96 PEAR. [1899 



" Last spring (1899) the Pear Midge was worse than ever, both as 

 regards further varieties it attacked (among these notably the Dnchesse 

 d'Angouleme, which in 1898 was scarcely touched, and in 1899 nearly 

 all were), also as regards number of maggots in a single Pear — in 

 many cases I counted as many as twenty. 



"Last year |1899) in good time I applied a heavy dressing of 

 kainite, and shall watch with great interest result on a row of the 

 Pitmaston Duchess, which were about the worst attacked, and at 



same time finest trees in the plantation I also heard from 



other sources that the Pear Midge had been very destructive in some 

 parts of Herefordshire last year," — (H. F. G.) 



Early in the year 1898 I received a communication from Messrs. 

 R. & B. Bomford, of Pitchill, near Evesham, desiring information as 

 to measures of prevention, in the (then) coming season, of an attack to 

 very young Pears, which, from the clear account given, was obviously 

 that of this Pear Maggot, Diplusis pyrivora : but on May 30th fol- 

 lowing Mr. Benjamin Bomford again communicated with me from 

 Evesham, with specimens, leaving no doubt as to the nature of the 

 attack: — "I have delayed writing to you respecting the Pears, hoping 

 to have a better report to send from the late blossoms, but I am sorry 

 to say we have a complete failure again this year." The specimens, 

 consisting of five bunches of little Pears, of which the largest were 

 about five-eighths of an inch across, and a little more in length, 

 showed chnracteristic infestation to a serious extent. 



From Mr. Bomford's accounts of the attack of 1899, sent me 

 June 2nd, 1899, and Jan. 8th, 1900, it will be seen that the attack 

 was much the worst on the pasture land, and that where the land was 

 dug, which would act to some degree similarly to scraping off the 

 maggot-infested surface and destroying it there, was not a very bad 

 attack. No marked different effect was observed consequently on 

 application of kainite, nitrate of soda, or of gas lime. 



June 2nd, 1899: — "I posted you yesterday two branches of 

 William Pears — the one was the worst I could find, and the other 

 one of the best. On the one I do not think you will find a single 

 sound Pear, but on the other there are about five. The attack is 

 much worse on the pasture land ; both these were taken from it ; 

 where we have dug the land we have not a very bad attack this 

 season, but unfortunately the Pears have not set well there." — 

 (R. & B. B.) 



On Jan. 8th, 1900, Messrs. Bomford further communicated with 

 me : — "In reply to yours of the 2nd. As we stated in ours of June 2nd, 

 the attack of Pear maggots in 1899, although very severe, was nothing 

 like so bad as in 1898, when our entire crop was destroyed. Last year 

 we had about a third of the crop left. We tried, as you suggested, 



