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tion. He had beeu trying to ascertain, for the Ottawa district, the 

 number of broods of Hessian Fly in a season. He had found that the 

 Hessian Fly, the Wheat Stem-maggot and an Oscinis, were all found at 

 the same time in the same plants, and further speaking, generally they 

 passed through their stages contemporaneously. Of the three, the Os- 

 cinis had proved much the most destructive during the past summer. 

 He had found spring wheat sown in April, badly attacked at the root by 

 all three. With regard to the Hessian Fly, this was a new attack in his 

 experience. The perfect insects of the Hessian Fly and Oscinis had 

 emerged at the end of June, and a month later Meromyza. He had 

 taken the adult Hessian Flies at Ottawa during the present season, in 

 the beginning of May, at the end of June, and in August, and he sup- 

 posed they would appear again in September. He had not been able to 

 find the Hessian Fly breeding in any of the grasses, and would like to 

 know if others had done so. Meromyza and the Oscinis were both most 

 destructive pests in grass lands. Both of these had been present in the 

 perfect state during the past spring in enormous numbers, but notwith- 

 standing this, the conspicuous summer attack ot Meromyza, causing 

 '^ silver top" in wheat and barley, was less noticeable than usual. He 

 could only account for this by supposing that the eggs had been de- 

 stroyed, as the amount of injury to the root shoots was only about the 

 same as usual. 



The Oscinis he had been unable to identify ; but Mr. John Marten had 

 told him during the present meeting of a similar attack which had beeu 

 studied by Professor Garman, in Kentucky, which appeared to be of the 

 same species. This had been identified by Dr. Williston as probably 

 being Oscmis variahiUs. Professor Cook stated that at Lansing, Mich., 

 Meromyza was one of the worst pests in oats. He had seen no no- 

 tice of this attack in literature on the subject. They had looked 

 carefully for Hessian Fly in grasses; but so far had not succeeded in 

 finding it. 



Mr. Garman stated that he had studied what appeared to be the same 

 species of Oscinis, in Kentucky, and had prepared there an article for 

 13ublication. 



Professor Osborn stated that he had taken at Ames, Iowa, numerous 

 specimens of Oscinis, one of which closely resembled that exhibited by 

 Mr. Fletcher. Mr. W. B. Alwood mentioned having studied, in Ohio, 

 a species of Oscinis infesting oats, and had published his results in Bul- 

 letin 13, Division of Entomology. He had found that the eggs, two to 

 eleven in number, were forced between the sheath slightly below the 

 juncture of the leaf, and that, just prior to pupation, the larvae gnawed 

 through the epidermis and the pupae protruded so as to admit of the 

 easy escape of the adult. 



Mr. Fletcher, referring again to the Meromyza, stated that in many 

 instances he had found the egg deposited upon the upper surface of the 

 leaf, some distance from the stem, and asked if others had observed 

 this to be the case elsewhere. 



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