STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
589 
which we sustain from these pests, immeasurably surpass everything of 
this kind to which they are subject in Europe. Insects which attract much 
public attention there, and are regarded as serious evils, would, in this 
country, be deemed scarcely worthy of notice, the damage they occa¬ 
sion is so trivial. There, if an insect appears in their wheat fields, by 
which the crop is shortened an eighth or a tenth from its average yield, 
whole communities become alarmed ; whilst here, so slight a loss would be 
disregarded and would pass wholly unnoticed. The self same insects, 
which there appear tame, and only occasionally show themselves as depre¬ 
dators, now in one district and then in another—these same insects, on 
passing across the Atlantic, appear to become armed with the club of Her¬ 
cules. On reaching our shores, they multiply;—they advance over our 
country like an invading army;—they utterly devastate the vegetation 
which they attack;—they continue their destructive work season after sea¬ 
son ;—and it is not till after a long series of years that they become per¬ 
fectly naturalized in our midst, and sink back into their appropriate sphere, 
so as afterwards to remain within the bounds which Nature appears to have 
designed they should occupy. Such at least has been the history of the 
Hessian fly, before mentioned—the insect with which we have had the most 
extended and full experience. Originally introduced into the town of 
Flatbush on the west end of Long Island, doubtless in some of tbe straw 
which they had used for packing their goods, by the Hessian troops which 
disembarked there the latter part of August, 1776, it two and three years 
afterwards became so multiplied as to destroy the fields of wheat in that 
town. And from thence as a central point it gradually spread, extending 
itself in every direction, till it penetrated the farthest bounds of our terri¬ 
tory where wheat was grown—inarching over our country like a triumphant 
conqueror—for several years devestating the wheat crop wherever it ar¬ 
rived, and afterwards repeatedly returning and renewing its ravages after 
it was hoped it had disappeared. But now, for many years, we have heard 
little of the Hessian fly, and it would scarcely be known that we had such 
an insect in our country. A person engaged in collecting insects, however, 
will every year meet with a few of these flies, in sweeping with his net in 
almost any of our wheat fields. Why does it never multiply now, and cut 
off our crops as it did formerly ? I doubt not it is because its insect ene¬ 
mies have now become so w'ell acquainted with it and so skillful in com¬ 
batting it, that if it begins to grow numerous in any district, they imme¬ 
diately multiply also, and thus overpower and suppress it. 
And what has been the European history of this same insect ? During 
the half century that it was committing such havoc upon this side of the 
Atlantic, no traces of any such insect were found in any part of Europe. 
And notwithstanding the manner in which it first appeared here, and 
gradually advanced over our country, plainly indicated that it had been 
introduced, yet the world with one conseut adopted the opinion that it 
was a native insect of this country, and that it did not exist elsewhere. It 
was not till the year 1833 that we had any evidence that this insect was 
