26 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
vention greatly contribute to the general introduction 
.of this new branch of national industry, which promises 
so greatly to increase the prosperity and promote the 
welfare of the people of this State. 
5. Resolved, That this Convention cordially concur in 
the recommendation of his excellency the Governor, in 
his annual message to the present Legislature, that pub¬ 
lications upon Agriculture, Horticulture and Rural Eco¬ 
nomy, ought to constitute a part of every common school 
library. 
6. Resolved, That this Convention respectfully and 
earnestly recommend, that the Legislature make provi¬ 
sions for procuring and distributing the above named 
publications, and that the expense thereof be defrayed 
out of the fund appropriated for common school libra¬ 
ries. 
After some debate, in which several gentlemen took 
part, the three first resolutions were adopted, when the 
Convention adjourned till 4 P. M. on Wednesday. 
Wednesday, Feb. 6. 
The three last resolutions submitted yesterday, by 
Mr. Buel, were taken up, discussed, and adopted. 
Mr. Buel, from the committee appointed to propose 
business for the Convention, reported the following re¬ 
solutions. 
7. Resolved, That as agriculture is the great business 
of the state—whether we regard the numbers it employs, 
the magnitude of its products, or the wealth and com¬ 
fort which it confers—so it ought, at all times, to receive 
the peculiar and fostering care of the representatives of 
the people. 
8. Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention, 
agriculture has not hitherto received, from the people’s 
representatives, that stimulus to improvement which 
sound policy would justify, and which equal justice and 
the best interests of the state demand. 
9. Resolved, That the products of our soil may be 
vastly increased, our revenue augmented, the wealth and 
comfort of every class of our citizens promoted, and the 
character and prospects of our state elevated—by a ju¬ 
dicious and liberal appropriation of public moneys, to 
enlighten, to stimulate and to reward, that numerous 
portion of our fellow-citizens who are employed in the 
business of agriculture. 
10. Resolved, That an annual appropriation of twen¬ 
ty-five thousand dollars of public, moneys ought to be 
made, for a term of'years, to encourage improvements 
in agriculture; and that in the opinion of this Conven¬ 
tion it will return an annual interest to the treasury, and 
compound interest to the state. 
11. Resolved, That the general principles of the bill, 
to encourage agriculture, reported at the last session of 
the legislature, by the committee on agriculture, meet 
the views of this Convention, and that we respectfully 
request that those principles be adopted by the Legisla¬ 
ture now in session. 
12. Resolved, That the American Institute richly de¬ 
serves the fostering care and liberal patronage oftheLe- 
gislature, as an institution which has already done much 
good to the state, and which is eminently calculated to 
promote great and rapid improvement in the mechanic 
and manufacturing arts, and materially to aid in the 
improvement of agriculture. 
13. Resolved, That the offer of liberal rewards for 
the discovery of preventives to the depredations of the 
grain worm, weevil, Hessian fly, and other insect 
enemies, which prey upon and seriously injure our 
farm crops, while it might effect much good, by lead¬ 
ing to useful discoveries, could not result in loss to 
the state, inasmuch as the benefits of the discovery, if 
any should be made deserving of the rewards, would 
greatly overbalance their amount. 
14. Resolved, That the establishment of common 
school libraries will form an important era in our histo¬ 
ry, and is eminently calculated to advance us in the 
march of useful knowledge, to multiply our domestic 
and social comforts, and to elevate our character—pro¬ 
vided that judicious selections of books are made for 
such libraries—adapted to the capacities and understand¬ 
ings of those whom they are designed to benefit, to the 
wants and improvement of the various branches ofpro- 
ductive industry, and to the promotion of industrious 
and moral habits In the rising generation -and that in 
this view of the subject, the appointment of a competent 
board to prepare, or cause to be prepared, a selection 
of books for common school libraries, by the Legislature, 
at least so far as the public moneys are to be applied to 
this object, is called for by the highest considerations of 
public usefulness. 
After some discussion, the above resolutions were se¬ 
verally adopted, except the 13th; for which Mr. Clark, 
of Washington, offered the following substitute, which 
was adopted in its stead. 
Whereas, the growing of wheat is a business of great 
importance, not only to the agricultural but also to the 
mercantile, manufacturing, commercial and financial in¬ 
terests of this state:— And whereas, the eastern and nor¬ 
thern portions of the state have, for some^ years past, 
been visited by the ravages of insects which have de¬ 
stroyed the crops therein, and reduced the farming, in¬ 
terests thereof to dependence on their western neigh¬ 
bors for their supplies of flour: — dndivhereas, this Con¬ 
vention view with alarm, the rapid spread of this evil 
towards the fine wheat districts of the west:— 
Therefore, in hopes to stop the progress of this scourge 
in our land, this Convention do most earnestly and con¬ 
fidently call upon and request the legislature now. in 
session, to authorize the governor or some other suita¬ 
ble person or persons, to offer a reward to any person or 
persons who shall discover and make public any remedy 
for preventing or counteracting the effects of these in¬ 
sects. Such bounty to be paid out of the treasury of 
this State. 
And whereas, also, a knowledge of the character and 
habits of these insects may lead to the discovery of a 
course of husbandry which may avoid the deleterious 
effects of the labors of these insects, 
Therefore, this Convention do also request that the 
Governor may be further authorized and required to of¬ 
fer a reward for the best treatise on the habits, charac¬ 
ter and nature of these insects. Such treatise to be sub¬ 
mitted to and determined by a board for that purpose to 
be appointed. 
Gen. Clark offered the following resolution, which 
was adopted, and Messrs. J. B. Wakeman of New-York, 
C. Bergen and Gen. Johnson of Kings, P. Potter of 
Dutchess, J. J. Viele of Rensselaer, and A. Van Bergen 
of Greene, were appointed a committee to prepare the 
report. 
Resolved, That a committee of six members of this 
Convention be appointed to prepare a Report on the fu¬ 
ture prospects of Agriculture, Manufactures and the 
Mechanic Arts in this State, to he illustrated by such 
statistics as the committee may deem appropriate, and 
that the Report, when completed, be published in the 
Cultivator, the Genesee Farmer, and the Journal of the 
American Institute. 
Mr. Walsh of Rensselaer, offered the following reso¬ 
lution, which was adopted, and the committee appointed 
thereon were Messrs. Duane of Schenectady, Sacket of 
Seneca, Strong of Monroe, Allen of Erie, and- Clark of 
Washington. 
Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to 
confer with tbe members of our Legislature on the ex¬ 
pediency of making an appropriation of public moneys 
in aid of the.improvement of our husbandry. 
On motion of Mr. Fry of Montgomery, 
Resolved, That this Convention recommend the hold¬ 
ing of a State Agricultural Convention, in the Capitol, 
in the city of Albany, on the first Tuesday of February, 
1840. 
On motion of Mr. Buel, 
Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention are 
due to Charles L. Fleishman, for his communication 
made to them, of his memorials to Congress, on the sub¬ 
ject of a National Agricultural School, and on the histo¬ 
ry and improvements in the Beet Sugar business; and 
that a memorial to Congress, expressive of the desire 
of this Convention to favor the establishment of a Na¬ 
tional Agricultural School, from a portion of the Smith¬ 
sonian legacy, he drawn up and signed by the officers of 
this Convention. 
On motion of Mr. Allen, 
Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention be 
given to the presiding officers and Secretaries, for their 
dignified and able discharge of the duties imposed upon 
them. 
On motion of Mr. Youngs, of Tompkins, 
Resolved, That Messrs. Buel, Cheever and Bement be 
appointed a committee for the express purpose of con¬ 
ferring with the Agricultural Committee of both Houses 
of the Legislature, upon the subject of the proposed re¬ 
ward, in relation to the wheat insect. 
The Convention then adjourned sine die. 
During the last day’s meeting, a report was read by 
Mr. Buel, on the subject of the grain worm, and another 
report, by Judge Cheever, upon the improvement of 
common roads. 
The gentlemen who principally participated in the 
discussions upon the adoption of the resolutions, were 
Messrs. Culver, Clark and Richards of Washington, 
Mack of Tompkins, Allen of Erie, Tiffany of Mont¬ 
gomery, Potter of Dutchess, Buel of Albany, Viele of 
Rensselaer, and Young of Tompkins. 
Report on the Craiin-Worm. 
The committee designated at the last State Agricultural Con¬ 
vention, to continue the investigation in regard to the 
grain worm, report— 
That since the last meeting it has been discovered, that 
there are two species of insects which depredate upon the 
wheat crop, viz. the Cecydomia tritici of Kirby, a yellow and 
apparently inert insect, not to exceed one eighth of an inch in 
length, and an unnamed creeping thing, three eighths of an 
inch long, The first, which was noticed in last year’s report, 
preys only upon the grain in its milky state, or upon the pol¬ 
len of the grain; the latter is said to prey upon the ripened 
grain, and to be found among it in great quantities when 
passed through the fanning mill. The first appeared ten to 
twelve years ago, near the borders of Canada, and has been 
extending annually since, east, west, north and south. The 
latter has been seen occasionally for several years, and dur¬ 
ing the last year has been found in great numbers in the wheat 
crops of West New-York and Northern Pennsylvania. The 
former is believed to be far the most injurious. The two in¬ 
sects have been so coniounded, in the accounts of their de¬ 
predations, that it is difficult to discriminate, or to determine 
the extent to which each has spread among us. 
In their former report upon the grain-worm the committee 
quoted fom Kirby, the entomologist, that the inseet first makes 
its appearance “under the form of an orange coloured gnat, 
which introducing its long retractile ovipositor into the centre 
of the corolla, there deposits its eggs. These being hatched, 
the larvae, perhaps by eating the pollen, prevent the impreg¬ 
nation of the grain, &c.” and the committee added, on the 
authority of Prof. Low, that the progeny feed upon the young 
grain; that they are very small, from two to fourteen being 
sometimes found in one grain; and are distinguished by being 
of a bright orange colour; that they do not extend beyond the 
grain in which they are bom; that the larvae, after a period, 
fall down to the earth, m which they burrow, and remain 
there until the following summer when they ascend from the 
earth in the form of the beautiful fly, or gnat, which has been 
mentioned. The committee will make a further quotation in 
regard to the habits and depredations of the Cecydomia tritici 
from the recent edition of Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Agri¬ 
culture. 
“ The wheat-fly generally makes its appearance about the 
end of June; and according to the evidence of Mr. Sheriff 
they exist about thirty-nine days. The hue of the fly is 
orange, the wings transparent, and changing colour according 
to the light in which they are viewed. It lays its eggs with¬ 
in the glumes of the florets, m clusters varying from two to 
ten, or even to fifteen, and the larvae feed upon the grain. 
They are produced from eggs in the course of eight or ten 
days; they are first perfectly transparent, and assume a yel¬ 
low colour a few days afterwards; they travel not from one 
floret to another, and forty-seven have been numbered in one. 
Occasionally there are found in the same floret, larvae and a 
grain which is shrivelled, as if deprived of nourishment; and 
although the pollen may furnish the larvae with food in the 
first instance, they soon crowd around the lower part of the 
germen, and subsist, in all probability, on the matter destin¬ 
ed to form the grain. Mr. Gorrie estimates the loss sustained 
by the farming interests, in the carse of Gowry district alone, 
by the wheat-fly, at £20,000 in 1827; at £30,000 in 1828; 
and at £36,000 in 1829.” 
Such as above described is precisely the appearance of the 
fly, ofits larvas, and ofits habits and depredations, thathaveful- 
len under our observation; and although your committee think 
it lias extended as far west as the Genesee valley, they are 
in doubt whether it lias been there identified-as the wheat 
destroyer. So far as our observation has extended, the in¬ 
sect is but seldom found in the wheat ear at harvest. The 
chairman sowed a sample of early May wheat, received from 
Gen. Cock, of Virginia, late last fall, and another early this 
spring. He watched it daily and narrowly on its coming into 
head. The small fly or gnat was seen in great numbers up¬ 
on it beforeand after sunset. The heads were filled with larva;, 
hardly a kernel in fifty escaped; and yet, on gathering a 
bundle of the straw’ at maturity, there was hardly foundAn 
insect remaining in the wheat heads. 
The committee are happy to be able to confirm, in a mea¬ 
sure, the truth of the intimation given in their last report, 
viz. that late sown spring wheat will escape the ravages of 
the worm. By late sowing they mean from and after the 
20th May at Albany—earlier at the south, and later at the 
north, according to latitude and altitude, or the forwardness 
of spring vegetation. They give the following in proof of the 
correctness of this conclusion. 
All wheat sown before the tenth of May, that came under 
their observation last summer, was more or less injured by th* 
worm. All that was sown after the 20th of May escaped its 
ravages. Of that which was sown between the 10th and the 
20th, some escaped injury, and some was considerably injured. 
One of the commit tee sowed Italian and tea wheat on the 16th. 
The fly was seen upon it for a few days after it came into 
head; though no material injury to the crop was perceptible. 
An excellent and observL'a farmerin Wallingford, Vt. near¬ 
ly 100 miles north of Albany, sowed parcels severally on the 
25tli of April, on the 19th and on the 25th May. The first 
sown was virtually destroyed by the worm; the second par¬ 
tially so; while that sown on the 25th May entirely escaped, 
and was a fullcVop. 
The committee will close their report by quoting from a 
letter to one of them, from an intelligent Scotch farmer, Mr. 
Robert Forsyth, residing at Champlain, the northern town in 
our state, who seems to he an accurately observing man. 
“1833. Sowed my wheat the 7th of April, the first season 
the worm was discovered in this part. 
“1834. Sowed on the 15th April. The worm destroyed 
more than they did last year. 
“1835. Sowed the 7th May. Wheat all destroyed by the 
worm. Some farmers in the neighborhood burnt their straw 
on the ground. Reserved an acre and a half, which 1 did not 
sow till the 24th of May; which gave a good crop—no worms. 
“1836 and 1837. Sowed both years on the 24th of May— 
no worms. 
“1838. Sowed on the 14th and 15th of May. A few worms 
observed. AH wheat that 1 examined this season, had worms, 
less or more, in it, some half destroyed. Since 18331 have exa¬ 
mined every patch of wheat in the neighborhood, and some 
in the adjoining towns, and every patch sown before the 18th 
May had more or less worms—all sown about the 1st of May, 
very much destroyed. I have found the same worm in bar¬ 
ley, oats and rye, and in herdsgrass (timothy) also. 
“In June, 1834, as the ear began to form in the blade, I 
opened a number every day. I began to do so on a Monday, 
but I did not note the day of the month, which I think is of 
no consequence. 
“For the first seven days, I could observe nothing in the 
heads prognosticating the worm. 
“Monday the 8th day of observation. The ears nearly all 
out of the blade—observed nothing. _ 
“Tuesday and Wednesday—nothing. 
“Thursday. I thought I observed something like a small 
speck of fluid matter on some of the grains in the ear. 
“ Friday. The matter was more visible. 
“Saturday. It was very plain to be seen. 
“Sabbath day. Appeared yellow, but still a fluid matter. 
“Monday. Appearance much as yesterday. 
“Tuesday. The matter appeared more thick—colour yel¬ 
low. 
“Wednesday. It appeared like worms, but not very plain. 
“Thursday. Perfect worms as I have ever seen since. 1 
counted nine in one grain, and seventy in one ear.” 
Mr. Forsyth concludes his letter by saying, that the worm 
falls from the ear to the ground, and comes forth next season 
a fly, as he never could find any of the worms in the ear after 
the wheat was ripe. J. BUEL, Chairman. 
Report of the Committee on Common Roads. 
The committee, appointed at the last State Agricultural Con¬ 
vention, upon the subject of improving our public high¬ 
ways, respectfully report: - 
That amongst the various improvements which have been 
carried forward in this state, that of improving our public 
highways, has been much overlooked. T here are some rea¬ 
sons why this is not much to be regrelted. Had their im¬ 
provement been extensively entered upon, before the con¬ 
struction of our canals or our rail-roads, it is probable that 
much money would have been expended, which the construc¬ 
tion of these works would, to a considerable extent, have 
rendered unnecessary. For instance, had a McAdam road 
been made from Albany to Buffalo, to carry freight, as is the 
case over many parts of England, the construction of the Erie 
