VOLUME VI. NO. 31.! 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 1855. 
{WHOLE NO. 211, 
Home's Mitral Ucfa-farlur. 
A QUARTO WEEKLY 
AGKICULTURAL, LITERARY, A FAMILY JOURNAL. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOOBE. 
■A880GIATB KDITOSS ' 
J. H. BDCBY, T. C. PETERS, EDWARD WEBSTER. 
Special Contributors : 
T. E. Wetuork, H. C. White, H. T. Brooks, L. Wethhkbia. 
Ladles’ Port-Folio by Azilk. 
The Rural New-Yorker Is designed to be unique and 
beautiful in apjiearance, and unsurpassed in Value, Purity 
and Variety of Contents. Its conductors earnestly labor 
to make it a Reliable Guide on the important Practical 
Subjects connected with the business of those whose 
interests it advocates. It ombraces more Agricultural, 
Horticultural, Scientific, Mechanical, Literary and News 
Matter, interspersed with many appropriate and beautiful 
Engravings, than any other paper published in this 
Country,—rendering it a complete Agricultural, Tjts- 
rary and Family Newspaper. 
For Terms, and other particulars, see News page. 
$kral flehi-jHrker. 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT. 
THE HESSIAN FLY, AND THE MIDGE. 
[Tiie following brief but comprehensive article by 
Prof. Dewey embraces a very succinct account of these 
insects. As the subject is, just now, one of great inter¬ 
est to thousands of Rural readers, we give the article 
the prominence to which it is entitled.—E d.] 
Both these insects have attracted much in¬ 
terest for a few weeks past, as they are vora¬ 
cious destroyers of wheat. Much effort has 
been i ecessary to ascertain satisfactorily the 
history of these depredators on one great ne¬ 
cessary of life. It seems to be proved that 
they are old and well-known insects of Eu¬ 
rope, and have the same character there and 
here. 
The Hessian Fly was introduced into our 
country in 1776, by the Hessian troops who 
were landed on Long Island. In a few years 
their depredations on wheat fields were ob¬ 
vious, and have been well known since, till 
the insect has spread far and wide over the land. 
The Hessian Fly lays its eggs near the root 
of the wheat in the autumn, and the maggot, 
which soon"is hatched, takes its residence just 
above the lower joint of the stalk, causing it 
to enlarge and yield its nutritious juice to the 
animal. Though the stalk grows in the 
spring, it is sickly, becomes weak and wrin¬ 
kles down, and bears no fruit. In due time 
the maggot becomes a chrysalis, like a flax¬ 
seed, and changes into a fly, whose body is 
about one-tenth of an inch long, and whose 
wings expand about a fourth of an inch. So 
small and insignificant is the animal, which is 
produced in such multitudes as to blast the 
harvest hopes of the husbandman entirely, 
and expose him to the desolation of a famine. 
Several destroyers of the maggot are provided 
by a kind Providence, by which the creature 
is destroyed, and the field of wheat is left un¬ 
injured. It is said that two crops of this 
insect are produced in a year. 
The Hessian Fly belongs to the order Dip- 
tcra, or two-winged, and has the very musical 
and expressive name of Cecidomyia destructor 
—the destructive gall fly. The common name, 
Hessian Fly, is its accepted designation. 
The Midge, or Wheat Gnat, is another in¬ 
sect, destructive to wheat. It has the name 
of Cecidomyia tntici, meaning gall-fly of wheat. 
This also is a small insect, about the size of 
the Hessian Fly, and often appears in great 
numbers on the heads of wheat. Its object 
there is, to lay its eggs at and upon the 
young seed or wheat. These they soon hatch 
into a maggot, which devours the seed and 
cuts off the crop. In due time, the maggot be¬ 
comes transformed into a yellow chrysalis, falls 
to the ground and lies until the next season, and 
tlien tho shell is burst, and the midge or gall- 
gnat flies forth to its work of propagation. 
The destruction falls directly on the seed in the 
head of wheat, and the yellow chrysalis or 
pupa is to be seen at and before harvesting in the 
wheat heads. The maggot is not able to eat 
through the hard covering of the wheat seed, 
and cannot attack ripe wheat; and hence its 
destructive power operates before the milk 
changes into a solid form. 
ThiB Midge is often called the “ Weevil,” 
but this is an improper naming. The weevil 
belongs to another family of insects, of beetle 
kind, and is able to eat ripe and hard grains. 
The “rice-weevil ” is one of the kind, named 
Calandra oryzee, which eats the ripened and 
hard rice, and also devours “ stored ” Indian 
corn. It is said that a similar weevil has 
been found to eat the hard seed of wheat, but 
too little is known of it or its ravages to be 
of importance now. At aDy rate, these are 
very different from the Midge, now in the 
heads of wheat. It is desirable to use as defi¬ 
nite names in common language as is possible. 
Hence the names above. To call one the 
wheat fly, marks no difference, for both are 
flies or gnats, and both destroy wheat. The 
Hessian Fly might, be named “ Wheat-Stalk 
Fly,” and the Midge,'“ Wheat-Head Fly,” to 
designate an important fact and difference. 
July 24th, 1855. C. D. 
ASHES ON LAND. 
During the past week we have been mow¬ 
ing clover upon a lot which was partially 
ashed with leached ashes, at the rate of about 
100 bushels to the acre, three years ago. The 
lot was sown to winter wheat in the fall of 
1852, and we commenced ashiDg it, but did 
not quite finish, leaving a strip of some four 
or five acres through the middle that was un¬ 
ashed. At harvest, the next year, there was 
no difficulty in discerning the ashed from the 
nnashed, by the greatly increased amount of 
both wheat and straw upon the former. Last 
year it was sown to spring wheat and seeded 
down with clover and timothy. There was a 
marked difference iu the spring wheat, and 
now it is more manifest than ever in the clo¬ 
ver and grass. So strong is the contrast that 
a person can trace, w itH iittle difficulty, the 
very spot where the ashes end. There will be 
at least double the hay made from the one 
that there is from the other. 
The soil is a slaty loam,—more slate than 
anything else,—ha3 not been manured, and is 
rather light and weak. As long as we can 
get ashes, and we have quite a pile yet, we do 
not want plaster. The effect upon the laud 
is much more lasting than plaster. We think, 
however, that half a bushel to the square rod, 
or 80 bushels to the acre, is as much as can 
be profitably applied, and on light, dry land 
50 bushels would perhaps be enough. 
The value #f leached ashes as a dressing for 
land was known to the Romans as long ago 
as the days of Virgil, for we find in the first 
book of the Georgies, speaking of the prepa¬ 
ration of tho soil for exhausting crops, like 
oats and flax, he recommends to saturate the 
soil with rich dung, and 
“ Effetos cinerum immundum jactare per agros.” 
Which, being put into Yankee, means to 
scatter leached ashes (for if “ effetos” don’t 
mean leached, what does it mean ?) upon the 
land or field. He also says : 
“ S»pe otiam steriles tncendere profuit agros, 
Atque levom stipulam crepitantibus nrere fiammis.” 
Or, in plain English, “ Often, too, it has been 
of use to set fire to barren lands, and burn 
light stubble in crackling flames.” 
A friend, with whom we were recently 
conversing on this subject, says that some 
years ago he put a pretty liberal supply of 
ashes on about two acres of rather light, thin 
land, and his crops have been uniformly good 
since. He is a great believer in leached ashes, 
and regrets his neighbor has not another pile 
he don’t think worth drawing. 
Manures and Fertilizers, and their ap¬ 
plication to the soil, are topics uponwhich the 
progressive farmer is generally well informed. 
His maxim is to so feed the soil that, notwith¬ 
standing the large crops produced, its strength 
and fertility shall annually be increased rather 
than diminished. Knowing it requires the 
same elements to produce a bushel of wheat 
in the middle of the nineteenth century, that it 
did when Joseph was sold into Egypt, he 
takes especial pains to return to the soil the 
items requisite to the growth and perfection 
of the cereal and other crops taken therefrom. 
Hence he always makes compost before con¬ 
structing a granary—knowing that, unless his 
i6 a rich, virgin soil, there will be little or no 
use for the latter without first applying the 
former liberally to the land cultivated. 
©«r %maJ ©Ditfrikta. 
WHEAT CHOP — PROSPECTIVE PRICES. 
The newspapers, with their accustomed dil¬ 
igence in the public service, are hurrying up 
“ good reports” of the present wheat crop.— 
I have reason to remember lhat they did the 
same thing last year, and as I was then some 
thirteen lunar months younger than I now 
am, I believed them! Editors, as a class, are 
celebrated for poverty and a sanguine temper¬ 
ament. Twelve dollars a barrel for flour does 
not comport well with the price of newspa¬ 
pers. We ought not to think it strange that 
the men of the quill have hoped themselves 
into the belief that “ flour must come down.” 
But will it ? That is the question. “ Illi¬ 
nois, Kentucky, Tennessee— the South and 
West generally, have bountiful. harvests.”— 
“ All other sections the same.” By a singu¬ 
lar stretch of charity, we are expected to be¬ 
lieve that these tourists and newspaper “ letter 
writers,” who generally furnish the data, 
wou'd know a field of wheat if they should 
see it. One thing is certain,—it requires a 
practiced eye to form even a tolerable judg¬ 
ment of what the yield will be from a casual 
survey. In the spring the bare ground ob¬ 
trudes itself upon our attention—a little later, 
“ copious showers” make it all right. Look 
again—the surface is uneven. Get over the 
fence—the tallest wheat makes the most show; 
a bold front has shut out of view much that 
is small and thin. Add to this, the leading 
roads generally pass through the best cultiva¬ 
ted country, and of course travelers are liable 
to be too favorably impressed. 
Of other auctions I know nothin." except 
from “ hearsay,” but of the State of New 
York I believe I do know something from 
actual observation and careful inquiry. Iam 
satisfied that the yield in this State will be 
one-fifth less than a “ good crop.” Why is 
this matter slurred over in “ harvest reports ?” 
Is the failure, marked and decided as it is, in 
the fine wheat section along lake Ontario, 
west of Rochester, of no account ? Can im¬ 
portant portions of the fine counties of Mon¬ 
roe, Livingston, Genesee, Ontario, &c., &c., 
be cast out in our reckoning ? Or has it come 
to this, that “pure Genesee” is brought exclu¬ 
sively from Wisconsin and Georgia ? So, too, 
of the corn crop. Why is it not stated —for 
sensible men have known it these three weeks 
at least,—that the corn crop of New York 
will be one-third less than an average. 
Ijook in almost any public journal, and see 
how the article on “ crops” is made up. In 
wheat matters, sections that export very little, 
and that of a poor quality, are quite as con¬ 
spicuous as the noted wheat regions ; in their 
list of authorities, the Sundown Chronicle and 
the Catamount Express are quoted with as 
much unction and emphasis as the Ohio State 
Journal and the Rochester dailies. As in 
patent medicines, it is the number of certifi¬ 
cates that is relied upon. 
The buyers of wheat and flour, like “ our 
party ” in politics, have a “ clear majority,” 
and it is observable that there is a disposition 
to write and talk down the price of wheat.— 
This article is written not to influence any 
man’s judgment as to the quantity or value of 
the crop, but to ask farmers to examine all 
the facts for themselves, and then form opin¬ 
ions of their own. Of course the price must 
come to the world’s standard. London and 
Liverpool will settle the question. With war 
and universal scarcity to begin with, nothing 
short of a concurrence of good crops in all or 
nearly all wheat growing regions can bring 
the price to a low figure,—a concurrence that 
there is now not the slightest reason to ex¬ 
pect. Prices being up, it is a very different 
matter from what it would be if they were 
now down. As it is, it will require a decided 
surplus to briDg them down—a surplus that 
exists, in all probability, only in the excited 
tmaginatiou of consumers of flour. 
Readers may make all suitable allowance 
for the circumstance that the writer of this 
article raises wheat for sale. Last year his 
apprehension that wheat might come down, 
induced an early sale at an average of fifteen 
shillings and six-pence a bushel, by which he 
“FRANK QUARTLY. 
The North Devon Bull “Frank Quartly,” 
above represented, is the property of, and was 
selected and imported by, Col. L. G. Morris, 
of Fordham, N. Y. Bred by Mr. John 
Quartly, of Molland, Devon. Winner of the 
1st Prize as an aged bull at the N. Y. State 
lost more than $1,800, on a little, less than 
4,000 bushels sold. Many neighboring farm¬ 
ers sold as low or lower. Wheat speculators 
and millers last year had the benefit of a ris¬ 
ing market. We are now more entitled to 
their sympathies than they to ours. Farmers 
need money to expend in their business, par¬ 
ticular at tnc West ; if they get good prices., j 
and expend their profits in permanent im¬ 
provements, as they are bound to do by every 
consideration of public and private interest, 
all will be benefited in the end. 
Prominent farmers in this section unite in 
the resolution not to put their wheat into i 
market short of two dollars a bushel at present. 
What say the farmers of the Genesee country j 
generally ? Can we have concert of action ? I 
The West, if not too precipitate, can doubtless ; 
obtain a proportional price. Moaey shavers, 
and other “ philanthropists,” exclaim “ what j 
will become of the poor ?” Let them make 1 
their peace with God, and prepare for the I 
■loorst. It ha3 been proposed that the people’s 
land,— theirs by gift of God ,—theirs by virtue 
of “ popular sovereignty,”—the Great West, 
—should be reserved for “ actual settlers,” — 
men who in the future should be kicked and 
starved ont of employment, and might wish 
to find a spot of earth big enough to make a 
garden on which they may live, and a grave 
when they die. If the “poor” will suffer their 
natural heritage to be put into the clutches of 
capital, and see themselves bound hand and 
foot, victims to the money power, without a 
murmur, content with a daily allowance of ! 
soup and stale bread, —if religion and patriot¬ 
ism look on approvingly, the doom of poverty 
is sealed. A little sentimental whining may 
ease the conscience, but it will not bring back 
opportunities lost forever. h. t. b. 
SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS. 
We hear of many localities where the dep¬ 
redations of the Wheat Midge—better known 
as the weevil—have so far discouraged farm¬ 
ers, that they seriously contemplate abandon¬ 
ing the wheat crop, as uncertain and unprofit¬ 
able, and this too upon ground where hereto¬ 
fore it has been mere than usually successful. 
We have nevertheless such an abiding confi-! 
deuce in the early and sacred promise of seed¬ 
time and harvest, that we are not convinced 
that this will prove the better policy. Per¬ 
haps some change of seed—the trial of some 
new variety—or the application of some pow¬ 
erful fertilizer, such as guano, would work an 
eflectual remedy. We have no data upon 
which to found such convictions, but feel that 
the farm should be made the theater of exper¬ 
iments of this nature, and that every farmer 
should annually make some trial of new things 
for his own benefit, and t.o increase the gene¬ 
ral stock of practical knowledge among those 
of his own calling:. 
Show, in 1854. 1st prize as a two years old 
at the N. Y. State Show, in ] 853, and 1st 
prize at the American Institute, in 1853.— 
Sired by Earl of Exeter (38,) by sire Baro¬ 
net, (6,) dam Curley (96,) by Favorite (43,) 
grand dam Pretty Maid, (366,) &c. 
Our advice would be, don’t abandon wheat 
entirely, but oh an acre or two in different parts 
of the farm, try the result of such experiments 
as your own good judgment, and the obser¬ 
vation and experience of others, may suggest. 
In giving up the fall wheat crop, the first in¬ 
quiry will be for a substitute. Many have 
SULbLivutod xp-’inor whe-vt of Certakt 
in its place, and we hope soon to hear with 
what success. Others have substituted winter 
rye. This is not as valuable a grain, and as 
it cannot, under a Maine Law, be wasted for 
distillation with advantage, may not be found 
very profitable for farmers. As iar as our 
knowledge goes, winter rye has escaped the 
ravages of the midge, and thus commends it¬ 
self to those localities where wheat has been 
destroyed. We apprehend this is not because 
the midge does not like rye, but rather that it 
prefers wheat and has found a supply. If 
rye was to be sown to a large extent, we 
would recommend a patch of wheat as a safe¬ 
guard. If we thought it possible to levive 
the good, old-fashioned New England rje-and- 
Indian bread, we would strongly urge upon 
every farmer the sowing of a field of winter 
rye, and be sure to select the variety known 
as white rye. As rye matures earlier than 
most kinds of wheat, v e should take this as a 
good argument why winter wheat, to escape 
the destruction of the midge, should be sown 
early. If rye, by maturing a week earlier, 
gets out of the way of the midge, may not 
wheat do the same ? Will not farmers who 
practice and observe, favor ns with the result 
of their experience? 
Another suggestion appropriate to the sea¬ 
son, is, the sowing of turnips. “ Is it not too 
late ?” we hear farmers asking. Certainly 
not. The common field turnip, White Flat 
Dutch, White Norfolk, Stone, Aberdeen, and 
other kinds, may yet be sown, and produce 
good crops,—and in nine cases ont of ten the 
White Flat Dutch or Norfolk would yield 
enough to satisfy any reasonable man if sown 
as late as the fifteenth of August. We should 
advise sowing turnips as quite seasonable.— 
They are like some celebrated quack medi¬ 
cines, “ good for man and beast,” and there is 
little danger of growing too many of them. 
The whole family, including the cows and 
sheep, will be thankful for them next winter. 
One other suggestion will answer for the 
present, and it is one to which we attach, 
much importance. Sow plaster with your 
fall wheat, if practicable. We have great 
confidence in its success. Sown in the fall it 
becomes dissolved, and furnishes food and 
stimulus for the tender plant, enabling it to 
take deeper root, and thus better to withstand 
the frosts of winter, as well as the more try¬ 
ing ones of spring. Let every fanner who 
can, try the experiment. h. c. w. 
Buffalo, July, 1865. 
