E. A. OEMEEOD — ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 85 



shaken out by scores and hundreds. The Chlorops is given by 

 Curtis as appearing in 1837 in myriads, in various parts of the 

 country, and the barley in Lancashire is stated to have been de- 

 stroyed to a great extent by C. taniopus in 1841.* In 1846 the 

 barley crops are again noticed by Curtis as stiffering severely from 

 it in different places in four counties named to the extent of from 

 half to two-thirds the crop. These insects also attack wheat and 

 rye. Cephus pygmmis (the corn saw-fly), which attacks the plant 

 by travelling in the larval state throughout the interior of the stem 

 previous to sawing it through, or nearly through, at the base, to 

 facilitate its exit when developed, is numerous in this country ; but 

 the only returns of injuries to which I have access are the ' Annales 

 d'Orleans,' and the report of M. Herpin, quoted by Curtis in 'Farm 

 Insects,' which give them as a sixtieth part of the crop at Metz, but 

 "much more considerable" in other localities named, and the 

 appearance of a field attacked by saw-flies is described as seeming to 

 have been traversed in every direction by sportsmen and animals. 



The wheat midge, a small four-winged fly, effecting its injuries 

 by abortion of the grain, may be found in enormous quantities, in 

 the larval state, in chaff sweepings, or hovering, just developed, 

 over old chaff heaps in June. The Cecidomyia Tritici is given in the 

 excellent article on the subject in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' for 

 1847, as being mentioned by Kirby as destroying at the end of the 

 last century about a twentieth part of the crop in one spot ; by 

 Mr. Gorrie f as causing a loss in the Carse of Gowrie estimated at 

 not less, in 1829, than £36,000; and by Dr. Asa Fitch,+ as, in 

 1832, sweeping away the wheat crops completely ; and the enormous 

 numbers of this insect are given by Professor Henslow in tables § 

 as amounting to 834,952 pupae and larvffi in seven bushels of bam- 

 floor chaff and dust, collected from four different localities. 



Passing on as briefly as possible with a few of the insects 

 injurious to field crops generally, the surface caterpillars, which 

 will probably be remembered as especially injurious a few years 

 ago, when in some localities turnips were nearly destroyed by them, 

 are a general evil. Taking only the references to them in Curtis' 

 ' Farm Insects ' (one here and there of many), it is noted that " in 

 1818, 1826, 1827, and 1836, but few vegetables escaped their 

 ravages," and that in 1818 "scarcely a good turnip was left by 

 them." These grubs may be found up to as many as from 12 to 30 

 at the root of one turnip or mangel wurzel, and in one case noted, 

 16,000 larvae were picked from eight acres of swedes ; and once in 

 possession, the catei-pillars from their large size make rapid work. 



Wireworms (the long, yellow, hard-skinned larvae of the EJater 

 or click-beetle) feed during the five years through which (as far as 

 can be ascertained) their larval state lasts, on grass and corn roots, 

 turnips, potatoes, cabbage, and almost all our field crops. Twenty 



* ' Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society,' vol. v, p. 491. 



f ' Encyclopscdia of Agriculture,' 3rd edition, p. 820. 



X ' Transactions of the New York Agricultural Society,' vol. xiv, p. 691. 



\ ' Journ. Eoyal Agricultural Soc' vol. iii, p. 38. 



