﻿LOSSES 
  OCCASIONED 
  BY 
  THE 
  HESSIAN 
  FLY. 
  203 
  

  

  Other 
  fields, 
  sown 
  after 
  corn-cutting, 
  show 
  a 
  greater 
  amount 
  of 
  damage 
  ; 
  one 
  in 
  par- 
  

   ticular, 
  a 
  limestone 
  upland, 
  was 
  scarcely 
  tinted 
  with 
  green, 
  the 
  fly 
  having 
  already 
  

   consumed 
  nearly 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  it. 
  My 
  course 
  from 
  this 
  point 
  was 
  north 
  and 
  west. 
  I 
  

   find 
  that 
  the 
  farther 
  north 
  I 
  travel 
  the 
  more 
  damaged 
  is 
  the 
  wheat. 
  In 
  this 
  (Hardy) 
  

   county 
  the 
  damage, 
  so 
  far, 
  appears 
  not 
  to 
  be 
  material. 
  Some 
  crops 
  of 
  early-sown 
  

   wheat 
  were 
  considerably 
  shortened 
  last 
  year, 
  the 
  first 
  year 
  in 
  many 
  that 
  we 
  have 
  felt 
  

   the 
  effects 
  of 
  the 
  fly. 
  One 
  farmer, 
  whose 
  wheat 
  seemed 
  already 
  a 
  failure, 
  asked 
  me 
  

   what 
  he 
  should 
  do. 
  I 
  advised 
  when 
  the 
  land 
  was 
  dry, 
  or 
  hard 
  frozen, 
  to 
  put 
  all 
  the 
  

   sheep 
  he 
  could 
  get 
  ui^on 
  it, 
  and 
  keep 
  them 
  there 
  until 
  they 
  had 
  eaten 
  it 
  off 
  as 
  close 
  as 
  

   a 
  sheep 
  could 
  nip, 
  as 
  the 
  only 
  remedy. 
  I 
  thought 
  that 
  the 
  sheep 
  could 
  do 
  no 
  worse 
  

   than 
  what 
  must 
  be 
  eventually 
  done 
  by 
  the 
  fly, 
  and 
  it 
  might 
  save 
  the 
  crop. 
  He 
  asked 
  

   me 
  if 
  I 
  thought 
  the 
  insect 
  would 
  be 
  ''wholesome 
  for 
  the 
  sheep." 
  This 
  I 
  could 
  not 
  

   answer, 
  and 
  refer 
  the 
  query 
  to 
  you.— 
  E. 
  M. 
  W., 
  Moorfield, 
  W. 
  Va. 
  

  

  A 
  correspondeut 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  paper 
  thus 
  records 
  the 
  injury 
  doue 
  by 
  

   tliis 
  insect 
  about 
  Syracuse, 
  IN". 
  Y. 
  : 
  

  

  Wheat 
  sown 
  early, 
  from 
  the 
  1st 
  to 
  the 
  20th 
  of 
  September, 
  has 
  made 
  an 
  extraordinary 
  

   growth. 
  The 
  fine 
  weather 
  was 
  favorable 
  ; 
  besides 
  more 
  care 
  has 
  been 
  paid 
  to 
  good 
  

   culture 
  than 
  before. 
  The 
  seed 
  also 
  has 
  been 
  selected, 
  cleaned, 
  and 
  graded 
  with 
  greater 
  

   care, 
  showing 
  much 
  progress. 
  From 
  apperances 
  now, 
  it 
  will 
  result 
  in 
  a 
  loss. 
  Whol& 
  

   fields, 
  and 
  parts 
  of 
  others, 
  are 
  turning 
  yellow, 
  showing 
  the 
  ravages 
  of 
  the 
  fly 
  to 
  a 
  

   larger 
  extent 
  than 
  I 
  ever 
  before 
  witnessed. 
  It 
  began 
  to 
  turn 
  yellow 
  on 
  knolls, 
  or 
  where- 
  

   the 
  plaster 
  rock 
  came 
  near 
  the 
  surface, 
  and 
  was 
  thought 
  only 
  the 
  effect 
  of 
  dry 
  weather, 
  

   but 
  now 
  it 
  has 
  extended 
  all 
  over 
  early-sown 
  fields. 
  Should 
  the 
  warm 
  weather 
  con- 
  

   tinue, 
  great 
  injury 
  will 
  result 
  to 
  the 
  entire 
  crop, 
  as 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  sown 
  much 
  earlier 
  than 
  

   usual 
  and 
  has 
  looked 
  remarkably 
  fair. 
  Later 
  sowing, 
  with 
  a 
  greater 
  breadth 
  of 
  spring^ 
  

   "wheat, 
  is 
  the 
  only 
  remedy 
  now 
  offered. 
  Will 
  other 
  parties 
  in 
  different 
  sections 
  make 
  

   an 
  examination 
  and 
  send 
  notes? 
  — 
  C, 
  Syracuse, 
  N. 
  Y. 
  

  

  While, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  we 
  have 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  learn, 
  no 
  serious 
  damage, 
  if 
  any^ 
  

   has 
  been 
  done 
  to 
  wheat 
  in 
  New 
  England 
  by 
  this 
  pest 
  since 
  1854, 
  in 
  

   western 
  Canada 
  it 
  again 
  became 
  abundant 
  in 
  1874, 
  but 
  most 
  injurious 
  

   in 
  1876 
  and 
  1877. 
  In 
  1876 
  it 
  appeared 
  in 
  great 
  force 
  in 
  the 
  townships 
  of 
  

   Anabel, 
  I^orth 
  Bruce, 
  Grey, 
  and 
  Kippel. 
  

  

  In 
  1878, 
  the 
  losses 
  were 
  still 
  heavy 
  in 
  southern 
  and 
  central 
  Mich- 
  

   igan, 
  but 
  in 
  1879 
  the 
  insect 
  seemed 
  to 
  be 
  moving 
  northward, 
  the 
  great- 
  

   est 
  amount 
  of 
  injury 
  being 
  sustained 
  in 
  the 
  northern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Sfcate^ 
  

   the 
  fly 
  being 
  scarce 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  State. 
  

  

  As 
  regards 
  its 
  abundance 
  in 
  southeastern 
  Michigan 
  in 
  1878 
  and 
  1879,^ 
  

   Mr. 
  F. 
  S. 
  Sleeper, 
  of 
  Galesburg, 
  near 
  Kalamazoo, 
  writes 
  me 
  as 
  follows: 
  

  

  In 
  February, 
  1878, 
  I 
  noticed 
  what 
  was 
  to 
  me 
  something 
  new. 
  The 
  month 
  was 
  very 
  

   warm 
  and 
  spring-like. 
  For 
  nearly 
  three 
  week^ 
  the 
  temperature 
  did 
  not 
  reach 
  the 
  

   freezing 
  point. 
  About 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  month 
  I 
  noticed 
  many 
  flies 
  flying 
  over 
  the- 
  

   wheat 
  and 
  depositing 
  their 
  eggs, 
  but, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  could 
  see, 
  none 
  reached 
  the 
  "flax- 
  

   seed" 
  state. 
  I 
  have 
  several 
  times 
  noticed 
  the 
  fly 
  depositing 
  her 
  eggs 
  as 
  late 
  in 
  the 
  

   autumn 
  as 
  October 
  26. 
  

  

  Since 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1877 
  no 
  very 
  serious 
  damage 
  was 
  done 
  until 
  last 
  spring 
  (1879). 
  

   Then 
  the 
  fly 
  put 
  in 
  an 
  appearance. 
  On 
  the 
  26th 
  of 
  May, 
  above 
  one 
  field 
  of 
  wheat 
  the- 
  

   air 
  was 
  almost 
  black 
  with 
  them. 
  I 
  never 
  saw 
  such 
  a 
  sight 
  before. 
  I 
  had 
  fears 
  that 
  

   the 
  fall-sown 
  wheat 
  would 
  be 
  badly 
  damaged, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  so, 
  as 
  none 
  but 
  early-sown 
  

   wheat 
  is 
  damaged 
  in 
  the 
  least. 
  I 
  presume 
  it 
  is 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  September 
  was 
  

   cold, 
  80 
  that 
  probably 
  the 
  sudden 
  atmospheric 
  changes 
  destroyed 
  all 
  that 
  had 
  not 
  

   reached 
  the 
  pupa 
  state. 
  

  

  