Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1858-08-12
department.
tfarmer's
The Midge, Fly, Weevil and Rust.


Continued wheat cropping until the slick is
exhausted will produce soft, Spongy stalks,
that will partly invite the attack of fly and
rust. 1t is far more liable to rust, and smnt
and fly, in some soils than in Others As the
alkalies and other fertlizing elements become
exhausted its crops Of wheat not only become
smaller, but the plantS fail in constitutional
vigor, and are more liable to diseases, and to
the attacks of parasitic plants and destructive
insects. Defects in SOIL and improper nutrl-
ton, add to these disastrous results. Soils
NAV have all the material necessary to produce
n large crop of wheat, but for want OF soluble
to give it hard, glossy Stem it will be unable
to withstand wet, lodge down, FuSt, and give
harbor to the midge and in September and
May to the fy From one hundred to one
hundred and fifty pounds of soluble silica are
required to glaze the stalks and kernels of an
acre of wheat, and three-fourths Of it is lcquir-
ed in the last sixty days of maturing. This
is the time the stalk acquires lis Sodity and
strength But all the sand in the world will
do no good, unless soluble or liquid, so that
the plant can draw it up and use it. All aka
line minerals, as potash, soda, Line, magneSia
and ammonia, hasten the solution of the in
some alkaline mineral crop Of wheat may be
worthless for want of silica, although the crop
grew in heap of sand Uutil it is dissolved
and made liquid it is as foolish to expect wheat
to use it, as it is to offer a cake of ice to
horse and tell him to drink In each case the
appropriate substance is present, bat hot in
condition to be used.
The first great cause Of mid-c, fly, weevil,
and rust, is soil exhausted by wheat crop
ping. so that there is not silica sufficient to
harden the stem and seed. The remedy if
there is sand or silica in the earh is alkaline
minerals to render the sand soluble, so that
the sand can be drawn up by the pores Of the
plant.
As the fly operates in September, one remedy
is to SOW so late that the fly will he gone be-
fore the wheat comes up. As this will prevent
the fly from depO>iting its egg in the fall, the
crop will be free from them in the spring. If
wheat is sown from the lSt to the 10Th Of
October, there is little danger from the fly
but it makes the growth so late that it apt
to winter KILL and be subject TO rust All
varieties of wheat, if sown early, are liable TO
injury from the fly, and if to avoid this evil
sowing be delayed till late, the plants do not
get sufficient root to stand the heaving of the
frost and winter kill not being glazed early
enough to avoid the rust season, in June they
are subject to that evil, as well as the midge
As, in sowing early to avoid the rust the wheat
is liable to fly, and in sowing late to avoid the
fly we subject it to ruSt, the great object should
be 10 adopt some measure whereby we may
avoid both
As unsound and unhealthy plants arc more
70 H,-o # hon hr,
the first object should be to get healthy plants
To insure healthy plants, we must have SOund
and healthy seed. Kernels broken in threSh-
ing, stung by the weevil, affected by the rust,
or dwarfed, or shriyeled by the injury Of the
fly to the stalk, should never be sown
We should have good land, possessing nat
uraly or supplied artifcially with all the con
StitnentS of the wheat crop.
To insure such seed it should all be put in
water before it is sown, and what floats on the
top is imperfect, and should bc skinned off
If the kernel is stung, shriveIed or defective,
the water ordeal will show it. What sinks in
the water is sound. It may, however, have
the spores Of smut or rust on it that will pro
p9gate and produce a crop of that curse To
prevent that the seed that sink, to the bottom
should be stepped in lime water, or Sulphate Of
soda, or brine, then rolled in ;laster or If
soaked in Snphate of soda or brine, roll it in
lime recently Stacked, putting peck Of recent
ly-Slacked lime to each buShel OF wheat, and
shovel it over till the seed is completely covered
1t should be soaked from. four to six hours
This will Kill the spores Of the rust or smut,
and produce healthy seed-whieh. with good
land and good cultivation, will insure healthy
plants.
Another remedy is to get a variety CT wheat
that can be Sown so late as to avoid the ay
in September and that would ripen so early as
to avoid the ruSt in June
The Mediterranean is some ten days earlier
than any other variety which usually saves it
from the rust 1t will also bear to be sown
later than any other variety OAio Former.