To Dr. W. M. Schöyen, State Entomologist, Christiania.
Torrington House, St. Albans, England,
August 23, 1892.
Dear Sir,—I have long been in your debt for grateful acknowledgment of your kind thought in sending me from time to time copies of your valuable pamphlets, and also of your portrait, which I have much pleasure in adding to my collection of portraits of the leading entomologists of the world. But I trust you will forgive my long silence because for a long time (that is, since last autumn) until about three weeks ago, I have been a great sufferer, and it has been with difficulty I have been able to keep up to work.
May I ask your kind acceptance of my fifteenth Report (accompanying by book post), and a little brochure I recently arranged by special request; also with them may I place a copy of my portrait, recently taken,in your hands? I value your pamphlets which you kindly send me, much; but, unfortunately, I have never been able to master your language—so when I have read the title, if it be a subject bearing specially on my own work, I get help from a linguist to enable me to benefit. Trusting that for the reasons given you will pardon my long silence.
October 25, 1893.
I thank you very much for being so good as to tell me of the appearance of the Cecidomyia destructor (Hessian fly, fig. 15) in Norway. This observation of the further spread of this troublesome barley pest is very interesting to me, and I am also greatly obliged to you for letting me have the characteristic specimens of puparia. There is no doubt that these are the chrysalis cases (the “flax-seeds,” as we call them here) of the Hessian fly. I at once wrote to two friends to endeavour to procure the specimens you name, and it would have been a great pleasure to me to send them at once, but I much doubt whether I shall be able to procure any of the Wheat midge, C. tritici; I have not got any myself, nor have my two colleagues so far as they see.
About the Hessian fly, I have been more successful. I have secured some specimens well put up for the microscope. It is too late this evening to repack them properly, but I hope to send you three slides to-morrow in a registered letter, of which, with very great pleasure, I beg your kind acceptance. Should they not reach you in proper condition, you will oblige me by letting me know, that I may try to replace them. I should hope that the thoroughly well-advised treatment which you are endeavouring to get carried out in the infested district will be successful. I have great confidence in the efficacy of destroying the puparia in the screenings or siftings; and ploughing so as to turn down the “flax-seeds” also quite certainly answers well.
One special insect trouble during the past season in this country has been an unusual prevalence of wasps, Vespidæ, of various species. They caused much injury and loss by destroying fruit, and also were very troublesome by attacking horses ploughing, if their nests were turned up. I hear that they were also troublesome in Holland, and in the Hartz districts of Germany. Should you write to me, I should be very much interested to know whether they were also unusually plentiful in Norway.
