Mr. M ARSH am' s s further Obferv at ions on the Wheat Infect. 227 



and to count the number of grains in each, in none I found fewer 

 than forty, and in one fixty-two; nay, my fervant found one with 

 feventy grains, moil of which were perfe&, there being only three 

 or four fhrivelled in each ear— a proof, I hope, that notwithftanding 

 the depredations of this and other infects, the crop will not turn 

 out deficient." In another part of his letter, Mr. Markwick, with 

 great probability, conjeaures, " that thefe larvae may feed on the 

 farina, or male dull of the ftamina, and poffibly prevent the proper 

 fertilization of the piftil in fuch a manner as to occafion the future 

 grain to be thrivelled and imperfect." 



In addition to the foregoing remarks, I can only fubjoin a few 

 obfervations of my own on the ears of wheat fent me by Mr. Mark- 

 wick, and let. Mr. Kirby's accurate and valuable experiments follow 

 as a feparate paper. On clofe examination of a number of ears, I 

 found from two to fix grains inhabited by the larvae, as reprefcnted 

 in Tab. 22. fig. 10. a. in the 3d vol. of the Linnaan Tranfatlions, ex- 

 cept that the number of the larvae was greater in many of them, 

 and in one or two I found what appeared to be a pupa. Having 

 inclofed feveral ofthofe ears in large phials, with gauze over the 

 mouth, I foon perceived that they became covered with mould, and 

 the larvae quitting them fell to the bottom of the phials and pcriQicd. 

 I then procured one of the chimnies made ufe of for Argand's lamps, 

 in which I inclofed fome other ears, covering each end with gauze: by 

 this means a free circulation of air being permitted to pals through, 

 the corn remained clean, and the little animals have not quitted 

 their fituation; which leads me to conclude that they will change into 

 the pupa (late, as many appeared to have done that were left in the 

 box in which they came, fb that I have great hopes of breeding the 

 fly at the proper feafon of the year, which I prefume is now approach- 

 in^. The figure from Mr. Markwick's drawing, reprelented in 

 Tab.xix. No. vi. fig- 2. agrees in general with the defcription of fipula 



G g 2 ftnfici 



