130 



T J^I E NEW GENESEE F A R M ER 



Vol.1. 



Koller ou Insects. 



Wo have examined this vnlunbic produclinn with 

 much eatislaetion. Any work having any pretensions 

 to accuracy or ability, on insects injurious to the far 

 mcr or gardener, cannot fail of great utility; particu- 

 larly valuable, therefore, must be one written with the 

 care and precision of the book before ua. 



This work was prepared by a conimiltec of the 

 Royal and Imperial Agricultural Society of Vienna, 

 with the authority and direction of the Austrian go- 

 vernment. It is translated from the Gemian by Jane 

 and Mary Jjoudon, and contains ninny valuable notes 

 by J. O. Wcstwood, Secretary tu the British Entomo- 

 logical Society. 



The study of Entomology has received hitherto but 

 little attention in this country; probably a tenth part 

 of the insects of the United States have never been de- 

 scribed. Destriictive insects, especially, are very im- 

 perfectly known. It would doubtless be of great ad- 

 vantage to the agriculture of our State, could the labors 

 of the State Zoologist be directed to an examination of 

 the manners and habits of those insects more particu- 

 larly which have proved destructive to the farming in- 

 terests. Although the work before us describes Eu- 

 ropean insects, yet from their similarity, and some- 

 times identity with the insects of our own country, it 

 would prove a very important assistant in nil investi- 

 gations of the habits of this destructive class of animals. 

 We hope its republication in this countr)' will soon be 

 called for; and in the meantime we propose to lay be- 

 fore our readers n few extracts, which we doubt not 

 will prove occeptnble. 



The following introductory remarks, contain much 

 in little space, and will be interesting to those unac- 

 quainted with the study. 



"Insects are animals which have a body consisting 

 of one or more divisions, articulated feet, a head cojt- 

 Bpicuously distinct from the body, on which are placed 

 two movable horns, called antennas. They breathe 

 through air holes, which are situated on the sides ol 

 the body; the greater number have wings in their per- 

 fect state, and only a proportionately small number 

 are without them. With the exception of certain 

 groups, all insects have six feet, and their bodies are 

 divided into a head, thorax, and abdomen, by notches 

 or incisions; hence the name ivturt is derived from the 

 Ijatin word insrcure, to cut or notch. Before they at- 

 tain their perfect state, they are subject to various 

 transformations, which are called nielamorphoses." 



After a perspicuous description of the orders, are the 

 following remarks on transformation. 



" The greater number of insects properly so called, 

 with the exception of some without wings, change their 

 form several times during their life in so striking a 

 manner, that a person unacquainted with entomology 

 would be inclined to consider one and the same insect, in 

 different periods of its existence, as so many entirely 

 different animals. 



"To the farmer, gardener, or forester, the know- 

 ledge of the transliirmalion of insects is of the greatest 

 importance, as without it he beholds his greatest ene- 

 mies, without having' the means of defence or mode of 

 attack, and neglects the most suitable for their great- 

 est possible diminution, or entire extirpation, from the 

 want of knowledge. 



" Insects, in general are jiroduccd from egas; a few 

 species alone, in which the eggs are developed in the 

 body of the mother, are viviparous; for example the 

 aphis. 



"The female lays her eggs, which are often stuck 

 on and covered with a sort of glue, to preserve them 

 (rom the weather, shortly after pairing, instinctively in 

 the place best ndaiUed to their developcment, and 

 which offers the proper food for ihe lortheoniing brood. 

 The white-thorn bu'terffy, ami the goldcn-tnil moth, 

 lay their eggs on the Icavesof fruit trees orother leafy 

 trees, and the latter covers them over with a gold co- 

 lored covering of silk. The common lackey-moth 

 (' Oasliopiicha ( linmlnjr) ncii/triii) fastens ibeni in 

 the form of a ring round the stem of the fruit trees;* 

 and the gipsey-moth (Bomhijr disj/ar) fastens them 



* Similar to our roininon orchard caterpillar, wliinji, in its 

 perlei't stale, tlic I'^iiropciii laclicy-iiiotli very clopely resem- 

 bles, if It JH not identical n itli it.— AWa. X (J. t'ur. 



in a broad patch on the stem of the tree or paling, and 

 covers them with a thick coating of hair. The winter 

 moth ( (jcomelrn brumaUi) lays them singly on the 

 buds of the leaves and flowers; the printer beetle 

 ( }in$trirhiis typogrtiphus) introduces them between 

 jhe bark and the alburnum, &c. 



" Most insects arc developed from the eggs in the 

 shape of worms, which are called larva. The larva of 

 butterflies, which aie always provided with leet, are 

 called caterpillars; those of beetles and other insects 

 larva; and when they have no feet the latter are called 

 grubs or maggots. • » • The larva state is the 

 period (Jf feeding, and at this period insects are usual- 

 ly the destructive enemies of other productions of na- 

 ture, and objects of persecution to farmers, gardeners, 

 and foresters. 



" The nymphn or pupa slate succeeds that of larva. 

 In this state insects for ihe most part take no nourish- 

 ment (with the excejition of grasshoppers, cimices, 

 and cicada!, which vary but little in form from the lar- 

 va), and repoic in a death-like slumber. • * * 



"After a certain period, which is fixed in every spe- 

 cies of insects, and wdiich can either be hastened or 

 retarded according to circumstancee, the perfect insect 

 appears from the pupa. " * It is incumbent on the 

 perfect insect to propagate its species, therefore the 

 organs for this purpose are only perfected at this pe- 

 riod of their lives." 



From an interesting section on the food of insects, 

 we have room for the following brief extracts only. 



"Insects, like other animals, derive their nourish- 

 ment from the vegetable and animal kingdoms; but a 

 glance is sufficient to show, that they possess a much 

 wider field of operations than the others. 



" While the other animals make use for their sub- 

 sistence of only a Biiiall portion of the inexhaustible 

 treasures of the vegetable kingdom, and reject the rest 

 OS insipid or noxious, tlie insects leave perhaps no ve- 

 getable production untouched. From the majestic oak 

 to the invisible fungus, or the insignificant wall-moss, 

 the whole race of plants is a stupendous meal, to which 

 the insects sit down as guests. Even those plants 

 which aie highly poisonous and nauseating toother 

 amnmls, are not refused by them. 



" But this is not yet all. The largest plant-consu- 

 ming animals are usually limited to leaves, seed, and 

 stalks: not so insects, to the various families of which 

 every part of a plant yields suitable provender. Some 

 which live under the earlh, attack roots; others choose 

 the stem and branches, a third division live on the 

 leaves, a fourth prelcrs the flowers, while a fifth se- 

 lecls the fruit or seed. 



" Even here a still further selection takes place. — 

 Of those which feed ou the roots, stem, and branches, 

 some species eat only the rind, like the bee-hawk- 

 moth; others the inner bark and the alburnum, like 

 the Torfrix JVocbcriaiia ; a third division penetrates 

 into the heart of the solid wood, like the goat moth and 

 the family of the long-horned beetles ( CcrninlnjcUta). 



" Of those which prefer foliage, some take nothing 

 but juice out of the veins (aphides); others devour on- 

 ly the substance of the leaves without touching the 

 epederniis ( minlvg caicrpiUnrs) ; others only the up- 

 per or under surface of the leaves (many leaf rollers); 

 while a fourth division devour the whole substance of 

 the leaf (the larva of Lcpidoptcrous insects)." * * * * 



"Many insects are very gluttonous, and often con- 

 sume more food in a day than is equal to the weight 

 of their bodies. Thus, the maggot of the flesh-fly, ac- 

 cording to Redi, becomes 200 times heavier in the 

 course of twenty-four hours. Caterpillars digest in 

 one day from one-third to one-lonrth of their weight; 

 and hence it is apparent that a comparatively small 

 number of caterpillars can entirely strip a tree in a few 

 days." 



We purpose, in our next, to give a number of no- 

 tices and descriptions of individual insects which have 

 proved destructive to cultivators. Nincteen-twentieths 

 of the book arc occupied with these, many with excel- 

 lent accompanying wood-cuts; and the descriptions of 

 those common to both hemispheres, will of course be 

 equally valuable here and in Europe. ' * 



the better if it is three feet, — as it will run easier, do 

 the work quite as well, and be less liable to clog by 

 gathering the clods before it. It is most conveniently 

 made of a hollow log split in two ; but if a solid log is 

 used, it may also be split in two, and remiered still 

 lighter if necessary, by hewing it away on the upper 

 and hinder side. 



Two methods of rigging it, have been employed. 

 Thomas S. Pleasants who first described it in the fifth 

 volume of the Genesee Farmer says, " Two pieces of 

 scantling introduced oUir/ucli/ by mortise and tenon at 

 suitable distances from the ends of the log, and made 

 fast to each other opposite the middle, completes the 

 fixiure." Another plan is to fix two strong bars 

 square across the log, and connect them by mortieea 

 with the ends of a third piece in front of the roller, to 

 which the team is to be attached. This method has 

 been approved by James M. Garnet, President of the 

 Fredericksburgh Agricultural Society. Both we pre- 

 sume are very tflicient ; and any man that can handle 

 an auger and chisel may make one. 



The latter says, " The superiority of this very sim- 

 ple and cheap contrivance over any inii)lemcnt yet 

 nsed for pulverizing ploughed land, none can cosily 

 conceive, who has not seen it tried ;" and the former 

 says, " I can attest from my own experience that it is 

 not only a convenient but frequently an indispensable 

 agent in reducing rough or cloddy ground. The most 

 stubborn piece of land, may by one, or at most by two 

 operations, be pulverized more completely than by 

 double or treble the number of ploughings. The first 

 application should be made immediately after the land 

 is turned over — that is to say, all land ploughed during 

 the day, should be subjected to the operation in the 

 afternoon. t 



The Drag-Roller. 



In another column we have mentioned the Drag- 

 roller. It was invented a few years ago by Thomas 

 B. Gay, a farmer of Goochland county, Virginia ; and 

 consists of a log six or seven feet long wdiich is drawn 

 or dragged side foremost over the ground. The log 

 should be at least eighteen inches in diameter, and all 



Applying Fresh Manure. 



Last spring we had no ground for Mangel- Wurzel 

 so suitable as some that had been in corn for two 

 years ; but which was too much exhausted for a root 

 crop without manure. We had none but fresh ma- 

 nure, however, and Judge Peters had recorded his 

 opinion that to this crop " fresh dung is decidedly hos- 

 tile." Besides our old friend of the Erie co. Nursery, 

 had condemned it not less decidedly. What was to 

 be done 1 Next winter and spring, we knew our 

 milch cows would suffer unless they had beets ; and 

 that we should suffer also, by the diminished products 

 of the dairy. So having some doubt il these writers 

 had conducted their experiments in the best manner, 

 we determined to use such manure as we had ; and 

 we can now announce that our success has been emi- 

 ent. We have not seen a more promising display of 

 beets in any field in the country. 



We proceeded as follows : Double furrows were 

 turned outwards at proper distances throughout the lot; 

 and into these the manure was thrown down by fork- 

 fuls, touching one another the whole length of the 

 row. The harrow then passed over each row about 

 four times, tearing the manure to pieces, and mi.\ing 

 it with the soil. When this was done, (wo furrows 

 were turned together over it ; and the harrow passing 

 along twice more, mixed it still further, and left th« 

 ground moderately smooth. 



A line was stretched on each row ; and without any 

 further preparation, the seed which had been scalded, 

 was drojiped. The line remained on the ground till ! 

 the seed was covered with the hoe, which was done by 

 drawing the soil diagonally inward. This method, 

 however, is not favorable to much exactness of depth; 

 but we had plenty of seed, and it came up finely in 

 about a week. We had another piece within the 

 same enclosure, which was in as bad condition os any 

 in the neighborhood, being overgrown VMth Canada 

 thistles, some milk weeds, and such grasses as could 



