AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 231 



Walsh evidently did not endorse this, as he says: "The eggs 

 are inserted by the ovipositors of the flies into the flesh of the 

 apple," a statement, which our observations confirm, though we 

 are at a loss to know upon what data Walsh affirms so positively, 

 as he did not describe the eggs, ovipositor, or make record of 

 having witnessed oviposition. Walsh says Trypeta "never pene- 

 trates to the core," a statement not warranted by our observations, 

 as maggots have frequently been found in the core, and sometimes 

 the core almost eaten, as shows in Plate III, Figure 5-. Walsh 

 says Trypeta '■'■probably feeds upon our native crabs." It should 

 be noticed that he does not make record of having found it in crab 

 appels. The statement restricting the appearance of the flies to July 

 is partial knowledge rather than error and the result of limited obser- 

 vations. The other statements recorded by Walsh our observa- 

 tions have confirmed. 



The matter upon the food habits and distribution of Trypeta 

 was in print before we had access to Prof. Riley's article (Araer. 

 Agric, July, 1872, p. 263) where the fact that the fly has been 

 bred from wild crab apples is recorded. Prof. Riley has not 

 experimented, but offers the following remedial measures, based 

 upon the habits of the insect, that are worthy of a trial, viz : 

 "covering the ground thickly with salt, ashes, lime or other sub- 

 stances" to prevent the emergence of the flies; "feeding the 

 infested fruit to hogs or converting it into cider, and stirring or 

 disturbing of the ground in spring so that birds and other preda- 

 ceous animals may get at the pupae." Prof. Riley also notices the 

 fact that Trypeta sometimes affects the core of apples. "In N. Y. 

 Semi- Weekly Tribune, Dec, 1876. Prof. Riley quotes Mr. Augur 

 as taying that Trypeta "seems to prefer sweet apples but is found 

 in R. I. Greenings and many other varieties, illustrating the wide 

 range of the work- of Trypeta. The statement made by Prof. 

 Riley that the larvae appear in late summer would be true only of 

 the later races of flies, as the yonng maggots are found early in 

 summer in early fruits. Prof. Riley implies that the flies are on 

 the wing only in July, and that the eggs are only laid when the 

 fruit is full grown, conclusions not warranted by our observations. 

 He seems to endorse Walsh's view that the flies oviposit in the 

 fruit, but afterwards has evidently changed his views, as he 

 recently wrote the writer, that the insertion of the eggs into the 

 flesh of the apple through the skin "is opposed to everything 

 which we know regarding the egg laying habits of Diptera." 



3 N 



