Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 July 1916 — THE HESSIAN FLY DOOMED [ARTICLE]

THE HESSIAN FLY DOOMED

If Every Member of the Community Aids in Fighting This Pest.

Two years ago a farmer in central Missouri lost his wheat by the ravages of the Hessian fly. It set him thinking, and if losing a wheat crop won’t make a man think, you and I are wondering what will. And his thoughts run along this line: “If I give the wheat a good start to make it vigorous and strong, it may outgrow the fly, for it is mostly the weaker stalks which the fly attacks. Hence I’ll feed my crop and keep it healthy, just as I would my hogs to help them ward off Infection from cholera.” So this man set to work and plowed deep and early. He harrowed every few weeks to conserve the moisture and kill the weeds and planted about the usual time for that locality. At this place he decided to make an experiment, fertilizing one-half of his field and letting the other go as he had before. The following spring there was a sight to make the most skeptical a believer that feeding the crop pays. We examined both the unfertilized and the fertilized, in the former the stalks being filled with “flaxseed,” while in the latter few flies were found, and the damage was so slight that it was scarcely noticeable. This does not mean that fertilizer will keep the fly out or kill it, but it does mean that the plants made strong, vigorous and early maturing will resist the ravages to such an extent that the loss will be comparatively small. The result? —more wheat, better prices and a prosperous and contented grower.