AND ITS INTRODUCTION INTO BRITAIN. 
171 
either in Hesse or in any other part of Europe, until possibly in 
Hungary in 1833, that is more than fifty years after it was first 
recorded in America; and the first sure statement of its observation 
in Europe is considered to he that of its discovery by Mr. J. Dana 
in 1834, at Mahon, Toulon, and Naples. As American vessels 
were then touching at these ports, these circumstances apparently 
point to the transmission being from North America to Europe, 
rather than from Europe to North America. 
Those who wish to go into the dismal amount of loss caused 
by this fly will find it, with date of year, from 1879 at intervals 
onwards to the present time, in the United States Government 
returns, and in 1882 is a special report on the presence of this pest 
in America with notes of the amount of general prevalence of the 
fly. Also in the province of Ontario in Canada a report was given 
by Professor W. Saunders (a most excellent entomological authority, 
and now Director of the Experimental Farm Stations of the 
Dominion) in which he estimated the damage to the agricultural 
community in that province alone in 1882 at several hundred 
thousand dollars. In New York State U.S.A. alone the loss from 
the Hessian-fly attack in 1885 was estimated at 100,000 dollars, 
that is £25,000. 
It was then found to exist in many parts of Europe; about nine 
years ago its presence was reported in Southern Hussia, whence 
it spread so as rapidly to he distributed over about two-thirds of 
that vast country, and in the words of Dr. Earl Lindeman to be 
one of its worst crop-pests. 
The next note of first observation or of greatly increased amount 
of presence was on the grain, growing near the coast of California, 
in the spring of 1885; England had its first record in 1886; and 
New Zealand followed next in date by reporting first presence in 
the spring of last year. The spread of the pest in California was 
attributed to an alteration in agricultural treatment of stubble— 
that the practice of burning had been discontinued or not carried 
on to the same extent as formerly—consequently the Hessian-fly 
flaxseeds remained safe and well on the stubble and afforded an 
insect-crop in due time to attack and lessen the coming harvest. 
In Bussia the pest might have arrived in course of regular onward 
march, but in what way it came to ourselves was a matter for long 
investigation leading to a well-based opinion that it came from the 
East of Europe. 
In the study of Economic Entomology, or in plainer words, the 
knowledge of insects bearing on the benefits or injuries we receive 
from them, the most important parts of the research are usually— 
firstly, the life-history of the insect, that is its habits and history, 
from the locality of deposit of the egg from which the larva, he it 
grub, maggot, or caterpillar, hatches, through all its changes up to 
its perfect condition, so that we may know in which of these it lies 
most under our power; and secondly, the measures by which most 
certainly and at the least expense we can destroy such kinds as 
ravage our crops, or can lessen the amount of injury we receive. 
