Wheat-bulb fly. 
89 
u 
I have suffered the last two years from the ravage of this insect in my 
Wheat.” 
A few days after, Mr. Collard favoured me with the following 
details as to date of sowing, &c.:— 
“No. 1. Wheat sown Nov. 15th on Clover-ley; second cut fed off 
by sheep, and then manured with fish (Five fingers). Attacked with 
maggot the end of February. 
“No. 2. Wheat sown Nov. 17th, after Green Globe Turnip-seed. 
The Turnip-seed was manured with fish last year. This piece of 
Wheat is so badly attacked that it must be ploughed up. The attack 
commenced the end of March. 
“No. 3. Sown with Wheat Nov. 24tli. Clover-ley; second cut fed 
off with sheep, and manured for Wheat with best London manure. 
Attacked the end of February. 
“No. 4. Sown with Wheat Dec. 27th, after Cabbage fed off by 
Sheep. Cabbage manured with sprats. This piece is entirely 
destroyed.” 
It will be seen that in this (as in many other instances), especially 
bad attack followed after Turnips, and also after Cabbage, which is 
nearly of the same nature. 
On May 4th, maggots of the same kind were forwarded to me by 
Mr. W. M. Chorlton from Witliington, near Manchester, with the 
observation:—“ I have had considerable damage done to Wheat, both 
this year and last, by the insect in the stems of Wheat enclosed. The 
custom here is to sow Wheat after Potatoes, and we find the insect 
does most damage on such land as grew Potatoes with light tops, and 
where the Potatoes are dug early and the soil exposed to the sun in 
the later part of summer or autumn ; whereas the portion of land 
planted with heavy green-topped Potatoes, and not cleared of the crop 
until October, generally produces a full, thick crop of Wheat.” 
Specimens of the H. coarctata maggot, apparently just about to 
turn to the chrysalis state, were also sent me on May 4tli by Mr. J. 
Eardley Mason, of the Sycamores, Alford, from a piece of Wheat at 
Cumber worth (about five miles from Alford), to which they were doing 
much damage. In this instance the mischief was reported not to have 
been noticeable until about three weeks before. 
In the following notes by Mr. A. L. Wells, writing from the 
Warren Farm, Witton, near Birmingham, observation is again given 
of the curious circumstance of this attack following in some cases 
where Wheat was put in on ground that had been laid bare :— 
“Referring to my note to you last year regarding the Wlieat-bulb 
Maggot, I find the Wheat is suffering again this year where sown 
| under similar circumstances, viz., after Swedes, or where Potatoes 
were got up early. I have also a patch gone off very badly after a crop 
