96 



some time unnoticed, and its first noticeable appearance may not have 

 been at the point of importation. 



All imported cattle from Europe pass through the quarantine sta- 

 tions of this Department at either Littleton, Mass., Garfield. N. J., or 

 Patapsco, Md., and an examination of the records developes one or two 

 points of interest. Since 1884 only ten head of cattle have been im- 

 ported into the country direct from France. All of these have passed 

 through the New Jersey station, but their ultimate destinations have 

 in no cases been within the regions now infested with the fly. The 

 other importations have been from points like Antwerp, London, Am- 

 sterdam, Hamburg, Glasgow, Liverpool, Southampton, Hull, Kotter- 

 dam, and Bristol. The year 1886, immediately preceding the appear- 

 ance of the fly, was marked by quite an extensive importation of Hol- 

 steins from Amsterdam and Eotterdam and London, through the Gar- 

 field station, mainly for parties in New York City. Over three hundred 

 were imported, and an interesting point to investigate will, therefore, 

 be the occurrence or non-occurrence of this fly in Holland. 



POPULAR NAMES AND POPULAR ERRORS. 



The popular name which is here adopted— the "Horn Fly" — has the 

 sanction of popular use. It is sufficiently distinctive and we therefore 

 recommend its adoption. The name of " Texas Fly " and " Buffalo Fly" 

 and "Buffalo Gnat" are also in use in some sections and indicate an 

 impression that the insect came from the West. Dr. Lintner uses the 

 term "Cow-horn Fly." Objections may be urged to all of these. 



The most prominent of the popular errors is the belief that the fly 

 damages the horn, eats into its substance, causes it to rot, and even 

 lays eggs in it which hatch into maggots and may penetrate to the 

 brain. There is no foundation for these beliefs. As we shall show 

 later, the flies congregate on the bases of the horns only to rest where 

 they are not liable to be disturbed. While they are there they are 

 always found in the characteristic resting position, as shown in Fig. 

 14, and described later. Where they have been clustering thickly on 

 the horns, the latter become "fly-specked" and appear at a little dis- 

 tance as though they might be damaged, and it is doubtless this fact 

 which has given rise to the erroneous opinions cited. 



LIFE HISTORY. 



The Egg-.— Place, Method, and Time of Oviposition.—Mr. Howard's 

 first impression upon entering the field, that the eggs would be found 

 to be laid in freshly dropped dung, proved to be correct. He brought 

 to Washington with him from Calverton dung dropped on the night of 

 July 28 and exposed in the field during the 29th, and from this dung 

 the first adult flies, five in number, issued August 7, only ten days from 

 the laying of the eggs. This settled the point of place of oviposition 

 and breeding. It seemed probable that this was the only substance in 

 which the species breeds, as indeed it is the only likely substance which 



