Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-04-05

= TO DESTROY HESSlAN FLY. !

'ied the Slopo, the experts of the TED
cal department of agriculture. almost
by accident. have discovered in their
own country an insect enemy of the de
siructive llessiar lily, the ravases OF
which have cost the wheat growers OF
The Unlte} States hundreds of millions
OF dollars. The tiny insect upon which
the government entomolosists are de
pending To clock and possibly 10 de
stroy completely The Hessian fly is the
polysnotus hiemalis and it is iudigen-
Gus To Montana, Northern Dakota and
Idaho. where Il was discovered during
the summer of 1905 by q. ]. Reeves of
the bureau of entomology of the de
partrnent of agriculture. while on field
work connected with Investigation OF
the Hessian tly.
The p~olygnotus hicmaiis, wi'ilc boast
ing of a Formidable ~polysyllaAtn name
Is of almost microscopic proportions.
To the nnaided eve it appears hardly
larger than a pin point and u llessiau
fly attacked by hundreds of the paie-
sites looks as if it had been s%prinklei
With pepper when y. Hiemalis is
brought under the lens of a powerful
microscope IT Is discovered to have a
pair of powerful mandibles and six
strong gripping legs by mean of which
1t is able Ia satisfy its lust for lIessian
ny STEAKS anu tlNtl IrlltlcleS pIlcitD
by Its doomed host. SO Noracious is the
appetite of Y. Hiemalis and so effective
is its warfare upon the Hcssian fly that
the great wheat pest has been practic-
ally eXterminated In the districts it has
Invaded where the newly discovered
pasasite is indigenous.
Mr.. Reeves. whose report is now III
preparation, states as a result of his
Investigation covering almost a year in
the wheat growing districts OF the
northwest. hat the Hessian fly has not
been able to gain a foothold for its cost
ly depredations west of the Missouri
river. This Is due no doubt to the lit
tie y. Hiemalis. whose aggressive line
of battle preserves vast wheat areas to
profitable agriculture.
1T is the expectation that further in
v~estigation will show that the attack
ing hosts OF =. Hiemalis are advancing
east and south INTO the wheat areas
where the Hessian fly is causing losses
of millions every year to the farmers.
But this advance is necessarily SLOW
md If left to itself would take many
years to become effective in regions
where II is most needed, even if it
should not be stopped by climatic con
ditions. which is a possibility not yet
investigated. 1t Will be the duty of the
experts of the department of agricui-
ture TO furnish transportation facilities
for this army of invaders.
Following the plans and methods so
successful in fighting the san Jos,
scale. the coddling moth and other in
sect pests, II is proposed to experiment,
with a number of combinations of the
II. Hieinalis In the valleys of the Mis-
souri,, the Mississippi and Ohio. Large
quantities OF the predatory parasite viii
be turned loose in wheat fields inflicted
with the Hcssian fly, and their opera
lions Will be closely watched to discover
What effect the change from
,Veiy high and dry attitudes To the
io"er ana moister valleys will have up
on the life histories of the T.. Hiemalis.
III the entomologists succeed in acclim-
atlZins the parasite it will mean event
ually the saving by the farmers of the
middle Wes- Of something like II hun
dred millions a year.
The farmers of the United states pay
heavier taxes to the Hessian fly than To
STATE county or town, In years when
the raNages of The pest are least they
cause Il loss of 40 or 30 millions. and
when conditions favor the fly its de-
.structiVe work mounts into the hum
dred millions. The season of 1900 vas
u period of flush prosperity for the
fiesslan fly. 1t was generally present
throughout the Mississippi and ohio
valleys, but its ravages were PRINCIPAL
~ concentrated in Ohio and Indiana.
me wheat area in these two states was
o.ooO,oOo acres, but the statistics for
l9OO show that on account OF the raw
ages OF the fly more thar so per cent.
or the acreage was abandoned and
planted to other crops. The harvesting
records showed a decrease of more than
two-thirds. giving a total loss for these
TWO states in 1900 OF $24, 900, 900. In
Michigan about 20 per cent. OF the
planted area was abandoned. and other
states had similar records of loss. 1t
Is a remarkable year when the depreda-
tions of the Hessian fly do not cause a
shrinkage OF the wheat crop of at least
10 per cent, or about $40. 900, 900.
1t Is the tradition that the Hessian
fly was brought to America by Hessian
soldiers In straw mattresses during the
revolution. The majority OF entomolo-
gists accept this tradition as n fact, as
the NY occurs in practically all the
wheat districts of Europe. including
Germany. From the time Of Its intro
duction a century M a quarter ago
IT has spread rapidly throughout the
country. and several generations OF
farmers and scientists have fought the
pest In fruitless warfare. Since its nat
1t has caused a loss that
must be reckoned in the billions OF dol
lars.
In 1896 DR.. Riley OF the department
or agriculture. in searching for an en-
m to the Hessian fly. discovered In
Europe. In the wheat districts OF Ger
many the Entedon Epigomus, which
was holding the pest In check in that
region. Several colonies were intro
duced into the United States. but they
have not proved as effective here as in
their native habitat.
The discovery of the +. Hiemalis will
not stop further search for the parasite
OF the Hessian fly. II is expected that
Investigations in the great "black earth
belt" of Russia Will develop other in
sects with an appetite for the pest. II
is thought that Russia Is the original
home of the Hessian fly and 1t Is prob
ably here that it's most effective enemy
will be found. A fact that lends prob
ability to this theory is that the hard
kerneled wheat from this region is i'm
mune to the attacks OF the Hessian fly.
and 1t Is for this reason that the de-
partnent of agriculture is advocating
the planting of varieties Of Russian
wheat in the United States.
Farmers must solve the help problem
In the same way that railroads and
others have. that is by utilizing every
or implement which will save
work. For instance. the two-row cul-
tiVatOr enables the corn grower ia taud