REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST 1901 723 



Preventive and remedial measures. Late solving. One of the 

 most important preventive measures is to delay sowing till after 

 the adult flies have deposited their quota of eggs and perished. 

 In New York this means delaying sowing as a rule till Septem- 

 ber 20 or a little later. A preceding paragraph gives more 

 specific directions for the determination of the date when wheat 

 may be safely sown in different latitudes and at varying alti- 

 tudes. The difference in latitude in New York is relatively 

 •slight but altitude has considerable influence on the period when 

 wheat may be sown with safety. The experiences of 1900 and 

 1901 have demonstrated anew the destructive powers of this pest 

 -and as many of the holdings in western New York are exceed- 

 ingly small and the fields of wheat so near one another that it is 

 very easy for the flies to make their way from one to the other, 

 the delaying in the date of sowing is of itself not sufficient to 

 guaranty immunity from the ravages of this insect. 



Resistant varieties. There is probably no such thing as abso- 

 lutely fly proof wheat but experience has shown that the 

 varieties known as no. 8, Dawson's golden chaff, White chaff, 

 Mediterranean, red Russian, prosperity and democrat have 

 withstood the attack of the Hessian fly very successfully 

 in western New York, even when the beardless, weak-stemmed 

 white wheat known as no. 6 was very seriously injured 

 and sometimes totally destroyed. Some of the varieties badly 

 affected by the fly are better yielders than the above but 

 the only safe way is to sow one which is able to resist attack 

 to a considerable extent. It is very remarkable that while 

 Dawson's golden chaff was so free from injury in the Empire 

 state, it sustained much harm last spring in Canada, its native 

 home. 



Good culture. Thorough culture counts for very much when 

 trying to grow a good crop of wheat. The field should be 

 thoroughly prepared and the land gotten into excellent con- 

 dition before it is considered fit for the crop. An endeavor 

 should be made to get a growth of firm straw and to produce 

 ;plants vigorous enough so that if attacked they will tiller 



