Report of the State Entomologist 239 



birch, beech, locust, and hemlock. The stables, hen-house, and 

 vegetable gardens are on the opposite side of the street on the north. 



At Franklin, N. H., where the flies occurred, perhaps, in greater 

 abundance than at Ausable Forks (see Fourth Report), the infested 

 dwelling-house of Mr. Daniell " was surrounded by a broad lawn, and 

 in front was fine green grass for 200 feet or more. Across the road 

 was a hill arising to a height, perhaps, of a hundred feet, extending 

 for an eighth of a mile, and covered with a growth of oak, pine and 

 locust trees." 



A comparison of the surroundings of the two dwellings show a 



striking resemblance, in which the feature in common, of an extended 



and encircling lawn, is suggestive: That of a neighboring eminence 



clothed with forest trees, among which are the pine and locust, is 



interesting, but would hardly need consideration in this connection. 



No grain fields, in which the fly has hitherto been thought to breed, 



are in the vicinity of either; at Franklin, "but little grain is grown 



within many miles;" at Ausable Forks, "no farms are within three 



miles." 



The Fly Probably Breeds in Grass. 



When informed under date of August twenty-seventh that the flies 

 had made their appearance the day before, I was unable to visit 

 Ausable Forks for the investigation which I had purposed to make at 

 this time. Believing that ihej would be found coming out of the 

 grasses of the lawn, and availing myself of the generous offer of Mrs. 

 Graves to give me any assistance in her power, I wrote requesting 

 her to cover patches of the lawn in different portions of it, with some 

 thin muslin weighted down at the borders, that it might catch and 

 hold any flies that might emerge. 



The first attempts with thin muslin and lace were unsuccessful, as 

 they allowed all of the small insects to escape before they could be 

 identified. A second experiment with thicker muslin, secured a num- 

 ber of small flies, but Chloropisca was not positively identified. Later, 

 under date of September 2d, Mrs. Graves wrote: "I went out again 

 this morning, and after stirring up the grass with my hands, I kept 

 perfectly still for the cloud of flying things to settle. I felt like 

 shouting Eureka ! when I saw Chloropisca in numbers on my dress 

 and hands. Those that settled on the chamois gloves that I had on, 

 gave me the opportunity of making sure of their identity. Of course, 

 I can not say from this that the pest is in the grass, but it certainly is 

 on the grass abundantly." 



On receipt of the above, the further suggestion was made, to 

 ensure, if possible, beyond all question, the source of the flies, that a 



