REMEDIES. 41 
the Hessian fly,, just received from Mr. Fred Knock, of London, to the farm of Mr. 
G. Morgan Eldredge, at Cecilton, Md. During May, l*!ir>, wishing to ascertain 
whether or not this attempt had been successful, Ave sent Mr. William II. Ashmead 
to Cecilton to make careful observations. He found that the parasitized puparia 
had been placed upon the ground at the borders of a field which appeared to he 
rather badly affected by the Hessian fly. The crop was harvested and the land 
plowed at the end of August and planted in winter oats, which at the time of Mr. 
Ashmead*s visit were from 4 to 6 incheshigh. After harvest the wheat straw was 
stacked in the immediate vicinity of the place where the parasitized pnparia were 
deposited, and a small quantity of winter wheat was sowed (during August), so that 
the Hessian lly might find an early place for oviposit ion, giving the parasites a good 
chance. Mr. Ashmead swept volunteer wheat in the immediate vicinity of the straw 
stack, and also swept the adjoining field, at that time in winter wheat. He was in 
the field but a single <lay, and among the lot of parasites which he took from his 
beating net. and which consisted mainly of one of our most common American para- 
sites of the Hessian fly, Platygaater herrickii Pack., was found a single male specimen 
of Entedon epigonus. 
The presence of this single living specimen indicates that the parasite has estab- 
lished itself to a certain extent, and it is greatly to be hoped that subsequent visit- 
will show it to be present in numbers. 
OTHER NATURAL ENEMIES. 
Nematode worms. — Marchal has called attention to the occurrence of 
nematodes in the infested straws and even in the puparia of the Hes- 
sian tly, "but never in the larvae themselves, although the appearance 
of the latter would indicate destruction by the worm. Whether this 
is a normal parasite of the Hessian lly may be questioned, but that the 
worms might easily destroy such larva 1 as they came in contact with 
would seem very i>ossible. 
Thrips. — Both Mr. B. D. Walsh and Mr. Theo. Pergande have ex- 
pressed the opinion that the Cecidomyia may be attacked by thrips. 
but so far as I am aware no demonstration of such attack has been 
made. Their remarks on this subject have been republished in volume 
I of Insect Life, pages 138 and 139. 
REMEDIES. 
While investigations of recent years can hardly be said to have 
added any absolutely new methods of treatment, it is evident that more 
precise knowledge of the life history and especially of the variations 
in time of appearance and number of broods does enable us to state 
with much greater confidence the conditions under which certain meas- 
ures are available. Knowing the conditions affecting acceleration and 
retardation of development, it becomes possible to specify the appro- 
priate occasion on which to resort to burning, plowing under, delay of 
seeding, etc., and it will be our effort in the following discussion of 
remedies, most of them of long recognition, to so state the conditions 
under which each maybe most effective that the cultivator himself, 
without having to call in a professional entomologist to examine the 
field, may act intelligently. 
