40 
CORN. 
of ‘ Village Blacksmith’ Potatoes; the cause, I think, is owing to the 
haulm being small, and not covering the ground; and I think the same 
cause applies to many of the complaints you received last year, but 
why it should be so I should very much like to know. I should 
certainly think a remedy would be found by growing a crop the 
previous year that would cover the ground, except that it goes after' 
Swedes. I have a field of Wheat this year, after Mangolds, except 
a small portion sown with Turnips, which failed; and there is hardly 
a blade of Wheat left on the Turnip-ground, although, after the Man¬ 
golds, it looks most luxuriant; it has also gone after Kohl Rabi this 
year. I have never tried it after Rabi before.” 
It is very remarkable about the appearance of this attack that 
it is most commonly observed after fallow, and after Turnips or Swedes, 
or where a 'portion of these have failed , or sometimes after Potatoes, 
where they have been raised before they are ripe , or raised early, or had thin 
amount of leafage. 
These peculiarities (or more especially the first two) have been 
regularly observed since the attack was brought under notice a few 
years ago, but as yet why this should be we have not made out; and 
if we could learn what the one similar point is in the above conditions 
which attracts the Wlieat-bulb Fly, we might expect to be able to use 
some means of prevention. 
Until we got fuller observations, and whilst the “after fallow” 
crops were still those that were mainly noticed as attacked by this 
Wheat-bulb Maggot, it appeared likely that this might arise from the 
Wheat being put in so early that flies of the summer brood were still 
about at the time when the young plant first sprung, and so they were 
liable to infestation. This, however, does not appear to be the case, 
as shown by dates of sowing of the crops of the last two seasons. 
Looking at the dates of sowing of the crops of which failures took place 
through Wlieat-bulb Maggot in 1888,1 find these sowings to have been 
at various dates in October, in the middle and last week of November, 
and a few places to have been attacked in a crop sown after the middle 
of December; and in the case of a Wheat-field drilled on Jan. 10th 
(of which the Wheat was not through the ground until about March 
20tli), the crop on the part after Swedes was a complete failure. 
The dates of sowing which were sent me of some of the attacked 
crops of last season (1889) were Oct. 15tli and 22nd, “early” after 
fallow; Nov. 15tli, 17tli, and 24tli; and on Dec. 27th a piece was 
sown which afterwards was entirely destroyed. From these dates it 
does not appear that late-sowing will avoid the mischief. 
The important point which, I think, is to be found existing in the 
various kinds of condition preceding bad attack is certainty or proba¬ 
bility of weed or wild grass presence. We should be extremely likely, 
