118 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



two since, when the subject of this excellent law was before the Club, 

 about the idea suggested that every landowner should plant fruit trees 

 along the road side. It should be kept continually before the eyes of the 

 people. Let this Club do all it can to produce such a blessed result. I 

 insist that landowners are in some measure under obligations to the land- 

 less to bestow this boon upon them. Every one should try to make the 

 roads more beautiful along his premises. The Indians are surprised at our 

 land monopoly. They say that the Great Spirit gave it to all, and that no 

 one has right to any more land than he needs to grow crops. I have 

 known farmers to dump all the stones found on their farms on the road 

 side, and have seen old stumps of trees lay there for years. 



The Grain Aphis. 



Mr. Solon Eobiuson.— The grain aphis is creating much alarm through- 

 out the country, and is doubtless doing some damage. I have received a 

 number of letters inclosing heads of wheat covered with this insect. 



Mr. .John J. Carter, of Upper Oxford, Chester coimty, Pa., says it was very 

 plenty last year upon oats, and appeared to retard the ripening somewhat, 

 but did no serious injury. This year it is very thick upon the wheat, and 

 many have found that it will be much injured: 



" If your American Institute Club could devise some practicable plan by 

 which farmers could wage an efficient warfare against all injurious worms 

 and insects, you would be doing the country a great service. Chester 

 county this year, I think, will have her corn crop reduced one-fourth by 

 the cut-worm alone, and wheat nearly in the same proportion by the fly, 

 to say nothing of the destruction of grapes and cherries by the rose bugs, 

 and of other fruits by the curculio. This would evidently pay for a good 

 deal of legislation, even at the present exorbitant rates at which laws are 

 now usually obtained. We have legislation for the suppression of noxious 

 weeds, of contagious cattle disease, of stock running at large on the high- 

 ways, &c. ; yet all, taken together, are not near so important to the farmer 

 as the destruction of worms and insects. If an increase of insectiverous 

 birds be an advantage, can't we have them protected at all seasons ? Can 

 we encourage the propagation in any other way? Or is there any other 

 means by which united effort may be brought to bear to check the ravages 

 of insects ? When farmers lose one-third of their crops year after year, 

 as many do, it is no wonder this is becoming an interesting question; yea 

 more, a question of life and death." 



Mr. H. B. Norton, of East Elba, Genesee county, N. Y., says these insects 

 threaten to destroy all crops in that section, they are so abundant. 



Several other letters from other places make the same statements. 



The Rural New Yorker, in answer to inquiries, says: 



" The insects received with the above, clustered on a head of wheat, are 

 the grain aphis (Aphis Avence. of Curtis). They were very numerous in 

 sections of this State, as well as at the East last season, infesting the wheat 

 and oats, and doing much injury to the grain by sucking the juices needed 

 for the perfection of the seed. In an excursion among the wheat fields in 

 the vicinity of Eochester, a few days since, we failed to find the aphis, 

 though it is not at all likely that the farmers of this State will escape." 



