THE ENTOMOLOGIST'S 
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
No. 3.] SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 1856. [Price U . 
AGRICULTURE AND ENTOMOLOGY.— 
THE WHEAT CROP. 
Considerable alarm has been excited 
with respect to the safety of the growing 
wheat-crop : from various quarters we 
hear reports that it is attacked by some 
mysterious insect foe. Unfortunately for 
agriculture the new enemy belongs to 
that order of insects called Diptera, and 
the number of entomologists who attend 
to and study that order is not numerous: 
hence the Diptera are very little known ; 
their transformations, their habits, &c., 
are all matters yet to be investigated : 
had the insect which is attacking the 
wheat been Lepidopterous or Coleopterous, 
some twenty persons would probably 
have been ready at once to come forward 
and pronounce what the species was, 
what its habits were, and how its increase 
was to be checked : but still, unless some 
of these entomologists had themselves 
been practical agriculturists, it is highly 
probable that the remedies they would 
have recommended would not have been 
cordially followed out by the farmer. 
An agriculturist, knowing nothing of 
Entomology, thinks that if he is annoyed 
by some new “ vermin ” he has only to 
apply to some Professor of Entomology 
to be at once told the best way to get rid 
of his foe : but this is not the mode to go 
work; those enterprising agriculturists 
who know how much the safety of their 
crops depends upon the absence of the 
ravages of the insect hosts, and who 
know that ‘ Knowledge is Power,’ will 
set themselves to work to obtain a practi- 
cal knowledge of Entomology, in order 
that, when they find their wheat or any 
other crop affected, they may themselves 
be able to discover the cause of the in- 
jury, and apply the proper remedy. The 
entomological agriculturist who himself 
lives on the spot, and sees the smitten 
crops day after day, will be far better 
able to cure the disease (if the disease be 
a curable one) than the cleverest agri- 
culturist knowing nothing of Entomo- 
logy would be capable of doing, even 
after consulting the cleverest entomolo- 
gist who knows nothing of agriculture. 
It is a most necessary part of the edu- 
cation of the agriculturist that he should 
be well acquainted with Entomology, 
and know his friends from his foes. 
Some assume that all insects are hostile, 
and are to be indiscriminately destroyed, 
about as sane a proceeding as though an 
ignoramus were to pluck up his crop as 
soon as it appeared above ground, under 
the impression that what was then 
making its appearance was only weeds. 
We can hardly imagine that any one 
could possibly be so ignorant as this; 
but is the ignorance of those who destroy 
their insect friends one iota greater? 
This subject is one of great importance, 
