FARM PESTS 45 



sweep away from the countryside, but rather preserve such 

 useful little animals as the Weasel and the Stoat, and 

 such birds as Hawks and Barn Owls, which subsist upon 

 rats, mice and other vermin. Of course they will take 

 young chicks if they have half a chance. Moral, don't 

 give them half a chance. Think, for instance, of the 

 value of the Barn Owl alone. This inestimable bird, 

 the symbol of sombre wisdom, will save a farmer a whole 

 sack of corn in a single season, and yet it was at one 

 time the game-keeper's chief delight to string it up on 

 the bough of a tree along with a gruesome collection of 

 dead bats and moles in order to show the world what 

 smart people we are. The net result is that we have a 

 rat question. (See Plate 9.) 



The domestic ferret is an albino polecat and can only 

 be kept in captivity, as it is unable to winter in England 

 out of doors. It is a useful animal for rat-hunting. But 

 most important of all, we must build our barns and 

 granaries better, so that no rat can possibly harbour 

 there, being thus compeUed to go out into the open, to 

 find its food or its fate as the case may be. 



We will now have a look at the Mustard Beetles. These 

 pretty insects are often very destructive with this crop. 

 There are several species, but two of them are the prin- 

 cipal offenders, viz. Phaeclon beiulce and Meligethes ceneus. 

 The latter insect is also injurious to turnip flowers and 

 other cruciferous plants, being known as a consequence 

 as the Turnip and Cabbage Flower Beetle. They eat 

 the blossoms, both as beetles and during the larval stage, 

 sometimes migrating in droves from one field to another] 

 larvae and beetles working together, there being a succes- 

 sion of broods, from May onwards. 



P. betulm, the Mustard Beetle proper, is shining blue 

 or bluey green in colour, and about \ inch long. Its 

 larva is also shown in the sketch, and when fuU-grown 

 is nearly J inch long, rather hairy, dull yellow or smoky 

 grey, spotted with black, whilst the head also is black 



