a very mischievous insect which lately made its appearance in North America; and whose depredations threaten in time to destroy the crops of wheat in that country entirely. It is, in its perfect state, a small winged insect; but the mischief it does is while in the form of a caterpillar; and the difficulty of destroying it is increased by its being as yet unknown where it deposits its eggs, to be hatched before the first appearance of the caterpillars. These mischievous insects begin their depredations in autumn, as soon as the wheat begins to shoot up through the ground. They devour the tender leaf and stem with great voracity, and continue to do so till stopped by the frost; but no sooner is this obstacle removed by the warmth of the spring, but the fly appears again, laying its eggs now, as has been supposed, upon the stems of the wheat just beginning to spire. The caterpillars, hatched from these eggs, perforate the stems of the remaining plants at the joints, and lodge themselves in the hollow within the corn, which shows no sign of disease till the ears begin to turn heavy. The stems then break; and being no longer able to perform their office in supporting and supplying the ears with nourishment, the corn perishes about the time that it goes into a milky state. These insects attack also rye, barley, and timothy-grass, though they seem to prefer wheat. The destruction occasioned by them is described in the American Museum (a magazine published at Philadelphia) for February 1787, in the following words: "It is well known that all the crops of wheat in all the land over which it has extended, have fallen before it, and that the farmers beyond it dread its approach; the prospect is, that unless means are discovered to prevent its progress, the whole continent will be over-run—a calamity more to be dreaded than the ravages of war."

This terrible insect appeared first in Long Island during the American war, and was supposed to have been brought from Germany by the Hessians; whence it had the name of the Hessian fly. From thence it has proceeded inland at the rate of about 15 or 20 miles annually; and by the year 1789 had reached 200 miles from the place where it was first observed. At that time it continued to proceed with unabating increase; being apparently stopped neither by rivers nor mountains. In the fly state it is likewise exceedingly troublesome; by getting into houses in swarms, falling into victuals and drink; filling the windows, and flying perpetually into the candles. It still continued to infest Long Island as much as ever; and in many places the culture of wheat was entirely abandoned.

The American States are likewise infested with another mischievous insect, named the Virginian-wheat fly. This, however, has not yet passed the river Delaware; though there is danger of its being gradually introduced to colder climates so as to extend its depredations to the northern colonies also. But it is by no means the same with the Hessian fly. The wheat-fly is the same with that whose ravages in the Angoumois in France are recorded by M. du Hamel; it eats the grain, and is a moth in its perfect state. On the other hand, the Hessian fly has hitherto been unknown to naturalists; it eats only the leaf and stalk; and, in its perfect state, is probably a tenthredo, like the black negro-fly of the turnip.

As of late years great quantities of wheat were imported from America into Britain, it became an object worthy of the attention of government to consider how far it was proper to allow such importation, lest this destructive insect might be brought along with the grain. The matter, therefore, was fully canvassed before the privy council; and the following is the substance of the information relative to it; and in consequence of this, the importation of American wheat was forbidden by proclamation.

1. By a letter, dated 22d April 1788, Mr Bond, consul at Philadelphia, informed the marquis of Caermarthen, that there was a design to export wheat from thence to England; that the fly had made great depredations; and that there might be danger of its thus being conveyed across the Atlantic. He added, that it was not known where the eggs of the insect were deposited, though it was supposed to be in the grain. Steeping the seed in elder juice he recommended as an effectual remedy and preservative of the crop.

2. In consequence of this information his Lordship wrote to Sir Joseph Banks, president of the royal society, desiring him to inquire as much as possible concerning the insect, both with regard to its natural history, and the method of preventing its ravages. In this research, however, that learned gentleman mistook the insect called the flying weevil for the Hessian fly. Of this insect he gives a description*; but in a little time, being sensible of his mistake, he observed to the council, that his report to the marquis of Caermarthen applied not to the Hessian fly, but to a different insect, viz. the flying weevil; that the danger of importing this insect was much greater than that of the Hessian fly. The corn already brought from America, he was of opinion, might easily be examined, and a discovery made whether the fly had been there. Among other methods which might be used for this purpose, that of putting the corn among water was one, when the infected grains would rise to the top, and might then be opened and examined. Some slight trials of that kind he had already made; and found manifest signs of the fly in some grains which he had opened.

3. A farther account of the insect was given by Dr Mitchel, in consequence of the above mentioned letter from the marquis of Caermarthen. According to him it was first discovered in the year 1776, on Staten Island, and the west-end of Long Island; since that time it proceeded regularly through the southern district of the state of New York, part of Connecticut; and at the time of giving the account, July 1788, had got into New Jersey. As it appeared about the time that the Hessian troops arrived, an opinion had gone abroad that they brought it along with them; but the Doctor was of opinion that it is a native animal, nourished by some indigenous plant, but which then, for the first time, came among the wheat, and found it proper food. He had seen the caterpillar, chrysalis, and fly, but never could find the egg, or discover where it is deposited. The caterpillar appears, as has already been said, in autumn, and, after having devoured the tender stalk, soon becomes a chrysalis, coloured like a flax-seed; which, being fixed between the leaf and the stalk, injures the plant by its mechanical pressure; from this proceeds the fly, which is either able of itself to sustain the intense winter frosts, or lays eggs capable of doing it. Early in the spring the caterpillar appears again, even when the heat is scarce sufficient to make the wheat grow; its ravages, therefore, are at this period particularly destructive; and it passes through its metamorphoses with such speed, as to produce a third generation while the wheat is yet tender and juicy; however, as the corn has by this time grown considerably, the third generation is not so destructive as the second. It hurts chiefly by rendering the straw weak, and liable to break down when loaded afterwards by the weight of a full ear; "and sometimes (says the Doctor) it will be infested by the fourth swarm before harvest."

4. In another communication of Sir Joseph Banks, dated July 24, 1788, he makes some general observations on the nature of those caterpillars from which flying insects proceed; and to which clas both the flying weevil and Hessian fly belong. Nature, he observes, has provided against the kinds of danger these tender insects are most likely to meet with. Thus, in climates where the winters are severe, the eggs of the most tender insects resist the force of the usual frost; in seasons of remarkable severity, indeed, some are destroyed; but a sufficient number always escape for propagating the species. The young caterpillar, if hatched before its proper food be ready, will survive even weeks before it perishes for want of nourishment; and in some few instances where it is hatched in the autumn, it is directed by instinct to spin a web, in which it remains torpid and without food during the whole winter. winter. The chrysalis, though deprived of locomotion, is capable of resisting various dangers, arising from cold, heat, wet, &c., and the length of time which the animal remains in that state is capable of very considerable extension. The complete animal, tender as it appears, and intended to exist no longer than is necessary to fulfill the business of propagation, which, in some species, is gone through in a few days, nevertheless is capable, in some instances, of enduring the utmost variation of climate; and if, by accidental circumstances, the sexes are prevented from meeting, its short life is extended to many times the amount of its usual duration.

The observations on the fly made by Sir Joseph in this paper, are not different from those already related; only he differs from the opinion of Mr. Bond, that the eggs are laid on the grain; thinking it more probable from analogy, that they are deposited on the straw; and being shaken off thence by the strokes of the flail in threshing, are mixed with the corn; from whence it must be very difficult to separate them. Hence he concluded, that there was an apparent and very great risk of importing the eggs along with the corn; and there was no doubt, that when once they had got a footing, they would establish themselves in Britain as well as in America. It must be observed, however, that none of the grain which was examined showed any signs of this fly, its eggs, or caterpillars; such insects as were found in some diseased specimens being only the weevils common in England as well as in other countries; though some which were inspected in the month of August this year contained the chrysalis of some insects, which Sir Joseph Banks was of opinion might be the flying weevil; and as he did not know whether these would revive or not, he gave it as his opinion, that the cargo in which they were found ought not to be suffered to come into the kingdom.

5. In order to procure all the intelligence that could be had concerning these insects, the duke of Dorset addressed a letter to the royal society of agriculture in France, to know whether any of them exist in that country. The report of the society was accompanied with a drawing of two insects; one of which was supposed to be the caterpillar of the Hessian fly, from its attacking the wheat only when in the herb; beginning its ravages in autumn, reappearing in the spring, and undergoing the metamorphoses already mentioned. "That insect (says the society) whose havoc has been well known in America only since 1776, does not appear to differ from it, as well as we can judge from a very short description of those which have been observed in the north, and of which the history is contained in the different volumes of the academy of sciences of Stockholm. We know that there exist in France caterpillars whose manner of living resembles that of those insects; but the mischief which they do to corn having never been considerable enough to attract the attention of government, and not having been ourselves engaged in following in detail the history of that species of caterpillar, we regret not being able to say anything particular upon that subject." The rest of the report contains an account of the flying weevil.

6. Further recourse was now had to America for information. The marquis of Caermarthen wrote to Sir John Temple at New York, the British consul general; and this gentleman applied to Colonel Morgan, who had been more curious with respect to this insect than any other person with whom he was acquainted. His account was, that the Hessian fly was first introduced into America by means of some straw made use of in packages, or otherwise landed on Long Island at an early period of the late war; and its first appearance was in the neighbourhood of Sir William Howe's embarkation, and at Flat Bush. From thence it spread in every direction, but at first very slowly; and it was not till the year 1786 that they reached Mr. Morgan's farm, situated not quite 50 miles from New York. No damage was done the first season, and very little the second; but in 1788 they were materially damaged, and in some places totally destroyed all round. "The name of Hessian fly (says Mr. Morgan) was given to this insect by myself and a friend early after its first appearance on Long Island." In a letter to General Washington, dated July 31st 1788, Mr. Morgan treats particularly of the insect itself, and mentions several experiments made by himself to oppose its depredations. The result of these was, that good culture of strong soil, or well manured lands, may sometimes produce a crop of wheat or barley, when that sowed on poor or middling soil, without the other advantages, will be totally destroyed. "But (says he) as the insect lives in its aurelia state in straw and litter through the winter, I find that unmixed barnyard manure spread on the land in the spring multiplies the fly to an astonishing degree; hence the farmer will see the necessity of mixing his yard with earth and marle in heaps; adding, where he can do it, a quantity of lime, and changing the heaps, after they have undergone the necessary fermentation, that their parts may be well incorporated, and a new digestion brought on, which will effectually destroy the insect. Rolling of wheat just before the first frosts in autumn, and soon after the last in spring, or before the wheat begins to pipe or spindle, has also a good effect. In the first place, it is a part of good culture; and, secondly, the roller crushes and destroys a great proportion of the insect. Top-dressings of lime, or of live ashes, are useful as manures, and may (when applied about the times I have mentioned as proper for rolling) be offensive to the insect; but if used in sufficient quantity to destroy them, would, I believe, destroy the wheat also. In the year 1782, a particular species of wheat was introduced on Long Island, which is found to resist the fly, and to yield a crop when all other wheats in the same neighbourhood are destroyed by it. But as this wheat has been cautiously sowed in fields with other kinds, it has generally become so mixed by the farmers, as to suffer in its character in proportion to this mixture; inasmuch, that some farmers, from inattention to this circumstance, have condemned it altogether. Fortunately, however, some crops have been preserved from this degeneration; and I was so lucky as to procure the whole of my last year's seed of the purest kind; the consequence of which has been a good crop, whilst my neighbours' fields, sowed with other kinds of wheat, have been either totally destroyed or materially injured. I have satisfied myself that this species of wheat was brought to New York in 1782; that a cargo of it was then sent to Messrs Underhill's mill to be manufactured into flour; and that, from seed saved out of this parcel, the yellow-bearded wheat was propagated. It is a generally received opinion, that the capacity of the yellow-bearded wheat to resist the attacks of the fly is owing to the hardness or solidity of the straw; but when we reflect that other wheats are sometimes wholly cut off in the fall of the year, and sometimes early in the spring, before the season of its running to straw, we shall be induced to assign some other cause. I cannot point out more than two distinctions of this from other wheats. The first is in the ear, at or after harvest. The obvious difference, then, is in the colour of the chaff. The second can only be observed by the miller, who says, "this grain requires to be more aired and dried than any other wheat before grinding, or it will not yield its flour so kindly, as it is of a more oily nature; but when thus aired and dried, the quality and quantity of its flour is equal to that of the best white wheat."

7. In a letter from Mr Wadsworth, dated 22d August 1788, we are informed, that the experiments made with elder juice, recommended as a preventative of this evil by Mr Bond, were fallacious, and had failed in every instance in 1787; but the efficacy of the yellow bearded wheat in resisting the attacks of the fly is confirmed. The progress of the fly northward is likewise confirmed; but we are told that it has disappeared in many places near New York, where it formerly abounded.

8. In consequence of the correspondence between the marquis of Caermarthen and Mr Bond, the latter made very particular inquiry concerning this mischievous insect, and has given a better account of it than any of the above. "The Hessian fly (says he) is a small dark fly, with thin, long, black legs; clear transparent wings, extending far beyond the body of the trunk; with small, though perceptible, horns or feelers projecting from the snout. These I have seen appear in size and shape like a little fly which attacks cheese in this country, and which is very closely watched by the keepers of dairies here, as productive of the worm or skippers which destroy cheese; and it is remarkable, that the worm produced from the egg of the Hessian fly, though rather thinner and longer, bears a strong resemblance to the worm in cheese. The horns which evidently appear on the Hessian fly may be provided by nature as feelers to enable them to perforate hard grain, as well as grain in a softer state; tho' I have not yet seen any person who has perceived the egg, worm, or fly in the grain of the wheat, or who has found any nit, mucus, or even dust in the dry straw, in ricks or barns, to induce a belief that the egg is there deposited after the harvest. One publication, signed a Landholder, goes so far as to favour the idea that the fly even perforates the seed, and deposits its eggs therein. His ideas have been condemned, as tending to mislead others; but by no means confuted either by reason or experiment. An observation I made myself, gave me some cause to apprehend that the idea mentioned in the paper signed a Landholder was founded in fact: Upon examining a barn, in a country wherein the fly had not been known to injure the harvest (though it has now certainly made its appearance there within a few weeks), I observed in the flaws and apertures where the wood was decayed, over which cobwebs were woven, several of these flies entangled in the webs, many of them dead, but some alive, and struggling to disengage themselves; from hence I concluded that there was a propensity in the fly to get into the mow; but whether with a purpose of mere shelter and nurture, or with a view to deposit its eggs, I am at a loss to decide."

9. Mr Bond now refers to some observations by a Mr Potts and Mr Cleaver, which, with several other papers on the subject, he had inclosed in his letter to the marquis. The former was a farmer in the county of Chester, who sowed his wheat in autumn 1788, at a time when the fly had not been seen in or near that county. About six or seven weeks after the harvest he had occasion to thresh some of his wheat; and with a view to prevent its scattering and wasting, he threw the sheaves from the rick upon a large sheet. On taking up the sheaves to carry them to the threshing-floor, he perceived a great number of flies, answering precisely the description of the Hessian fly, lying upon the sheet, some dead, and others in a torpid state; from whence he concluded that the fly had got a footing in his rick; but from any examination either of the straw or grain, no trace of the eggs being deposited was discovered. Mr Cleaver, a farmer in the same county, apprehending that the fly might approach his neighbourhood, sowed some wheat in his garden, which grew so as to appear above ground in less than a fortnight, when a violent north-east wind came on; and, immediately after he perceived small clouds of flies over and about the wheat he had sown. He examined the grain in a few days; and found that numbers of the flies had deposited their eggs in the heart of the main stalk, and many of them lay dead on the ground where the wheat was sown, and near it. Many of the eggs were found in the stalk; and some small white worms produced from other eggs were lately discovered in the stalk very near the root of the wheat. Wherever these worms were found, the whole of the individual stalk was perceptibly changed in point of colour, tending to a yellowish cast; the top hanging down quite shrunk and withered. In some of the wheat which was carefully examined, the eggs were found within the stalk of a very minute size and whitish colour, with something of a yellow tinge. In those where the worm was formed, it was carefully wrapped up, surrounded by different coats of the shoot in which it lay, as if it had been skilfully and tenderly rolled up for its preservation; around it the stalk was plainly eaten away, some nearly through. The worm strongly resembles the skipper in cheese, somewhat thinner, and rather longer, of a whitish cast. The ground on which this wheat was sown was rich garden ground, high and dry; the natural soil a strong red clay; few of the shoots, of which there were many in one cluster in proportion to their number, were hurt by the fly. This was imputed to the strength of the soil, which producing a robust powerful growth, resisted, in a great degree, the attack of the fly, though the weak shoots suffered generally.

10. A similar account of the Hessian fly is given by Mr Jacobs, an experienced farmer in the county of Montgomery. From his observations the egg is usually deposited in the funnel or sheath a little above the first joint. When the eggs are laid in the autumn or spring, spring; they are utterly destructive of the growth of the wheat; but when they are deposited shortly before the harvest, the grain or even the stalk is scarcely affected, especially in rich ground. The egg, he says, is at first very minute; it grows rapidly, becomes full and large, and turns to a brown hue, in size and colour very like a flax seed. A material difference was also perceived between rich and poor ground with respect to the ravages of the fly; but none between moist and dry soils. He is also of opinion that the yellow-bearded wheat will resist the attacks of the fly; and that rolling and feeding the wheat will be of great service.

11. A farmer in Jersey, who dates his letter from Hunterdon, Jan. 30, 1787, observes, that though the fly is supposed to advance about 15 miles annually, and neither waters nor mountains obstruct its passage; yet when disturbed, he never saw them take a flight of above five or six feet; nevertheless they are so active, that it is very difficult to catch them. They first appear towards the end of September; and soon after their eggs appear hatched, in colour and size like a flax seed: they are very low at the joints; some even in the ground; and here they harbour all winter. On their first appearance in any district, their numbers being small they seldom cut off the crop in this state, which is often the case the second or third year. In the spring, after warm weather, they again appear as a small worm, and destroy the crop. The remedies proposed by this farmer are, sowing upon rich ground elder, and rolling. A gentleman whose account was dated on the first of November 1786, says, that their eggs resemble what is commonly called the fly-blow on meat, being very small, and only one in a place. Soon after, the other blades of wheat proceeding from the same kernel inclose the first, the egg is covered, and agreeable to the usual progress of insects arrives at the state of a worm, and descends towards the root, where it consumes the tender blade, sometimes destroying the whole crop in the fall; but if, by reason of the fertility of the soil, and other concurrent circumstances, the vegetation is so rapid as to baffled their efforts, some of the latter-laid eggs, when at the worm stage, entrench themselves in the ground to the depth of an inch or more, where he had found them after severe frosts changed from a white to a greenish colour, and almost transparent; from this they proceed to the auricular state, and thus continue probably in the ground till the spring, when the fly is again produced, which again lays its eggs, and finishes the work begun in the fall, to the total destruction of the crop. Another piece of intelligence he gives, but not from his own observation, that by feeding the wheat very close in the winter and spring, if the land is rich, it will again spring up, and the worms do not much injure the second growth. By another correspondent we are informed, that maritime places are less liable to be infested with the fly than the interior parts of the country; and therefore recommends as an experiment, that fine salt should be sprinkled on the wheat just before, or very soon after, the appearance of the fly. By others, elder has been much recommended, as well as rolling, &c., though the bearded wheat already mentioned seems to be the only effectual remedy.

12. By another communication from Mr Morgan to the Philadelphia Society for promoting agriculture, he informs us, that he had made himself acquainted with the fly by breeding a number of them from the chrysalis into the perfect state. The fly is at first of a white body with long black legs and whiskers, so small and motionless as not to be easily perceived by the naked eye, though very discernible with a microscope; but they soon become black and very nimble, both on the wing and feet, being about the size of a small ant. During the height of the brood in June, where 50 or 100 of the nits have been deposited on one stalk of wheat, he has sometimes discovered, even with the naked eye, some of them to twist and move on being disturbed: this is while they are white; but they do not then travel from one stalk to another, nor to different parts of the same stalk. The usual time of their spring-hatching from the chrysalis is in May. "Those (says he) who are doubtful whether the fly is in their neighbourhood, or cannot find their eggs or nits in the wheat, may satisfy themselves by opening their windows at night and burning a candle in the room. The fly will enter in proportion to their numbers abroad. The first night after the commencement of wheat harvest, this season, they filled my dining-room in such numbers as to be exceedingly troublesome in the eating and drinking vessels. Without exaggeration I may say, that a glass-tumbler from which beer had been just drank at dinner, had 500 flies in it in a few minutes. The windows are filled with them when they desire to make their escape. They are very distinguishable from every other fly by their horns or whiskers." With regard to the cure, it seems to be confirmed that the sowing of that called the yellow-bearded wheat can only be depended upon. The fly indeed will reside in fields of this wheat, and lay its eggs upon the stalks; but no injury was ever known to happen except in one single instance, where it was sown in a field along with the common sort, and that in a very small proportion to it. By another account, however, we are told that the yellow-bearded wheat is equally liable to be destroyed in the autumn with the common kind; so that the only method of securing the crop is by sowing it late in the season, when the fly is mostly over.

13. The utmost pains were taken by the British government to find out whether this destructive insect exists in Germany or any of the northern countries of Europe; but from the accounts received, it appears that it has not hitherto been observed, or at least if it exists, the damage done by it is too inconsiderable to attract notice.

14. From the whole correspondence on this subject, which from the abridgement just now given of it is evidently somewhat discordant, Sir Joseph Banks drew up a report for the privy council, dated March 2, 1789, in which he states the following particulars: 1. The appearance of the fly in Long Island was first observed in 1779. We must suppose this to be meant that its destructive effects became then first perceptible; for it seems undoubtedly to have been known in the year 1776. 2. The opinion of Colonel Morgan, that it was imported by the Hessians, seems to be erroneous, as no such insect can be found to exist in Germany or any other part of Europe. 3. Since its first first appearance in Long Island it has advanced at the rate of 15 or 20 miles a year, and neither waters nor mountains have impeded its progress. It was seen crossing the Delaware like a cloud, from the Fall's Township to Makefield; had reached Saratoga, 200 miles from its first appearance, infesting the counties of Middlesex, Somerset, Huntingdon, Morris, Sussex, the neighborhood of Philadelphia, all the wheat counties of Connecticut, &c., committing the most dreadful ravages; attacking wheat, rye, barley, and timothy-grass.

4. The Americans who have suffered by this insect, speak of it in terms of the greatest horror. In Colonel Morgan's letter to Sir John Temple, he uses the following expressions. "Were it to reach Great Britain, it would be the greatest scourge that island ever experienced; as it multiplies from heat and moisture, and the most intense frosts have no effect on the egg or aurelia. Were a single straw containing the insect, egg, or aurelia, to be carried and safely deposited in the centre of Norfolk in England, it would multiply in a few years, so as to destroy all the wheat and barley crops of the whole kingdom. There cannot exist such an atrocious villain as to commit such an act intentionally."

5. No satisfactory account of the mode in which this insect is propagated has hitherto been obtained. Those which say that the eggs are deposited on the stalk from six or eight to 50, and by their growth compress and hinder the stalk from growing, are evidently erroneous, and the authors of them have plainly mistaken the animal itself for its eggs. It is sufficient to remember, that eggs do not grow or increase in bulk, to prove that what they observed was not eggs.

6. The landholder's opinion, that the eggs are deposited on the ripe grains of wheat, though contradicted by Colonel Morgan, is not disproved, as the colonel advances no argument against it.

7. A letter dated New York, September 1, 1786, says that the eggs are deposited on the young blade, resembling what we call a fly-blow in meat; very small, and but one in a place; but this, though the only natural mode of accounting for the appearance of the insect, had it been true, must undoubtedly have been confirmed by numbers of observations.

8. Even though this should be found hereafter to be the case, there will still remain a danger of the aurelias being beaten off by the flail from the straw in threshing the wheat, and imported into Britain along with it; the presence of these flies in barns having been fully proved by the observations of Mr. Potts and Bond.

9. None of the remedies proposed against this destructive insect have been in any degree effectual, excepting that of sowing the yellow bearded wheat; the straw of which is sufficiently strong to resist the impression of the insect, and even if its eggs are deposited upon it receives little injury in point of produce in grain; this provides, however, no remedy for the loss of the barley crop, nor for that which must be incurred by sowing the yellow-bearded wheat on lands better suited by nature for the produce of other kinds: it appears also that this very kind is liable to degenerate, and probably from a different cause than that proposed by Colonel Morgan, viz. the mixture with common wheat.

Though the Agricultural Society at Philadelphia, as well as Colonel Morgan, have declared their opinions decisively that no danger can arise from wheat imported into Britain, as the insect has no immediate connection with the grain; yet with nearly if not exactly the same materials before him which these gentlemen were furnished with, Sir Joseph Banks could not avoid drawing a conclusion directly contrary; and he concludes his report with the words of Mr. Bond in a letter to the marquis of Caernarvon. "Satisfactory as it would be to my feelings, to be able to say with precision, that I apprehend no danger of extending the mischief by seed, my duty urges me to declare, that I have not heard or seen any conclusive fact by which I could decide on a matter of such importance; and till that tell occurs, the wisdom of guarding against so grievous a calamity is obvious."

On the 27th of April of the same year, another paper, by way of appendix to the foregoing, was given in by Sir Joseph Banks. In this he again observes, that none of the descriptions of any European insect hitherto published answer exactly to the Hessian fly. In a letter from Mr. Bond to the marquis of Caernarvon, he mentions another kind of insect in the state of Maryland, called by way of eminence the fly; and which in some things resembles the Hessian fly, though it cannot be accounted the same. It makes its way into the mow, and bites the ends of the grain perceptibly, and no doubt deposits its eggs in the grain itself; since it has been observed, that wheat recently threshed, and laid in a dry warm place, will soon be covered with an extreme clammy crust, which binds the wheat on the surface together in such a way as to admit its being lifted in lumps; but the wheat beneath will not be hurt to any considerable depth. Such is the quality of this fly, that if the hand be inserted into the heap affected by it, watery blisters are immediately raised; and the farmers and slaves, riding upon bags of this infected wheat, never fail to be severely blistered thereby. "This insect (says he) is called in Maryland the Revolution fly, by the friends of the British government; but from all I can learn it is not the same insect which originated on Long Island, and is called the Hessian fly (by way of opprobrium) by those who favoured the revolution. All the papers I have read on the Hessian fly are very inaccurate, not to say contradictory; and I am convinced it is by no means a settled point at this moment in what manner and place the eggs of these insects are deposited. The policy which induced government to open the ports being founded on an appearance of a scarcity of corn, that evil may be remedied by the admission of flour instead of grain; and tho' the countries from whence the flour is carried will have the advantage of the manufacture, still that cannot be reckoned as an object, when opposed in the scale to an evil of such immense magnitude as the introduction of so destructive an insect may occasion. The ravages here are beyond conception ruinous. Many farmers have had their crops so completely cut off as to be left without breadcorn or even feed-corn. If the measure of confining the importation to flour alone should be adopted, great attention should be paid to the quality of the flour admitted into the British ports. An infinite deal of the wheat of the last harvest is of a very wretched quality; and stratagems will be practised to give an extensive vent to so essential a staple of the middle states of America." In another letter to the same nobleman, Mr Bond expresses himself to the following purpose. "I have not been able to collect any decided information which fixes the essential point, how far the insect may be communicated by seed. It is a matter at this time quite undecided here; nor have I heard or observed any very conclusive reason to suppose that the fly makes its way generally into barns andricks. A very intelligent farmer in the county of Bucks, informed me that it was the prevailing opinion there, and so I found it, that the fly did not either in the field or in the mow affect the grain of the wheat: a neighbour of his, in threshing the little wheat he had saved last harvest, observed the fly rise from the straw in great numbers wherever it was struck by the flail; but though it was at first presumed that the fly had infested itself into the mow for the purpose of depositing its eggs in the grain or in the straw, no trace of the egg could be discovered from the appearance of any mucus or dust, either in the grain or in the straw; hence it was inferred that all the mischief was done in the field."