TURNIP " FLY " OR " FLEA " 277 



" oiled " preparations act well, but must be used very 

 carefully as an overdose is as bad as the beetles, or 

 worse. Carbolic acid may be distributed in the same 

 way in very minute quantities, the acid being diluted 

 to a safe strength which must be first ascertained by ex- 

 periment. Quassia extract mixed with soft soap and 

 water is a safe and serviceable dressing. Merely coat 

 the plants with the finest possible film of the solution. 



4. By dusting the plants with tobacco powder 

 whilst damp with dew, the pests are either killed or 

 driven away. 



5. Rolling cloddy land with a light roller fre- 

 quently proves serviceable by disturbing the beetles, 

 killing some, pressing the soil about the plants and 

 keeping in the moisture. 



6. Catch and kill them by a light wide framework 

 on wheels with well gas-tarred boards fastened upon 

 it, so as to come just over the Turnips. This is an 

 excellent plan, as the beetles when disturbed jump and 

 are caught in the tar. The tar requires to be renewed 

 as it gets dry, and the beetles which accumulate in 

 masses must be scraped off. If the machine be light, 

 as it should, a man pushing it will get over several 

 acres in a day. 



THE ILLUSTRATIONS REPRESENT TURNIP " FLY " OR "FLEA" AND 

 ATTACK ON TURNIP. 



A, the Turnip Fly : a, natural size ; , magnified ; r, in flight, 

 magnified. B, portions of Turnip leaf with : d, egg of fly, 

 natural size ; e, the same enlarged or as seen with an ordinary 

 pocket lens. C, larva or grub : /, natural size ; g, magnified. 



