J4\'^ JK^If J^ 



ANDGARDENER'S JOURNAL 



PUBLISHED BY JOSEPH BRECK & CO., 



NORTH MARKET STREET, (A«nicuLTU8AL Warehouse.) 



VOIi. XVII.] 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 15, 1838. 



AGRICULTURAL 



From the Maine Farmer. 



ESSAYS ON THE GRAIN WORM. 

 It will be recollected that the Trustees of the 

 Kennebec County Agricultural Society last year 

 offered a premium for the best mode of destroyin.? 

 the Grain Worm, &c. Three essays only were 

 handed in. We have recently received them from 

 the hands of the Trustees, and have not learned 

 what decision they have made in regard to them. 

 We commence their publication, and doubt not tliat 

 Buch facts as may be brought forward, will be in- 

 teresting- to farmers generally. 



Mr Holmes : — In a former number of the Far- 

 mer, I made a few remarks on the Wheat Fly. 

 Since tliat time I have found by observation that 

 the grub that this fly originates from, is very differ- 

 ent from what I then took it to be. I find that 

 what I then took to be eggs, are grubs in a dor- 

 mant state — inclosed in a tough shell or skin which 

 they leave behind them when they undergo trans- 

 formation. I also find that the greater part of those 



piece of wheat a sufficient number of heads that 

 contained large numbers of the grubs to till a com- 

 mon flower box. These heads were in quite a 

 green state. The box was filled with- earth, and 

 wet, quite wet. The straw was cut off about six 

 inches below the lieads ; and with a wire set them 

 into the wet earth quite down to the under part of 

 the heads, to prevent them from drying up. The 

 earth in the box was kept (juite wet, and a coverino- 

 of gauze was placed over the box to prevent the 

 flies from escaping, should they take wing. The 

 result was, that in tlie course of five weeks I found 

 tiiat the greater part of those grubs had taken wing 

 and had escaped through the covering — in conse- 

 quence of the flies being so very small when they 

 first leave their shells, and the gauze being of rath- 

 er a poor texture. Quite a number, however, were 

 retained in the bo.x, till they gained nearly or quite 

 their full size. The fly is a very shy and sprightly 

 insect, — not much larger tiian tlie grub that they 

 originate from. The body and legs are changea- 

 ble, tinged with a yellowish cast; the wings are 

 also changeable, tinged witli a hue similar to a 

 rainbow. 



These flies can be seen on the wheat at night 

 in calm weather, as soon as the dew beo-ins to' fall, 



to them. 



nits or grubs are deposited in the heads of the ^ ^.. 



wheat at the time it is in its blossoming state ; j and in the morning as Ion"o^ as" th7 dew re'makis 

 arge_ numbers, however, are deposited at a later] the wheat. In damp, cloudy weather, they can be 



sop.n during the whole day. They pan also be 



period. 



These grubs can be distinctly seen in the heads' 

 )f tlie wheat with a glass when they are not larg- 

 3r than the points of pins, and are of an orange 

 color ; their bodies appear in a moving posture — 

 »id covered with small knobs. They are deposited 

 in the heads of the wheat between the husk and 

 Jie kernel, and appear to be deposited at various 

 itages of the growth of the wheat— those that are 

 ieposited at the time that the wheat is in its blos- 

 loming state prevent the kernel filling out, and it 

 -emains in the same state tliat it is in when they 

 ire deposited. Those that are deposited at a little 

 ater stage of the growth of the wheat cause the 

 ternel to be pinched, and very small ; and so on 

 hrougli the various stages of its growtli. 



Those that are. dej)osited about the time that the 

 cernels begin to harden, do not injure it but very 

 ittle ; and as the wheat all becomes hard their 

 avages cease ; and should the weather be dry, and 

 lot much dew, the grubs will remain in a dormant 

 tate, so long as they are kept dry ; but should the 

 feather be warm and damp, with heavy dews, they 

 fill undergo transformation, and take wing from 

 he heads of the wheat, and will, I suppose, com- 

 lence tlie work of destruction on all wheat that 

 J in a green state that they may then have access 



It does not appear that they eat the kernel or 

 ny part of the grain ; but to all appearance they 

 Jbsist on the sap or juice of the wheat, and there- 

 )re entirely prevent its filling out after tliey are de- 

 osited in it. 



I tried an experiment to demonstrate tlie cer- 

 iinty that those grubs would undergo transforma- 

 on from the heads of the wheat I took from a ' 



seen on the wheat stubble, after the wheat is har- 

 vested. 



These flies do not sting through the husk of the 

 wheat, as many people imagine they do. I cannot 

 discover any sting to them, any more than to the 

 common house fly. There is a fly, the parent of 

 what has heretofore been called the Wheat Worm, 

 which stings quite through the husk of the wheat, 

 and which causes a proper worm, that devours the 

 kernel, in the husk. This worm can be seen in 

 the wheat heads after it is ripe. The form of this 

 fly is similar to the bot fly, which is so troublesome 

 to horses. This fly, I should think, was not over 

 one sixth part as large as the bot fly. They curl 

 up their stings dfc'setly under the abdomen when 

 they are on the wing, the same as the bot fly 

 does. The ravages of this fly the last season was 

 something more than it has been for some years 

 past. 



I find that the fly which has committed such dep- 

 redations on the wheat crops, for the last two years, 

 is the most singular insect that has ever come un- 

 der my observation. I find that as soon as they 

 can be seen on the wheat heads with a glass, they 

 are living insects, and continue to increase in size 

 till they gain their full growth, — and should the 

 wheat heads continue, with sufficient moisture, and 

 the weather should prove warm, it will cause them 

 to undergo transformation and take wing from the 

 head in a veiy sliort period of time after they have 

 attained their full size. Should the wheat ripen 

 off before thoy gain their full size, and the weather 

 should prove to be dry, they will stop short of their 

 full size, and go into a dormant state, — and I think 

 will remain until moisture and warmth again comes 



They will then assume their moving pos- 

 ture and increase to their full size,— and sli.mld 

 this process continue a suflicient length of time, 

 it will in my opinion cause them to take wino- at 

 any season of the year. " 



I placed some of these grubs in a dry place in 

 April last. I viewed some of theui with the glass 

 the first of September and found that the fly was 

 in part formed, and was not able to escape from the 

 shell for want of moisture, — they appeared to be 

 so dry and thin that I thought they must be dead. 

 I applied moisture and warmth to a number of them, 

 and found, the third day after, that they were quite 

 plump and lively, and in quite a forward state to 

 take wing. How long they will live in this situa- 

 tion, I am not able to say : but I am quite certain 

 that they never can escape from their shell unless 

 moisture gets to them. 



I am of the opinion that the greater part of the 

 damage that these flies do to the wheat crop, is 

 done in the night time, or between sun set and sun 

 rise. 



I found that the hot sun was very offensive to 

 them ; so much so, that they were not to be seen 

 on the wheat in hot days. They appeared to be 

 lodged on or near the ground ; so that I am inclined 

 to think that it would be almost impossible to dis- 

 lodge them entirely from a large field of wheat, 

 where 'hov .-ire very numerou-s, — unless thev could 

 be entirely exposed to the hot rays of the sun. 

 This, I think, would prove very injurious to them, 

 if it does not put a final stop to their ravages. On 

 finding that the sun was so offensive to t.he flies, I 

 tried an experiment on the grubs that they origin- 

 ate from. I applied moisture and warmth to a num- 

 ber of thera, till they were in quite a forward state 

 to take wing. I then exjiosed them to the hot rays 

 of the sun, and they appeared to be qualmish, and 

 in a few minutes would swell up and die ; so that 

 I found that the sun had a powerful effect on both 

 the grubs and flies. 



I have found, as far as my information has ex- 

 tended, that the ravages of the fly has been in this 

 vicinity from one tenth part down to the total de- 

 struction of the crop. In some instances their dep- 

 redations appeared to be more extensive in low 

 places and on low lands, than on high lands, where 

 there was more air and wind. ' My wheat crop, the 



past season, was injured about one-fourth part 



taking the whole crop togetlier. I perceived tliat 

 the ravages of the fly were more confined to the 

 edges of the pieces of wheat, than elsewhere ; and 

 more especially on the edges of those pieces that 

 were sown nearest to where the wlieat grew the 

 year before. This, I suppose, is in consequence 

 of the flies that originated from the grubs that were 

 on the old wheat stubble. I noticed that the flies 

 were most to be seen on the leeward sides of the 

 pieces of wheat, and appeared to shift their posi- 

 tion as often as the wind shifted. This, I think 

 will account for their doing more damage to the 

 edges of tlie pieces of wheat, than they did else- 

 where. 



I observed that the lieavy north winds that we 



