mth Suggestio7is for its Destrndion. 429 



by Stephens to the Anthomyia radicum of Meigen and Wiede- 

 mann. Although I regret that want of time, as well as igno- 

 rance of the more scientific principles of agriculture, have 

 prevented my making the extensive series of observations by 

 which, as above insisted upon, a knowledge of the entire natural 

 history of, and consequently of the most efficient remedies 

 against, this insect can be obtained, yet I may be allowed 

 space for a few suggestions resulting from the facts already 

 acquired. 



If, from the somewhat similar growth of the turnip and 

 onion, we consider that the grubs which attack the latter plant 

 in a very young state are produced from eggs deposited (in 

 the same manner as Rusticus states to be the case with those 

 of the turnip fly) upon the seeds of the onion, then it is evi- 

 dent that, if immersion in brine had the efi^ect of 'destroying 

 the turnip fly*s eggs, the same effect will be produced with 

 those of the onion fly. 



If, on the other hand, such should not be the case, and the 

 eggs should be deposited by the parent fly upon the young 

 plants, or even if, from what is known of the repeated gene- 

 rations of the domestic fly in the course of the season, the 

 first grub should be produced from eggs deposited upon the 

 seed, and the latter generation of grubs from eggs deposited 

 upon the growing plants by the flies produced from such early 

 grubs, then, and in either of such cases, it appears to me 

 that an effectual remedy will be to destroy the early grubs, 

 to as great an extent as possible, by carefully selecting and 

 burning (not burying) the young infested onions. 



The safest way, however, will be to employ both remedies, 

 at least until it shall be ascertained whether the eggs be actu- 

 ally deposited upon the seed or not. I make this remark, 

 because, as has been suggested to me by a naturalist of emi- 

 nence, the pods of the onion are closely shut, not being suffered 

 by the seedsmen to split before they are gathered * ; more- 

 Cinereous, clothed with distant black hairs, proceeding, particularly in the 

 thorax, from* a black point : legs nigrescent, back of abdomen of (^ with 

 an interrupted black vitta down the middle; wings immaculate; poisers 

 and alulae pale yellow ; length 3i lines. 



* The same objection exists against the idea that the eggs of the turnip 

 fly are placed upon the turnip seed. Moreover, there are some other cir- 

 cumstances connected with the natural history of this insect, which call for 

 minute investigation. Thus, it is contrary to analogy to suppose that the 

 egg of an insect, the grub of which, when hatched, must feed above ground, 

 should be placed by the parent fly in such a situation that it would neces- 

 sarily be buried. Again, if the turnip fly be produced, as Rusticus pre- 

 sumes, from eggs laid upon the seeds, how did it happen that " there were 

 some beetles from the very first coming up of the plant'?" since there 

 would be no necessity for their living through the winter, like some butter- 



