.iiiiiiiiiiii ■f MS il ti - i '. J •; ■> 4 '"s 4 •■. S -' ~ ittiilitit;- liliftiiif ^^?™ms^^ / ■ij //ON L\^^ Class (p.3.^..,n..3 Number... JV^^T. 3 Volume I ^^Mb ^ Zj Source K Received.. Cost Accession No. 1 .4- / 0 |. 'b o I . / Bulletin 28 June, 1895 NEW HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION REMEDIES FOE THE HOO FLY BY CLARENCE M. WEED NEW HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND THE MECHANIC ARTS DURHAM, N. II. NEW HAMPSIIIHK COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND THE MECHANIC ARTS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Durham, N. H. BOARD OF CONTROL Hon. Geo. A. Wason, Chairman^ New Boston. Pres. C11A.S. S. MuRKLAND, ex-q(ficio, Durham. Charles W. Stone, A. M., Secretanj, Andover Hon. John G. Tallant, Pembroke. Henry AY. Keyes, A. M., HaverhilL THE STATION COUNCIL President Chas. S. Murkland, Acting Director. Henry Yj. Alvord, C. E., Agricidturist. ' Chas. II. Pettee, a. M., C. E., Meteorologist. Fred W. Morse, B. S., Chemist. Herbert H. Lamson, M. D., Bacteriologist. Clarence M. Weed, D. Sc, Entomologist. Leigh Hunt, IlorticnUarist. ASSISTANTS Edward P. Stone, B. S., Assistant Chemist. Fred D. Fuller, B. S., Assistant Chemist. RuEL S. Aldkn, B. S., Farm Superintendent. RiCHAKD Fitzgerald, Clerk. The P.ullotins of tHis Station are sent to any resident of Now Hampshire ui)on aiii)Iifati<)n. REMEDIES FOR THE HORN FLY BY OLARENCF. M. WEED Alxjiit eight years ago there appeared in some of the Eastern States a Hy which attacked cattle iu a niauuer differing some- what from that of the common cattle pests. Its most pecnliar hal)it was that of congregating upon the base of the horn iu clusters as shown in the right hand figure on the front page of this bulletin. On this account the insect became commoulv known as the Horn Fly, although it has since been found that, as a rule, it thus clusters upon the horn only wdien very abun- dant. It maj' be present in annoying numbers without showing this habit. After its introduction into New Jersey, where it was first no- ticed in 1887, the Horn Fly spread i-apidly in all directions. In a few years it had covered, practically, the greater portion of the United States and Canada. It has been present in New England for several years, and has lieen sufflciently al)undant to cause considerable annoyance in New Hanipshiie for at least three seasons. The present summer it appears to be more abundant tiian ever. The Horn Fly is a small, two-winged, six-legged, grayish- black rty about one-fifth of an inch long. As compared with the common house-tl^' it is much smaller; and is a little smaller, darker, and longer in proportion to its width than the common cattle rty. The legs are long, and the large compound eyes are prominent, covering much of the head. In front of and be- tween the eyes project the two two-jointed "feelers" or anteu- nx, and projecting from the lower side is the proboscis or organ through which the blood of the victim is sucked. The posterior part of the body, called the abdomen, is small and covered with hairs. These flies light upon various parts of the cow's body — es- pecially over the shoulders out of reach of the tail — work their Way down through the hairs until the}' can insert their beaks in-' to the skin ; apparently they then inject a little poisonous secre- tion which causes irritation and inflammation and a flow of blood to the spot. This blood is then sucked into the stomach of the fly. When once established they remain for some time ; and commonly come into the barn at milking time still in position on the cows. Cattle thus attacked become restless and irritable and if the flies are very numerous, they lose flesh and give less milk. The life-history of the Horn Fly may be briefly suminnrized as follows : The female flies deposit the small, wliitish eggs (Fig. 2, (i) in freshly dropped cow dung. Within a day these eggs hatch into little whitish maggots or larvae, thnt become full grown in a week or ten days. They are then three-eigths of an inch long, and of the form shown at h, Fig. 2. These full-grown larva? change to the third stage of insect existence — that of the chrysalis or pupa — at or just below the surface of the ground. They are then brown in color and of the shape shown in c. A few days later a fully developed Horn Fly emerges from each of these brown cases, and thus completes the round of the insect's life history. Fig. 2 — The Horn-Jly : a, »'gg ; h, larva; <\ pupnrimii ; J, adult in biting position. Maguilied. kEAiEbife^ The most satisfactory way of preventing the attacks of the Horn Fly is to apply to the cattle some substance that serves as a repellant. We have experimented with a number of materials, and find that the best results are obtained by the use of a cheap oil — such as fish oil or crude cotton seed oil — to which a small amount of carbolic acid or pine tar has been added. Applied rather lightly to the cattle by means of a wide paint brush, a sponge, or even a woolen cloth, such a combina- tion immediately drives off the flies and remains on in condition to keep them oft' for about five days. This is a very simple and eft'ective remedy ; it should be applied whenever the flies become trou])lesonie, unless the emulsion described below is used. Either of the following formulas are recommended for this purpose : I. Crude Cotton Seetl Oil, or Fish Oil 3 parts. Pine Tar 1 part. II. Crude Cotton Seed Oil, or Fish Oil 100 parts. Crude Carbolic Acid 3 parts. In either case these substances are to be mixed and applied as described above. We also experimented with a combination of kerosene emul- sion and tobacco decoction. The emulsion was prepared by adding two gallons of kerosene to one gallon of a solution made by dissolving one-half pound of hard soap in one gallon of boiling water, and churning the mixture by forcing it back into the same vessel through a force-pump with a rather small nozzle until the whole formed a creamy mass, which will thicken into a jellj'-like substance on cooling. The soap solution should be hot when the kerosene is added, but of course must not be near a fire. The emulsion thus made was diluted before using with nine parts of water to one part of emulsion. There was then added one gallon of a decoction made by boiling one pound of strong tobacco in a gallon of water. This was sprayed upon the cattle by means of a force-pump and a spray nozzle. Wherever the liquid came in contact with the flies it killed them instantly, and it remained on in condition to act as a repellant for two or three days. In tliis respect It waS not so satisfactory as the oilj' combination, althongh the cattle to wiiicii it was applied were cleaner and less greasy. By spraying with this combination three times a week the cattle can be kept free from the Horn Fly witii very little trouble, and at small expense. The accompauj'ing figures were first puldished in Inject Lift\ issued by tlie U. S. Department of Agriculture. 1 desire also to acknowledge my obligations to Mr. E. M. Pike for coopera- tion in conducting the experiments here reported. Refuse tobacco stems are to be used in making the decoction described above. AVe purchased from Weeks & Potter, whole- sale druggists, Boston, crude cotton seed oil for (V) cents a gallon ; crude carbolic acid for 50 cents a gallon and pine tar for 37 cents a gallon. Fish oil is quoted at $1.10 a gallon. il m m Mm liii^ MWm ■^B ■MMii^i iliii ^ ■mm^^ jpiililji'imillii!!