92 



Warble Fly Pest. 



[Apr., 



namely, Extra No. 1, No. 1, or No. 2 seed. The Seed Purchasing 

 Commission was estabHshed in 1916, primarily to provide 

 emergency seed for the drought-stricken areas in the Prairie 

 Provinces, but gradually it extended its operations until at the 

 present time the quantity suppHed to Western Canada alone 

 runs into milKons of bushels a year. Car samples of wheat in 

 transit to Government elevators are sorted by Dominion seed 

 inspectors, and those which can be cleaned to seed grade without 

 serious dockage are treated accordingly. The seed inspectors 

 also supervise the re-cleaning and issue seed certificates 

 ex-elevator. Every car is sampled for germination tests to be 

 made at the Dominion seed laboratories, while purity tests 

 are made by the inspectors. The policy of providing an abundant 

 supply of superior seed wheat will, it is anticipated, result in 

 increasing the demand for the best quality only. 



Every farmer is familiar with the barrel-shaped maggots 

 often to be found in large numbers just under the skin on the 

 The Warble Fl ^^^^ks of cattle. These maggots are the 

 Pest • An Adt3 al ^^^^^ Warble Fly, and are the cause 



to 'Farmers enormous loss to farmers. The subject of 



this pest in cattle is engaging the attention 

 of a Scientific Committee appointed by the Ministry. Experi- 

 ments are in progress with a view to discover a remedy which 

 must be cheap, safe and easily obtainable to combat the ravages 

 of the Fly, and eventually to destroy the pest altogether. 

 The only reliable process which has been recommended 

 hitherto is that of " squeezing out " the warble maggots from 

 the backs of cattle during the season of greatest growth, but 

 this method of destruction is both lengthy and troublesome. 

 The Committee have devoted their time to the finding of a 

 satisfactory " dressing " which might be applied with safety 

 to affected cattle, and one has given results so promising that 

 it has been decided to invite farmers to try it as extensively 

 as possible, with a view to its recommendation for general use. 



The dressing is a wash, the principal ingredient of which is 

 a tobacco powder. This powder is steeped in water for 

 24 hours, the liquid strained through coarse muslin, and 

 applied with a cloth or brush to the backs of the cattle. The 

 wash should be pressed into the warbles. 



An infusion of 3 to 4 lb. of the powder, with 4 lb. of lime 

 added, in one gallon of water gives the best results. With a 

 wash compounded in this way it has been found possible to kill 



