204 LETTERS TO DR. FLETCHER [CHAP. xix. 



the Superintendents at Toddington are, up to date, quite 

 satisfied and grateful. We are greatly indebted to you for 

 your kind and able help, and what it has been to me I 

 cannot say. It would fill a volume to record the progress 

 of our work. It at first appeared as if the spirit of folly had 

 got into the heads of the opposition ; everything imaginable 

 turned up one after another, and, as Entomologist to the 

 Committee, I have hardly had a day's peace till now 

 for weeks or months. We had one definite combination 

 against us, and when all seemed quiet the beekeepers raised 

 a commotion. This had to be answered publicly, but it 

 seemed self-evident that if we did not spray when the trees 

 were in flower we would not hurt the bees. One of our 

 members made a commotion about his own health, and I 

 had to point out to him that if he were not used to standing 

 out in a March wind slopping with cold water (only I put 

 it more politely) he was likely to feel uncomfortable. 



If we meet, as I hope we may some day, I am sure you 

 would be entertained with "The rise and progress of Paris- 

 green." But really all the work and terrible anxiety have 

 tried me very much, and I am going to have a little holiday 

 with my sister for a couple of days at Oxford as a 

 refreshment. 



October 6, 1890. 



You encourage me very much indeed by all you so kindly 

 say, and I value your approval of my new book greatly, but 

 I always feel, and I try to acknowledge, that the real use- 

 fulness of my work is derived from the kind co-operation 

 I am allowed the benefit of. Just look at the Paris-green 

 matter. I quite sheltered myself behind your name as an 

 active referee. The good folks were hard of belief anyhow, 

 but I really doubt if I could have driven the nail home 

 without having you to fall back on. But for the pain that it 

 could not fail to give, the history of our Evesham Committee's 

 work, and what we had to meet, would be a most interesting 

 chapter, and at last we had perfect success ! 



I think I told you of the wonderfully diseased strawberry 

 plants, looking more like pieces of cauliflowers placed on 

 the ground than their own graceful forms. Dr. Ritzema 

 Bos has found that this is from the presence of a Tylen- 

 chus (eel-worm) (figs. 47 and 49), hitherto undescribed, 

 and is going to bring out a preliminary notice in November, 

 and as some portion of the observations (not the scientific 

 parts) were mine, he will kindly let me use what I need for 

 my Report. He is a very kind colleague. 



