Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1867-06-15
AGRICULTURAL.
The wheat Nlidge or wheat Fly.

On the 18th inst, Mr.. G. ]. Hiestand,
an intelligent farmer of Mount Joy township,
brought me some earth containing the
larvae of the "Wheat Fly" sometimes er.
roneously called the "Rcd Weevil." Mr.. Fl,
obtained this earth from low, fiat portion
of a wheat field On his neighbor's farm
a field in which wheat was also grown last
season. After heavy shower of rain.
which overflowed this low part of the field.
when the waters had subsidized, he found
the smooth earth covered with yollowish
deposit, but having no agnifying-glass
with him, and his natural sight not being
strong enough, he could not determine
what the nature of this yellow substance
was. Returning to the field the day after
the rain, Mr.. II. was surprised to find that
the yellow substance he saw the day before
had entirely disappeared but on closely ex-
amining the surface of the earth, he found
it punctured with Millions perhaps-st
least with unaccountable numbers--of small
holes, as though the smooth clay had been
thickly pricked with pin. On digging
down half ar inch below the surface, he
found any number of the little yellow OBJ
jects which he was in pursuit o., and which.
on examination, prove to be the iarye of
Cecidomyia tritici-the destructive wheat
fly. With those in my possession produc-
ed the same effect witnessed by Mr.. Hiestand.
On sa:urating the soil with water, IL
brought all the Larvae to the surface, but.
after the water had subsided, they would
all penetrate the soil and go below, leaving
the surface like finely cellulated sponge.
This .Jact, developed through the in
strumentality of Mr.. Hiestand-or, rather.
confirmed by his discovery here
tofore mooted question That is, that tho
larvg of the wheat fly remains a larvae in
the earth of the field where it was born,
from the middle or end of June in ono
year, until the 18th or Goth of May, at least.
in the next year. Now what does this fact
suggest to the intelligent farmer3 Why.
clearly this: That he ought to institute an
examination Of his wheat fields during the
month of May-say from the 10th to the
end of the month--and if he finds these
orange colored larvae in the soil-which he
will by the aid of a common pocket magni.
fer, and digging from half to an inch and
half below the surface-in any consider
able numbers, then let him turn 40 dozen
toith deep sub-sO1 plom. If there is only
one acre of ground in Mount Joy township
that is as thickly permeated by the Larvae of
the wheat fly as the small quantity of soil
brought to me by Mr.. H., enough flies may
breed from it to inoculate the whole town.
ship, not half of the county.
1t would be nice question to determine
how these insects can subsist in the Larvae
state, and be subjected to all the various
changes of heat and cold, wet and dry, for
the period of nearly whole year. This fact
would seem to imply that there is DO other
remedy than the one which has been sug-
gested, because any application that would
destroy the Larvae would also destroy the
wheat, and might also unfit the soil for
subsequent CROP If the plowing down
seems to be necessary, from the presence of
these larvae in the soil, crop of corn or late
potatoes may still be raised upon it.
But many of these larvae do not reach the
ground, but remain 10 the husks of the grain
and carried to the stack and the grain NOV.
According to the experiments of DIR. Asa
Fitch. they do not die in the grain husks,
but, on the contrary, on the application OF
! moisture they revive again. have on va
| rious occasions rubbed infected whestheads
until they were completely divested of their
grains, and found afterwards that the larger
number of the larve remained in the chaff
1t has long been my opinion that the chaff
may pass through threshing machine and
a wnnowing mill, and the Larvae or pupa
be still in it, comparatively uninjured. A
portion of this chaff is fed to cattle, but
large portion reaches the barn yard, and ia
from thence hauled to the fields. When
known to be infected, it ought to be burnt
Lancaster Express. -