20 
species which prey upon the wheat-fly ; and as all these parasites 
upon the Cecidomyie are more or less closely related to each other, 
they can probably be most advantageously presented in a separate 
article devoted exclusively to that subject. 
Four or more species are known abroad, which destroy the wheat- 
worm. One of these, it is stated in the first volume of the Edinburgh 
Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, deposits an egg beside an egg of 
the wheat-fly, the worm from which devours the wheat-worm soon 
afier it hatches, and thus effectually saves the wheat. The observa- 
tions of Mr. Shirreff upon another of these, cannot but interest the 
reader. He says, “Upon presenting four larve (of the wheat-fly) to 
an ichneumon, it soon stung, or, according to Mr. Kirby, deposited 
an egg in each of their bodies, and stung one of them a second time. 
“The maggot writhed in seeming agony, and straggled upon my 
thumb-nail, where it was again stung three times by the same fly ; 
and in a second struggle, both fell to the ground. 
ARTIFICIAL MEANS FOR ARRESTING ITS RAVAGES. 
These may be divided into two classes, as they refer to the 
protection of the grain from the fly when in its winged form and 
depositing its eggs; or as they are directed to the destruction of 
the fly itself, in the previous stages of its existence. 
Several measures have been proposed, and some of them with 
much confidence and plausibility of reasoning, for protecting the 
wheat crop from this insect during the period of its blossoming. 
The more prominent of these I will advert to. 
The smoke of a number of smouldering fires, or of brimstone 
matches, in different parts, and particularly upon the windward side 
of an infested field, has been recommended. The known efficacy 
of smoke in repelling the musketoe renders it probable that this 
remedy would be of signal utility, were it not for the discouraging 
amount of labor that is required to make so thorough and protracted 
a use of it as would be necessary. 
It has been suggested that the anal follicles of the skunk (Me- 
phitis americana, Desm.) might be extracted, and that yarn impreg- 
nated with the fluid contained in them, and suspended through 
wheat-fields, would, by its intolerable odor, banish the wheat-fly. 
I imagine that in carrying this suggestion into practice, the operator 
would be the greatest sufferer — “ unless my nose deceives me.” 
