The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1858-01-25
waaxiItn Wheat.

Va do not profess 10 know nauch Of agriculture,
a, Al ,he e,smies and pests that ssssil ths farmer
and DESTROY his grain. We can only, therefore,
talk about them through the knowledge OF others.
In this say We takc pleasure 10 publishing the
sub,oiced article from the pen OF one OF our most
sc,euttac sntom ,logists. on subject highly inter
eating toaerioutursts It has been stated that the
Patent Once wheat contained weevil, sad farmer.
have been warned against sowing It. On the au
thsritv Of our correspondent 10 appears that this
apprehension 10 unfounded. We understand that
while the weevii dies Ia the ground without con
tinuing his species there his pressnee In the wheat
that IL sowed does not prevent 1t from germina'
tiug and growing ss we'll as any ether wheat
But the weevit destroys the wheat as q marketable
commodity, diminishing Its weight and impairing
its value for making Hour.
A knowing friend urges us TO make few sug
eestisns with regard to this insect, which annually
destroys hundreds Of thousands Of dollars worth Of
wheat. Farmers should keep their granaries al
clean, II possible, their parlors, and above all
we'll ventilated. They should especially take care
not to leave even small quantity of seed through
out the year ia a@grsnary; for the old seeds are
likely 70 contain the enemies that will attack the
new crop ~ soon a. housed. These are the best
precautions against the dreaded insect. Keep your
wheat ~ dry and a. cool as possible.
The following 10 the paper alluded TO 10 the To-
ginning Of this article:
PATENT OFFICE WHEAT
As 20 much has been published In the news
papers lately In regard TO the "weevil" being
Gund 10 seed.whsat all-dged to have been sent by
the Patent Once, deem il merely act Of justice
20 state few facts In the natural history of that
insect to disabuse the putlic mind Of the Idea OF
the great danger Of using this wheat for seed.
The true weevil 10 the cdldndrd 0randrad, or
grain weevil, there being likewise another Of the
same kind. the caiandra orys0, or rice weevil.
which destroys grain and rice In the South. These
small brownish beetles lay their eggs upon the
wheat. when housed. or In the barn, and not upon
the unrips grain in the field tho young grub eats
its way 10 70 the grain, and after almost entirely
burrowine out the interior, changes into a pupa,
having the legs. wings, &c. so formed as to lie
plainly distinguished by the naked eye. bnt being
incapable Of locomotion. After remaining some
time 10 this state, II eventually makes its appear
anoe In the outer world as a perfect weevi TO lay
the foundation Of q new colony Of weev1ls in the
stored and ripe grain. which frequently destroyed
BY successive generations of this pest. Thu refore,
being entirely grain eaters, and not destroying
either blade blossom they could not do n,uch
injury to the coming crop; even IL they wthstood
the iuelemeuey of the winter and the moisture Of
the earth, the perfect beetle could find no grain
whsreupon 70 deposit its eggs, except in store
houses or barns, 10 which, no doubt there are
thousands already, as the weevil Is even now dis.
ssmipated throughout almost every State In the
Union.
The caution 10 the newspapers has most proba-
bly, arisen from the fact that two-winged fly, also
known by the misnomer of the weevil. is very de-
structive to wheat aud other grains, when forming
seed. This insect IL more properly known as the
wheat nudge, (cecdonyid tyrtici.) and has the APP
pesrance Of a minute orange colored gnat Ii de-
posts its eggs in the heads of wheat barley, -ye,
oats and even grass. These eggs being Matched.
very small orange coored grabs appear, aud hiding
in the head, extract the juices Of the plant, thus
causing the TO be totally abortive, else TO
produce very shriveled grain.
There 10 vet another insect. also misnamed the
"wsevii," quite different from the two already
mentioned. inasmuch as the FIRST, the true weevl
with two transparent wings, like gnat, and the
third q real moth, with downy or scaly wings,
which latter might be mistaken by a casual OBJ
server for the clothes moth, such inests houses
and eats csrpets cloth and fur The caterpillar Of
this mos h, named the augoumois MOTH (dndcoBipiS
csreab,a) devours the inside of grain. aud, before
changing into the ctrysais, gnaws small hole
almost through the outer cuticle of the wheat,
then spins itself n web. or cocoon, in which 1t
changes into the chrysalis, and eventually makes
its appearance q minute moth ont of the hole
previously prepared for its exit
Prom this short and imperfect sketch of the
"weevils," so rnscaled IN various parts of the
country. It may be that no danger Is to be ap
pretended frsm the caIandra, weevil, said to be
contained In the Patent Office seed, for if the grain
be Immediately sown, as it ought to be, and the
package not suffered to remain open, where per
feet beetle hy to barns or storehouses the in
sect must necessarily be killed by the cold and
dampDess Of the earth, or even should 1t survive 1t
could ind no ripe grain In the cold and open field.
whereupop to deposit Its eggs and perpetuate its
race VIAFoR.
Richmond Va, Jan. 20, 1858.