THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



229 



be found in waste places. Z. trifolii on the 

 marsh at Hale, and on the road side leading 

 from there to Ditton. Z. filipendulse on 

 Wallasey Sandhills, &c. The larva of Nola 

 Cuculatella is now feedi lg : the best place I 

 know for it is near the pay bridge at Poulton- 

 cum-Seacombe, on the Thorn hedges. The 

 larva of Orgyia Fascelira, Bornbyx qu^rcus, 

 and B. trifolii, may now be collected on the 

 sandhills, the first and sec ond where the dwarf 

 sallows grow, and the latter anywhere near or 

 upon the star grass after 7 p.m. On some hot 

 close days it may be found stretched out on 

 the bare sand in the Afternoon. A sharp eye 

 must now be kept on wads and palings for all 

 sorts of insects. The season has fairly set in. 

 and it is almost impossible to give a list of 

 what should be looked for, without filling the 

 Young Naturalist. Let me say, then, to 

 my young friends, that irsects of all orders are 

 now everywhere. Chose the or ler you intend 

 to excel in, and work it incessantly ; thus ycu 

 will master it, and be able to work another 

 order afterwards ; but rest assured that if you 

 try to work up a lot of orders at once, you 

 will certainly fail; and instead of being a 

 shining light amongst us — a gui de to younger 

 fellow-workers — you will be but a s:natterer 

 whom no one will esteem, for the days of 

 pretenders are past. 



ENEMIES TO FIE AND 

 GARDEN CROPS. 



II. TURNIPS. 



By S. L. Mosley. 



On page 102 I called attention to jcertain 

 insects which are injurious to ihe cabbages, 

 and threw out some suggestion . , which I hope 

 some gardener may find useful to keep these 

 enemies in check. I will no v offer a few- 

 remarks upon certain other insects which 

 do damage to turnips, more or less every 

 year, but in some seasons the injury caused 

 by some of these insects is considerable. 



Fig. 59. The Nigger and the fly it produces 

 (Athi'lia spinarum ). 



One of the most destructive insects of the 

 turnip is a li .tie fly belonging to a large family 

 called Saw-flies. The grub that produces this 

 fly (and of course it is the grub that does all the 

 mischief) is of the ordinary Saw-fly type — six 

 legs on the fore part of the body, which 

 firmly clasps the edge of the leaf, and the 

 tail turned up or down. In color it is leaden, 

 some specimens almost black, and is popu- 

 larly known as the "nigger." The fly has 

 four transparent wings, with a black dash on 

 the fore edge of the front wing, the body and 

 thorax is yellow, with black marks upon the 

 latter, and black head and antennae. For- 

 tunately this insect is often several years 

 between putting in an appearance, but when 

 it does come it means destruction. Edward 

 Newman in " Letters of Rusticus " tells that 

 on the 9th of August, 1835, he walked over 

 field after field and found the turnips infested 

 by millions of these grubs newly hatched 

 from the egg. He saw some men hoeing the 

 young plants, and he reminded them that they 

 might save their labour, as the turnips would 

 be thin enough in a day or two, but the men 

 were farmers, and " knowed better." This 

 was on a Saturday, and on the Monday he 

 went to the same fields again, and found them 

 as bare as they were on the day they were 

 sowed, with the black grubs crawling on the 

 ground, or lingering about the remnants of 

 stalks that were left. The best remedy for 

 these pests is, as soon as the grubs are dis- 

 covered buy a lot of ducks and turn them 

 into the infested field, they will as " Rusticus " 

 says " devoi r the Niggers by millions, and in 

 a few days become as fat as butter." 



Another destructive enemy to turnips is 

 the " Fly " as it is generally called, but which 



