1116 



PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part III 



ie short. The vegetable diseases Incident to the hop 

 fire blast, all of which take place at different timet*, 



l|l|IMI II IHIB towards (lie cinl of Mnv, atxl during the two next 



iii.uuhs. Thesa tnsacts prop igata so prodigiously, that When- 

 ever they have oner made i settlement upon .1 hop plantation, 

 thej seem io have b iffled every .irt ■•!" man. either to extirpate 

 them, or even to check their increase. It is ■ vulgar error to 

 suppose that they come or are carried iwu by any particular 

 wind ; or that mildly warm weather will affect their removal. 



It is true, tliat on Mich il.ivs the perfect insects are siren on the 



wing;; but it is only to extend their destructive race to other 

 plantations! and to establish new colonies. Sudden and vio- 

 lent shower, of rain, or gUSU of w|nd f causes the death 6f mil- 

 lions ; and vast quantities are devoured by sp irrows and other 

 small hirds ; yet these are Bocidenta] and huomcient palliatives- 

 It is, therefore, strongly recommendedi that the process de- 

 scribed bj CurtiSt of throwing pulverised lime bj the instru- 

 ment he used, be trie3 on hepslniectedbvtheAVhisi and we 

 venture to predict that it would he attended with considerable 

 tucceas. 



7'i74. The ghost meth (Heplalus hnmuli F.) deposits its eggs 

 near the roots of the hop plant, upon which the larva or 

 caterpillar feeds, sometimes doing them considerable injurv. 

 The best preventive is to destroy the moth, and this may be 

 done by attracting it at dusk to a candle and lantern, carried 

 by a hoy over the grounds, who could knock down vers many 

 with his hat. The moth is of a tolerable size ; and one sex u 

 entirely white, so that it may l>e seen, even at night, with ease. 

 It hovers over a small spot of ground, so that a good catcher 

 of insects might clear the plantation in a few evenings. In 

 1826 the ghost moth appeared in many parts of Warwickahlie« 

 En very considerable numbers* 



of a singular species of moth, named by collectoi tl 

 are, the honey-dew, the mould, the blight, and the 

 though mostly when the plant is lull grown. 



:•■, . f%t ■'"'/■ Irueet, nvtprovrrtjy tailed rav.ffsB.hai no other 

 ince to that animal, than thai tl Is small, and jumps. 



it i>, on tin itrarj , a beetls Haltli i tfnna)* of ■ species 



< losel] alUed to that which lidects young turnlpa. In Uaper- 

 reci state n ciinimts great havoci bj **.»i »hlt the tender shoots 

 oi the young plants. It has been said, thai this insert abounds 



mOSl in seasons when the nights are Cold, .ind the days hot 



and dry. other* assert, that it is most rrequeni on plants In 

 grounds thai have been dunged the same year, on which ac- 

 count it has been re ommendedi thai the manure used for 

 oo wring the hills should be previously well mixed ;is besore 

 I G0I9.), and applied either over all the bind* or only on 

 the hills ; luit this and various other plans do not appear to 

 have ori g inated m a due knowledge or the subject. Nothing 



■S vet appears known regarding the nature or habitation DC 

 this Insect in its larva or grub state; and unless it is ascer- 

 tained to live, during that period, In manure, the above plan 

 prove al>ortive. The deadly effects of lime upon 

 InsectBj h o wev e r smalt, has been extensively proved, ami should 

 Ik- resorted to In .ill cases where the expected value of the crop 

 will beat the ex|iense of its application. Mr. Samuel Curtis 

 has stated In the Horticultural Transactions (vol. 6. part l l. 

 p. 124.) the very great advantages he has derived by applying 



pulverised quick -Tune to fruit-trees; and there is no doubt that 

 the saitH* retried) would he equal!) successful if extended to the 

 tumlp Bud hop plants, s soon as the young leaves begin to ap- 

 pear, or on the first symptom of their being attacked by tins 

 Insect. 



7(^7.>. The Hop louse, called by some the green or long-w inged 

 (ly, isa species of Aldus peculiar to the plant; it makes its 



7675. Clover is very subject to he injured by a very small weevil ( A^pion flavifemnratum A*.\ which at 

 all seasons feeds upon the seed of the purple clover, while another species of the same tribe (A. flavipes) 

 devours that of the white or Dutch clover; the injury, unfortunately, cannot be known while the plants 

 are growing, as they have then every appearance of being perfectly healthy. The young shoots of the 

 purple clover are often devoured by the same little jumping beetles (H&lticaF.) which attack both turnips 

 and hopa 



7<>7ti. Pastures in general are often destroyed to a very great extent by the larva or grub of the cock. 

 chafer 970. a), known in different parts of England by the following provincial names : — Hrown tree-beetle, 

 Mind beetle, chafer, Jack homer, Jett'ry cock, May bug, brown-clock, dor, and miller. 



Tii; 7. The ravage* qf the larva? are even ex- 

 ceedeil by those of the perfect insect, which 

 sometimes appears in this country in prodi- 

 gious multitudes, and, like a flight of locusts, 

 devour every green thing on the face of the 

 earth- The eggs of this terrible devastator are 

 white, and are deposited in the ground, where 

 they soon change into a soft whitish grub with 

 a red head, and about an inch and a half 

 long (A). In this state it continues four years, 

 during which lime it commits most destruc- 

 tive ravage- on the roots, not only of grass, 

 but of all other plants and young trees. Whole 

 acres of the richest pastures are thus rendered 

 unproductive; all verdure is lost, and the 

 turf will roll up almost with as much ease as 

 it it had been cut with a spade. The whole 

 of this injury being carried on under ground, 

 admits neither of preventive nor palliative 

 measures; but the destruction to be expected 

 from the ]ierfect insect may vet lie prevented. 

 If the dried and withered turf is now re- 

 moved, the soil underneath wilt appear turned 

 into a soft mould for about an inch in depth, 

 like the bed of a garden ; in this will Ik; 

 found the grubs, lying on their backs in a curved position, 



and vast miantmes may be gathered and given to pigs and 

 P«Uitry. \\ hen full grown, the larva? dig in the earth to the 

 almost incredible depth of live or six feet, spin a smooth case, 

 and then i hang,- mto a i hrysalis. In this inactive form thev 

 remain until the following Spring. 



7o;s. /■<«, ,„,,;,., in^t,,, Ir.th then comes from the ground, 

 and commences an immediate attack upon the leaves of all 

 frees. 1 he,r numl>ers are sometimes so immense, that, was 

 not the following account fully authenticated, we should at- 

 mos d..uht Ms correctness :_l n KISS, the cockchafers appeared 

 On the hedges and invs m the county of (Jalwav in clusters of 



hnusuMs, Clinging to each others' hacks in the manner of 

 bees* hen they swarm. During the day thev remained quiet, 



M 1 -teH, 1 rdssuns t .tthowhHleweremmot l on,? l ndth e hununi.-g 

 their Wings sounded like distant drums. Their num. 



Url.TV 5 i ,r,,,n - , "»s ?«« ft* *• *P«* of three miles they 

 darkened the a.r ; and the noise they made in devouring the 



TZS72 ," " , " 1, T to bmm llwn compared to the distant 



Sawing „f t.mher. in a very short time the leaves of all the 



,.TJ n ,. M iV."'"J tawwdeW ^^«e*^K the whole country; 



,v . n M.nuner, as naked and desolate as it would 1 



have been In winter. Bwrae and ,Kn.ltrv devoured them in 



lastquantit.es; ,h,y waited under 'the trees for the users 



dropping, and became fat upon this unusual fes h! : even the 

 lower orders of the people, from these insects havine eaten up 

 the produce of the earth, adopted a mode of dressing them, 

 and used them also as food. '1 owards the end of summer they 

 are said to have suddenly disapj>eared ; and we have no account 

 of their having l>een seen in any considerable numbers the fol- 

 lowing year. (Phil. Turns, xix. p. 713. *Vc.) These grubs did 

 so much iujurv about seventy years ago to a poor farmer near 

 Norwich, that the court of that city, out of compassion, allowed 

 Wm £57.; the man and Ins servant declaring that they had 

 gathered eighty bushels of these beetles. The best, and indei d 

 the only effectual remedy for the destruction of the perfect in- 

 sect, is to shake the trees or bushes at noon, whtn they are 

 cither asleep, or in a state of stupor, and then to sweep or gather 

 them up* One person in this way has l»een known to capture 

 a thousand in a day, which, on a moderate calculation, (ire- 

 vented no less than one hundred thousand eggs from being laid. 

 Some judicious farmers plough the ground when they have 

 reason io think it is infested by the grub, and this is generally 

 indicated l.y the rooks attempting to reach them. They are 

 also greedily devoured by crows, magpies, and jays, whose sole 

 employment, for nearly three months in the spring of the year, 

 is to search for insects of this sort; and the destruction they 

 cause among them is above all calculation. 



x. v «y» »»■ tra-.vii ■* etui preserv._ 



ectinseci e appear* early in spring, and continues until the end of summer. The other 

 > rirsni t a .rp.iiar ,s green d ; the chrvsalis [e isof the same colour : and the butterfly {/) is produced 

 about in same Ume as the preceding; Various methods have been recommended to prevent the winged 



insect inm. depositing its eggs upon those plant* which nature has given them the instinct to select ; these 



are, however. Ineffectual, and in many cases sufficiently ridiculous : handpicking the larva, and searching 

 c 'Iter nfuaraT^ "* P "* "" rccommcmi > either for these or the gooseberry and currant 



Fruit frees of all kinds, and their produce, are attached and devoured by a great variety of insects, 

 an enumeration of winch will be (bund In our Bncydapa&a qf Gwdettmg, VVe shall, however, advert to 

 th(,securu,us minute .nsects.V'hripsl'hy.apus,,/^. 972./, A so often seen in flowers and blossoms during the 

 epnng, and which, In their natural size LA), appear like short black lines. Nearlyall fruit trees arc liable 

 tocwiMdcrablc injury • Iroiu dillerent species of Coccus or cochineal insects, thev are mostly so small 



