346 
[Assembl? 
here and there in the field, withered and changed to a light yellow 
color, (fig. A. f), strongly contrasting with the rich green of the 
vigorous uninjured plants, (fig. A. *). The frost or some other 
casualty may cause the ends of some of the other leaves to be of a 
pale yellow color, but here the whole plant is of that hue; and 
where a field is badly infested this yellow “sickly” aspect is per¬ 
ceptible from a distance. On examining the withered plants, the 
worm, or flax seed if it has advanced to that stage, can be readily 
found. It is situated a short distance below the surface of the earth, 
at the crown of the root, (fig. A. One or two radical leaves 
start from this point, their bases forming a cylindrical sheath around 
the central or main shoot, which as yet is but in its infancy. It is 
within this sheath, at its base, that the worms repose, one, two, 
three, or more, and by imbibing the nutricious juices of the young 
shoot, cause it to wither and die. The mechanical pressure of the 
larvae, so frequently spoken of as impeding the circulation of the 
fluids of the plant, and hereby causing it to perish, I think has had too 
much importance assigned to it, the young plants being so soft and 
pliant that they would readily accommodate themselves to this pres¬ 
sure, if they received no molestation beyond this. 
Is the crop ever benejitted by it ?—The vigor and luxuriance of 
the uninjured shoots from the same root, contrasts so strongly with 
the wilted and feeble appearance of those attacked by the worm, as 
to have led some to believe that the unaffected shoots were stimu¬ 
lated to a more rapid and robust growth in consequence of the prun¬ 
ing given by the fly ; and that a belter crop is thus sometimes pro¬ 
duced, by the presence of a moderate number of these worms among 
the wheat plants. The correctness of this opinion we very much 
doubt. The worm is nourished and reared upon those very fluids 
that are absorbed by the plant and elaborated for its own sustenance 
and growth. Every particle of this nutricious juice, therefore, that 
is consumed by the worm, is a direct loss of just so much material 
that would otherwise become straw and grain. At all events, we 
think our farmers generally will prefer that nature should ba left to 
her own undisturbed course in rearing their wheat plants, and will 
be by no means solicitous to have this renowned guest take any part 
in the operation. 
