324 MU IIAUDV ON lNSi:(!TS 



beetle at defiance. The seed Itsplf requires little previous preparation; 

 the newer it is, it will germinate the sooner; and it has even been suj,'- 

 gested, in the ea^se of Swedes, to obtain seeds raised in some early elimate, 

 such as the South of France, that they may bo used for sowing the crop of 

 the same year. To separate the light and imperfectly ripened seeds, and 

 those eaten by the mites, they should be placed in a tub of water, and all 

 that float should be rejected. Steeping the seed forwards its appearance 

 by a (lay or two; and this is not unfrequently practised with Swedes, which 

 are Later in springing than the common turnip. In dry seasons, however, 

 it is hazardous, as the soil will deprive the seed of its moisture, which will 

 then shrivel and contract, and germination will thereby be prevented. In 

 some favourable seasons, the seedlings will be above ground within three 

 days ; more usually in flre or six ; in some instances, weeks may elapse. 

 Now is the critical period with the crop ; as the plant, having exhausted 

 itself in producing the seed-lobes, remains stationary for a time, assailed by 

 a host of foes, till the true leaves are expanded, to whose agency it is to 

 owe its future existence ; and now is the effect of good manures most ap- 

 parent in stimulating the vital processes that are to render it invulnerable. 

 A limited and early sowing will be more apt to be endangered by the 

 beetle, than a more general one ; as the former will be exposed to its full 

 attack, when it has little other food ; while the latter will have to contend 

 with a divided enemy, whose virulence will diminish with augmented sup- 

 plies and a wider dispersion. Mr Wilson, Edington Mains, relates an in- 

 stance of the disadvantages of too eai'ly a seed time, even when all other 

 circumstances were favourable. Several years since, he sowed ten or 

 twelve acres of rape in May, before the time when other turnips are sown. 

 The land was in excellent condition, and the braird one of the finest he 

 had ever witnessed, but afterwards the fly got in, and so great was the 

 flestruction, that ho did not believe there were above ten or twelve plants 

 left remaining — not above one to the acre. The whole insects of the 

 neighbourhood had apparently resorted thither. 



There still remains another class of remedies to be noticed ; which con- 

 sists in powdery materials, with which the seedling plants have been re- 

 commended to be dusted. Ashes, soot, road-dust, where the road-metal is 

 calcareous— and above all quick-lime, have been applied for this purpose. 

 M.Wundrara, a German clergyman, finds the road dust to be highly eflicaci- 

 OU3. A night is to be chosen, in which a great quantity of dew has fallen, 

 and the dust is thickly sprinkled over the plants, so that they are coated 

 with the powder. The beetles, it is stated, " all at once disappear, particu- 

 larly if the sun shines brightly the following day, and the dust is dried on 

 the plants."* It is questionable if the dust of any of the Berwickshire 

 roads would be of much avad, as the substance employed by M. Wundram, 

 was in reality a pulverized carbonate of lime. The quantity of quick-lime 

 with which some propo.se to dust the plants, is a bushel to the imperial acre.f 

 A correspondent of the Gardeners' Chronicle, for May 4, 1844, p. 284, who 

 has both experience and confidence in the remedy, gives 6 bushels to the 

 acre, measured before slaking. He loses not a day, but applies it soon 

 after the seedlings appear. He sows it with a machine. I subjoin his table 

 of expenditure for dusting with lime ten acres: — 



Eijiht quarters of limo, ... ... ... ... £0 10 



Carriage, ... -.. ... ... ••• 050 



Two men, slaking and riddling, ... ... ... 3 



Beer, 2 



Ilor^c, for sowinp: the lime, ... ... ... •.• 4 



One boy, for ditto, ... ... ... ••• 10 



£1 11 

 All these applica ions require to be repeated if (ho foliage has been wash- 

 ed with rain. 



* Kr.llar on Inimions ln<rrf«, 1-12, H". < nonir, Mrtnoiro of Uip TrI. Hort. RoHoty. 



