The ergot, as it occurs in the rye, is much used by medical men in difficult cases of parturition; and we have had evidence before us, in some cases of abortion in cows, that the constant depasturing on grasses affected with ergot (and the Lolium perenne in aftermaths is often especially so) has been the predisposing cause.
CHAPTER XXIX.
INSECTS (ANIMAL BLIGHTS) AFFECTING CORN CROPS.
The different families and species of insects affecting the various kinds of corn crops in all their stages of growth are so numerous, that a detailed list of them would occupy greater space than we can devote to this chapter.
In this position of affairs we have thought it wise to confine our remarks to some of the commoner and more mischievous species, choosing those more particularly which are common to the wheat crop, of which the following may be at once introduced as a summary in itself sufficient to show what the farmer may expect at each stage of growth:—
| 1. | - | The Slug, | - | Attacking the plants soon after germination. | ||
| The Wire-worm, | ||||||
| 2. | - | The Gout Fly, | - | That attacks the wheat stems as they begin to form. | ||
| The Saw Fly, | ||||||
| 3. | The Wheat Midge—Commencing their injuries in the young flower. | |||||
| 4. | The Aphis Flea—Which attacks the rachis and floral envelopes. | |||||
| 5. | - | The Ear cockle, | - | Which destroys the growing grain. | ||
| The Corn Moth, | ||||||
| 6. | The Corn Weevil—Which eats the flower from the grain. | |||||
| 7. | The Little-grain Moth—Which attacks the grain in store. | |||||
| 8. | The Meal-worm Beetle—Living upon ground corn or flour. | |||||
Now, this list may be said to have reference to eight stages in the growth and preparation of wheat, and they mostly apply to other grains also—namely, 1. The germinating plant; 2. The growing plant; 3. The growing flower; 4. The green ear of corn; 5. The young grain; 6. The perfected grain; 7. The stored grain; and 8. In the state of flour.
1. The Slug may be described as a houseless snail. There are several species, but the milky slug (Limax agrestis) and the black slug (L. ater) are those most common to our corn crops, and are more especially mischievous to wheat; for, as this crop usually succeeds clover or “seeds,” in which they breed most rapidly, so, the older the clover lea, the more eggs will be ready to hatch in the wheat crop, and this all the more readily as the wheat is nearly always put in with a single ploughing, and with as little cultivation as possible.