﻿[28] 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  COMMISSION. 
  

  

  sible; 
  hence 
  this 
  circumspection 
  well 
  authenticates 
  the 
  well-educated 
  

   thorough 
  entomologist. 
  

  

  The 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  examination 
  conducted 
  through 
  the 
  last 
  two 
  para- 
  

   graphs 
  is 
  thus 
  realized 
  : 
  our 
  gall-onat 
  is 
  none 
  other 
  than 
  Loew's 
  rye 
  gall- 
  

   gnat. 
  This 
  is 
  identical 
  with 
  the 
  Hessian 
  fly, 
  with 
  which 
  the 
  species 
  from 
  

   southern 
  Europe 
  agrees 
  ; 
  i. 
  e., 
  the 
  German, 
  South 
  European, 
  and 
  North 
  

   American 
  species 
  are 
  all 
  together 
  nothing 
  but 
  Cecidomyia 
  destructor 
  Say. 
  

  

  § 
  7. 
  Is 
  THE 
  NAME 
  HESSIAN 
  FLY 
  JUSTIFIED 
  BEFORE 
  THE 
  TRIBUNAL 
  

  

  OF 
  SCIENCE? 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  various 
  reports 
  on 
  the 
  Hessian 
  fly 
  the 
  year 
  1778 
  or 
  1779 
  is 
  

   usually 
  mentioned 
  as 
  the 
  first 
  time 
  the 
  flies 
  began 
  their 
  devastations 
  in 
  

   eastern 
  North 
  America. 
  As 
  a 
  few 
  divisions 
  of 
  Hessian 
  troops 
  in 
  En- 
  

   glish 
  service 
  (at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  American 
  War 
  of 
  Independence) 
  had 
  

   arrived 
  during 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  years 
  i^revions 
  to 
  1778 
  on 
  Long 
  Island, 
  the 
  

   opinion 
  that 
  the 
  new 
  wheat 
  enemy 
  was 
  introduced 
  with 
  packing 
  straw 
  

   of 
  those 
  troops, 
  was 
  soon 
  circulated, 
  and 
  accordingly 
  the 
  insect 
  was 
  com- 
  

   monly 
  called 
  '^ 
  Hessian 
  fly." 
  The 
  annually 
  recurring 
  tidings 
  of 
  the 
  

   more 
  and 
  more 
  widely 
  extendiug 
  devastations 
  of 
  the 
  Hessian 
  fly, 
  as 
  

   narrated 
  by 
  Fitch, 
  caused 
  Sir 
  Joseph 
  Banks 
  to 
  make 
  investigations 
  on 
  

   the 
  insect 
  in 
  Europe, 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  which, 
  as 
  reported 
  by 
  him, 
  was 
  

   " 
  that 
  no 
  such 
  insect 
  could 
  be 
  found 
  to 
  exist 
  in 
  Germany 
  or 
  any 
  other 
  

   part 
  of 
  Europe." 
  Upon 
  this 
  the 
  idea 
  that 
  the 
  insect 
  was 
  introduced 
  by 
  

   Hessian 
  troops 
  was 
  abandoned 
  in 
  America, 
  it 
  being 
  held 
  exclusively 
  to 
  

   be 
  an 
  American 
  species. 
  But 
  when, 
  in 
  1834, 
  as 
  mentioned 
  in 
  the 
  preced- 
  

   ing 
  paragraph, 
  Dana's 
  discovery 
  of 
  the 
  Hessian 
  fly 
  on 
  the 
  European 
  

   shore 
  of 
  the 
  Mediterranean, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  some 
  reports 
  from 
  various 
  parts 
  of 
  

   Middle 
  Europe, 
  as 
  to 
  similar 
  destructions 
  of 
  wheat 
  in 
  America, 
  were 
  

   made 
  known, 
  the 
  original 
  idea 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  the 
  Hessian 
  fly 
  started 
  

   up 
  anew 
  and 
  found 
  especially 
  in 
  Dr. 
  Fitch 
  a 
  very 
  ardent 
  advocate. 
  He 
  

   especially 
  holds 
  to 
  the 
  assertion 
  of 
  Colonel 
  Morgan, 
  who 
  Sir 
  John. 
  

   Temple 
  assures 
  us 
  subjected 
  the 
  insect 
  to 
  close 
  inspection, 
  and 
  says 
  : 
  

  

  The 
  Hessian 
  fly 
  was 
  first 
  introduced 
  into 
  America 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  some 
  straw, 
  made 
  

   use 
  of 
  in 
  package, 
  or 
  otherwise, 
  landed 
  on 
  Long 
  Island, 
  at 
  an 
  early 
  period 
  of 
  the 
  late 
  

   war 
  ; 
  and 
  its 
  first 
  appearance 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  neighborhood 
  of 
  Sir 
  "William 
  Howe's 
  debark- 
  

   ation, 
  and 
  at 
  Flatbush. 
  

  

  Fitch 
  adds 
  : 
  

  

  So 
  many 
  circumstances 
  concur 
  to 
  evince 
  the 
  truth 
  of 
  the 
  account 
  here 
  given 
  by 
  

   Col. 
  Morgan, 
  to 
  its 
  very 
  letter, 
  that 
  we 
  think 
  no 
  one 
  will 
  hereafter 
  hesitate 
  to 
  give 
  

   it 
  full 
  evidence 
  [credence]. 
  

  

  But 
  continues 
  after 
  this 
  audacious 
  decision 
  : 
  

  

  We 
  have 
  searched 
  in 
  vain 
  for 
  the 
  date 
  of 
  the 
  embarkation 
  of 
  the 
  Hessian 
  troops, 
  or 
  

   the 
  number 
  of 
  days 
  occupied 
  by 
  them 
  in 
  crossing 
  tiie 
  ocean. 
  It 
  is 
  possible 
  they 
  may 
  

   all 
  have 
  left 
  Europe 
  anterior 
  to 
  the 
  harvest. 
  But 
  in 
  Germany, 
  as 
  in 
  this 
  country, 
  as 
  

   is 
  shown 
  by 
  M. 
  Kollar's 
  statement, 
  the 
  infested 
  straw 
  becomes 
  broken 
  and 
  tangled 
  

   and 
  turns 
  yellow, 
  early 
  in 
  June 
  [!]. 
  Had 
  a 
  company 
  of 
  soldiers 
  needed 
  straw 
  for 
  

   j)ackage, 
  no 
  objections 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  to 
  their 
  going 
  into 
  a 
  field 
  of 
  this 
  kind, 
  

   and 
  with 
  a 
  scythe, 
  gathering 
  what 
  they 
  required, 
  weeks 
  i)efore 
  the 
  usual 
  time 
  of 
  

   harvest. 
  

  

  Aside 
  from 
  the 
  very 
  odd 
  perception 
  of 
  Hessian 
  military 
  discipline, 
  it 
  

   is 
  evident 
  that 
  Dr. 
  Fitch 
  lacked 
  knowledge 
  of 
  just 
  those 
  historical 
  

   facts 
  which 
  at 
  all 
  events 
  he 
  ought 
  to 
  have 
  utilized 
  as 
  premises 
  of 
  his 
  

   argument. 
  Let 
  us, 
  therefore, 
  look 
  back 
  into 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  war 
  

   of 
  that 
  time 
  for 
  reliable 
  rei^orts 
  on 
  the 
  voyage 
  at 
  sea 
  of 
  the 
  Hes- 
  

   sian 
  troops. 
  As 
  the 
  introduction 
  of 
  the 
  insect, 
  according 
  to 
  Fitch, 
  has 
  

   expressly 
  been 
  brought 
  in 
  relation 
  with 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  Hessian 
  soldiers 
  

  

  