Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 4, 1802).djvu/448

4T4] COR if once separated from the ears, can by no means be prevented from fermenting. Another method, lately discover- ed for the preservation of corn, is that of steaming it : this valuable faft was communicated by J, L. Banger, Esq. of Madeira, to Mr. MiDDLETOi*, who has inserted ex- tratts in his " Fieiv of the Agricul- ture of Middlesex — Our limits not permitting us to detail his various experiments, we shall only state, that he steamed grain, which was much infested with the weevil, in January, and again in June. Three months after, it was in perfect pre- servation, being free from the de- predations of that insedl : and such mode of preserving" grain is strongly recommended by this circumstance, that it not only yields, when ground, J^ larger proportion of flour ; but it also retains its vegetative principle, and may be advantageously sown. Farther, as some able agriculturists attribute the smut to an insect •which infests corn, Mr. Banger ronjeiStures that such distemper may be effectually prevented by steaming. ^ Different expedients have already been mentioned (vol. ii. p. ()S), for securing granaries from the depre- dations of the Corn- But tfrfly, or Weevil : — the foliowing methods, however, are said to be praclised with great success on the Continent; and we have been induced to sub- ioin them, in order to furnish our readers with the most satisfadory information we have been able to procure on the subjett. — Immerse pieces of hempen cloth in water j and, after expressing the fluid, ' spread them on the infested heaps of grain: in the courseof two hours, the weevils will be found adhering to the cloths, from which they m]^t COR be carefully collefted, to prermt the insefts from escaping, am.1 then immersed under water, in oi-der to drown them. These vermin may also be expelled, by laying a branch of Hen-banb in the middle of a heap of grain : in such case, it will be necessary to watch them, so that they may be caught in tiie attempt of effecting their escape. The last method of extirpating the Corn-butterfly, within the cir- cle of our information, is that of distributing a number of large ant- hills thronghoutgranariesand barns, in the month of June, when these magazines have been emptied of grain. The ants immediately at- tack and devour all the weevils ; this expedient was suggested in a Paris paper ; stating, at the same time, that no vermin of the latter description had appeared on the premises of a fanner, who had availed himself of those industrious insefts. CORN-FLAG, the Common, or Gladiolus communis, L. a hardy, indigenous plant, growing in corn- fields, from one to two feet high j producing red and white, or pur- ple flowers, in May and June, which are succeeded by abundance of roundish seeds, in August. The Common Corn-flag may be easily propagated by off-sets from the roots j as it pro>ipers well ia any soil or situation. — The small, round, tuberous root is internally yellow, and reputed to be an ex- cellent vulnerary ; but this negleCt- ed vegetable is more important oa account of its mealy nature. Pli nt probably alludes to it, in theXXIst Book of his Natural History, where he observes, that the root has a sweet taste ; and, when b(Mled, not only imparts to Brbad an agree- ^Ic flavour, but incieases its weight.