STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
783 
UIDGH. FLY. ITS APPBARAHC* AND MOYBMBNT8. 
But now the name glume is given to the outer scale only, whilst 
the other two are termed the palea. It will probably be best 
understood by most of my readers if I designate a the outermost 
chaff, b the bearded and c the inner chaff. 
In the paragraph quoted from Mr. Kirby a few pages back, he 
tells us that the eggs are placed inside of the valves of the corol, 
usually upon the inner face of the inner valve, above the end of 
the kernel. This is the truth, but it is by no means the whole 
truth, as will sufficiently appear by a few extracts from my me¬ 
moranda, which will also give some view of the appearance and 
movements of the flies as we see them upon the wheat. 
June 14th. Towards the close of a cloudy afternoon I visit 
A’s winter wheat, now about two and a half feet high, with the 
heads just protruded from the sheath at the top of the stalks, 
many of them being still inclosed in the sheath except upon one 
side. On first glancing at it I noticed nothing and thought it 
was too young yet for the midge to collect upon it. But swing¬ 
ing the net two or three times to and fro against the heads I 
found some dozens of the flies were gathered into it. And now, 
on looking sharply, I see they are plenty enough, flying lazily 
about among the wheat heads and a greater number alighted on 
the heads. I see none down on the lower part of the stalks, the 
cloudy weather having brought them all up to the heads. They 
stand with their heads upward, most of them moving about a 
little, now and then, upon the wheat heads. Some seem to be 
very leisurely placing their eggs within the edges of the chaffs 
at or near their tips, for their ovipositors are partly protruded 
and I see them applying their tips to the upper part of the 
chaffs, but cannot get a good view of what takes place, for on 
approaching the magnifying glass to them, they become shy and 
walk around to the other side of the ear. If alarmed, they hold 
the ovipositor out from the ear, to be read)' to take wing; but 
unalarmed they press it against the chaffs as they walk over 
them, and coming to the top of a headlet, they make a stand and 
work the ovipositor around, probing the crevices with it as if to 
discover a suitable spot for placing their eggs. One I saw with 
the end of its body sunk in between the ends of two chaffs for 
several moments. I pluck this ear, and examine it after my 
return, as follows: 
With the magnifier I can see no eggs externally on any part of 
