1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



505 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THE WHEAT MIDGE. 



As this unwelcome stranger made its first visit 

 to this vicinity the present season, it may be in- 

 teresting to the farmer to learn something of its 

 character and habits ; I believe the said insect is 

 known in Ohio as the red weevil, which may be 

 found described in the Patent Office Report (Ag- 

 ricultural) for the year 1854. See Plate 5, Insects 

 injurious to wheat. It appears there are two 

 kinds of weevil, of different habits: first, the rice 

 weevil, which commits its depredations on rice 

 and wheat by perforating the kernel of the grain 

 in the dry state, even after it is threshed ; also, 

 the red weevil or midge, which subsists on the 

 juices of the head and forming grains of wheat, 

 perhaps drawing the essential nutriment there- 

 from, necessary for the perfection of the berry. 



The first I discovered of the latter genus was 

 on a small field of winter wheat, the latter part of 

 June, the present season ; they appeared on it in 

 large numbers, say from thirty to forty on a head, 

 perhaps on a fifth part of the heads before the 

 wheat had arrived at the milky state, and contin- 

 ued till nearly harvest time. They disappeared 

 gradually, and judging from the large number of 

 speckled bugs (the same that your correspondent, 

 "K." fears is a rogue) on the wheat, I had fully 

 made up my mind that my wheat had in a meas- 

 ure been relieved of the midge by this mud tur- 

 tle genus, and I advise your correspondent "K." 

 not to plot his destruction till he has sufficient 

 evidence that he is an enemy. 



I believe the said bug, of a pale red color, with 

 black spots, none other than the Lady Bird dP/? 

 scribed in the above report, page 85, also plats 

 8th, "Insects Beneficial to the Agriculturist." My 

 wheat was not injured in the least, by the midge 

 or any other insects. I marked two stalks, one 

 of which was covered with the vermin, while the 

 other was free from it ; but when ripe, no differ- 

 ence appeared in the grain. Although I did not 

 see the lady bird devour the midge, yet I did see 

 another insect, probably the ichneumon fly, with 

 a veritable midge in his mouth. 



The midge appeared on spring wheat and late 

 oats in this vicinity, but I do not learn that much 

 damage is attributed to the insect, although both 

 of the latter grains afford but a meagre crop this 

 year ; still, through the ravages of this insect whole 

 fields have been nearly destroyed in Ohio. (See 

 statement of Thomas F. Hicks in above report, 

 page 145.) But why this puny insect should wan- 

 der the vast distance from beyond the Ohio to 

 the Atlantic States, or why the army worm should 

 travel from the land of cane and cotton to the 

 bleak shores of New England, is a problem which 

 I am not able to solve, unless being members of 

 the Peace Society, they have come to escape the 

 strife of civil war and bloodshed. 



Stow, Sept., 1861. H. Fowler. 



The Dracut AAfBER Grape. — In the adver- 

 tising columns the Dracut Amber Grape is of- 

 fered for sale by Mr. J. W. Manning, of Read- 

 ing. He brought in several bunches which were 

 tested by our corps editorial and clerical, and 

 pronounced good. A portion of them were gath- 



ered Sept. 16th, and others Sept. 28th — the latter 

 having greatly improved by remaining upon the 

 vines. The core of the Amber is not solid, but 

 is a sort of semi-fluid, is sweet enough for most 

 palates, while the pulp near the skin is quite 

 rich and sweet. It is thought that this grape will 

 prove excellent for wine. Mr. Manning is about 

 making up a considerable quantity into that arti- 

 cle, one portion to be the pure juice only, another 

 to have the addition of a little sugar, and a third 

 to have both sugar and water. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 SEEDLING GRAPES. 



I send you a few grapes, from a Catawba seed- 

 ling, that I have, asking whether you would con- 

 sider it worthy of cultivation ? The vine is about 

 seven years old, has never been pruned, stands 

 very much in the shade, and runs upon a tree. 

 The grapes have always been ripe by the 10th of 

 September ; this year I found them eatable on the 

 first day of this month j these I send you are the 

 last of the crop, and do not seem to me to be as 

 sweet as they were ten days since. You will 

 doubtless notice that these clusters are very small. 

 Would pruning and cultivation increase their 

 size ? I am not at all "posted" in "grapes," as you 

 may judge, by my sending these "specimens" to 

 you, but wish to cultivate enough for my own 

 family and friends. I have prepared a nice bor- 

 der for a half-dozen vines, and now come to you 

 for advice. If you will sometime say something 

 about grapes in the Farmer, and give me a hint 

 as to your opinion of this I send, you will confer 

 a favor on a "poor farmer." 



The advice you gave us at our "Club," on that 

 stormy March evening, was not all lost. A few 

 of the most daring of our members tried wheat 

 last spring, with good success, and many, I think, 

 will try to raise enough for their own use, after 

 this. There will quite a number of families among 

 us indulge in strawberries next summer, and will, 

 t know, thank you for directing their attention to 

 the subject. 



Can the raspberry be transplanted in the fall, 

 with success ? I wish to make a plantation at the 

 earliest suitable time ; if you think it would be 

 interesting to your readers, I very much wish you 

 would give some directions for doing, so. 



O. H. Shaw. 



North Middleboro', Sept., 1861. 



Remarks. — The grape sent is an unusually 

 sweet and high-flavored seedling, and, we should 

 think, worthy of careful cultivation and close prun- 

 ing. You have prepared nice borders — now dress 

 them with wood ashes, bone dust, and with coarse 

 manure on the surface, to remain until spring. 

 In November, when the leaves are off, prune rig- 

 idly, leaving the main stem not more than six 

 feet high, and cut off the side shoots down to 

 within two buds of the leader. This course is 

 designed for producing grapes — if you wish the 

 vine for shade, let it run. In the growing season, 



