398 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 10 



an entomologist for the purpose of obtaining information about the 

 pest and means of checking its ravages. 



Careful examination of the injured plants submitted by him revealed 

 two distinctive effects of attacks, denoting both external and mining 

 tendencies of feeding by the enemy. As the stem was the only part 

 showing violence, the plants had consequently received wounds in a 

 very vital place. Even cuts of slight size appeared to have eventually 

 produced nearly as fatal results as had been caused by extreme inflic- 

 tions. Ample evidence of the primary and of course the more prevalent 

 mode of attack was exhibited by the presence of scars. They also 

 commonly demarcated the secondary damage that was disclosed by 

 a tiny opening leading into the interior of the stem. These scars 

 varied from a mere scraping to a rough cavity in the tissues, all being 

 made conspicious by their black discoloration. They were located at 

 different heights on the stem, ranging from near the roots to a distance 

 of an inch or more above, but evidently depending on the depth of 

 insertion in the soil. 



In most instances, a plant had suffered but a single infliction. 

 Burrowed stems, however, had usually become too weak to support 

 the upper part of the plant, yet the fallen top remained attached at the 

 infirm place by the shreds of withered tissues. The longest burrow 

 found in any stem measured fully an inch. Every boring extended 

 upward from a scar where a maggot had manifestly worked its way into 

 the heart and there pursued its ravages. Although no additional 

 maggots could be detected, the injuries were typical of operations by 

 such creatures. The specimens at hand agreed very closely with a 

 figure of the corn seed maggot. But positive identification of the 

 species involved the necessity of securing adult examples or the actual 



fly- 



While no occurrence of exactly the same nature had ever before come 

 to the attention of the writer, yet reference to publications treating 

 of maggots known to attack roots and stems of vegetables afforded a 

 choice of several methods of protection against such foes, as recom- 

 mended by authorities on the subject. Among the methods given, 

 selection was made of two whose applications would seem to be most 

 feasible under the circumstances, and a trial of each was accordingly 

 proposed. One of the treatments required the use of oily sand, which 

 should be prepared by mixing a cupful of kerosene in each pail of dry 

 sand as would be needed, this to be placed close around the plants 

 remaining in the beds. The other recourse depended on a liberal 

 scattering of tobacco powder, which substance is claimed to serve as a 

 fertilizer in addition to its repellent property against the maggots. 



In order to render assistance based on practical experience in deahng 



