Smyrna times., 1857-08-12
AqrttMltntal.
Agricultural Society of Kent Co., Del.
Proceedings Of the Quarterly Meeting held

P. M. The President, Henry Cowgirl, ip the
chair.
The reading of the minutes of the last meet
ing was dispensed with.
The President stated that the chief business
before the Society was the condition of the
wheat crop for the present year. Between the
Sth and the 18th OF last October, he sowed the
blue stem white wheat. One half his ground
was fallow He plowed in 200 pounds of Pc
Wan guano to the acre, and drilled in with the
seed about so pounds more. The balance of
his ground was Oat stubble. He plowed in
equal quantities of barn-yard manure and Peru
Wan guano. The fly injured botE--he could
perceive but little difference.
q. w. s. Nicholson stated that last year he
selected a small field on his farm in eastern
Sussex, the soil of which is a sandy loan, at
the time in corn. This field had never been
manured with guano, phosphates, or even lime.
Early in October he had pIowed in 300 pounds
to the acre of Mexican ard Peruvian GuanO (in
proportion OF 6 tons of Mexican to l ton Of Pc
ruvan) About the 18th or 20th Of October
he sowed the blue-stem white wheat With
the exception of slight injury to the front part
of the ield-which was ridge of two feet run
ming parallel with the road-by the storm of
January, the wheat came to harvest uninured
by fly, worm, smut or anything of the kind, and
made larger yield than he supposed the soil
capable of producing.
He further stated that he had noticed that
more crops had been injured by early sowing
than by late. All the fields OF wheat which
had been completely destroyed by the fly in this
county were sowGd before the first of October
AS an exemplifcation of this, he instauced a
field of wheat near Leipsic, one-half of which
was sowed on the last Saturday oi October, the
other half on the Monday succeeding. Mr.. J
e. Wilson, its proprietor, noticed that the por-
tion last sowed was evidently less injured by
the fly than that first sowed.
He recommended that farmers procure for
seed wheat, that which had entirely aped in
jury from the fly.
Mr. L. b. Coursey next gave an account of
his crop, which was sowed at the usual time,
between the 9th and the 18th OF October, and
yielded we'll. He recommended :hat time of
sowing. He also gave an interesting state
meet of experiments he was making in the va
rous guanOs and phosphates, and stated that
Allen & Needles Super Phosphate, at present,
promised best.
Mr. G. D. Dickson next spoke of the expert
ments he had made with the Columbian Guano,
which, the second and third years, turned out
finely. He also stated that the white wheat
raised this year in Kent county, passed in PhiIa
| uclPHld BOOu tCu WuCdL-tnut blS USSl
specimens of white wheat he had seen were
those which had been sent up the railroad, from
western Sussex.
Mr.. I. b. Coursey presented a paper from
ManloVe Hayes, Esq Cor. Secretary Of the
Society, which was read as follows:
ain the notice fc.f this meeting of our socie-
ty, it was proposed to inquire into the injury
sustained by the wheat crop of the present year
from the ravages of the Hessian fly, and whe.
ther any means can be adopted to ward against
the future depredations Of this insect. This
! subject has received more attention in our COM
munity for the last two months than any other,
of an injurious nature to the crops, within my
recollection. The fine appearance of the wheat
in this county soon after the opening of spring
held out for short time great hopes of q boun-
tifll harvest---though field might occasionally
be seen which had been injured to some extent
by the hard winter, there was no serious cause
of apprehending danger to the crops generally,
until late in the spring. So far as have been
able to learn from inquiries have made in this
county, the fly was not observed in the wheat
until about the Oath of May In noticing my
own fields at that time, perceived that the i'm
provement of the wheat was suddenly arrested /;
and at first attributed tito some change in the
weather unfaYorable to its growth, but on the
29Ih made close examination, and the real
cause soon became apparent. The insect was
then in the white and maggot state, lying close
to the stem of the plant under the blade below
the frst Joint; but few of the larve had arriv-
ed at the age when it assumes the brown or
flaxseed state. | placed a aumber OF stems
some Containing as many as eight or ten OF these
insects-in glass jar, the top of which was
covered with paper punetured to admit the air.
In few days their transformation began 10 ap-
pear, and in about one week all had changed to
that peculiar brown color by which it is SO well
known; and in which state, according 10 the
best authorities it requires no further noursh-
ment. | examined my prisoners daily, heartily
! wishing the whole race as well secured. On
the 9th of June-beng eleven days from the
time they were enclosed In q jar--the first
winged insects made their appearance resem-
bling mosquitoes, but in size much less, with
. wings transparent, but of dark color and not
] SO pointed. / noticed several of larger size,
which NAV have been the females, but with all
nv attention could not discover any Deposit
ing their eggs; they lived only four or five
days, though others continued to cut out of their
shells from time to time, and fly about the
: iar for ten days or two weeks after they FIRST
made their appearance. By this time com
plant had become general throughout the
! State the fly being discovered further nortl
! after it had shown itself here. The wheat il
many fields was so much injured, that the own.
!, ers despairing Of their crops, plowed them up
!, and planted them in corn; other fields were
! taken in grass that outgrew The wheat, which
was literally snhothered by the rank growth o.
timothy and clover. About the middle of June
as the wheat straw became less succulent, the
enemy to its growth appeared 20 have become
: surfeited with its food, aud wits found either IN
! the pupa or haxseed state, or had cut out, ieav.
: ing the brown shells adhering to the STEMS
: The eggs were at that perit,d, doubtless de.
2 posted on the blades and upper part of the
stems of the wheat aud grass which aboundet
/. in the fields, as the female insect has been seer
TO do by close observers; how long these my
: riads Of eggs remain, before new generation