turer at lieart. They will prove useful hy pointing o 

 the path which leads to further improvement, and 

 preserved in volumes, from year to year, (as we ho; 

 and trust they will be, at least by our subscribers,) w 

 serve as indices to mark the progress of agriculture ai 

 the useful arts. Those who may hereafter become ca 

 didates for premiums, or disposed to add to the attra 

 tions of the *^ Husbandman's holiday," by voluntary e: 

 hibitions of articles or animals, rare, excellent or usefu 

 will derive advantages from knowing what has bet 

 exhibited, and will find the Records of the Bright' 

 Cnttle Shows not only curious but useful document 

 We think that the judges who have awarded the pr 

 miums, by their able Reports.^ have deserved well 

 the community ; and in bestowing honors and bou 

 tics, (?n those who merited the rewards of skill and i 

 dustry, have reflected honor upon themselves. A 

 .\lexander & a Bonaparte, in parcelling out kingdoo 

 among their favorite generals, were less hmwiahly i 

 Weil as less usefully employ. .) than the distributors 

 premiums at an Aiueiicau Cattle Show. 



