49 
the seed itself thereupon perishes; whilst in a rich soil, its vitality 
continues, and other shoots are sent forth by it, which grow vig- 
orously and unmolested. In the spring attack also, the weak and 
slender stalks growing upon a poor soil, are much more liable to 
become broken and fail of maturing any grain, than the large, 
robust, well nourished stalks of a fertile soil. Hence a rich soil 
enables a plant to elaborate a sufficient amount of fluids for its 
own sustenance, in addition to that which is abstracted from it by 
a few of these insects. We therefore regard this as a primary 
and indispensible measure and one which must accompany others 
next to be considered, in order to their full success. 
2. Lute sowing.—This measure also comes to us sanctioned by 
the almost unanimous recommendations of writers; and we regard 
it as one of the most efficient, as it certainly is the most facile of 
any that can be resorted to. It is universally admitted that it is 
the earliest sowed fields that are always the most infested; and we 
cannot but suspect that the present visit of this enemy to this sec- 
tion of the country, after so long an absence, has been invited by 
the general practice of early sowing, resorted to by our farmers 
under the probably incorrect idea of hereby escaping from the 
depredations of the wheat fly. Just before harvest, our attention 
was directed to two contiguous fields of wheat in the town of 
Stillwater, one of which was seriously injured by the Hessian fly, 
whilst in the other not a solitary straw broken by the insect could 
be found. The only cause to which this striking contrast could 
be imputed, was, that the latter field had been sowed a fortnight 
later than the former one. Analagous instances have often oc- 
curred to the notice of every observing person living in districts 
where the fly has been present. Such cases, however, must not 
be deemed to prove so much as they at first view appear to. It 
is not probable that the fly had entirely ceased from depositing its 
eggs before the second of the above fields had become forward 
enough for its purposes. Had the sowing of the first field been 
delayed a fortnight, both fields, it is probable, would have suffered 
equally. The whole injury that fell upon the first field, would 
thus haye been divided between it and its neighbor. And so in 
di 
