150 MANGOLDS. 



of soda rapidly killed the Spotted Millepede ; his report for- 

 warded to me was as follows : — 



" After receipt of your letter I went to the field when rain- 

 ing (pouring), and got about two pounds of the soil with the 

 insects in, and added a tablespoonful of salt to one pound and 

 the same quantity of nitrate of soda to the other pound : in 

 two hours' time the insects were still alive. I afterwards added 

 a little water, and they were all dead in both cases in five 

 minutes (just as Miss Ormerod said), but previous to my 

 adding the water there was sufficient moisture in the soil to 

 dissolve both the salt and nitrate of soda. Therefore, I think 

 a hrine of salt and water would be more effective, and put on 

 with as little labour as dibbling the salt up the drills." 



Cotton-cake has been found to attract them from the 

 attacked crops, and the overwhelming fondness of the Pink- 

 spotted Millepede {J. guttatus) for Mangolds may be turned to 

 account, in attacks on special crops, by placing slices of Man- 

 golds for traps, which I have seen swarming (when removed) 

 with the Millepedes crawling over them in all directions. 



An application of soot and water was tried in garden culti- 

 vation, mixed in the proportion of two handfuls of soot to one 

 gallon of water. This was reported as successful ; whether it 

 acted by killing the Millepedes, or driving them away, was not 

 mentioned. John Curtis mentions use of soot acting well in 

 driving the pests away. 



The following notes, also sent me from Audsley's Wood in 

 1885, are very serviceable, as giving an instance of the double 

 feeding, that is on both animal and vegetable matter commonly 

 attributed to the Millepedes : — 



"We find them in bunches now and then round a bit of 

 hone or refuse used in the manufacture of the manure ; still 

 they have a great liking for the Wurzel, as I have proved to- 

 day. Upon searching I found the most of them deeper in the 

 soil than I found them on Tuesday ; I concluded this was 

 owing to the rain, but I soon discovered it was in search of 

 food. 



" Before drilling the seed I soaked half of it for forty-eight 

 hours, and, when sufficiently dry, mixed it with the unsoaked 

 seed, and drilled together. The soaked seed germinated in 

 five or six days, and furnished food for these insects [Mille- 

 pedes, Ed.J close to the surface ; this they have devoured, 

 and now they have attacked the unsoaked seed just germi- 

 nating, as we find a bunch of from five to twenty round every 

 seed. This accounts for their being deeper in the soil in this 

 instance." 



Poiver of migration.— In 1885, Mr. J. A. Smith, of Rise 

 Hall, Akenham, sent me specimens agreeing with the Earth 



