36 British Farmers Magazine. 



sited within half an inch of the snrface, can only have surface roots. Wash- 

 ing and pickling the seeds of grain is said to prevent the smut, by dimi- 

 nishing a part of their vegetative power. Ban/king, in ploughing, has the 

 effect of ])roducing smut, by leaving deep hollows in the soil, into which 

 the seed falls. Lime, when applied to a clayey soil, prevents the smut, by 

 pulverising the surface, and preventing the seed from being buried too 

 deep. Drilling will tend greatly to prevent smut, by depositing the seed at 

 an equal depth. The whole, in our opinion, a most erroneous theory, 

 and one which could only be formed by a person having very little 

 practical knowledge of plants and agriculture. — On the In-and-in Sys- 

 tem of Breeding, in which the practices of different agriculturists are ad- 

 duced. — Agricultural Notes made in a Tour through France and Italy. 

 [This letter is by a friend of ours now in Naples.] — On the Turnip-fly or 

 Beetle, which is stated to be two species of the Coleoptera, viz., 1st. The 

 Chrysomela nemorum, black, with a yellow longitudinal line on each shell ; 

 length, one tenth of an inch ; antennas, or horns, knotted, enlarging towards 

 the ends ; legs six, the two hinder ones, with which they skip, stronger. 

 2d, The Chrysomela nigra, " always seen in company with the first, but not 

 so numerous ; it is all black, rather smaller than the other, and of similar 

 habits." These insects appear both in gardens and fields, early in spring, on 

 cruciferous plants ; and sometimes, though less frequently, on the tender 

 leaves of barley. Like other insects of the beetle kind, they are hatched 

 and nourished under the surface of the earth ; though, from their diminu- 

 tive size, very little is known about them. After enumerating the various 

 methods which have been recommended for destroying these insects, it is 

 acknowledged that the most intelligent practical men have no dependence 

 on any thing but superior preparation of the soil, suitable manure, humidity, 

 natural or artificial, drilling on raised ridgelets containing dung, and abun- 

 dance of seed, — On the Corn Law of 1822, &c. — On planting Forest 

 Trees, by Mr. William Thorn, jun,, who was unsuccessful in heading 

 down newly planted oaks, apparently because he performed the operation 

 one jrear too soon. — On the Use of Bones as a Manure; in which the 

 writer recommends them for all manner of soils, whether under pasture 

 or tillage. 



On the Diseases of Wheat, by our valuable correspondent J. M. This is 

 a well written paper, in which the subject is judiciously treated. The care 

 which has been taken, from the earliest period, to free wheat intended for 

 sowing, from other seeds, is reasonably conjectured to have given rise to 

 the practice of brining and liming. Brine was mixed with water, in order 

 to increase the weight of the fluid, and thereby allow none but the heaviest 

 seeds to sink. Salt was used for the same purpose, and the weight or 

 strength of the v/aterwas tested by a floating egg. To allow the seeds thus 

 purified to be sown without inconvenient delay, it was dried with powdered 

 lime. Brine, salt, and lime, originally applied for these purposes, are now 

 continued for the additional object of preventing smut and mildew; but 

 whether the object is in any degree attained by the practice, is considered 

 very doubtful. The circumstances connected with smut are stated to be 

 these : — 



" It is never so prevalent in a highly cultivated crop, as in those on 

 inferior land and under an inferior system of management ; nor on the 

 richest portions of a field, as on the poorest. In some seasons, little or no 

 smut is to be met with anywhere, in others it is general ; hence the com- 

 mon observations, ' a smutty year,' and ' a non-smutty year.' Several ears 

 shall rise from the same seed or root ; one shall be smutty, the other not ; 

 part of one ear shall be diseased, and the other part healthy: sometimes 

 one grain only of a smutty ear shall be found sound. If a field' be declivous, 

 the upper headland, having a thinner staple, is very often seen to produce 

 smut ; and if a headland be imperfectly ploughed, as sometimes happens 



