Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1855-08-08
The Hessian Fly,

~
The Hessiap Fly
According to the account of Mr.. Edward Tilgh-
man Of queen Anne county, Maryland, says MIR.
Glover. the eggs OF the Hessian Fly, (cecidon'yta
dest,uctor) very destructive to wheat, are dePos-
tied in October, in the longitudinal caViAeS oe-
tween the little ridges OF the blade, from whicn'
in about fifteen DAYS, very small worms or mag,
gots appear 1t is properly small, two-wlngsd = :,
Snat. which laws its eggs in the winter or iaii'
when the Grain has sprouted and begins to snow
leaves They make way down the blades WIN
considerable activity until hidden between thelu
and the stems of the plant The number on
single leaf is often twenty or thirty, and some
times greater. The eggs are extremely mnu'e'
and of a pale-red color; ard if the weather prove
favorable, they will hatch in four days. Nv ne
maggots when they first come out OF the.l siIii''
are also of pale-red color. Forthwi'h ',ey
crawl down the leaves and work their way De-
tween them and the main stalk, passing uu"u- ,.
wards till they come to JOINT. Just ABOVE ni'.I''
they remain, little below the surface VI ','e
ground. with the head towards the root OF ihe
plant. Having thus fixed themselves upon lhe
stalk, they become stationary, and never move
from the place before their transformations. are
completed. They do not eat the stalk, neither
do they penetrate within it. but lie ienglhwiSe ="
its surface, and are wholly nourished by the sap.
As they increase in size, and grow piump. ana
firm. they become imbedded in the side OF the
stem by the pressure of their bodies upon the
growing plant. One maggot thus placed seldom
destroys the plant; but when two or three are
fixed in this manner around the stem they weak
en- and mpoverish it, and cause 1t to tall down OF
wither and die. They usually come to their fuii
size in FIVE or six weeks, and then measure ABOUT
three-twenteths of All inch in length. After es-
Gaping from the pupa state the body OF the mes
sian fly measures about the tenth OF an lnch IN
length the head, antenna, and thorax are black,
the hind body tawny, more or less widely mar.ed
with black on each wing, and clothed with hne
orayish hairs. The legs are pale'red OF orown-
ish, and the feet black. The naggots are gene
rally transformed to flies in autumn.
The Hessian fly is subject to the attacks OF
several parasitic insects, which serve more or less
to lessen their numbers, the chief OF which is the
ceraphron destroyer, of (say) shining black fonr-
winged fly. about one-tenth of an inch IN length
Mr.. Herrick recommends that the stouter va
rieties of wheat should be chosen, and the ground
kent in good condition. If fall wheat IS sown
late, some of the eggs will be avoided, but the
risk of winter killing will be incurred. burning
the stubbie Immediately after harvest and tnen
ploughing and narrowing the land Is also highly
recommended. Sleeping the grain and rolling 1t
in air Stacked lime or plaster, as promoting rap
id and vigorous growth, would also be beneficial
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.-The following
tribute to the English language, is from the emil
nent German philologist, Jacob Grimm
After ascribing to it "a veritable power OF ex-
preston, such as perhaps never stood at the COM
mand of any other language of men," he goes on
TO say /: "Its highly spiritual genius, and won
derfuliy happy development and condition have
been the result of surprisingly intimate union OF
the two noblest languages in modern Europe, the
Teutonic and the Romanza. 1t is well known In
what relation these two stand to one another in
the English tongue, the former supplying In far
larger proportion the material groundwork, the
latter the spiritual conceptions. In truth the
English language, which by no mere accident has
produced and upborne the greatest and most pre-
dominant poet of modern times, as distinguished
from the ancient classical poetry q can.ot course
only mean Shakespeare may of all right be call
ed world language; and like the English peo.
pie appears destined hereafter to prevail with a
sway more extensive even than at present over
all the portions Of the globe. For in wealth. good
sense and coseness of structure, no other of the
LANGUAGES at this day spoken deserves to be CON-
pared with it-not even our German, which is
torn. even as we are torn, and must first shake oil
manv defects, before it can enter bodily into COM
petition with the English.
SINGULAR STATISTICS population of the
globe is estimated at 900,000,000. 1t is also es-
timated that number equal to the entire popula-
ton of the globe, existing at any one time, passes
away three times in every century. AS the pres
ent population of the earth has increased from a
single pair created about sixty centuries ago, one
half of the present population might be taken as
fair estimate of the average number who have
passed away during each of the one hundred and
eighty periods, or thirds Of centuries during which
the earth may have been inhabited; which would
give 8, 100 000 900 for the whole number who
have lived on the earth. Allowing an average OF
three square feet for the burial of each person, on
the supposilion that one half die in infancy, and
they would cover "a ,200, ,000,0 900 square ieet OF
earth. Dividing this by 27 ,S7S 400, the number
of square feet in square mile, gives less than
EIGHT hundred and seventy-two square miles
which would afford sufficient room to bury, side
by side. all who have been buried in the dust OF
the earth-all Of whom would not suffice to cover
the little State of Rhode Island.
PROPERTIES OF CHARcoAL.-Wood charcoal
possesses a highly absorbent power for ammonf
acal gasses, SUI lphurated hydrogen, sulphurous a,
cid and carbOnic acid gas. This property perfect
ly adapts it to the absorption Of putrld exhala-
tions from decaying animal bodies, a layer from
one to two inches in thickness being sufficient en-
tirey to absorb the effluvia from large animals
From dead dogs thus covered no ei1luvia were
perceptbe, while the decomposition of the bodies
was accelerated. This arises from the fact that
charcoal absorbs and oxydizes the ef1luvia, which
under ordinary circumstances. would be evolved
directly into air. but within the pores of the char
coal they are brought into contact with con-
densed oxygen, and are thus subjected 10 spe-
cies of low combustion, their carbon being conver
ted into carbonic acid, and their hydrogen into
water. Charcoal, therefore, instead of being an
tseptic, is precisely the reverse.
A BATTLE FIELD.-The grouping of falling
men and horses; the many heaped up masses OF
dead moved strangely by the living manned a
mong them, showing the points where the deadly
strife had been most severe the commingling OF
uniforms OF friends and foes, as both lie scattered
on the ground on which they fell the groups sur
rounding this and that individual sufferer, herring
his last words, giving to him the last drops of wa
ter which will ever mosten his lips upon earth ;
the stretchers borne from various points, each car
ryng some officer or private soldier, who now has
the startling feeling forced upon him, at has
to this, and yet there may be hope of life -
his excited but oyerworn spirit, half fanting as it
is, yet dreaming mixed feverish dream OF the
charge in which he met his wound and the
thoughts of h'me that flashed upon the heart as it
seemed to commit that heart to a moments obliv-
ion of all else. Then comes the first dawn of the
hnne that Life L, -oL i