90 PEAR. 



The maggots are about one-sixth of an inch in length, narrow, 

 legless, smallest at the head and tail, with a small horny appendage, 

 known as the breast-bone, or (from its form in some of the Cecidomyia 

 larvne) as the "anchor process," beneath the fore part of the body near 

 the head end. In the Pear Gnat maggot this process consists of a 

 narrow stalk attached at its base to one of the segments of the little 

 larva, and pointing forward at the free end, which is enlarged to nearly 

 twice the width of the stem, and slightly notched at the flattened or 

 convex end. 



Within the Pears the midge maggots live and feed until they have 

 attained their full size, which may be about the beginning or middle 

 of June, and the infested Pears may often, though not always, be 

 known by their knobbed irregular growth and discoloured patches. 

 At this stage — that is, when the young Pear is destroyed by the 

 mischief within — the fruit usually cracks or falls to the ground, and 

 the maggots leave the fruit by way of the open cracks if it remains on 

 the tree, or if it falls without cracking, may remain for some weeks 

 within. In either case they bury themselves in the ground, and 

 (quoting from Prof. J. B. Smith ; for reference, see note, p. 91) go 

 down to a depth "varying somewhat with the condition of the soil, 

 from one-half to two inches, and there they lie for some time un- 

 changed. About midsummer the larvas make oval cocoons of silk 

 covered with grains of sand, and in these they lie unchanged until 

 early spring." — (J. B. S.) There appears to be a difference in date 

 of time of the maggots forming cocoons, and turning to pupal or 

 chrysalis state within them, possibly from not being in quite natural 

 circumstances ; but in regular course, whatever the exact date of 

 pupation may be, the Gnat Midges come up out of the ground in 

 spring ready to attack the blossom-buds of the Pear. 



Prevention and Remedy. — One sure method of lessening recurrence 

 of attack is to pick off and destroy the little stunted Pears before they 

 have reached the stage at which the maggots leave them to go down 

 into the ground. Also it is desirable to pick up (as soon as possible) 

 and destroy the small fallen fruit. To this the treatment of giving a 

 thoroughly good shaking and jarring of the boughs of the infested 

 tree, so as to shake down as much of the infested fruit as possible, as 

 soon as possible, would probably be a very serviceable addition. Also 

 if previously tarred cloth, or any rough cheap material, was spread 

 under the boughs of the tree, so that the infested fruit and the maggots 

 which escaped from it might all be gathered up together and burnt, 

 or well shaken out together into a hole and well covered down, this 

 would save much escape of the maggots. 



Where the ground below the trees is free of crop, and the Pear 



