GOUT FLY ; RIBBON-FOOTED CORN FLY. 9 



far as the highest knot, yet the ear has freed itself, and is only materially 

 injured at the lower part. Sometimes the injury from maggot feeding 

 may extend a third or half-way up one side of the fairly grown ear, 

 but if the attack comes whilst the ear is still in embryo, it may extend 

 the whole length. 



In the past season the first intimation of bad attack being present 

 that I am aware of, was given in the latter part of June by a short 

 paragraph in several of the agricultural journals to the effect that a 

 serious insect attack of a kind not previously observed was doing much 

 harm to Barley in the crops of Mr. Herbert Dowsett, Park Farm, 

 Pleshey, Essex. The first note of this, bearing date June 16th, was 

 kindly placed in my hands by Mr. E. A. Fitch, of Brick House, near 

 Maldon, to whom it was sent, and was conveyed in the following few 

 words : — " Fifty acres Barley ; about one-fourth is affected with 

 maggot (as samples), which eat young ear out. Soil, — clay bottom. 

 Neighbouring farms also affected." — (J. H. M.) The specimen of 

 injured Barley was entirely stunted as figured, and the ear within 

 eaten out nearly throughout its length. 



On begging information from Mr. Dowsett as to details, he for- 

 warded me ears of infested Barley, and also ears of sound Barley, 

 standing side by side, for comparison. The injured plants showed 

 very bad attack still in early stage. Some of the plants were stunted as 

 figured opposite, some older, and the chrysalis stage of the maggot was 

 already to some degree reached, for in one instance I found it lying in 

 the upper part of the bristles or awns of the embryo ear. Mr. Dowsett 

 mentioned that he had farmed the same land over thirty years, and had 

 never seen any attack like it before. The Barley was all grown after 

 fallow Mangolds and Swedes, all his own seed corn, which produced 

 last year (1892) over nine quarters, excepting two acres after Swedes, 

 which was sown thin with a sack of Barley bought of — *, at 10/- per 

 bushel. Mr. Dowsett considered that a quarter of his whole crop was 

 spoilt, and that from the bought seed was worse than the crop from his 

 own seed corn. 



Specimens of an equally bad, or even worse, attack were sent me 

 on the 11th of July, from the Estate Office, Wendover, Tring, by Mr. 

 Charles T. Adams, with the observation that the Barley affected was 

 taken from a chalky soil. In this case the deformed Indian-corn-like 

 plants, with the still sheathed ears, were sometimes hardly more than 

 three and a half inches in length, from the ground, in the solid part, 

 and only about six to seven inches when the leaves were laid out at 

 full length. One of the attacked ears, when freed from the sheath, 

 measured, when taken together with the stalk down to the uppermost 



* Name omitted for obvious reasons. — E. A. 0. 



