1881 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
57 
Warbles—The Ox Gad-Fly. 
The small lumps found along the backs of ' 
^cattle about which inquiries are made, are 
most likely to be due to the presence of the 
larvae or maggots of the Ox Gad-fly ( CEstrus 
bonis); at all events they should be carefully 
examined to ascertain if this is not the case. 
The genus CEstrus and its near relatives give 
much trouble to the farmer, one causes the 
“Grub in the Head” in sheep ; another is 
.the parent of the Horse Bot; the one in 
Fig. 1.— THE GAD-FLY (ENLARGED). 
^question produces Warbles, while others at¬ 
tack wild animals, such as deer; the camel 
and rhinoceros have their enemies among 
them, and some even attack man. The Ox 
Gad-fly is about the size of the common bee, 
.and is shown enlarged in figure 1. The fly, 
when about to deposit its egg, selects a place 
which the animal can not reach with its 
tongue, which is not far from the spine. 
The cattle seem to be aware that the insects 
are about to inflict some injury upon them, 
ns their buzzing throws the whole herd into 
Fig. 2.—A MAGGOT OK GRUB (ENLARGED). 
a state of terror, and oxen while in the yoke 
sometimes become uncontrollable. The egg 
soon hatches, and the young maggot eats its 
way into the skin of its host and there, being 
a foreign substance, causes a swelling in 
which an abundance of pus is formed ; upon 
.this the maggot subsists. The magnified 
grub is given in figure 2. As warm weather 
approaches the grub, and consequently the 
swelling,increases in size, and by midsummer, 
having completed its growth, it leaves its 
■cradle, drops to the ground, where it works 
its way beneath the surface and assumes the 
state of pupa. In about four weeks the per¬ 
fect gad-fly comes forth and soon commences 
the work of reproduction by laying eggs for 
a new crop of warbles. If every farmer 
would kill all the grubs found in his cattle 
^during winter, when they are most readily 
discovered, the number of these troublesome 
insects would be greatly diminished. As the 
grub must breathe, it is found near the sur¬ 
face, and a small hole is kept open to supply 
it. with air. Simply pressing the swelling 
between the thumb nails will force it out, or 
it inay be killed by piercing with a hot wire. 
Sick and I>is;il»Te«l Animals. —All 
diseased animals suffering should be separat¬ 
ed from the healthy ones, and have extra care, 
better feed,—in brief, “ good nursing.” If 
the animal is valuable—as all farm stock 
should be—and the trouble is not understood, 
it is best to promptly call in medical aid. 
Exterminating “ Nut-Grass,” which is not 
a Grass. 
“Nut Grass,” or “ Coco-Grass,” was recently 
sent as a “troublesome little grass,” for a 
name. This is, in some southern localities, 
the most troublesome weed with which the 
farmer has to contend, and when it has once 
gained possession, the land has often been 
abandoned in despair. The plant is not a true 
grass, that is, it does not belong to 
the Graminece, or Grass Family, 
but to the Sedge Family, which 
is as noted for the general lack 
of plants valuable to man as the 
Grass Family is for its general use¬ 
fulness. The botanical name of 
“ Nut-grass ” is Cyperus rotundus, 
variety Hydra. It is own brother 
to the more useful Cyperus 
esculentus, the Chufa, and, like 
that, has numerous small tubes at 
the. root. We refer to this now 
to call attention to eradicating 
it. Sometime ago we asked any 
who had successfully extirpated 
the weed to give their meth¬ 
ods. This brought out several 
statements of failures, but one or 
two claimed that they had cleared 
land of the weed by growing 
crops of Cow-peas for two, and if 
need be, three years in succession. 
From our knowledge of the dense 
matted mass of foliage of the 
Cow-peas, the method looks more promising 
than anything else that has been proposed, 
and we should suppose it would be impossible 
for any plant to survive a season’s smother¬ 
ing under it. We hope that those friends 
who have written so earnestly for us to help 
them in their fight with “ Nut-Grass,” will try 
the Cow-peas, and report in case of failure as 
well as success ; should the proposed remedy 
fail of complete success, they will find partial 
compensation in a crop of valuable fodder. 
Stag Horns—Stages of Growth. 
The male of the common American Deer 
(Cernus Virginianus ) sheds its horns every 
spring, and new ones start out and are full 
grown by August. The yearling has no true 
horns, though sometimes shows homy excres¬ 
cences. The horn produced the second year 
is small, nearly straight, and without antlers 
or branches. One is shown at the left of the 
engraving. The third year brings a branched 
horn, the fourth year adds one more branch, 
as does the fifth and sixth year. The engrav¬ 
ing shows the horns from the second through 
the seventh year. There is one less antler to 
the horn than the years of age. After the 
sixth year the age is estimated by the size and 
thickness of the horns. The length, curva¬ 
ture, etc., of the antlers vary somewhat, and 
often there is one more branch on one horn 
than on the other. The full grown horn of 
an old stag frequently weighs 20 to 24 pounds, 
and the whole is the growth of a few weeks. 
A Combined Harrow, Clod-Crusher, and 
Leveller. 
No other farm implement has been so 
greatly improved within the past few years 
as the harrow. From the simple “ drag,” as 
it is often called, a wooden frame with 
straight teeth, it is now an implement with 
many parts, adjustable to different kinds of 
work, and moreover provided with a seat, an 
appendage without which no implement of 
the kind can be expected to meet with favor 
among the ‘ ‘ progressive ” farmers. We gave 
early last year some account of the “ Acme” 
Pulverizing Harrow, which has of late been 
so modified as to greatly increase its useful¬ 
ness. As before, there is in front a levelling 
bar, to crush and grind down lumps and 
smooth uneven places, to aid in which work 
it has at the rear a row of steel teeth, which 
are of such a shape as to effectively cut up 
the soil. At the rear is another bar, which 
carries a series of steel coulters ; it is in the 
peculiar form of these that the chief im¬ 
provement consists. Each coulter is divided 
lengthwise, and the halves are of such a 
shape that the earth is pulverized and turned 
to bring it into the best possible condition to 
receive the seed. By means of a lever, the 
driver can raise or depress the coulters and 
thus regulate the depth of their w«rk. The 
construction is much less complicated than 
might be supposed from the engraving, as it 
is but a repetition of parts in themselves ex¬ 
ceedingly simple, and there are few moving 
parts to get out of order. On new lands in 
Dakota, Idaho, and other parts of the “Far 
West,” it has met with great acceptance as 
an implement to prepare newly broken sod, 
and it is claimed that its use will enable the 
farmer to raise a crop of wheat the first year 
of breaking. At the East, also, it has been 
used to the satisfaction of farmers of large 
experience in most of the older States. 
