PREFACE. 
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During the past year reports have been forwarded regarding 
presence of almost all the ordinary crop attacks; but at the 
same time, excepting locally or here and there, few of these 
ordinary attacks have been to a serious extent. 
With the exception of orchard caterpillars the worst attacks 
of last season were of unusual kinds, and occurred early in the 
year. The Corn-ground Beetle maggot at young Wheat plants, 
and the Beet Carrion Beetle, and its Woodlouse-like grub at 
Mangolds, have not previously been recorded, as far as I am 
aware, as injurious crop-pests in England. The Frit Fly 
maggot to young Oats, and the Wheat-bulb maggot were injurious 
to a quite unusual extent, and so were Bean-seed Beetles in the 
more southerly parts of England ; and though the Winter Moth 
and other orchard caterpillars are no unusual troubles, they 
ravaged the trees in most of the chief fruit-growing counties to 
an unusually serious extent. 
After the heavy midsummer rains serious injury ceased to be 
reported. 
Hessian Fly was noticed at about from six to ten localities 
(six reports sent with specimens accompanying), and these 
mainly referring to one field or one farm, instead, as in the 
previous year, of about a hundred notices (with specimens, or 
from competent observers) being sent, referring in many cases 
to districts or large areas. The two common attacks—namely, 
Sawfly maggot in Wheat-stems, and Chlorops at the upper part 
of Barley—were also not nearly as much present as in the 
preceding year. 
It may be worth notice that, while in 1887 some of the most 
widespread and injurious attacks were of those to the almost 
grown or ripening corn-straw, in 1888 some of the worst were 
to the quite young corn-plants in spring. Conjecturally this is 
attributable to the hot weather of 1887 being favourable for 
