HOP APHIS. 
8 
very valuable, as it points to the likelihood of the wingless females 
having wintered in the earth and starting attack, as well as the winged 
females. In some cases the observations were sent me every few 
days, and I give these short notes with the dates, as it shows the 
careful watch kept. The first note is as follows :— 
“ I have about thirty acres of hops. The Fly has always been 
observed first. I do not think I have ever seen it until the Hops were 
from three to six feet high. It is always seen first on the latest or 
youngest leaves, i. e., within an inch or two of the head of the shoot, 
and before the leaf is developed. 
‘ ‘ With a slight attack of Fly there are about three or four Flies on 
the top leaves of nearly every Hop; in a bad blight the leaves are 
nearly black with them. 
“ The Fly always, or nearly always, appears when the wind is in 
the east. 
“ I have some Hops growing in a low situation, nearly on a level 
with the river, and they always suffer most from the blight.”—H. H. 
Deane, Elbridge House, near Canterbury. 
“ I have for upwards of fifty years been a close observer of the Hop 
plantations in this district, and still continue to be so. 
“ The first Aphides which appear are the winged ones ; they are 
found on the tender leaves of the plant, on the outsides of the gardens, 
generally on the E. or S.E. sides. There appears to be a certain 
locality in every plantation where the first are to be found ; and the 
same (or very similar blight) is to be found on the common Nettle (see p. 9), 
and, as long as it remains on the Nettle, it is sure to be found on 
the Hop. 
“ If the outsides of the garden can be kept free from blight, the 
middle takes no harm. I have never found Lice making their way up 
from the ground, but invariably first found them on the young leaves 
on the top of the plant where the winged Aphides exist, or have done.” 
—J. W. Hopkins, Lower Wick, Worcester. 
“ The Hop Fly generally appears in the middle of May or early in 
June outside the grounds, and the coldest situations are attacked first, 
where the cold winds have most power and the flow of sap of the plant 
is most checked. I have known some seasons entirely without them, 
in a fine healthy time propitious for the plant. 
“ Sometimes we find that yearling and two-year-old grounds are 
free from the pest, and grow kind Hops when all others fail. This I 
attribute to the healthy young plant.”— Richard Heming, Cheltenham. 
“ During my experience I could never make out where the Hop Fly 
come from. I only know that they come in the early part of June as 
a Fly. Should the season be wet and cold they increase very fast, and 
become a general blight: they have made their appearance during the 
