Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1847-05-08

G~RICULTURAL.


From the American Agriculturist.
The CoHN Oh Fry EEv1L.-The on.
~ sure ground for defence and protection
against the ravages Of this weeyil is, to
take advantage ofcertain conditions Of the
crops it is liable to injure. Thus, the
threshing and cleaning Of wheat early in
July is almost a perfect safeguard but If
left unthreshed till winter or even till Sep
TENDER, our crops would be nearly ruined.
Yet, while this and other remedies have
been long practised, tho reasons have nei.
Their been known nor sought for, and of
course have been but partial or accidental
in their effects. liza few early ears of corn,
that have been attacked by this insect,
when gathered, are put away in a dwelling
house, or ven in a close box, and remain
through the next summer, every grain will
usually be found perforated, and as many
dead moths lying about, if there is no outlet
for their escape. Or if a bunch of heads
of wheat be taken from the field in harvest
and hung up in The house, and 80 remain
until October, there will be found nearly
as great destruction in the grains.
The most effective restrainer and des-
troyer of the fy-weevil 10 cold winter
weather. Hence it is not known as a Sc
rious evil even in Delaware. In some
parts of Maryland it has been absent for
SO long time that it is almost forgotten.
and then to reappear and become for a
time very numerous and destructive. Their
long absence and utter extinction was
doubtless caused by a succession of severe
winters, and their subsequent return to mil
der ones, which permitted the living Of
some Of the larvae Of new immigrants COM
ing every summer from the South. In lower
Virginia, the weevn Is almost always SUI.
fciently Plentiful to be very injurious, if not
timely guarded against. But even here.
the race is sometimes so nearly extinguish.
ed that scarcely a moth is seen for the next
year. In 1882, there was no damage OBJ
served near my residence in Prince George
county, even when the wheat was threshed
so late that the grain would have been
nearly worthless inlother years. The pre-
vious winters had been unusually cold, and
the preceding (le30 81 was more severe
than any for forty years. Hence, there is
little to be feared from the ravages Of the
fy-weevil in Pennsylvania, and still less in
Massachusetts. In both cases mentioned
in DIR. Harris's letter, the infested corr
was kept in dwelling houses where artifi-
cial warmth served TO protect the lives Of
the few larvae remaining in the grain du-
ring the winter, which permitted them to
multiply through the next summer; for, If
there were any weevil Irving In the spring,
they could live and propagate nearly az
well during the summer il Massachusetts
as in Virginia. Flying moths maybe watt
ed, in summer, BY violent winds, hundreds
of miles northward Of their native ana
more congenial localities, and even may
deposit their eggs in regions loo far north
for their progeny to live, except 10 . few
cases where they are protected from the
cold Of winter. The eiiectual protection
from weeyils, furnished b. cold, i NOT At
the farmers command; but he can often
take advantages of other near that will
prevent any considerable loss, and these
may briefly be stated ~ follows:
/. Corn may be kept for years nearly
! exempt from the attacks Of tha weesil b