Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1873-10-17
ADVERTISER
6hf farm.

Lime as Remedy for Fly in Wheat
We find the following article in the
October number of the maryland Far
mer, from correspondent in Chester
field county, Virginia:
l notice in the September number
of the Farmer some remaks about the
fly. Shall say that one proof of the
slowness with which farmers take to
good ideas in their profession, if they
happen to be new, is their failure to
use lime as prevention of attacks of
fly, or remedy when it has appeared.
Years ago, the late, not the present
VIM. M. Tate, of Augusta county, Va,
communicated to the Farmers Regis
ter that lime would destroy fly in
wheat.
In 1852 or 1853, I forget which, the
Southern Planter published letter
from Mr.. (the late) James A. (Addi-
SOM Cochran, of Augusta, on the same
subject. In 1856, a second letter from
the same gentleman appered in that
periodical to the same purport.
In 1857 appeared In the same paper
a letter from Mr.. Geo. G. Gilmer, of
Albemarle, to the same purport; and
a note to that letter by the editor sta
ted that he had made an application of
lime, according to the terms of the
prescription, on 12acreso of wheat sowed
on the 23d and 25th September, the
worst fly struck he ever saw; the rem
edy applied about the middle of Nov
ember; and this wheat yielded by sew
eral bushels-eye measure-bettert than
any part of large field which made,
by the mill scales, 163 bushels per acre,
and would have done, it was supposed,
still better if the application had been
repeated in April, as it would have been,
only the appearance of the wheat was
so good that it was deemed unnecesa-
ry-a mistake that was obvious on the
first of the following June.
If you think the interest of farmers
will lead any of them to try this expe-
riment, which can cost but a fraction
per acre, can do no harm, and may do
much good, you can publish the fol-
lowing extracts from one of Mr.. Coch-
rams letters on this subject: "My ex-
perience thus far is to apply, (by SOW
ing broadcast two bushels and half
of air-slacked lime to the acre, say a.
bout the first of November, and the
same quantity from the LIST to the 25th
April, giving two chances to get the
lime-dust on blades of the wheat; and
also that the boot which forms a.
round the stalk in the month of April,
may become filled, on the day after
sowing, with the I've made from the
lime that falls. After sowing the lime,
if you examine on the following morn
ing, you find large drops of lye on each
blade, made by the dew, ready to be
tilted upon the elevation of these blades
into the boot around the wheat stalk.
This I've, formed by the dew and lime,
is sufficiently strong to burn off the
tender parts of the fly and will prevent
them from doing further harm. This
I know, since have seen it. x
On last April I put a bushel of I'M
Stacked lime in a barrel to which I
applied IL or Is gallons of water. At
ter stirring the water and lime we'll to-
gether I staked off piece of ground,
four rods square, and with common
watering-pot literally white-washed
the entire square. Upon this space
the wheat was perfect, whilst that
which surrounded it was seriously in
jured by the fly. Therefore I have
more confidence in an application made
in the month of April than in Novem-
Der, and if we can have this made in a
thorough manner, I do not apprehend
from the fly the slightest injury"
Thus far Mr.. Cochran. But [ ap-
piled it in November with the result l
have stated above.
The communication of Mr.. Tate, of
Augusta Co., Farmers Register, vols.
2 and 8, p. 252, gives the same theory
of operation. His experiments were
made on wheat s'when it begins to
shoot"