THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



699 



extirpating the beetle in any of its three early 

 Blades scarcely practicable. As the turnip when 

 in rough leal' is not in any danger Ironi the at- 

 tacks ol the beetle, it is evident that our first care 

 must be to preserve the young plant, and this can 

 only be done by the pie|jaraiion ot the suii, or 

 using such speedy means, the instant the beeiles 

 appear, as will destroy or drive them away. The 

 primary object will be lo discover the besi manure 

 lor that purpose and a dressing that will render 

 it' possible the soil obnoxious to the insect. 



it has been correctly said, "that the manure 

 which most efiectually promotes the growth ol 

 the plant will be the best delence from the insect ; 

 and that when the growth is slowesi, the danger 

 I'rom the insect is most serious." This arises m a 

 great measure Irom the advantage that insectii 

 have over vegetation ; a gleam of sunshine is 

 almost sufficient to call them into active lite, as we 

 have beloie observed, and as id evident from the 

 swarms of delicaie gnats that may often be seen 

 dancing in the air when Irosl is on the ground, 

 even in January ; but it requires the accumulaied 

 rays ol' the sun, and a much longer duration ol 

 warmih, to set in action the fluids of planis. 



It will not be irrelevant to liie subject lo take a 

 cursory view of the recommendations suggested 

 by various eminent agiiculturiets ; and as the re- 

 Bulis derived Irom some of their experiments have 

 been greatly at variance, I may venture occasion- 

 ally to olier an oj)inion ; but as it is not strictly 

 within my piovmce to determine such practical 

 points otdiHerence, 1 can only hope that they may 

 be encouraged to prosecute their valuable re- 

 searches until such variations are satislaciorily 

 explained. 



Wliether any direct protection against the beetle 

 can be expected Irom manure, since it is ascer- 

 tained that it 18 not upon the seeds that the eggs 

 are laid, now becoases a question ; lor when the 

 maggots escape Irom their burrows in the leaves, 

 and enter ihe earth, in order lo become chrysalides, 

 before changing to beetles, the manure, 1 should 

 think, seldom contains sutiicieni ammonia to de- 

 stroy them, and, li' 1 mistake not, any moderate 

 lermeniation would rather liiciliiate than retard 

 iheir metamorphoses ; moreover the instinct ol 

 insects is so perfect, that the maggot would 

 most assuredly avoid obnoxious spots, so that, if 

 any manure were spread that would injure them, 

 unless it formed a very unitbrm stratum, it would 

 not ensure success, although great advantage 

 might be derived Ircm its use. 



Burning has been found the best preventive 

 against the beetle by some, which is readily ac- 

 counted for, since it would destroy any chrysa- 

 lides in the land, and as the beetles may be in 

 abundance in itie field when it is preparing for 

 turnips, burning would, ol course, be destructive 

 to ihem, and spreading ilie ashes af'ierwards over 

 the ground will prove an additional security ; but 

 6uch a system does not suit sandy soils, neither 

 can it be Ibliowed up regularly on any land. 



Feeding oH'the turnips is siroiigly recommended 

 as an antidote to the heetle, as well as 'lom i.s 

 peculiar advantages of manormg ai.d picpa'iiig 

 the land tor the barley crop and succeeding seeds. 

 1 am disposed to attribute the advantages dtnvtd 

 from sheep-folding, as regards the beetle, to the 

 perfect stamping down ol the soil and herbage, by 

 which all insect life is destroyed, rather than to , 



any peculiar quality in sheep manure, unless it bo 

 contained in their urine. 



However Mr. Sutton's " plan of preparing the 

 liillows for the seed, and leaving the land for ten 

 days or a fbrinight before sowing," may have 

 answered occasionally, as his hypothesis is nol 

 correct, we must look to other causes for his 

 success, and this is probably the exposure of the 

 chrysalides lo drought and change of tempera- 

 ture, which would naturally destroy them ; the 

 opportunity the weeds have of growing up and 

 overpowering the crop seems to be a fatal objec- 

 tion to this process. 1 quite coincide, however, 

 with Mr. Cowdry, that the destruction of the 

 beetle may be greatly facilitated by the mode of 

 ploughing he suggests, for if the chrysalides be 

 deeply buried under the furrow, they will perish 

 for want of sufficient sun and tnoisture to bring 

 forth the Utile beetles, or even if they hatched, 

 they would not be able to extricate themselvea 

 Irom the earih heaped upon them ; this is taking 

 it for granted that the chrysalides are in the soil, 

 which would depend upon the character of the 

 preceding crop. And here again we require in- 

 formation, lor if the maggot of the turnip-beetle 

 will live in the leaves of clover and other artificial 

 grasses, then such a process as deep ploughing 

 becomes an effeciive remedy ; if not, it would only 

 he useful where the first crop had failed from the 

 land being inlested with the turnip-beetles. 



If the turnip-beetle were not common every 

 where in Sweden ii might be presumed that north- 

 ern latitudes were uncongenial to its habiis, lor 

 it did not appear to be known in Scotland until 

 1826, and it has done but little mischief, I believe, 

 since; but this is atiributed by Dr. Fleming and 

 others to the turn'ps being drilled in ; indeed, 

 broadcast is generally coneiderpd inlerior to drill- 

 ing, and the system of ridging for the drill is 

 recommended by most farmers. Cold and wet we 

 know do not agree with the perlect insect, and 

 such seasons may be still more pernicious to it in 

 its earlier states, which may account (or its rarity 

 in Scotland, where I do not remember to have 

 noticed it ; and in part of Fo.'-farshire and in East 

 Loihian the fly is said to be scarcely known. Mr. 

 Bowie, however, of Arbroath, seems to be well 

 acquainted with the effects of the fly, although he 

 only remembered its attacking the plants once in 

 rough leaf, and that was during the hot and dry 

 summer of 18'26. I see also that at Cramond,near 

 Edinburgh, it is now abundant. No notice haa 

 beentaT<en of it in Scotland, except on the eastern 

 side, where it may be expected, ns in the eastern 

 counties of England, that the fly would be most 

 fatal to the crops, as there is a much less fall of 

 rain on that side than in the western and south- 

 western quarters of the kingdom ; we see, how- 

 ever, from ihe destruction recorded in Devonshire, 

 that in a warm district, although subject to a great 

 deal of wet, its proijress is nol always impeded. 



It is the opinion of a great many agriculmriste, 

 that raw and \oua manure harbors the beetle, 

 Hud if turnips be sown on a stubble-crop, they are 

 oden completely destroyed. I see Mr. Webb Hal! 

 sia'es that he lias had io sow stubt/le-crops three 

 times over, and seed sown on stubble late in 

 August has been taken off by the beetle in more 

 than one instance. Whether this arises from the 

 hollow straws aflTording a retreat lor the beetles, or 

 that the weeds had bupported them or the mag- 



