STRIG MAGGOT. 5? 



brought some home and put them on some earth in a box, and in two 

 hours they had nearly all buried themselves in the earth." . . . "The 

 same parts of our Hop-grounds seem to be most infested with the 

 maggots each year, so it does not seem as if the midges travel far 

 before they lay their eggs." — (E. J. S.) 



What is needed is, to destroy the maggots between the time of their 

 going down and that of their development to gnat midges and flight. 

 It may certainly be considered that they lie either at the surface, in 

 rubbish that may shelter them, or very little below it, because the mag- 

 gots are too little to pierce down deeply with any chance of the minute 

 and weak gnat-fly of soft texture, and with no apparatus for boring, 

 coming up to the surface through a weight of earth. But how to get 

 rid of them is a question for Hop-growers. Most likely dressings of 

 farm manure would do little, if any, good. Caustic dressings thrown 

 on the surface of the soil, or lightly forked into it, not of kinds or in 

 quantity to injure the roots, would very likely be beneficial. Stirring 

 open the soil, or clearing off the surface, as well as could be managed, 

 and throwing it thinly about so as to expose the maggots to winter 

 weather and birds, would probably do some good. Or if a dressing 

 could be used, of ashes or dry earth with a little paraffin in it, this, if 

 thrown on the hills at the time when the Gnat-midge might be 

 expected to come up, might very likely indeed do good. 



In the Stoke Edith experiments regarding Hop Aphis, we found the 

 above application, in the proportion of a quart of paraffin to one bushel 

 of dry material, did not in the slightest degree injure the Hop-shoots 

 which came up through it, and there was no appearance of Aphis 

 attack on the bines from these hills (though it occurred on those of 

 which the soil had not been thus dressed), until attack came in 

 winged form. 



From this we considered the wingless Aphides could not come up 

 through the dressing, and I should not think that the little Cecid gnats 

 would be more capable of penetrating. The time when the mischief is 

 begun must be after the Hop-cone has made much of its growth, 

 because (so far as specimens sent show) the cone is not so much 

 injured by being stunted in growth as by the central stem being 

 tunnelled. We find the grown or moderately grown strig with the 

 tunnels in it. 



But, excepting the date when the Gnat-midge appears, there seems 

 to be all information at hand regarding its life-history that is requisite 

 for applying remedial measures, if those most conversant with treat- 

 ment of the Hop -hills could work out how these should be arranged. 



