236 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



or between the joints ; sometimes there are four or five larvae in a single 

 stalk, one above each joint for the first four or five joints from the 

 ground, which cause the stalk to prematurely ripen or to wither, and thus 

 occasion great loss. This insect, which is known as the "Wheat Isosoma," 

 Isosoma tritici, Riley, has been observed for two or three years past, in- 

 juring the wheat in Illinois, Tennessee and Missouri, and has prevailed in 

 some localities to such an extent as to ruin the crop. From the observa- 

 tions thus far made it seems that there is only one brood of this insect 

 during the season, and that it passes the winter in the straw either in the 

 larval or pupal state, the perfect flies appearing the following spring. 

 Under these conditions the remedy is obvious, viz., burn both the stubble 

 and the straw after harvest ; rotation of crops has also been found 

 beneficial. 



The cabbage crop has been materially injured by the ravages of the 

 cabbage Anthomyia, Anthomyia brassicce, a two-winged fly which 

 in the larval state burrows in the stem of the young plant and 

 causes its death. This cabbage insect is a native of Europe, is very 

 troublesome in Britain and has been known as a destructive insect in this 

 country for about thirty years, but nothing is known either of the date or 

 the method of its nitroduction. The flies appear in the spring and de- 

 posit their eggs upon the stems of the young cabbages, about or a little 

 below the surface of the ground. The eggs hatch in about ten days, 

 when the young larvae usually bore into the interior and work their way 

 down towards the root; sometimes they merely gnaw grooves on the outer 

 surface of the stem, and by this means find their way to the roots on 

 which they feed. When full grown they change to yellowish red chry- 

 salids in the earth, from which the flies shortly escape, the whole period of 

 their life history thus briefly traced occupying about eight weeks. Usually 

 the plants attackedsoon wilt and finally die. It is believed that there are' 

 two or three broods of these insects during the year. 



Several remedies have been recommended, such as dipping the roots 

 and stems of the young plants in strong lye, or a mixture of earth and 

 cowdung diluted with water, or a thick mixture of soot and water. Any 

 bitter or alkaline substance which would adhere well to the outer surface 

 would probably deter the flies from depositing their eggs. Lime added 

 to the soil in the proportion of loo to 150 bushels to the acre, after 

 ploughing, and well harrowed in so as to keep it near the surface, has 

 proved a very effectual preventive measure, or even where the insects are 



