THE CULTIVATOR. 
97 
THE ENEMIES AND DISEASES OF WHEAT. 
Messes. Ebitoks— In a former paper I gave you some 
of my opinions on the proper culture of wheat, and the 
result of some experiments I had instituted in reference 
to that subject; and with your leave I will now offer 
some remarks on the enemies and the diseases to which 
this crop is liable. 
So far as regards the enemies of wheat, we are all 
sadly in the dark. Names and insects are confounded in 
different parts of the country; and the characters of our 
insect depredators have not received that attention from 
men of science necessary to the proper elucidation of 
their history, or their proper place and classification. 
Let us hope that the forthcoming entomological section 
<,f the survey of this state will remedy this evil, and give 
ne farmer’, who is more interested in a correct know- 
edge of insects than any other man, the knowledge so 
essential to protecting their crops from such ravagers. 
Perhaps the insect which produces the most extended 
injury to wheat in the United States, is the Hessian Fly. 
As this insect made its appearance on Long Island, or 
first attracted notice, while the British or German troops 
occupied that place during the revolution, it was natu¬ 
rally supposed that it had accompanied the invaders, al¬ 
though it seems still doubtful whether the Hessian fly, 
or what we term such, is now found in Germany. The 
family or genus Tipulee to which this insect belongs, is 
very numerous, and it is probable there is more than one 
species whose habits and destructive tendencies are simi¬ 
lar. The fly deposits its eggs at the base of the leaves 
near the surface of the earth, and when developed the 
larvte preys on the stem, exhausting itof its juices, weak¬ 
ening the stalk, and where they are numerous causing it 
to break off near the root, or fall down, by which it is 
lost. It would be useless for me to enter upon a history 
of the various conjectures which have been started with 
reference to the manner in which its eggs are deposited 
and the changes it undergoes. The farmer more com¬ 
monly sees it in the chrysalis state, in which it resem¬ 
bles a pale flaxseed in size and color, and this is usually 
its state at harvest time. This fact, connected with oth¬ 
ers, would seem to prove that two crops of insects are 
sometimes, or indeed generally produced, where wheat 
is much damaged; one, the eggs of which are laid in the 
autumn sown wheat and pass the winter in the chrysalis 
state, and the other from eggs laid in the wheat in May 
or June, by insects produced from the aforesaid chrysa¬ 
lis. These in their turn become perfect insects in sea¬ 
son to perpetuate their race and their mischief on the fall 
grain. I have never known any good results arise from 
experiments on wheat after it is once attacked; all use¬ 
ful measures must be preventive. In the first place all 
stubble in which the fly is known to exist should be 
plowed under, and as deep as possible, as soon as the 
crop is taken from the ground. In this way the greater 
part will be destroyed, and further attacks mostly be pre¬ 
vented. As the period of the perfect insect is but a few 
days, the seeding of the fall sown wheat should be de¬ 
layed in those districts where the fly has prevailed, until 
that period is over. I have always observed in years 
when the fly was found at all, that the earliest sown 
wheat was the most damaged; and at times a field of 
wheat sown in August has been greatly damaged, while 
one put in the middle of September wholly escaped. 
There is, however, a serious obstacle to sowing wheat 
too late, and that is the danger of freezing' out in our hard 
winters, owing to uts being imperfectly rooted; conse¬ 
quently late sowing should never he practiced unless the 
danger of the fly is such as to justify the risk. Experi¬ 
ence shows that some wheats are less liable to injury 
than others, and such are those having hard stiff stems, 
as the Black sea and the Mediterranean; but I believe 
more is depending on the time of sowing than anj^ thing 
else. As a general rule, if the wheat is attacked to any 
extent in the fall, a poor crop may be expected, as in 
such cases they rarely fail of appearing in multiplied 
numbers in the summer. 
The Wheat Worm, which has been so destructive in 
the eastern part of New-York and in the New England 
states, as for a time almost to put a stop to the culture of 
wheat, has not prevailed to any extent in Western New- 
York. I have for years observed a few of them, and 
long before they had attracted general notice, a friend 
stated that in clearing up about a hundred bushels of 
wheat, he found, much to his surprise, nearly a bushel of 
the wheat worm was collected. The next year, he had 
none in his wheat, and I have observed this result in my 
own wheat frequently. As the parent of the wheat 
worm is a fly, and the egg is deposited in the ear or the 
Iceinel ivhile soft, and as its range of existence as a per¬ 
fect insect is limited, it would seem probable that any 
application which should render the growing wheat dis¬ 
agreeable to the fly, or the air unfit for its respiration 
would drive it from the wheat. A number of instances 
are on record in which sprinkling caustic lime over a 
field when the dew was on, saved it from the worm, but 
the lime must be recently slaked, so as to be in the form 
of an impalpable powder, and it should be applied in sea¬ 
son, or before the wheat ear is attacked, or little good 
will be done. All flies are extremely averse to smoke, 
and as the fly is most active in depositing its eggs about 
sundown, making smokes on the windward side of wheat 
fields was resorted to by some farmers with benefit, as 
the smoke floating over and among the wheat compelled 
the insect to change its quarters without delay. All pun¬ 
gent or offensive odors have the same result, as the 
smoke of sulphur, or the stench of the skunk, which last 
I can readily believe would give them their quietus. 
Late sowing of spring wheat was found the most sure 
preventive during the prevalence of this pest, as it did 
not show the ears until the time of the fly was over; but 
it was found that such wheat was more liable to be af¬ 
fected by blight than earlier sown crops. It may be 
considered a fortunate event for the world, that all these 
various depredators on farm products do not usually ex¬ 
ert their destructive energies for any considerable time; 
but owing to causes which we cannot explain, seem to 
perform their mission of devastation and pass away, per¬ 
haps not to be heard from again in the same way, for 
years. 
The Weevil does not attack wheat in the field, but on¬ 
ly in granaries or in stacks. It is rarely found in the 
north, though extremely troublesome at the south and 
in all warm climates. The wheat worm was frequently 
called the weevil, but the parent of the one is a fly, of 
the other a bug, and it should be remembered that all 
weevils or cueulios, are bugs, and never flies. Last sum¬ 
mer I received from the south a parcel of the Mediter¬ 
ranean wheat, and when I opened it for sowing, I found 
that it was much damaged by the weevil. As an experi¬ 
ment, I picked out a few of the weevil, and with some 
good sound wheat, placed them in a vial closely stopped, 
wrapped in thick paper so as to make it dark and put it 
away. Opening it for examination a few days since, I 
found they had been very industrious, a large portion of 
the kernels having been perforated and all the flour eat¬ 
en out. Some of the bugs appeared to be dead, but as 
they always on the least disturbance feign death, I am 
unable to say whether they were actually defunct, or on¬ 
ly “ playing possum.” The parent weevil deposits its 
eggs in the kernels while in the granary, and the de¬ 
struction they frequently cause is immense. A series of 
experiments to determine the best method of preventing 
the injury it occasions, has been carried on by the French 
Institute, and it was found that frequent stirring the grain 
succeeded the best. In all warm countries the difficulty 
of preserving wheat from the weevil is one of the most 
serious drawbacks on its culture. Barley is also a fa¬ 
vorite grain with the weevil. 
There is another insect which sometimes causes much 
loss to the wheat grower, though its ravages are mostly 
confined to warmer climates than ours. It belongs to 
the moths or millers, as tbej' are commonly called, and 
I think is by Linnieus called Tinella granella. It is one 
of the smallest of moths, and deposits its eggs in the 
growing grain, much after the manner of the wheat 
worm fly. The larvae feed on the inside of the kernel 
until it is ready to undergo transformation, or does un¬ 
dergo it, and emerges a perfect insect. This moth also 
attacks Indian corn at the South, and is there improperly 
called the corn weevil. I have seen this moth in ■wheat 
brought from the southern states, and from Texas, in 
the ear, and the perfect insect was developed after its 
arrival in this state. The same fact I have also observed 
in some corn brought in the ear from the Gulf states. It 
seemed as though nearly every kernel had been jierfora- 
ted, and produced its moth. At the North I have wit¬ 
nessed its presence but once. This was some 20 years 
since, in a specimen of new wheat at a mill, where ma¬ 
ny of the kernels were bored, and while in some the 
worm was still within, in others the moth was escaping. 
It may be more common, but I have not seen it; and 
I believe that at the South where it is most destructive, 
no means of prevention are known. 
Wheat in this country is liable to diseases, but there are 
none which occasion much loss to the wheat grower, 
smut and mildew excepted. When western New-York 
was first settled, nearly all the wheat grown, and particu¬ 
larly on any other than oak lands, was very smutty, and 
washing it, to render it fit for eating, was a common 
though tedious operation. Where smutty wheat was 
grown and ground, the flour had a dark color and a 
most offensive smell. With the progress of cultivation, 
the evil decreased, but there were few years in which 
more or less smutty wheat was not produced, and even 
now enough of it is found to render smut machines in 
flouring mills necessary. There is no excuse for grow¬ 
ing smutty wheat, and our best farmers have excluded it 
from their premises. Nearly 30 years since, the prac¬ 
tice of brining and liming wheat was introduced into the 
vicinity of Cayuga lake, and the purity and freedom from 
smut thus occasioned, caused a great demand for Cayuga 
wheat for seed in the neighboring counties. The prac¬ 
tice has spread until now few farmers, who are worthy 
of the name, will sow seed wheat until it has been brined 
or limed, and where this operation is properly performed, 
perfect exemption from smut may be considered as cer¬ 
tain. Smut is unquestionably an infectious disease. The 
best and purest wheat in the w’orld, if mixed with, smut, 
or transported in bags used for carrying smutty wheat, 
will produee smutty grain ; and some instances have come 
under my notice, in which the effect ])roduced bj- smutty 
wheat seemed to remain for years in tlie ground. Five 
years since, I sowed a small quantity of wheat on one 
side of a field. It was a new kind, and I supposed it 
pure, but while sowing it I observed some smutted ker¬ 
nels. At harvest it was as smutty a piece of wheat as one 
would wisa to see. Last year I took another crop of 
wheat from the same field, and as the seed was fine, dis¬ 
pensed with the use of lime. .At harvest, as before, the 
wheat on this part of the field was very smutty, and by 
its presence the boundaries of the first smutty part of the 
crop, could be easily traced. I know of no difference in 
the quality of the soil, sufficient to account for this fact. 
Smut is a great nuisance in a wheat crop, and as it may 
easily be kept from doing injury, no farmer should neg¬ 
lect the proper precautions. There are many substances 
that will destroy the vitalitj'’ of this fungus, sucli as a 
steep of blue vitriol, an arseniacal solution, &c., but the 
cheapest and best mode of treatment, is a wash of strong 
brine, and then drying with caustic lime. 
Mildew, rust, blight, are only different names of the 
same thing, a disease of wheat which it is believed cau¬ 
ses more actual loss to the wheat growers of the United 
States, than all other causes combined. There is rarely 
a year in which some districts do not suffer from it, and 
in some years it is general throughout the country to a 
greater or less degree. In 1842, the wheat crop of 
western New-York was reduced more than two millions 
of bushels by this cause alone. In fact, very few sam¬ 
ples of wheat can be produced which do not show the 
influence of this injury. Rust is perhaps the most com¬ 
mon name of the disease, as the red color of the stem is 
one of the first things that attracts notice with the ordi- 
narj’ observer; but to the practiced eye, there is a pecu¬ 
liar hue to every field attacketl,which announces with cer- 
taintj’ the presence of the disease, as far as the grain can 
be fairly distinguished by the eye. It is as different 
from the fine bright hue of sound grain, as is the dark, 
sunken, cadaverous countenance from that of perfect 
health. 
What is rust, or rather what is the canse of rust? is one 
of the most important questions that can be proposed by 
the farmer for solution. He has a beautiful field of 
wheat; it has stood the winter well, the growth is fine, 
the ears have shot up to their full height, it has blos¬ 
somed, and the berry is fast forming, and every thing 
promises a bountiful crop. Suddenly a change comes 
over the field. Its healthy hue is gone, it looks dark and 
sickly. On examination he finds the skin of the stems 
checked, split, and broken in a thousand places; at first 
a clear gummy matter exudes from the straw, but it soon 
on exposure to the air, becomes dark and hard. In a few 
ho’ars a red rust is apparent on all the places where the 
straw is split, or the skin broken, which is easily washed 
or rubbed off It is soon apparent that the wheat has re¬ 
ceived a serious if not a fatal injury. The stalk does not 
ripen, but remains of a dull green color, and the berry 
ceases to fill. New exudations fake place from the stem 
so Jong as the circulation remains, and new coverings of 
rust show themselves, as the first are washed off by rains, 
or blown away. The stalk and the berry instead of ri¬ 
pening, dry up, shrink, and are comparatively worthless. 
This description I have drawn fiom my own observa¬ 
tions on my own crops. In one year I have had fields 
of from 16 to 20 acres so destroyed as harilly to pay for 
the harvesting; and many farmers in western New-York 
have the past year found themselves in a similar situation. 
Rust has been attributed to honey dew, to insects, (o 
the barberry, and indeed to almost every thing which by 
any possibility could injure wheat; but I believe facts 
will show that atmospheric causes acting with energy 
while the grain is in a peculiar condition, is the true ori¬ 
gin of tills great evil. Observations of the manner in 
which this disease attacks wheat, made during many 
years, have shown me that the following conditions must 
be present to produce rust in wheat. The weather must 
be warm at the time of, or immediately preceding the 
attack; there must be an abundant supply of moisture 
from showers, dews, or both; the plants must be in that 
state of their growth when their circulation and growth 
is most active, and the change in their juices preparing 
matter for the berry most rapid. These conditions f 
have never known absent; there are others which fre¬ 
quently accompany, or indeed seem to invite the atfack 
of blight. Thus wheat heavily manured with fresh dung, 
is ver}’ liable to rust; as is that which is late in the sea¬ 
son in coming to maturily. In short, I have never known 
wheat to blight, except under circumstances calculated 
to force its growth prematurely; or by having its matu¬ 
rity deldyed too long for the perfection of that process. 
The history of blight, appears to me to be somewhat like 
this. The accompanying heat and moisture force a large 
quantity pf juices into the plant, the power of which is 
more active at this juncture than at any other time, as is 
proved by its making immediately previous, or while 
earing, a greater growth in one week, than in any other 
month of its life. During the process of conversion into 
starch, and while in the state of fluid gum, and while 
every vessel is distended with these juices, the cuticle or 
skin is softened and weakened by moisture, anti finally 
gives way under the pressure from within. That the 
stem of wheat, grass, &e. is softenetl and weakened by 
rain, is obvious to every farmer, and the skin in that 
state gives way readilj'. The juices, half elaborated, es¬ 
cape from the stalk through these openings, clear at first, 
but soon becoming dark and hard. While in this soft 
state, it becomes a suitable nidus for the fungus peculiar 
to wheat, which fixes on it, and in a few hours matures 
i(s sporules or minute seeds, which being red, or like 
iron rust, g-lve the name of rust to this disease of the wheat 
plant. In this state of things, it is as imsmssible for the 
plant to properly mature, as it would be for an animal lo 
exist deprived of the chyle as it was elaborated in the 
stomach, or the blood after it had formed. The onlv 
way to cheek the escape of this juice from the plant, is 
to cut off at once the accession of more fluid from the 
roots, and this is done by cutting the grain. This done 
a partial circulation will exist in the stalk for a limiteci 
time, and what juice the berry receives will be of the 
quality required, which it would not be, if forced from 
the stem by the presence of unorganised juices. For 
these reasons I have invariably found that when wheat 
was badly attacked, and the juices had begun to exude, 
the sooner it was cut the better; and in "this I believe 
every farmer who has tried the experiment will concur 
with me. 
If I arn right in my conjectures as to the cause of 
blight, it is e vident the farmer can do comparatively lit- 
