TURNIP-WEEVIL. 
105 
depriv^e us of both animal and vegetable food. This cater- 
pillar eats almost everything. Well ! of all caterpillars 
this has the most insect-enemies, or parasites, so many, in- 
deed, that not more than one egg out of fifty thousand 
produces a moth ; thus its voracity and its productiveness 
are rendered harmless. You will laugh when I tell you 
that I breed lady-birds purposely to destroy plant-lice ; but 
that is really the case, and it answers capitally. The nig- 
gers have many natural enemies besides ducks ; some of 
these enemies I have found out. Frogs and toads prefer 
them to almost all other food, and will gorge themselves 
to such an extent that they can hardly leap or hop : then 
there is a hairy, disagreeable-looking fly, which rides on 
the nigger till it can lay an egg on its back. This egg in 
one day becomes a maggot, eats into the flesh of the nig- 
ger, and going with it into the ground, it allows the nigger 
to make its cocoon, then eats up all its entrails, leaving it 
a mere skin, and within this nigger-skin it changes to a 
chrysalis, and finally to a fly. But it would be diflicult to 
find enough frogs or toads or flies to efl"ect a cure ; ducks, 
therefore, are the best remedy, except, indeed, that I fear 
the demand for ducks would be greater than the supply ; 
but a farmer, especially if he has water, ought to keep an 
immensity of ducks ; they are always useful, and eat up 
lots of slugs and other vermin : moreover, they never 
scratch, like fowls, and are always saleable at a paying- 
price. 
The turnip has three other insect enemies : the worst of 
these is a weevil, a little, black beetle, with a trident, like 
that of the apple-weevil, but the operations of the Turnip- 
Weevil are quite on a different plan : the eggs of this 
little fellow are laid on that part of the bulb of the turnip 
