Anbury , Glvb-root, or Finger and Toe. 
335 
the diseased turnips are inhabited by multitudes of maggots, 
beetles, &c., these are not the cause of the disease. The insects 
he found in the root swellings were such as get their living 
from putrid substances, or carnivorous beetles attracted by the 
abundant supply of food which the helpless feeders on the dis- 
eased roots provide for them. He consequently considered that 
the insects were the effect and not the cause of the anbury. 
His theory of the disease was that it was due to peculiar con- 
ditions of the soil, induced probably by the repetition of certain 
crop 3 , which caused' the enlargement of the lateral roots, and 
these becoming woody stopped the flow of sap to the bulb. 
The turnip, thus ceasing to draw nourishment from the soil, died 
and rotted in the ground, and became a fit feeding place for a 
variety of insects. 
This theory was generally accepted, and the facts collected 
by numerous agriculturists seem to confirm it. The most im- 
portant and valuable inquiry in this direction was instituted by 
the late Dr. Augustus Voelcker, and published in Yol. XX. 
of the Journal (1859), pages 101-105. From analyses of the 
soils of a field in which the turnips were rendered useless 
from this disease he discovered that there was a very trifling 
amount of lime present, while in fields on the same farm in which 
the turnips were healthy there was a considerable quantity of 
limestone gravel. In two spots in the diseased field where he 
found healthy turnips the analyses of the soil showed the presence 
of a good deal of lime, the accidental introduction of which on 
these spots the farmer was able to explain. Dr. Voelcker con- 
cluded that the cause of anbury is justly referred in most 
instances to the absence or insufficiency of lime in light sandy 
soils. 
It has since been observed that, in other places where anbury 
was prevalent, the outcrop of a bed of limestone in a field secured 
a healthy crop in that portion. And, further, that the applica- 
tion of lime, chalk, or marl has prevented the reappearance of 
the disease in fields where it had previously been present. 
It has recently been asserted that the sulphur present in 
manures saturated with sulphuric acid favours the appearance 
of the disease. 
The offer of a reward by the Russian Government for the 
discovery of the cause of anbury in cabbages led to the remark- 
able discoveries of Woronin which were published in 1877. 
The ravages of this disease had caused great destruction to the 
cabbages which are extensively cultivated in Russia. The work 
of Woronin was so thorough and exhaustive that the intervening 
years have not added to our knowledge of the disease, though 
