Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-12-31
For the Freeman.
4 Cha, With Farmers.
BY AGRlCOLA.

n Slnall Dug, having lOf years commit
ted tlepredationS upon the wheat and corn
fields of the south and west, and more re-
Gently having made its appearance in
New England fields and gardens, is called
the chinch-bug fly. The eggs are laid in
the ground at the depth of an inch or
more. The flies make their appearance
on grains, corn and herds-grass about the
middle OF June, and remain during the
whole summer They travel in immense
columns, from field to field, destroying
everything rs they proceed. Sc fur their
greatest injuries have been confined to
states south OF the 10th degree of north
latitude. In New England they have been
found in gardens and in the potato field.
rhey attack the buds and most succulent
q 'OWth of the plants, and not only draw
OF the sap, but poison the parts attacked.
Eney always prove very destructive wher-
ever they appear There are many spe
Gics of this bug, each of which is quite
numerous. Nj efforts to destroy or expel
them have thus far failed. A flock of
chickens or tulk,ys let loose upon them,
and the kind treatment of numerous in
sect eating birds, which linger around the
| farm house, are the Surest remedies yet
| discovered.
The second general division of these
nrXious insects is subdiyided into three
classes-AWccst fjes pt'tnt lice and 6arb
ijcc The harvest fly is II musician. His
musical instruments consist OF Il pair of
kettle drums, one on each side OF the
boy. These drums are played upon by
muscles or cords fastened to the inside,
hich contract and relax ut the pleasure
of the insect, producing a rattling sound.
| These drums are not usually exposed to
sight The pirrcer of this fly consists of
three parts in close contact with each
other, and together furnish case of tools
/ which has the power to do the work of an
twi and of II duuble-edged saw This fly
ans no power to leap, and the duration o
hi, ii oral life, us II fly, is very short, sell
dom more than two or three weeks, and
ufcn no more than two or three days, or
even hours. 10 perpetutte their species
seems to be the principal business OF their
short existence, and when this is accom-
| plls ned life terminates. In the maggo;
state they live murn longer and subsist
upon dpctying animal and vegetable mat
| ter Ihe mission of some seems to be to
remove an offensive nuisance, while the
caterpillar is engaged in devouring the
plant The only nourshment of the hlr
vest fly, after lis final transform alton,
consists of vrge able juice, obtained from
he leaves of plants. But in the wing less
state the grub lives under the ground and
feeds upon the juices of roots Some
species are said to live in this state seven
teen years before they take on their wings
| These nsecs have been observed in the
valley of the Connecticut us far north as
tlrdley, Mass. Morton dc, cribs their
appearance rs follows: " They came out
OF their little holes in the ground and did
eat mp the green things, and make such Il
constant yelling noise as made the woods
ring of them, and ready to deafen the
hearers AS they live for seventeen
years in the grub state, and only II few
days or u few weeks after they take on
their wings, their appearance in large
swarns is only at intervals. They ap.
peared in 1921, on the 18th of June, in
the neighborhood Of Sandwich Jas de-
scribed by MIR, Gooiwin.) lie says, They
came up out of the ground creeping in
secs. Very soon after they had arrived
on the surface Of the earth the shell OF the
insect burst upon the back. and the winged
insects came forth, leaving the shell upon
the earth, These shells lay in immense
numbers under the trees, entirely empty,
and in perfect sh.p.. The winged insects
did not eat anything. Motion and propa-
CATION appeared to be the whole object of
lhcir existence. They continued about
four or five weeks and then died" While
they did exist Mr.. Goodwin says he found
them in thickets Of forest trees, where
their mus ic was distinctly heard the dis.
lance of mile. On going to visit them
he found 'rhe oak trees and bushes swarm.
ing with them" These flies are some
times called locusts. They lay their eggs
on the leaves OF these trees and tn IN saw
them off 50 thai they fall to the ground.