﻿360 
  Mr. 
  F. 
  Enock's 
  life-histonj 
  oj 
  

  

  pest" 
  has 
  been 
  recorded 
  from; 
  not 
  that 
  it 
  had 
  not 
  

   occurred 
  there 
  before, 
  but 
  there 
  were 
  no 
  persons 
  who 
  

   troubled 
  themselves 
  to 
  examine 
  the 
  crops. 
  At 
  Acock's 
  

   Green, 
  near 
  Birmingham, 
  I 
  found 
  puparia 
  in 
  plenty 
  

   in 
  the 
  barley 
  stubble, 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  rarest 
  thing 
  

   I 
  have 
  ever 
  met 
  with, 
  viz., 
  a 
  satisfied 
  farmer 
  : 
  one 
  

   who 
  (as 
  he 
  said) 
  ''didn't 
  care 
  a 
  straw 
  if 
  the 
  Hessian 
  Fly 
  

   2vas 
  in 
  his 
  fields 
  ; 
  he 
  had 
  had 
  a 
  good 
  crop, 
  and 
  what 
  more 
  

   did 
  he 
  want? 
  except 
  to 
  have 
  me 
  locked 
  up 
  for 
  trespassing 
  

   in 
  his 
  fields 
  of 
  stubble"! 
  This 
  specimen 
  of 
  an 
  English 
  

   farmer 
  had 
  not 
  always 
  been 
  so 
  contented 
  ; 
  for 
  years 
  ago, 
  so 
  

   he 
  told 
  me, 
  his 
  crops 
  of 
  mangolds 
  "had 
  been 
  eaten 
  up 
  by 
  

   the 
  worm 
  as 
  turned 
  to 
  a 
  little 
  mot 
  as 
  lays 
  thousands 
  of 
  

   eggs 
  in 
  a 
  minute 
  ! 
  he 
  knew, 
  and 
  had 
  seen 
  'em 
  do 
  it 
  in 
  

   his 
  'at.'" 
  The 
  remembrance 
  of 
  this 
  "little 
  mot" 
  was 
  

   indeed 
  bitter 
  to 
  this 
  old 
  ignoramus, 
  who 
  positively 
  raved 
  

   about 
  it, 
  and 
  wanted 
  to 
  know 
  why 
  " 
  Parlimint 
  didn't 
  do 
  

   summut 
  to 
  help 
  the 
  poor 
  farmer 
  to 
  live 
  ? 
  " 
  I 
  quite 
  agreed 
  

   with 
  him 
  that 
  something 
  ought 
  to 
  be 
  done, 
  and 
  so 
  we 
  

   parted 
  good 
  friends. 
  

  

  Another 
  farmer 
  at 
  Evesham 
  had 
  heard 
  something 
  

   about 
  the 
  Hessian 
  Fly, 
  but 
  " 
  hadn't 
  bothered 
  himself 
  

   about 
  it," 
  though 
  on 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  stubble 
  I 
  found 
  

   the 
  puparia 
  in 
  plenty. 
  I 
  asked. 
  What 
  had 
  he 
  done 
  with 
  

   the 
  screenings 
  ? 
  "Oh, 
  chucked 
  'em 
  in 
  a 
  heap 
  under 
  a 
  

   clump 
  of 
  trees" 
  was 
  his 
  reply, 
  and 
  there 
  I 
  found 
  them 
  

   just 
  as 
  they 
  had 
  come 
  from 
  the 
  thresher 
  ; 
  the 
  farmer 
  

   had 
  made 
  a 
  "midden 
  heap" 
  of 
  them, 
  and 
  that 
  was 
  

   enough 
  for 
  him 
  ; 
  and 
  viore 
  than 
  enough 
  for 
  others 
  — 
  for 
  

   the 
  abundant 
  spread 
  of 
  the 
  Hessian 
  Fly 
  over 
  their 
  fields. 
  

  

  On 
  Aug. 
  24th 
  I 
  wrote 
  a 
  letter 
  to 
  ' 
  The 
  Times,' 
  sug- 
  

   gesting 
  the 
  advisability 
  of 
  collecting 
  the 
  bent 
  straws 
  

   breeding 
  the 
  parasites, 
  to 
  turn 
  down, 
  and 
  of 
  course 
  

   killing 
  the 
  flies. 
  I 
  argued 
  then, 
  as 
  I 
  do 
  now, 
  that 
  if 
  one 
  

   person 
  can 
  in 
  about 
  four 
  hours 
  collect 
  about 
  2000 
  

   puparia, 
  a 
  properly 
  organised 
  staff 
  would 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  

   show 
  far 
  more 
  important 
  results 
  ; 
  but 
  though 
  several 
  

   papers 
  noticed 
  and 
  commented 
  on 
  my 
  letter, 
  I 
  believe 
  

   I 
  was 
  the 
  only 
  person 
  who 
  continued 
  to 
  collect 
  and 
  breed 
  

   the 
  parasites. 
  

  

  I 
  am 
  afraid 
  that 
  very 
  little 
  preventive 
  work 
  can 
  be 
  

   done 
  whilst 
  the 
  eggs 
  are 
  being 
  laid 
  ; 
  as 
  this 
  takes 
  place 
  

   from 
  the 
  latter 
  end 
  of 
  April 
  right 
  on 
  to 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  June, 
  

   and 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  impossible 
  to 
  search 
  the 
  growing 
  barley 
  ; 
  

  

  