FIG. 11.—WATER BEETLE, DYTISCUS MARGINALIS, LINN.
June 15, 1899.
I had great pleasure in receiving your very kind letter, and I thought a great deal of you, and your flock, on the prize day. But now I am troubling you (the idea occurred too late to be of use at the time), to ask whether you would at all care to have (say) ten copies of my “Manual of Injurious Insects,” to give just as you may think fit as an encouragement to the boys—or perhaps a present here or there to one who might be leaving school and taking up farming. I should like it very much. You have it yourself and (I think?) one for the school library, and Mr. D. E. Byrd must have his father’s copy, but if you cared to have some copies it would really give me very great pleasure. Though fruit-insect prevention has made great advances in the last few years, this is not a special Cheshire interest, the agricultural observations are very correct still.
Mr. D. E. Byrd has kindly given me some very good information about Cheese-fly maggot attack, just precisely what I was wishing for, and also something of the principle of prevention. Mr. Ward [Organising Secretary of the Cheshire County Council] was kind enough to procure me some good information from Miss Forster [of the Cheshire Dairy School], and I hope to form a good paper by and by. All I really want now in this matter are a few of the “hopping” maggots, which most likely will turn up soon. Curiously enough, just at the time, I had an application from a bacon-curing Co. and I think we have on both sides benefited.
1, Fly; 2, pupa; 3, pupa-case; 4, maggot—all magnified, with lines showing natural length; 5, tail extremity, still more magnified, showing spiracles, tracheæ, and caudal tubercles.
FIG. 12.—CHEESE AND BACON FLY, PIOPHILA CASEI, LINN.
August 5, 1899.
I now, with many thanks for the clearness with which you have been good enough to note precisely the form of the presentation labels, enclose twelve, only altering by adding to the slips for the three boys, the prefix of “Mr.” I am sure they will like it. I fancy I see them surreptitiously turning to the donatory slip, to enjoy their rise! Very many thanks to you indeed. I hope it may give the recipients pleasure, but I am very sure you give great pleasure to myself by allowing my little remembrance to these kind helpers.
I am sure you will be interested to know that the Meat Traders Associations—at the Royal Lancashire Show—are distributing thousands of my Warble leaflets, with free leave to write up to London for more.
March 2, 1900.