746 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



[Nov. 





ginally planted with Whitethorn (Quicks), they 

 now pr sent nearly half of plants other than White- 

 thorn, all of which are much inferior in value for 

 fences, a fact abundantly proved by the examples 

 in question, as it would be impossible to confine 

 sheep or cattle within their bounds without patching 

 each time it were attempted to be done. 



We pursue our remarks on the Natural History 

 of the Turnip Crop 



However careful we may have been in the growth 

 or selection of seed, and whatever labour we may 

 have expended in the preparation of the soil and the 

 committal of the seed to the earth, still from the 

 first moment that the 'cotyledon leaves make their 

 appearance above the ground the Turnip plant is 

 liable to the attacks of enemies, and as in the very 

 early sta^e of growth the Turnip flea, skipjack, or 



flea beetle {Haltica nemorum) is the first as it is the 

 worst enemy of the embryo Turnip, we shall devote 

 the following observations to an illustration of a few 

 points in its natural history. The more important 

 facts connected with this creature may be briefly 

 tabulated as follows 



1st. The Turnip flea is an 



dingly small 



insect of the beetle tribe, doing great mischief on 

 account of its vast numbers and the early stage of 

 growth at which they attack the Turnips. 



2d, These insects are of an exceedingly active 

 habit, jumping with a smart spring from the plants 

 on which they are settled, even upon a shadow im- 

 pinging upon them, hence their name of Turnip flea. 



3d. Dry sunshiny weather highly favours their 

 ravages . 



4th. They live upon all the species of plants 

 belonging to the natural order Cruciferse, showing, 

 however, an increasing preference for different 

 species as they approach nearer the Turnip, and 

 leaving all species for the Turnip itself. 



5. The pupa state is carried on in the soil, the 

 last brood being hatched in spring, from which 

 follow five others in the course of the year. 



6. They appear to have the power of smelling food 

 afar off, as their migrations to great distances are 

 carried on against the wind. 



Now an attentive consideration of the above facts 

 in the natural hjstory of these creatures would lead 

 to the inference of the inutility of single and isolated 

 efforts to stop their injuries. If T however, a simul- 

 taneous crusade be carried out against them we shall 

 then have reason to hope for success, and this, as 

 it appears to us, can be best followed out by an 

 universal acting upon the following principles, all of 

 which have indeed been repeatedly acted upon, 

 but with partial success, from only partial em- 

 ployment. 



1st. The encouragement of insectivorous birds. 

 2d. The destruction of all cruciferous weeds. 

 3d. The destruction of the earlier broods. 

 4th. The adoption of expedients in sowing. 



1st. During the p-esent season most farmers have ] 

 had to sow much of their Turnip crop twice and 

 even thrice to get a plant, and so great has been the 

 scourge of insects this summer that every one ex- 

 presses surprise, seeing that the winter of 1854-5 was 

 so severe : the popular notion being that hard winters 

 must necessarily check the development of insects. 

 If, however, we consider what care is taken in the 

 preservation of insect life, and the great tenacity of 

 life in its earlier stages, our native insects being 

 well prepared against our climate, we shall see that 

 if they become frost-bound for a long period that 

 this does not necessarily kill them, whilst it pre- 

 cludes the attacks of the birds, their natural enemies, 

 who more especially during an open winter feed 

 sumptuously upon the dainty fare provided for them 

 in eggs and larvae of various kinds of insects. It is 

 in this way that a too great exuberance of insect 

 life is checked ; but while the birds are starving for 

 want of food, these little creatures, wrapped up in 

 their winter cerements, and lying with dormant 

 appetites, escape, and so come forth in increased 

 numbers on the first accession of open sunshiny 

 weather. This, while it is a contradiction to a 

 popular fallacy which supposes hard winters to be 

 so highly prejudicial to insect life, leads us to look 

 upon birds as the chief natural controllers of the 

 over-development of these creatures, and as a con- 

 sequence should impel us to extend to them a large 

 measure of protection. Any one who has seen how 

 indnstnously the rook follows the ploughman, espe- 



Z5 7 *? if T r i y Part ° f the ^ ar before the winter 

 eggs are hatched, may form some notion of the good 



rfX ? if fa ir r > this fa ™% of birds-espe- 

 cially if the fact be borne in mind that the destruc- 



toon of one egg then may prevent an increase which 

 would afterwards have proceeded in a most rapid 

 process of geometrical progression 



kin!' k U -if a ? Ct Wel1 kn J ° W . n that weeds of various 

 faois, besides being prejudicial by occupying space 



and appropriating the food designed for our crops 





afford at the same time food and protection to 

 innumerable kinds of insects, and this is especially 

 so in the case before us. As a law, certain families 

 of plants, and sometimes even species are attacked 

 by particular species of insects, and indeed it is 

 usual to find that however many forms of plant an 

 insect may affect, a preference will still be given to 

 one or tw r o in particular; thus though the Haltica 

 nemorum will be found in spring on nearly all wild 

 Cruciferse, yet as soon as Turnips come up above 

 the ground all these are left for the Turnip crop, 

 and hence such cruciferous weeds as — 

 Sinapis arvensis, Charlock, 



„ nigra, common Mustard, 

 Barharea vulgaris, winter Cress, 

 Capsella Bursa-Pastoris, Shepherd's Purse, 

 Erysimum Alliaria, Jack by the Hedge; 



and a great many species of the same natural order, 

 most of which are troublesome as weeds, offer at the 

 same time food, shelter, and a breeding nidus, in which 

 thousands of the Haltica are augmented until the 

 Turnip is ready for them, when they at once wing 

 their flight, frequently in sufficient numbers to 

 destroy the whole plant in a short SDace of time, so 

 that the dictum of the poet 



u He doth take my life 

 " Who takes the means that doth sustain my life," 



is equally true of small creatures as of large ; and 

 this consideration should afford us an additional 

 incentive to destroy weeds of every kind* 



3d. The remarks just offered show one way of 

 destroying or rather preventing the early broods of 

 these insects ; but a study of their natural history 

 has suggested a special method which is worthy of 

 earnest consideration — namely, that of passing over 

 the young plants an apparatus smeared with tar or 

 some unctuous substance in such a manner that when 

 the insects make their spring — which they do the 

 moment a shadow passes over them — they are en- 

 tangled and destroyed. For this purpose we would 

 recommend an implement made as follows: — Aflat 

 board about 4 feet long,and wide enough to take as much 

 as two rows of Turnips at a time, to be provided with 

 two light wheels, elevating the machine sufficiently 

 just to escape the plant, and two bent handles 

 by which it is held. This on being smeared below 

 with tar, and used every two or three days during 

 the critical period in the life of the young plant, 

 will destroy myriads of these little pests, and do 

 much towards saving a crop. 



Now, if every farmer used this there is little doubt 

 but that the mischief from the Turnip flea would be 

 much mitigated, and it must be remembered that by 

 thus destrovino" them one vear we lessen their 



of plant before^an^UieFmly be ob^^d 



_- r — m ~^*~~ v ouv "«ci LLiay oe ooserved n ^ 



where the Swedish has become accidental^ m £| 

 l^f^^f!!*?^ w* gre ^f* ^r "less extent this 



ixao uwume accidentally mixed 



injury done to the latter. This would indicate Z 

 advisability of sowing alternate rows of Swedes a5 

 common Turnip, with the avowed object of destrov 

 ing the latter to save the former ; and, again in til 

 case of common Turnips it may be worthy of oba? 

 vation whether the White Mustard is not preferred 

 to it, and, if so, this would do for the alternation 

 of rows. In fact much observation is still required 

 in order to arrive at all the facts of the case before 

 us, but whatever may be the result of future inquiries 

 we cannot for the present adopt a better plan than 

 that which will destroy our enemy, { o which end the 

 expedients which can be adopted in sowing seem to 

 be very inadequate. Here then in dealing with the 

 Ilaltica nemorum observations tend to the folWim. 

 conclusions 



1st, That by frequent ploughings and the en- 

 couraging of insectivorous birds the parents of the 

 year's produce of insect life are materially lessened • 

 2dly, That by destroying Cruciferous weeds we get 

 rid of the spring breeding places of the first broods • 

 and 3dly, By the adoption of plans recommended 

 for the destruction of the latter ones, the enemy 

 may be destroyed before his favourite food is ready 

 for him. 



These expedients, however, are such as require 

 to be adopted by all, and considering the enormity 

 of the evil and the cost and heavy losses caused by 

 even such a minute creature as the Turnip flea beetle. 

 it might be further recommended that a Society 

 of Observers should be formed to notice, report, and 

 discuss upon the subject, which is no trifling one, 

 in order, if necessary, to influence the universal 

 adoption of such remedial measures as may be 

 deemed necessary. 



destroying them one year 

 chances of increase for the next. 



Still 



simple as 

 the apparatus recommended appears to be, and little 

 as is the work that is involved in using it, any plan 

 that can be devised to prevent the necessity of the 

 repeated going over the whole of the crop in the 

 manner indicated is much to be desired; would it 

 not therefore be well to meet all the contingencies 

 in the natural history of the Haltica in the following 

 manner? Let each Turnip grower plant in some 

 convenient spot about a quarter of an acre of 

 Turnips perhaps a month before his field crops are 

 sown, the result of which would be to collect all 

 the insects from the wilder Crucifers to small isolated 

 patches where they could readily be dealt with on 

 the plan just explained. Wecan answerfrom repeated 

 trials that such a patch in districts affected by the 

 Haltica is immediately attacked, whether in the field 

 or the garden; and if a simultaneous effort were 

 thus made, we feel assured farmers would not have 

 to deal with this creature in a serious way for ever; 

 for by all working to the same end there is no 

 reason why even minute creatures should not be 

 exterminated as well as those of a larger kind.* 



4th. The various expedients in sowing which 

 have been adopted to prevent the ravages of this 

 insect have been recommended from consideration 

 of its presumed instincts and habits. Among these 

 that of sowing if possible before rain, or with a water 

 drill, in order to get a plant as quickly as possible, 

 deserves attention, for doubtless a wet season at the 

 time of the coming up of the Turnip is much to the 

 advantage of the crop, inasmuch as the activity and 

 locomotion of the insect is retarded, and not only so, 

 but its breeding also, so that the plant can thus 

 make good way under the most favourable circum- 

 stances and get strength before the arrival of the 

 enemy; but it is by no means true that the Haltica 

 attacks only the cotyledon or first leaves, for it not 

 only lays eggs in, but feeds on the rough or secon- 

 dary leaves ; still any expedient that can be adopted 

 to secure the first leaves from early injury is of 



great advantage, as if injured the strength of the me mie lamme, pu*«» WJ — .—«. -~- ^g 

 plant is gone, and it cannot make head by develop- material improvement in the condition of the la d 

 ing^the secondary leaves. " " * ~'"" 



■ one form 



» we believe a plan similar to this was first proposed by that ex- 

 cellent entomologist Mr. Curtis as a means of savin* individual 

 crops, but if universally followed its effects would be universal 



LABOURERS' WAGES IN IRELAND. 



Our Secretary, as one of the Poor Law Commissioners, 

 has been lately called over the coals by a Roman Catho- 

 lic priest for their annual report to the lord lieutenant, 

 this report having stated that the pauper population of 

 the poor-houses had greatly diminished during the last 

 year, and that there is every reason to hope that this 

 decrease is connected with a material improvement in 

 the condition of the labouring classes, arising from a 

 higher rate of wages and a more continuous state of 

 employment; that able-bodied labourers can now obtain 

 Is. a day for each day's work, the decrease in the 

 agricultural labourers having been caused by an emigra- 

 tion of some of that class. 



The priest states that the population of Ireland ought, 

 but for unjust and landlord legislation, to be from 12 to 

 16 millions, and that it is not so much kept down by 

 emigration as by the want of proper nourishment, 

 clothing, and lodging ; that from these causes alone 

 hundreds of thousands annually perish under 15 years 

 of age (he might have added that the growth and 

 strength of the survivors are much deteriorated by 

 them) ; that these wants are consequent on the insuf- 

 ficient wages paid by farmers and other employers. 

 Without admitting for a moment the justice of attribut- 

 ing this state of the people to the " oppressive and in- 

 human treatment » of the Irish landlords towards the 

 tenant farmers and labourers, as asserted by the priest, 

 in denying the means of support to the Irish people, all 

 who know Ireland must acknowledge the truth of this 

 statement of their sufferings and deprivations as sun 

 existent. On the philanthropist, on the patriot, and on 

 the political economist this state of things in so fair ana 

 naturally productive a portion of the empire lays cW& 

 to consideration, nor, as an agricultural country deriving 

 all her resources from the product of the land, shoul 

 it be without interest to the landed proprietary. 



How landlord legislation or landlord influence c«n 

 cause a low labour market I think the priest would ne 

 puzzled to show, and, indeed, I think, excepting lnsom 

 few instances, he would find it difficult to prove that tw 

 landlords of Ireland are oppressive or inhuman; 

 tainly their rents, although felt too high under the pr - 



. 



sent agricultural economy, for any rent would bet 

 are not excessive, compared with England and Scot > 

 neither are the local or general taxes ; yet the wag** 

 of agricultural labour are plainly too low for, n ot 

 comfortable but the most sordid support of the labo 

 having a family, and yet, low as these wages ^'^ 

 farmer finds them a burden he can scarcely meet, 

 if the priest has allowed his feelings to carry him tf^ 

 surely the report of the Poor Law Commissioner* 

 not savour of sound judgment. There is ^P™^ d . 

 certainly, for when the worst has been reached ain ^ 

 ment must succeed; there is certainly iaiprovetnen^ 

 wages in the increase from 6d. or Sd. a day to l f^ A 

 there is a more regular employment from the dim* 

 number of labourers from emigration, yet the d , 

 is still more diminished, I am afraid, from the ene ^ 

 the late famine, but it is very doubtful "that th^e 



classes/* except in the 



of single men, w 



thrhi r gher"wage8 tell, for the labourer with * fa 011 



ie higner wages ten, ior we w»«^« qj & day 



as probably better off in days of yore at p«- iD 

 „ith the Potato ridge to go to, the rent of ^^^jv 

 part at least, liquidated by the ge tleman he bospi«> 



was 



wi 



