1910.] Experiments in the Improvement of Wheat. 741 



The Cherry Fly (Rhagoletis cerasi) is now included in the 

 Board's Destructive Insects and Pests Order of 1910. It is a 

 serious pest of cherries in Geisenheim. The female fly lays 

 her eggs in the flesh of the cherry. The larva, which is a 

 maggot in form, remains in the fruit for three or four weeks, 

 and partly consumes the flesh. Cherries attacked are said to 

 show a small brown scar, but in those that I saw this was not 

 very obvious. About the time the cherry is ripe the larva is 

 ready to leave the fruit. It reaches the ground, where it forms 

 a pupa, in which state it remains over the winter, to emerge the 

 next spring as a fly. 



This insect has become a serious pest in the Geisenheim 

 region ; indeed to such an extent that local people will not eat 

 cherries. They are, however, sold elsewhere. No method has 

 been found so far of checking its ravages, as its life-history 

 presents no stage which can be economically attacked. In 

 view of the seriousness of the damage done and the difficulty 

 of rinding remedial measures, a sharp look-out should be kept 

 by English growers for its appearance in English fruit. 



Reference has been made in this Journal (Summary of 



Experiments, Vol. XVI., 1909, p. 65) to the experiments 



which have been in progress for some 

 Experiments in . , -v , . , 



i-t -r . years with a view to the production by 



the Improvement J 1 J 



of Wheat. hybridisation of a " strong" wheat 



suitable for growth in this country. It 

 will be remembered (Journal, Vol. XL, p. 321) that a "strong " 

 wheat is one which gives a flour capable of producing a larger 

 and more shapely loaf than that derived from a weak wheat. 

 Most of the high-yielding wheats grown in the United 

 Kingdom are weak as compared with foreign grown varieties, 

 such as "Fife," and, consequently, fetch a lower price in the 

 market than the latter. The strong wheats of Canada or 

 Russia, when grown in this country, prove, however, to be 

 very poor croppers. The object of the experiments was to 

 effect, by the application of Mendelian methods, a new com- 

 bination of qualities, and to produce a strong wheat capable 

 of giving as heavy crops as the indigenous soft wheats of the 

 country. 



A circular recently issued by the Home Grown Wheat 



