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OBSERVATIONS concerning 



fuch feelers. For from the make of it, to my judgment 

 k appears an impofTibility that it fliould ever perforate into 

 a hard grain, being furniilied with nothing in nature, from 

 the moft minute examination by glafles, that could make 

 fuch a perforation; and feems indeed a fly itfelf, confifting 

 of nothing fenfible to the flighteft touch with the finger, 

 nor to the eye, affifted with glaffee, leaving only a little 

 dry pale brown gloffy duft, on being fqueezed. 



Having obferved the wheat from my Northumberland 

 quarters, never affefted by it; but conftantly found and per- 

 fect, through many years that I have been obliged to keep 

 it for my own ufe, even in the fame granary with weevil- 

 eaten wheat; I was, and am {lill, inclined to conclude, 

 the enemy is fome how lodged in the grain before it grows 

 hard. It might not have been then too late to have had 

 that better proof of this, which I have fmce been able to 

 get, by difcovering little eggs and maggots half formed 

 into flies in the grain. But as I had nothing particular at 

 firft to lead me to fuch an examination, I waited till the 

 next crop; and at all times, between day and dark in calm 

 weather, during the feveral days of growth from the 

 blooming time, till the livery or hardening ftate of the 

 grain, Ivifited a field, ifpoffible, to difcover whether any 

 of thefe flies appeared amongfl: the heads of the wheat 



during the foft ftate of the grain. Accordingly, in a plea- 



fant evening, after the fun was down, and every thing 

 ferenely calm, I found the rafcals extremely bufy amongft 

 my ears, and really very numerous. I immediately in- 

 clofed fome of them in a light loofe handkerchief; and by 

 the magnifiers of my telefcope, I took occafion minutely 



to examine them. 



They are a pale brownifh moth, with little trunks or 



bodies, fome trifle fliorter than their wings; and as fome 

 of their Ihtle bodies appeared bulging as if loaded, I ap- 

 plied the preflAjre of a fine ftraw upon them, and law them 

 fquirt out, one after another, a number of little things 

 hich I took to be eggs, fome more, fome lefs; fome 



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