82 
CORN AND GRASS. 
Later in the season, on the 3rd of July, Mr. Hunter forwarded 
heads of the same kind of grass collected in the neighbourhood of 
Chester, of which he wrote as follows:—“Looking at this subject 
from a commercial point of view, if the flower-heads of Alopecurus 
pratensis grown in different parts of England are as badly infested with 
larvse as those grown in this neighbourhood, both this year (1884) and 
last year, then it would seem that agriculturists cannot hope to save 
this seed for themselves in this country, and that we must continue to 
depend on the continental supply, which fortunately is so much less 
affected. 
“ The percentage of seeds of Alopecurus infested by larvae which I 
have examined since last harvest (of continental growth) would 
average about 5 per cent., perhaps less, but were seeds saved from the 
heads forwarded [to myself, Ed.] last week, I believe 75 per cent, 
would be found non-germinating from the presence of these larvae.” 
The heads sent were badly infested; many of the orange-red 
maggots were still to be found at the base and within the florets, in 
which case I did not find forming seed; and it is important to notice 
that, after the box containing them had been placed for a day or two 
in a damp situation, some of the maggots were crawling out of the 
heads, a point to be referred to presently amongst considerations of 
prevention. 
The maggots sent successively accompanying the above observa¬ 
tions were all of some kind of Cecidomyia, but they varied slightly 
among themselves in depth of colour (which may not be an important 
difference), but also in the shape of what is called the “ anchor organ,” 
the forked process lying beneath the maggot pointing forward from 
the third ring from the head, and also in this process being sometimes 
2, Anchor process of Wheat Midge maggot; 1 and 3, of Foxtail Grass maggot. 
absent. The form of this process, or “ anchor organ,” as it is some¬ 
times called, is one of the points of distinction between Cecidomyia 
maggots, and in the Eed Maggot of the Wheat it is somewhat lunate, 
as shown at fig. 2.* 
* Fig. 2 is given by permission from a much magnified sketch of the anchor 
process of the larva of Cecidomyia tritici taken by Prof. Allen Harker, of the Royal 
Agricultural College, Cirencester, who is pursuing the subject of investigation of the 
form of this process in other Cecidomyice, which may prove of much service in 
identifying the species. The skin of fig. 1 was somewhat shrivelled. 
