82 MANGOLD. 



Prevention and Eemedies. — Liberal sowing, so that a portion of 

 the plants may escape anything but excessively severe infestation, 

 and thus enough to give a crop may survive, is one of the measures 

 recommended. 



Liberal manuring is another. By this means the attacked plants 

 may be helped over the time of the duration of infestation, in case the 

 number of the " Pigmy Beetles " is not overwhelming, and such of the 

 plants as may be slightly, or not at all attacked are pushed on to a 

 hearty growth. But looking at the circumstance of Atomaria beetles 

 being recorded as occurring in vegetable refuse, and "often harbouring 

 in dry dung"; this may throw light on the way in which, in some 

 instances, the " Pigmies " (to give them a more convenient name) 

 have come on the land, and also suggests that chemical manure might 

 be a serviceable application. We know how well nitrate of soda often 

 assists Mangolds through leaf maggot attack, and in case of the root 

 attack now under consideration, the fact of the solution running down 

 close to the little plants, and thus presenting the maggots with the 

 choice of starvation, or chemically impregnated food, and the little 

 beetles with what presumably would be distasteful to them, could 

 hardly fail to be helpful to us. 



Boiling is said to be a good remedy, but looking at the beetles being 

 for the most part under-ground workers, and also at their exceedingly 

 minute size (hardly as long as the ordinary letters in these lines 

 witliout the tops), it would appear difficult to do anything in this way 

 towards keeping them from feeding or moving about, which would not 

 at the same time injure the plants. 



Where Sugar-Beet is very largely grown, as at various localities on 

 the Continent, these small beetles are apt to be most seriously injurious, 

 and rotation of crop sucli as will clear the infestation out of the land, 

 is the best remedial measure. This, however, is not always easy to 

 carry out. Sugar-Beet growing is a great industry, and all the land 

 available is needed by the growers. On this account the plan has been 

 recommended of planting instead of soivinr/ the Beet where attack is 

 prevalent. 



The Beet seed is sown on a piece of ground which (compared to 

 the Beet fields) is of small size, so that the locality of this can be 

 changed year by year, and seed ground thus secured clean of infestation, 

 on which the plants can be started. " Then the Beet is planted out 

 in the fields, where Beet was grown even in the previous year. In 

 this way the plants are not exposed to the danger till they are in a 

 condition to resist it." — (J. E. B.) La this country the attack is 

 not the scourge that it is on the Continent, for the reason that Beet 

 growing is not a special industry, but (as it is characteristic of the 

 workings of these little beetles that they attack the germinating 



