Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1858-01-29

WeeyII IN wheat.


We do not profess to know much OF agri-
culture, ul oi the eaemies aud pests that as
-all the farmer and destroy bis grain. we
can on.y, ia !reiOre, talk about them through
the know ledge Of Others. la this way We
| take pleasure IN publ hing the Sutyoined ar
! ticIe from the pen Of one Ut our most sclen-
Tiff; entomooglsts, 90 a subject highly inter
e,t,ng to agriculturIsts. Ii has Deeen stated
( that the Patent Office VT EFT contained weevll
aud farmers have been warned against so"-
! ing IT, o. the authority OF our cOrreepou-
! dent, il appears that tins apprehension Is uh-
/ founded " understand that while the wee
| wi dies in the ground without continuing bis
81 ec,es there his presence IN the wheat that Is
loved does not Eroyell it from germInat NJ
aud growing AS well as any other wheat
But the wCevIl destroys the wheat AS mar
ket tbl- commUdlty, diminishing It's weight
and lmpalrlns It's value Tor making nour.
\ kuUwIng friend urges Us u make few
suggestions with regard TO this insect, which
annually destroys hundreds OF thousands OF
dollar. worth of wteIt. Farmers should
keep their granaries a. clean, II possible. as
their parlors, and above all, well ventilated.
They should especially take care not to leave
even small quantity OF seed throughout the
year IN q grannry; for the Old seeds are Ike
ly % contain the enemies that Will attack
me new crop Il soon as housed. These are
the best precautions against the dreaded iu-
sect Keep your wheat Is dry aud as cool as
possible
Tue following is the paper alluded to IN
the beginning OF this arElcle:--Rtch. DSp.
Patent OFFICE WuEAT.-As 80 much mas
been ,uylishei ia the newsp papers lately
in regard to the "weeylp beng found IN
seed cheat alleged u have been sent by the
| Patent Office, ! deem II merely gu act OF Jus-
tlce to state u ew facts 10 tue natural history
Of that insect. to dl-abuse the public mlnd OF
the idea OF the great danger OF using this
wheat for seed.
| The true wrevil is the caanira granaria,
or grain weevll, there being likewise another
/ OF the 5 lme kind, the calandra oryzn, or
| rice weevil which destroys grain aud rIce 10
/ tue South These small OrOwnlsh beetles lay
/ their eggs upon the wheat when housed, or
/ III TIE barn, and not upon the uurIpe gram IN
the field; the young grub after almost entirely
/ burrOwing out the interior, changes into
| pupa having the legs wings, DC, 50 formed
as to be plainly distinguished by the naked
eve, but being incapable Of IocOmotlon.-
After remaiuing some time IN this state, It
eventually makes It's appearance IN the outer
world rs u perfect weeSIl t. lay the ounda-
| ton Of IL new colony of weevlls 10 the stored
AID ripe grain, whicb Is frequently destroyed
! BY successive generations VI this pest
| Therefore, icing entirely grain eaters, and
not destroying either blade or blossom, they
could not do much injury to the coming crop;
even if they wlthstOod the incIemency Of the
winter and the moisture of the earth; the
perfect beetle could fad no grain whereupon
To deposit its eggs, exceptin store-houses or
| barns, in which, 10 doubf, there are thousands
already, as the weeyil Is even now dissent
mated throughout almost every State In the
/ Union.
The caution in the newspapers has most
probably arisen from the fact that a two.
winged fly, also known by by the misnomer
of tho weoyil, is very destructive to wheat
and other grains. when forming seed. This
insect is more properly known as the wheat
nudge (cecidOmyia triticI,) and mas tho ap-
pearance Of minute orange cOlored gnat.--
Ii deposits its eggs in the heads of wheat,
barley, rye, OATS and even grass. These eggs
being matched, very small orsnge-colored
grubs appear, and, hiding in the head e1-
tract the juices of the plant, thus causing
the ears to be totally abOrtlye, or else to pro-
duce very sbrivelled grain.
There is vet another insect, also misnamed
the "weevil," quite different from the two al
ready mentioned, inasmuch as the FIRST the
true wecVil, is beetle with hard wing Ca
ses, the second fly with two transparent
wings, like gnat, and the third q real moth,
with dOwny or sUalcy wIng-, which latter
might be mistaken by casual observer tor
the clothes mOtn, such as Intests houses and
eats carpets, cloth and fur. The caterpillar
of this moth, named the augomOis moth,
lnnacampIs cereabclla,) devOurs the inside
OF grain, and before changing into the
chrysaiis, gnaws a small hole almost through |
the outer cutIcle of the wheat, then spins II
self web, or cocoon, IN which It changes
into the chrysaLis, and eventually makes It's
appeance az "a minute moth out Of the hole
previously prepared for its exit.
From this short and imperfect sketch Of
the "weevils," SO miscaled IN various parts of
the country, it may be seen that no danger il
to be apprehended from the calandrs, or wee
vii, SAID To be contained i'll the Patent Office
seed, for il the grain be Immediately suwn,
as it ought to be, and the package Dot suf
Ter. u To remain open, where perfect beetle
can fly to barrs or -tOrC-huuses, the insect
must necessarily he killed by the cold and
dampness Of the earth, or even should II
survive it could tiud no ripe grain in the cold
and open field, whereupon t. deposit it's egg,
and perpetuate its race. NlATUR.
Richmond, Va, Jan. %, 1853.
Fortune Chasing Pretty Woman.