220 



FARMERS' REGISTER^WHALE CHASE, &c. 



except that one point, a negative point, was no\v 

 proved, -namely, that the liy did not come to the 

 turnip Itoin other plants, and this was a point gain- 

 ed. Fourthly, I baked the earth in a cast-iron pot 

 over the fire, and used no other water to water the 

 seed bufsuch as I Iiad boiled mys&tf, appljang it 

 at the bottom of the pot with a common feeder. 

 Then I exercised the same care, and took thesame 

 precaution as belbre. 1 did not take o!f the cover 

 till the plants were of a considerable size, and I 

 found them all a-hop with beetles. I had now 

 made another step; having before found that the 

 beetles did not come irom otlier plants", it was now 

 clear that it was not in the earUi or the water. 

 Fifthly, with a lens I examined the seed, andlound 

 on it a number of white tiattish substances; some 

 of the seeds Avere without any, but there were- ge- 

 nerally one, two, three, ibur, and in one instance 

 five on a single seed. These I concluded were 

 eo-gs, and I thought the only way left me was to 

 attack them. It would have been easy enough to 

 poke them off with a needle, but I could not see 

 how i was to employ a needle and a magnifying 

 glass on a sack ot turnip seed. I therefore made 

 some pretty strong brine, and soaked the seed in it 

 for twenty-lour hours, then dried it thoroughly, 

 and with "all the precautions which I have men- 

 tioned, I sowed it again, and there was not; a single 

 fly, neither was there a single turnip iqjured. I 

 tried again and again, and I found that, without 

 weakening the brine, if the seeds were only kept 

 in it three hours, there were no beetles, but yet the 

 seed came up as well as ever. I now practise this 

 method with turnip-seed, cabbage-seed, and in fact 

 with all the cruciform plants in common cultivation, 

 with very satisfactory success. The whole of these 

 experiments were made on the Swedish turnip, 

 which is generally more infested by these beetles 

 than any of the other sorts. 



Note by the Editor of the Quarterly Journal of 

 Agriculture. 



We sometime ago mentioned, in regard to avoid- 

 ing the attacks of the turnip-fly, that a farmer 

 completely succeeded in avoiding them for many 

 years, by rubbing, kecj^ing, and sowing his turnip- 

 "seed among flour of sulphur. Since the turnip 

 insect is attached to the turnip-seed, it is clear that 

 the sulphur must have destroyed them. This at- 

 tachment of the nidus of the insect to the seed is 

 a very retnarkable circumstance, and requires far- 

 ther investigation than the experiments above re- 

 lated, to establish the fact as a general vm. 



is injurious, the contrast being too great iDetween 

 tl"te. water and a dry, hot state of the earth, and the 

 j)lants come up yellow and sickly. -r-Repcrtory of 

 Inventions. 



TIIE TURNIP FtY. 



Mr. Berry ascrilx^s his success in this depart- 

 ment of rural management, and which, he says he 

 has observed as closely ag possible, first, to sowing 

 seed of one year's growth, which secure simultane- 

 ous Vegetation-, and defies the fly; the plants being 

 numerous. Seedsmen too frequently mix the seed 

 of didbrent years, in consequence of v^'hich it comes 

 out of the ground at various periods, and in such 

 (|uantilies, that the fly easily overpowers the crop. 

 Second, thick sowing. It is much easier to cutout 

 than to insert a plant. Third, sown immediately 

 alter the manure is ploughed in, by which the ad- 

 vantage of the moisture is secured. Iij showery 

 weather, he finds an advantage in steeping the 

 s.eeds ift -water; but if the weather be dry, steeping 



WHALE CHASE. 



A Scotisli journal, the Caladoiiian Mercury, de- 

 scribes the iollowhig anhriated scene, which took 

 place in JMay last, off. the town of Stornoway, in 

 the island of" Lewis. Anihimense shoal of whales 

 was, early in the morning, chased to the mouth of 

 the harbor by two fishing-boats, which had -met 

 them in the otnng. 



The circumstance was immediately descried 

 froni the shore, and a host of boats, amountingto 

 thirty or fortj^, and armed with every species of 

 weapon, set otFto join the others in pursuit. The 

 chase soon becam.e one of bustle and anxiety on 

 the part both of man aiid fish. The boats arranged 

 themselves in the form of a crescent, in the fold of 

 Avhich the whales were collected, and where they 

 had to encounter incessant showers of stones, 

 splashing of oars, with frequent gasshes from a 

 harpoon oi" spear, while the din created by the 

 shouts of the boats' crews and the multitude on 

 shore, was tremendous. On more than one occa- 

 sion, however, the floating phalanx was broken, 

 and it required the greatest activity and tact ere the 

 breach could be repaired and possession of the 

 fugitives regained. The shore -was neared by de- 

 grees, the boats advancing and retreating by turns, 

 till at length they succeeded in driving the captive 

 monsters on a beach opposite fo the town, and 

 within a k^\ yards of it. The- gambols of the 

 whales were now highly diverting, and, except 

 when a fish became unmanageable and enraged 

 while the harpoon was fixed, or the noose of" a 

 rope pufled tight round its tail, they were not at all 

 dangerous to be approached. In "the course of a 

 (qw hours the capture was Complete, the shore was 

 strewed with their dead carcasses, while the sea 

 presented a bloody and troubled aspect, giving 

 evident proofs that it was with no small efibrt they 

 were subdued. For fear of contagion, the whole 

 fish, amountingto ninety-eight, some of them very 

 large, were immediately tow'ed to a spot distant 

 from the town, where they were on Thursday sold 

 by public roup, the proceeds to be divided among 

 the captors. An annual visit is generally paid by 

 tlie Avhales to the Lewis coast, and besides being 

 profitable when caught, they generally fiirnish a 

 source of considerable amusement. On the pre- 

 sent occasion, the whole inhabitants of the place, 

 male and female, repaired to the beach, opposite to 

 the scene of slaughter, where they evidently were 

 delighted spectators, and occasionally gave assist- 

 ance. A young sailor received "a stroke from, the 

 tail of one of the largest fish, which nearly killed 

 him. — Tlie llirror. ■ 



COOKIIVG FOOD FOR HORSES. 



"When the food is broken down by cutting the 

 hay and straw, and bruit?ing, boiling or steaming 

 the oats, not only is there; less waste, by the whole 

 being used as manger meat, but much labor is 

 snvccl to the animal, in having the fough dried hay, 

 and hard oats, masticated for hini, and in a state 

 almost prepared for digestion; and, as legards the 

 oats, all the nourishment tliey can afford is readily 

 yielded to the .digestive orgaas; for unless the grain 



