191 1.] 



The Mustard Beetle. 



413 



hitherto been tried in England, appears to the Conference to 

 give much more promise of success than schools professedly 

 giving a large amount of instruction in practical agriculture, 

 such as "fermes ecoles," which have proved unsuccessful 

 in France. The Report discusses the curriculum of these 

 schools, which might be termed ''Higher Grade Rural 

 Schools," and recommends that, as regards the school 

 fees, it might be left to the local authority to determine 

 whether the instruction should be given free, or whether a 

 moderate charge should be made to the ordinary pupil, with 

 a fair provision of free scholarships. If these schools are 

 to serve a large district, provision will have to be made out of 

 public funds for boarding allowances and travelling expenses. 



Another type of school which the Conference consider 

 worth trying as an experiment is what the Report terms a 

 "Centralised Rural Continuation Day School," to which boys 

 actually engaged in work on the land between the ages of 

 12 and 16, or even 18, might be brought in several sets 

 for one or two days a week. Such schools would serve areas 

 (not exceeding a radius of 8 to 10 miles) which would vary 

 in size according to the local conditions. They would usually 

 consist of one or more rooms, well equipped for manual w-ork, 

 large enough to accommodate a class of not more than 20 

 boys under the charge of one specially trained master. While 

 their general education w^ould be continued, the students 

 would also receive instruction in elementary science and rural 

 economy with direct bearing on their actual employment. 



The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries have received 

 information that the Mustard Beetle {Phcz>don hetulce) is 

 doing much damage in some districts 

 The Mustard ^^^^^ season. The Board would there- 

 Beetle, fore direct attention to measures which 

 may be adopted to combat this pest. 

 The beetles hibernate in various shelter-places, e.g., in the 

 mustard stubble, in the hollow stems of other plants in the 

 neighbourhood of the food plants, and in crevices of many 

 kinds. Fgqs are laid in spring and supimer, and both grubs 

 and beetles feed on the growing plants. Pupation of the 

 I grubs takes place in the soil. The mustard beetle may be 

 attacked in five ways: — 



