170 
E. A. OEMEEOD-THE HESSIAN FLY 
At the exact time to he expected the notes of the first 
appearances of the trouble came in, on July 7th and 8th in 
Scotland, and on July 12th from Eeveils’ Hall near Hertford; and 
from that time up to the latter end of August, reports, sometimes 
day by day, and sometimes several in one day, of presence of the 
pests, came in from English and Scottish observers. 
About a hundred observations were sent to me, with specimens, 
or from observers whom I knew to be competent to identify the 
attack. Many of these referred to severe damage on farms or 
sometimes large districts of country, and they ranged in geographical 
distribution mainly up the east side of Britain, running more or 
less inland, from Kent in England to Cromarty in Scotland. 
Some time or other we may learn the reason of this peculiarity of 
area, but that the infestation was not reported in the more northerly 
part of Scotland, and even on enquiry was not found in Caithness 
or in the Orkneys, is probably attributable to climatal agency. 
It will be remembered that the summer of 1887 was one of 
remarkable heat and brightness, and to these conditions, so favour¬ 
able for propagation of some kinds of insect-life, I attribute the 
great amount of attack of insect corn-stem pests which troubled us 
in 1887, as well as the mischief done in the earlier part of 1888. 
It is said from observation in the United States, the very head¬ 
quarters of this entomological trouble, that damp and moisture are 
suitable to it, but then it must be remembered that the climate 
in summer of a great part of the States is so different to ours, 
owing to our insular position, that what we call dampness would be 
very different in degree to that which in the States gives moisture 
sufficient to aid development of the Hessian fly. This is a some¬ 
what important meteorological consideration, and in talking the 
matter over with Professor Kiley here, he agreed with me that this 
was the way to look at it. The last season (1888) happily gave us 
a marked reduction of the presence of the pest; instead of about 
a hundred returns, in many cases of widespread damage, about six 
were all that I am personally aware of, and of these only one was 
reported as a district attack. 
As the facts stand at present the marked reduction in amount of 
presence is eminently satisfactory, but the two points to be con¬ 
sidered are: Will the fly become acclimatized; or supposing it 
does not and we get rid of it as a naturalized pest, do we keep 
on importing new supplies ? Up to this present day it remains a 
matter of discussion amongst leading entomologists of the United 
States of America as to what was the precise date when the fly 
was first recorded there, and also whether the pest was, so to say, 
their own property, or a transmitted evil from elsewhere. It was 
to some degree, and still is in some cases a settled belief that this 
Hessian fly which appeared there first about 1776, was conveyed 
across from Europe in the war of independence by the Hessian 
troops (in the straw on shipboard). This point, however, when 
weighed carefully appears to be unlikely, as there is no evidence or 
authentic notice of this so-called Hessian fly having been seen 
