Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1858-09-11


Since farmers have discovered that the
wheat midge can propagate iiself ia barley
nud olhrr crops, and skat therefore, Il [.
tnin 70 give up wheat culture lill this IN.
sect "poeses cvcr.D they ore beginning 10 TO-
qnirg II nothing can be done 10 destroy Il,
~ 90 ienst keep Is IN check We have ho
lonbt that means win ae discovered to nc.
cotnplish so desirable an object. now that
farmers ere awake TO It's Importance. The
nrst clcp IL to get a familiar knowledge Of
TIE nature and habits Of the insect.
The Ay lays ita eggs IN The middle Of the
Slower while the wheat is in blossom, and
when they hatch, the little lemon-coiored
Larvae abslrsct the juices Of the grain, ana
cause il 70 slriSel When full grown, they
drop to the rround aud penetrate the soil
about an inch, Here they lie in the pupa
or rub state an winter, aud come out as
iles The following Jane
There Is not much chance OF destroying
tie nidge in the ny state; but can not We
destroy the larva or pnpa2 Many Of the
lhrva remain in the shriveled grain and in
the chaii These can easily be destroyed
by burning the chat and refuse grain, aud
the larvm themselves can frequently be swept
M Ia large quantities; these too should be
thrown into the fire.
10 destroy those In the ground we would
ruggest, iirst, to burn the stubble This is
known TO be the best means of destroying
the IIessian 6y, which is also great pest
10 wheat growers After burning over the
stubbIe, gapgplOw It about two inches dep
and let II remain In this state oil winter
Then the following spring plow itwithaMch-
igan double plow, turning the two inches of
loose surface soil TO the bottom of the fur
row, and then throw a good furrOw six or
eight inches deep on the top Of is
The reasons for these suggestions are OBJ
y:ous Burning the stubble would proba-
BY kill a portion Of the Larvae, and remove
the vegetable matter which affords protec-
tion TO the pupa in the soil during the win
ter. Blowing the wheat stubble two inches
deep would expose tie grubs to the frost,
and, theughthvy can stand good degree
OF cold when lying dormant, they would be
much more likely to be killed than when
protected by the stubble, weeds, clover, ETC.
These which escape the fire and the frost
would be baliedso deep that they will hard.
y be able toget 10 the surface. OF course.
the subsequent plowings shouId'nob be SO
deep as to bring them to the surface.
Tie principal objection to the method is
that We could not SOW clover with the
wheat. But this can easily be obviated by
sowing clover with barley, and even With
oats and Indian corn. The present prac-
tice ofseeding the wheat with clover is the
most favorable one that seuld be devised for
The propagation of the midge. The clover
plants afford the pupa protection during
the winter, and the ground is undisturbed
in the .r:.::S s;;~:::, Where wheat that has been
much affected with midge this season is
seeded with clover, it might be well 10 al
low the clover to get good start next
spring, aud then plow it under, if possible
in the way we have suggested, with Mich
igan double plow, burying the soil and the
midge six inches below the surface THIS
would probably check them, lift did not kill
them. The land might be planted to corn,
and manured in the bill if the subsoil Is poor.
We make these hasty suggestions for the
consideration Of our readers We are con-
hdeDt that they have intelligence, perseve-
rance, and skill, sufficient to cope with this
fearful pest, and that if the methods recon-
faeuded above prove useless, others viii be
discovered that viii be more eifectual.
GeaeSec Earmcr