The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-27
rpe Wheat Crops Worst Enemy.

I;oo+ion. but as an evidence of good faith.
The Wheat Crops Worst Enemy.
4 correspondent of the Southern Farm
writes. For several weeks | have searched
a., columns of the agricultural press, look
~ for some information in regard to the
orcurrence of the Hessian fly in the fields
Of voung wheat. Unfortunately, we have
found DIV personal observation that the pest
is as usual, scattered
II is true, the adult fly is very inconspic-
Mons and only very few farmers would
rocornize them if they saw them, but the
effect of the insect, during its earlier stages
on the Young plants is so marked that there
&c no reasonable excuse for overlooking
+bose after one has once become familiar
with the appearance, and the strong con-
+rast between healthy and infected plants
healthy plant is we'll filtered, or stooled
&C il is sometimes termed, the leaves are of
normal dimensions and color, the young
central leaf in each tiller is cylindrical or
spindle shaped and points more or less out
ward. while the whole plant has the APP
pearance of spreading out
An infected plant differs from that by the
leaves being broader, shorter and of darker
color. sometimes being almost blue. The
nlant has not filtered and the little cylin-
der-shaped central leaf is missing, while the
leaf has a strong tendency to shoot directly
UPWARDS. The whole plant is, in fact, only
n compact branch of rank growing leaves
These two represent extreme cases. The
fI,nN ~ o1~ tNts llHr
DESTROYED, and between the two there are,
of course, all grades of injury. If the adult
fv has deposited her eggs on the plant be
fore it has filtered the chances are that it
will never do SO. After the plant has til
Tered one, two or three of the tillers may
he attacked and the remainder not injured
An hours practice will enable any farmer
to detect even slight injury to his wheat
by the fly, and he will find that to do this
will require only deliberate walk through
his fields.
This is one of the most formidable enc
mics of the wheat crop in the United States
Its ravages are greater in some places and
greater some years than others, but quite
likely many sorry crops have been charged
to freezing out or unfavorables season, when
the fly was the cause of the bad crop. Its
most favorable season is early in the fall;
for this reason early sown wheat is more
subject to its attack.
The Hesslan fly lays her eggs on the leaves
of wheat soon after the plants are up. In
four or five days the eggs will hatch, and
as soon as Matched the worms will crawl
down the leaf and work their way between
it and the main stock, passing downward
till they come to a joint, just above which
they remain little below the surface of the
ground, with the head towards the root of
the plant Having thus fixed themselves
upon the stalk, they become stationary and
remain until transformation is complete.
They do not eat into the stalk as some
suppose, but they lie lengthwise upon its
surface, covered by the lower part of the
leaves, and are nourished wholly by the
sap, which they take by suction. AS they
increase in size and grow plump and firm,
they become imbedded in the side of the
stem by the pressure of their bodies upon
the growing plant
When everything is favorable to the fly
they will be occupied for several weeks de-
posting their eggs. The fly will often lay
twenty to thirty eggs on a leaf, and when
such deposits are made the young worms
will draw all the sap from the plant and it
dies. When you find thin places in your
wheat, where the stalk looks weakly, if you
will pull the stalks up and carefully pull
back the lower blades, you will quite likely
find at the joint the larva or worm.
AS soon as the fly is Matched out in the
spring they are prepared to lay their eggs
on the leaves of the wheat sown the fall
before, and also the spring sown wheat,
which is making its appearance above the
surface Of the ground. If all things are
favorable, the fly will continue laying for
about three weeks and then disappears from
the fields. When these eggs are Matched the
worms pass down the leaf, as in the fall. In
this state they are found at harvest, and
when the grain is gathered they remain in
the stubble, where most of them will be
transformed into flies early in the fall For
this reason it is best not to SOW wheat on
the same land two years in succession.
The most effective remedy for the Hessian
fly is late sowing. In Kentucky wheat sown
the first OF October is seldom troubled with
the fly. Some say to make fires at the side
of the wheat field so the wind will carry
the smoke over the field, will drive the fly
away and save the crop.
Mutton Suet as Remedy.