midge in Indiana in L884. It does nol finish its transformation until 

 after the maggots have left the clover heads and constructed their co- 

 coons in t lie ground, and therefore emerges from the cocoons and not 

 from the clover heads. 



Two species of Tetrastichus, both small, mostly Mark or bronze- 

 colored four-winged chalcidid flies, were reared in immense numbers in 

 the spring of 1905 from clover heads collected about Lincoln, Nebr., 

 during the preceding December. In this case the adult parasites were 

 reared from both larva' and pupse taken in midwinter from infested 

 clover heads, and their abundance is an indication of their efficiency in 

 destroying the midge. 



PREVENTIVE MEASURES. 



Fortunately there are two equally efficient and practical measures 

 that can be applied, each to different field conditions. If the meadow 

 to be protected consists of clover alone, and not a mixture of clover and 

 timothy, the hay should be cut quite early, not later than the second 

 week in June, in ordinary seasons. In the latitude of northern Ohio, 

 Indiana, and Illinois this will be just before timothy is headed, but, of 

 course, the date will be earlier to the south and later to the north. As 

 clover alone will stand earlier harvesting without injury to the hay crop, 

 this method is entirely feasible; and it seems either to destroy the 

 larva 1 of the midge or to so hasten the second blooming that, by the 

 time the second or fall brood of midges appears the blossoms have 

 become too far advanced for the maggots to work in them. 



The second measure can be applied where, as is more often the case 

 in the Middle West, timothy and clover are grown together. While 

 dairymen and cattlemen prefer clear clover hay, horsemen prefer 

 timothy with little or no clover. Besides, in some sections of the 

 country, the clover seems to gradually displace the timothy, while in 

 others the reverse is the case, the relative proportions of each being, 

 therefore, more or less unstable. In such cases it is understood by the 

 Earmers that a mixed meadow with much timothy needs to stand longer 

 before mowing than in case of clover alone, a condition that can be 

 effectually met by pasturing meadows lightly or running a mower over 

 them and clipping hack the growth — probably not later than the middle 

 of May to the south, while Doctor Fletcher, in Canada, states that in his 

 northern latitude it must he done not later than June 20. This treat- 

 ment of a meadow of clover and timothy combined only checks the 

 growth temporarily, precisely as does the work of the clover-leaf weevil, 



so that both first ami second blooming of the clover portion come too 

 late for the destructive work of the midge, and the hay crop, as a whole, 

 sustains no loss. This retardation may slightly delay the haying in 

 meadows so treated, hut this hay can be cut while the timothy is in 



bloom or afterwards, as suits the desire of the owner. 



