The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1858-02-11
From tn M"hmom! UiSjuch.
WEEVIL IN WHEAT

We 10 not profess 10 KNOW lllucn ol aE-
r:c",urc, or Of the cnclnics and pests tina,
assail the farmer and dies roy his glan.-
We can only, therefore talk about them
through the knowledge OF others. In this
way we take pleasure i'll publishing the sub
joined article from the pen of one of our
most scientific cnomolngiss, on Il subject
highly interesting TO agricuiurists. 1t has
been stated that the Patent Office wheat
contained wcevil, and farmers have been
warned against sowing it. On the authori-
ty OF our correspondent, it appears that this
apprehension is unfountlc,l. We under
stand that while the wccvil dies in the
ground without continuing his species there,
his presence in The wheat that is sowcd does
not prevent it from @cr,lila;ing and grow.
lag as well us any other wheat. But the
weeviI destroys the wl,ca: us a marketable
commodity, diminishing its weight and i'm
pairing its value for making flour
A knowing friend urges IL, To make few
suggestions with regard to this insect, which
annually dcstrnys hundreds OF thousands of
dollars worth of wl.c:.t. Farmers should
keep their granaric> rs clean, if possible, as
their parlors and ahcrc all, well ventilated
They should especially take care not to
leave even small quantity of seed through
out the year i'll Il granary; 10: the cid seeds
are likely to contain the enemies that will
attack the new crop as soon housed. These
are the. best precautions against the dreaded
insect. Kecpyour wheat as dry and rs cool
as possible.
The following is the paper alluded to in
the beginning Of this article:
PATENT OFFICE WHEAT.
AS SO much has been published in the
newspapers lately i'll regard to the "wecvip
being found in seed-wl,cat aledged to have
been sent by the Patent Office, deem it
merely an act Of justice to stale few facts
in the natural history of that insect, to
disabuse the public mind Of the idea Of
the great danger Of using this wheat for
seed.
The true wcevil is the cnl"ndyu gyanoriu,
or grain weevi there bein" likewise another
of the same kind, the c"iam'lru oryze, or
rice wceviI, 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 unripe
grain in the field the young grub eats its
way into the grain, and after almost entire
1y burrowing out The interior, changes into
Pupa, having the legs, wings, &c, so form
ed asto be plainly distinguished by the naked
!, eye, but being incapable of locomotion.-
After remaining sometime in this state, it
:, eventually makes its appearance in the outer
world as a perfect weevil, to lay the founda.
ton Of a new colony Of wecviIs in the stored
and ripe grain, which is frequently destroy
a<ed by successive generations Of this pest
i 1hercfore, being entirely grain eaters, and
: act destroying either blade or blossom, they
seousJ not do much injury to the coming
crop; even if they witl,stood the incIemen-
~, tl,e winter and tho moisture of the
eMsib the perfect beetle could find no grain
hesSubon toideposit its. eggs, except in
sssore houses or;larps, in'which,. noa' doubt,
M s6efe are thousands already, as tho weeyil
81 even y d iloy disseminated throughout almost
40 ssss q iqstLs mon. = :. !, -. - -. !, ~,
q eansi % is nswspapefs las most