702 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



Fiimigalion by burning s'ubble, wee<!e, &c., lo 

 windwarJ of ilie field, so ihat the smoke drives 

 aloMi/ I he sround, has proved efledual ; but I 

 should prefer burning lo leeward as a preventive, 

 tor as ihe beetles are attracted by the scent of the 

 lurnipe, and fly towards the wind, ihey would be 

 baffl'^d by such a nianceuvre. 



VVatering the plants with brine suffiriently 

 strong to att'ect the insects but not strong enough 

 to injure the young plants, would, I expect, prove 

 a most successful remedy ; and when in rough 

 leal' it would also kill the larvaj, and even destroy 

 the ecgs that were exposed to its influence. 



In Hanover, fields of white turnips have been 

 preserved from the fly by thickly sprinkling the 

 dust of chalky roads on the young plants at night, 

 vvlien the heavy dew is talliiiff, until they appeared 

 covered wiih the powder. The fly, ii is said, will 

 at once disappear, especially if the next day be a 

 hritrht sunshine, and the dust is dried upon the 

 leaves, which prevents their little teeih from 

 pnawinL' the leaf, or disgusts them in some other 

 vv'dv, and they depart to more agreeable quarters. 

 II the sprinkling be imiiiediaiely succeeded by 

 heavy rains, so that the dust is washed ofl", the 

 operation must be repeated. Several other means 

 are suggested by M. VVundram, which have 

 nroved To be useless in this country ; and his 

 reasoning induces a belief that he is not well 

 acquainted with the habits of the turnip-fly. An 

 infusion of wormwood sprinkled over the young 

 plants and seed-beds will, he says, secure them 

 from the attacks of, the fl es, as they dislike the 

 bitterness thus conveyed. 



Drawing boughs of the elder over the field is 

 supposed 1^0 anniiy the beetles, and drive them : 

 avvfay ; and the leaves of the elder, when fresh I 

 gathered, being covered wiih a glutinous lifjuor, j 

 and those of the lime, &c., when the honey-dew ! 

 is ufon them, are recomufended to be strewed in 

 gardens for the purpose of catching the turnip- 

 ■^eetles. 



' confess that I have no faith in the plants 

 be ng rendered obnoxious to the fly from steeping 

 the "seeds in oil, brine, brimstone, or milk, as 

 practised by many. Such immersions may render 

 the plants stronscr, or cause iJnore of the seeds to 

 vewetate, which will at once account for the suc- 

 cess that is said to be derived from this proces--. 

 If, indeed, the eggs of the insect were laid upon 

 tiie seed, the oil and brine would be most effica- 

 cious ; but that notion is exploded. 



Mr. Le Keuxsays that washinff over the plants 

 with sulphate of potash had no effect ;and he very 

 justly observes, that if the upper surface of the 

 leaf could be poisoned, ihe beetles might leed upon 

 the under side with impunitv. Powdered sulphur, 

 strewed one-tenth of an inch thick, did not deter 

 the flies from attacking the plants, hut it improved 

 their appearance. Snuff", assafoeiida, a powder 

 called aati-iinea, for preserving furs, proved 

 equ^llv powerless. They did retire from smplling 

 salts (Carb. am. \ and died immediately on being 

 exposed to the effluvia from it ; but a small bit 

 placed an inch from the plant would destrov it 

 also. This, or sorr.eihing that would overpower 

 the scent of the turnips, might perhaps hp advan- 

 ia</eou5ly employed in driving away or deceiving 

 the fly. One ounce of tar, one ounce of olive oi', 

 and two ounces of strong c tustjc potash, well 

 mixed together, and shaken up with the requisite 



quantity of water, were next poured, the fourth 

 day alter sowing, over a patch on a hill swarming 

 with the ffy, at the end of August. Not many of 

 the seeds came up, but the (ew plants from thern 

 were of a healthy color, and acquired the rough 

 leal, a lew only on the winJwaid side being punc- 

 tureit; but several days' rain occurred at the 

 most critical time, which might be their best pro- 

 tection. 



Such are the remedies proposed ; but I fear it is 

 not by the experiments of a lew philosophic men 

 lhat we can hope to discover any positive antidote 

 10 so great an evil. We want correct data from 

 every sort of soil under the various influences of 

 climate and effects of cultivation, before we can 

 fairly grasp the subject. Until we became ac- 

 quainted with itie economy of the beetle, we were 

 groping in the dark. That important discovery 

 has brought us a lew steps towards the light ; and 

 those who vvibh to follow in the path ol truth 

 should try and examine Mr. Le Keux's experi- 

 I menis, which it is easy to do, by filling a garden- 

 j pot with earth, carelully silied to take out all 

 I worms, cemipedes, or other fiving anin)als, which 

 might destroy the chrysalides. When this is 

 done, plant in it a small turnip, in rough leaf, 

 having a fine wire-gauze guard, large enough to 

 enclose the plant, and fitting just inside the top of 

 the pot. One or more pairs of the beetles must be 

 placed, with a fresh turnip leaf, in a large-mouthed 

 transparent boiile, then lie over the end a piece 

 of mus'in to prevent the escape of the insects ; 

 for il the coik or stopper be put in, the bottle 

 will become wet inside, which will prevent the fe- 

 males from laying any eggs. I imagine they will 

 not adhere to the damp leaf. The leaf may be ex- 

 amined daily through a magnifying-glass, and as 

 soon as any eggs are discovered, they may be 

 plact'd in the pot where the turnip is growing, 

 that the little maggots may be able to get at the 

 living leaves as soon as they hatch. The progress 

 of the insect may thus be traced through its diffe- 

 rent stages ; and it will only be necessary to 

 place the garden pot in a saucer, into which wa- 

 ter should be daily poured, if necessary to nourish 

 and refresh the plant. 



Let us not lorget that amongst our best ft-iends 

 are the small birds, a great number of which, 

 sucli as the gray and yellow wagtails, no doubt 

 destroy incredible numbers of these insects in 

 their various stages. Their nests ought to be 

 protected, and the birds themselves defended from 

 persecution. 



There is another species of v^/<ica, whose ha- 

 bits are similar to those of silica nemorum, which 

 materially assis's in injuring Ihe turs.ip crops. 

 The habits of the brassy or tooth-legged turnip- 

 beetle are not known, but may be expected to re- 

 semble those of the striped turnip-flv. I will now 

 describe this insect, the ^Itica concinna, which is 

 the same as the j^ltica dentipes oi' I'oreign authors. 

 It is more oval, convex, and shining than Altica 

 nemorum. of a greenish-black color, more or less 

 tinged with a brassy or copper hue. The horns 

 are'only half as long as the body, and thickest to- 

 wards the extremity, of a pitchy color, with a 

 (ew rust-colored joints ne.%t the head : the trunk 

 or thorax is thickly but very finely punctured : 

 the wing-cases are scarcely twice as broad as the 

 trunk, but three times as longj having ten lines 

 of Btrongly-impresscd dots down each. The 



