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TJie Cojmtry Gentleuiajis Magazine 



In a couple of weeks or so the maggots 

 have gorged themselves sufficiently, and 

 then they retire below the earth for another 

 fortnight in order to get their wings, and do 

 more mischief when they emerge into the 

 h'ght of day. 



These beetles are not easily got rid of 

 when they make their appearance. Like a 

 bad half-penny they constantly keep turning 

 up. The author of '• The Book of the 

 Farm " thinks that the remedies against the 

 attacks of this insect are "of a hopeless cha- 

 racter," and that prevention is better than 

 cure. The cautionary measures that Mr 

 Stephens recommends are as follow : — " To 

 keep the land clear of all weeds, and espe- 

 cially of the cruciferous kinds, wild mustard 

 and charlock, which are the favourites of this 

 beetle ; to sow the turnips in drills instead of 

 broadcast, but whether difference in culture 

 makes the crop less valuable I do not know, 

 although the attacks of insects being less 

 frequent in Scotland than in England would 

 lead to such a conclusion, to sow the seed 

 thick and of the same age, for the more 

 rapidly the plants grow at first, they are less 

 often attacked ; to put the seed for some 

 time before being sown amongst flour of 

 sulphur, and to sow the sulphur amongst 

 it. It may be that the juices of the plant are 

 so affected by the sulphur as to cause dis- 

 relish for it, while the disagreeable odour 



arising from sulphur in no degree injures the 

 vegetative power of seed or plant. Being a 

 simple material, sulphur is worth trying by 

 those whose crops are often affected by 

 insects. As a remedial measure, a long haired 

 hearth-brush switched along the drills by 

 field-workers causes the insects to fall from 

 the plants better than a board or net ; and if 

 quicklime were strewn immediately upon the 

 plants, as recommended by one hundred and 

 two practical farmers of the Doncaster Agri- 

 cultural Association, their destruction would 

 be more certain." This about the turnip 

 beetle at this time of the year, is interesting. 

 Clover and ryegrass pastures generally, our 

 correspondent informs us, are remarkably 

 good. " Potatoes," he adds, " suffered much 

 from a very severe frost which occurred about 

 a fortnight or three weeks ago." Again he 

 says : — " A friend of mine told me the other 

 day that by sprinkling nitrate of soda over the, 

 top of the rows after setting, prevents frost 

 from injuring potatoes in the spring months. 

 He so treated his potatoes this year, and al- 

 though his neighbours suffered, his crop was 

 uninjured. Many farmers about here have only 

 in part sown their turnips. Swedes are sown, 

 of course ; but other varieties are only partly 

 sown or unsown." The crops, as a general 

 rule, however, are not looking badly this 

 year, although the thunderstorm of last week 

 did damage over a large extent of country. 



PASTURING V. SOILING. 



WE have not observed any discussion 

 on this question for some length of 

 time, but it is of considerable importance. 



We do not mean at present to bring under 

 review any question regarding hill grazings, 

 the pasturing of commons, nor in general the 

 consuming of grass on lands which yield a 

 scanty herbage. There are various ways and 

 means by which these different tracts of land 

 may be improved ; but they are essentially 

 adapted to grazing purposes only, and the 



farmer's judgment here is best displayed by, 

 and is almost restricted to, selecting the de- 

 scription of stock which thrive and pay 

 best. 



It is, then, on naturally rich lands, or on 

 lands of fair average quality, under a course 

 of liberal cultivation, that we mean our ob- 

 servations to apply. Such soils, even in 

 seasons only moderately favourable, will yield 

 a good crop ; while in periods of alternate 

 sunshine and shower they are ce-tain to give 



