BIZ 



[ 134] 



BLA 



peat and loam. Summer temp., 65 to 

 85 ; winter, 50 to 60. 

 2?. Orelldna (Orellana). 20. Pink. June. 

 West Indies. 1690. 



purpu'rca (purple). 20. Purple. July. 



East Indies. 1817. 



Urucura'na (Urucu). 20. Pink. July. 



Brazil. 1820. 



BIZARRE. See Carnation. 



BLACK ADIANTUM. Aspk'nimn adla'n- 

 tum-ni'grum. 



BLACK ARCH MOTH. See Psilu'ra 

 mona'cha. 



BLACK BRYONY. Poisonous weeds 

 which, will not he further noticed. 



BLACK BULLACE. Pru'nus insiti'tia. 



BLACKBU'RNIA. (Named after Mr. 

 Blackburn. Nat. ord., Xanthoxyls [Xan- 

 thoxylaceoe]. Linn., 4-Tentrandria, 1- 

 Monogynia). Greenhouse evergreen 

 shrub. Cuttings of half-ripe shoots, in 

 sand, under a hell-glass, in April; also hy 

 layers in autumn; peat and loam, both 

 fibry and sandy. Summer temp., 55 

 to 75 ; winter, 40 to 45. 

 B. pinna' ta (leafletcd). White. May. Nor- 

 folk Island. 1829. 



BLACK CATERPILLAR. See Atha'lia 

 spinarum. 



BLACK FLEA. (Ha'ltlea nc'morum}. 



No insect is more insidious or more 

 sweeping in the destruction it brings 

 upon some of the farmers' or gardeners' 

 crops than the Turnip Flea (Haltica 

 ncmorum}. Turnips of all kinds, beet- 

 root, mangold- wurtzcl, radishes, and flax, 

 are all liable to be destroyed by this in- 

 sect. It is a singular misapplication of 

 terms, that this insect is known among 

 cultivators of the soil as the black and 

 the turnip flea or fly, none of them ever 

 calling it a beetle, which it really is; 



and the most descriptive name is the 

 turnip-flea beetle, for this describes not 

 only its real nature but its favourite 

 food, and its extraordinary power of 

 skipping or leaping like the common 

 flea. This insect is represented in our 

 drawing of its natural size and magni- 

 fied. The body, one-eighth of an inch 

 long, is rather flattened, and of a brassy 

 black colour, thickly dotted ; the wing 

 cases are greenish black, with a pale- 

 yellow broad line on each ; the base of 

 the feelers (antenna) and the legs are 

 pale clay-coloured. The eggs are laid 

 on the under side of the rough leaf of 

 the turnip from April to September. 

 They hatch in two days. Their maggots 

 live between the two skins or cuticles of 

 the rough leaf, and arrive at maturity in 

 sixteen days. The chrysalis is buried 

 just beneath the surface of the earth, 

 where it remains about a fortnight. The 

 beetles arc torpid through the winter, 

 and revive in the spring, when they 

 destroy the two first or seed leaves of the 

 young turnip. There are five or six 

 broods ia a season. These insects are 

 most to be feared in fine seasons. Heavy 

 rains, cold springs, and long droughts, 

 destroy them. Their scent is very per- 

 fect : the beetles fly against the wind, 

 and are attracted from a distance. The 

 rapid growth of a plant is the best 

 security against them ; to secure which, 

 sow plenty of seed all of the same age. 

 Burning the surface of the land is bene- 

 ficial, by destroying the chrysalides. 

 Deep digging is an excellent practice, 

 when the chrysalides arc in the soil. 

 Drilling is a far superior practice to 

 sowing the seed broadcast. Destroy 

 charlock : it affords support to the beetles 

 before the turnips come up. The most 

 effectual banishment of the turnip fly, 

 we think, is secured by sowing the sur- 

 face of the soil with gas-lime two or 

 three mornings after the turnip seed has 

 been sown. This is so offensive to the 

 insect as to drive it away just at the 

 time the young plants are appearing 

 above ground. The Cottage Gardener, 

 ii., 93. 



BLACK GRUB. AtJui'lla Spina'rwn. 



BLACK JACK OAK. Quc'rcus ni'yra. 



BLACK PINE, fi'nus austri aca. 



BLACK SALTWORT. Glaux mari'tima. 



