THE HESSIAN FLY. 
29 
its appearance in England in 1886, I wrote to Mr. George E. Palmer, 
and was favoured by him with the following note :—“ In reply to yours 
of yesterday, I have observed very little Hessian Fly this year in the 
Com before harvest, and to all appearance little harm has been done 
to the crops by it; but that it is still present in large quantities 
is proved by the number of puparia we find in screenings from the 
threshing-machine. The Corn being very much laid by the heavy 
storms this summer, made it very difficult to find the injured stems 
while the corn was standing, and it is in fine, hot summers, such as 
1887, when the injury is most observable. I think this may account 
for the non-appearance in districts where it had previously been 
observed; still I do not think we shall find it a very serious foe, and 
I think much more damage is done by Slugs, Wireworms, and 
Sparrows than has been, or ever will be done by the ‘ Hessian Fly.’ ” 
The report of the season from Mr. D. Taylor, from Daleally Farm, 
Errol, N.B.,—the locality of the first observation of Hessian Fly in 
Scotland,—was :—“ I have not seen it at all ” ; and Mr. John Elder, 
writing on Nov. 19tli from The Holmes, Uphall, Linlithgowshire, N.B., 
reported:—“ Barley showed no sign of Hessian Fly.” It is of con¬ 
siderable interest to note that as yet (as far as I am aware) it has 
not been found in Ireland. 
. From the observations made since the first appearance of the pest 
in this country in 1886, there does not appear to be reason to fear 
serious damage to our Wheat from this attack, unless under exceptional 
circumstances of weather, or from other causes favourable to the in¬ 
crease of the Fly, and unfavourable to the plant-growth. The Barley, 
however, appears much more liable to attack, and it is very desirable that 
all reasonable broad-scale measures of prevention, such as have often 
been advised, should be carried out wherever attack is known to exist. 
The brown chrysalids, or “flax-seeds,” as 
they are commonly called, may be easily recog¬ 
nised where they are especially thrown down in 
the dust, and fine screenings from the threshing- 
machines, and if these screenings are thrown 
into wet mud, or burnt, or treated in the way 
which may be most convenient to destroy them 
with the contained chrysalids, thus one source 
of future attack will be thoroughly got rid of. 
Rotation of crop which does not include Wheat, and more particularly 
Barley, are obvious means of fairly starving-out attack in infested 
districts. Late-sowing of autumn Wheat, that is, not sowing it earlier 
than is customarily done in this country, is a most important precaution 
which can hardly be too strongly and too often enforced. 
If Wheat is sown during September, whilst the Hessian Fly is still 
“ Flax-seeds ” or puparia 
in different stages of de¬ 
velopment, nat. size and 
magnified. 
