292 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 6, 1882. 
drones existed to meet at her flights the product of their efforts, she after about 
thirty days commenced to lay unimpregnated eggs. These, as is well known, 
produce drones. Worker cells have somewhat less than two-thirds of the 
cubical capacity of drone cells, and as the drone-producing eggs have been 
deposited in the former an inordinate elongation is made necessary, hence the 
very high capping to which you draw attention. A third but very improbable 
solution may be suggested. It is the temporary presence of a fertile worker 
during requeening. This is a phenomenon which we have known to occur. 
You ask, Is it possible for bees to rear drones from worker eggs in worker cells ? 
All eggs are alike save in one particular wherever laid. They are either impreg¬ 
nated or unimpregnated. The former may be converted into workers or queens, 
the latter into drones only, the size of the cell not exerting any practical influ¬ 
ence. The eggs of an unmated queen can therefore only yield drones. See 
“ The Physiology of the Honey Bee” in our issue, August 18th last. If you are 
anxious to keep the stock give brood as you suggest, but it will be probably 
more profitable to unite it to another, killing the queen first of course.—P. C. 
COYENT GARDEN MARKET.—Amir, 5. 
Trade has been quiet during the week, and price? remain much the same. 
FRUIT. 
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Cherries. 
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POULTRY AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 
INJURIOUS INSECTS. 
The science of entomology is not only interesting to tin in¬ 
quiring mind, but also a knowledge of it is very useful to the 
farmer. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, and the basis of 
all practical attempts to destroy or evade the injury often done 
by insects is to understand their habits, and having ascertained 
these points it will be the farmer’s business to manage the crop¬ 
ping of land in order to avoid the attacks of injurious insects, or 
when possible to destroy them on the first opportunity. 
Let us first take a review of the insect enemies which are ever 
vigilant and waiting at the appointed time to attack the crops. 
We will begin with the root crops, such as Mangolds, Carrots, 
Cabbages, Swedes, and Turnips ; in fact, every other kind of 
vegetable included under the head of the Brassicas. To show that 
our root crops are endangered at every stage of their growth we 
will take the enemies as they make their appearance. On the 
first appearance of the leaves of the young plants the Turnip fly 
commences its attacks, but no sooner are the plants (if they 
escape) large enough for hoeing and singling than the wireworms 
commence operations under ground by eating the roots. Simul¬ 
taneously in certain seasons the small white slugs and snails 
commence eating the young leaves. After hoeing the next enemy 
they have to encounter is the brown grub, which continues to eat 
the roots underground up to the time of half growth. Simul¬ 
taneously with this underground enemy in certain seasons we 
have the black caterpillar, the MaDgold fly, Cabbage fly, Ac., 
eating the leaves, sometimes with a total' destruction of the 
crop, and always with more or less injury. Again, in certain dry 
seasons when the plants should be full grown they are beset with 
myriads of small black aphides something like those which often 
injure the Bean crops. From this last cause we have known 
promising crops totally destroyed or so much poisoued by the 
insects that sheep or cattle could not be fed upon them, but as a 
last resort they may be all ploughed in together, and thus turned 
to account as manure. 
Having now stated somewhat in detail the time or times when 
the various insects appear, we propose to enlarge upon the subject 
by taking account of and describing the habits of the insects and 
how to destroy them or avoid their depredations. In doing this 
we will take first the Turnip fly, flea, or beetle. There are several 
described by Mr. John Curtis in the “Journal of the Royal Agri¬ 
cultural Society of England,” vol. ii., page 193. They are aho 
described in the reports issued by Miss E. A. Ormerod for 1879, 
1880, and 1881. These reports contain a large amount of infor¬ 
mation upon the insect tribes generally from data supplied by 
gentlemen connected with agricultural pursuits, and are derived 
from actual observation and experience. The same may be said 
of the excellent essays by Mr. John Curtis, which have appeared in 
the “ Royal Agricultural Society’s Journal” from vol. ii. to vol. x. 
We, however, propose to detail our practical experience derived 
from a close acquaintance with agricultural products and their 
enemies extending over a period of fifty-five years. 
The Turnip fly or beetle, ns we have always known it, con¬ 
sists principally of two kinds (although we admit there are many) ; 
these have a mottled or plain black case which covers the wings, 
by the assistance of which they fly or hop from plant to plant. 
The insect with the white mark on a black ground on the case of 
the wing is the most commou and the most destructive. This 
is an extremely small insect not much larger than the head of a 
common pin, but have been wondeTull}' destructive at certain 
dry hot summers during the whole of our experience, but never 
more so than in 1881. We have known the seed of Swedes sown 
first, then Turnips ; but in each case the plants were nearly all 
destroyed. To evade or avoid injury from them, we have found 
that autumn tillage well carried out is the safest system, as when 
the land is made clean by burning the weeds the larvae are often 
destroyed, especially if there is much couch grass, Ac., to be 
burned ; and to do this the land must be worked into a very fine 
surface, then in sunny weather many of the beetles are brought 
ioto existence and die for want of food. The same process, or at 
least the continuation of tillage in the early spring, say during 
March, April, and May, with light ploughing and scarifying, is 
equally beneficial. We will suppose the beetles to be hatched, for 
in the case of Charlock or wild Mustard plants appearing, they 
are, when the weather is sunny, sure to be attacked by the Turnip 
fly with the mottled wing. In case the tillage is continued so as 
to insure a fine yet bare surface during these three months, our 
theory is that the insects die for want of plant food, and after 
such management we always feel pretty sure that the Swedes 
Turnips, or Cabbage sown in the month of June will be almost 
entirely free from any injury by this beetle. The exceptions, 
however, are when the autumn tillage cannot be effected owing 
to rainy wmather and the absence of sunshine ; then the beetle 
will not make its appearance or be destroyed until the time, or 
near the time, of seeding for the root crop, and this was exactly 
the case in the spring of 1881, in w T hich so much injury w T as done 
by this insect throughout the kingdom, chiefly in consequence of 
unfavourable weather, or the neglect of cultivating in the autumn 
of 1880. 
Another point must now be considered—how to avoid the mis¬ 
chief done by the fly or beetle. First, the cultivation should be 
so managed in the spring by scarifying that moisture shall be 
retained sufficient for the seed to germinate with regularity, but 
this is in some seasons almost impossible if the seed and manure 
are applied by the ordinary drill, for neither are buried deep 
enough to benefit (if the weather continues dry) from the moisture 
contained in the subsoil just below the depth of ploughing. The 
disadvantage is, even if the seed germinates, the growth will 
not be sufficiently vigorous to drive the plants forward quickly 
enough to enable them to grow out of the w r ay of the fly. To 
avoid this difficulty, which certainly exists even when a full dress¬ 
ing of manure and a large quantity of seed has been drilled per 
acre, we advise the use of the press drill, which is a drill and 
presser combined. By the use of this the seed and manure fall 
into the grooves made by the rings of the presser, thus giving 
