I am greatly obliged to you for your very interesting and valuable observations, and for the accompanying specimens of corn attacks. What a collection to find in one field! I do not remember having had wheat attacked by Chlorops before, though it is subject to the attack, and it is years since I have had the Sawfly attack. In one stem the grub had spun itself a beautiful case just within the lowest part of the stem, and being kept steady in the transparent covering, it gave me an excellent opportunity of examining it.
I am very glad also of your definite observation of presence of Diamond-back moth. I should not much wonder if we saw more of it next year, for I have just had a very few specimens sent from widely distant localities.
1, 2, Corn sawfly, magnified, and line showing natural length; 3, infested stem; 4, 5, maggot, natural size and magnified; 6, parasite fly, Pachymerus calcitrator, magnified, and 7, line showing natural size.
FIG. 31.—CORN SAWFLY, CEPHUS PYGMÆUS, CURTIS.
August 7, 1899.
I am very much obliged to you for your letter of the 3rd with notes of Hessian fly (fig. [15]),and Corn sawfly presence. I have examined the specimens, and it seems to me that those of the Hessian fly attack close to the root are of the same nature as some I have had before. I think your notes would be interesting for my next Annual Report. I was very much pleased to notice some time back, that in an official U.S.A. report, attention was markedly drawn to the great importance of destroying puparia of Hessian fly as a means of keeping attacks in check. My name was given as having upheld the plan in England. I am truly glad that the States people have taken this improved view of preventive measures.
The weather has been quite distressingly hot here, with often a glare of sunshine on this exposed south-west slope that was very painful, and with the heat quantities of the Cabbage white butterflies came out. I got my gardener to syringe the brassicaceous plants with “antipest” as an experiment, and I certainly think that afterwards there was not nearly as large a proportion of the butterflies on the cabbage as in the adjacent flower garden.
Believe me,
Yours very truly,
Eleanor A. Ormerod.