784 
ANNUAL REPORT ON NEW YORK 
U1DQS. FI.Y. ITS BOOS, W11BRB PLACIID. 
the wheat head. Iu oue spot, at one side of the outermost chaff 
near its apex, 1 perceive, through the slight transparency of the 
chali, a discoloration, caused by a substance beneath, of a wax 
yellow color. On parting this chaff from the back of the bearded 
chaff to come at this substance, I only discern with the magnifier 
that it is a glossy speck or little scale of yellow matter. But 
placed under the microscope, it is seen to be five eggs of the 
midge glued together side by side, but quite irregularly, whereby 
their ends are as uneven as those of the fingers and thumb of the 
hand when held together. And a smaller }'ellow speck just be¬ 
side this one, proves to be two more eggs; they lie loose in the 
interstice between the two chaffs, not at all glued to them, 
although adhering to each other. 
In two other florets I detect similar clusters of eggs in the 
same situation, near the upper corner of the outermost chaff', not 
more than the length of the eggs inside of the lateral edge of the 
chaff, and about three times as far below its upper edge. Now, 
how were they placed here ? The lateral edge of the chaff appears 
to be too closely pressed to the back of the bearded chaff to allow 
the eggs to bo crowded directly in under its edge, and if crowded 
in thus, their position would be crosswise of the chaff instead of 
lengthwise, as we find it to be. We notice that the elevated 
ridge or keel along the middle of the back of the chaff forms a 
corresponding groove or plait opposite on the inner side; and 
the upper end of the chaff being cut square off instead of pro¬ 
longed to a point, a tittle orifice is formed there by this groove. 
It is into this orifice that the ovipositor is evidently inserted and 
crowded out laterally as far as possible, to place the eggs in the 
situation above mentioned. 
In another instance I find a cluster of eggs on the back of the 
bearded chaff, slightly to one side of its keel, perhaps from the 
interstice between the chaff's not being sufficiently roomy iu this 
case to allow the ovipositor to be crowded any further out tow¬ 
ards the side. Ihijally, two eggs were also discovered, placed 
inside of the edge of the bearded chaff', where this edge was 
pressed to the back of the adjoining floret and outside of the 
inner chaff, they being thus in the, interstice, between the two 
florets, in which situation I also find them in other headlots. 
It appears from the examination now related, that the only aim 
of the fly is to place its eggs in some crevice of the headlet where 
