436 
The Progress of the Hessian Fhj. 
Miss Ormerod instituted a careful examination at tbe port of 
Hull of all the straw imported there, for some months in the 
spring of this year. The search was conducted by a careful 
agent, but no pupa-cases were found. 
Pupa-cases were found in abundance in the " tail " corn and 
sittings after infested corn plants were threshed, during last 
winter. It is therefore possible that pupa-cases brought to Great 
Britain with imported tail corn, or thin and refuse corn for 
feeding, imperfectly cleaned, may have been the origin of the 
attack in this country. It does not appear that such common 
corn is imported from the United States, as it would hardly pay 
for the freightage ; but it is sent from Odessa and other Black 
Sea ports and from Baltic ports, and sold to farmers, chicken 
fanciers, and pig keepers, and is distributed over the country. 
Pupa-cases may very easily have been distributed in this way 
with the feed corn from Russia, which country has onlv been 
infested since 1879, and it is far more likely to have originated 
from that source than from America. The circumstances in 
connection with the importation of corn of all kinds from 
America are the same as they have been for many years ; if 
these were favourable to the introduction of the insect into 
Great Britain it would surely have appeared here long ago. 
Seeing that the insect was discovered in this country so soon 
after its arrival in Russia, it may be concluded that it came 
over in some way from Russia. And this is strengthened by 
the belief that is now expressed by entomologists, that the 
parasites which have been found in the pupa-cases of the Hessian 
Fly are of Russian and not of American origin ; or that those 
in Great Britain belong to the same species as those of Russia 
and differ from the American parasites.* The distinction 
between these parasites is pointed out later on. 
The line of march in the progress of the insect in Great Britain 
during the last two years is somewhat remarkable, inasmuch as 
it is almost entirely confined to the eastern part of the CQuntry, 
and generally not far from the sea-coast. In Scotland the 
whole of the eastern sea-board from Berwick to Ross and Cro- 
marty is infested, in some places very slightly, in others more 
seriously. This has given rise to an idea that the flies may 
have been brought by the wind from infested countries across 
the sea, and, alighting on the eastern shores, may have made 
their way inland. From whence were they wafted in this case? 
'I he nearest countries are not infested. Russia is the nearest 
country in which the insect has been known to be present in 
• Prnfossor Riley, the United States entomoloj;ist, while in Eiifjland lately, 
examined specimens of the ]):»rn8ites found in the pupa-cases of the Hessian Fly, 
iind pronounced them to he different from those known in America. 
