mustard beetles. 
67 
a body; I have seen hundreds on a space but a few inches square. On 
one occasion they attacked a piece of Cole rather late in the season. 
The owner ploughed it up deep so far as he found beetles, and rolled 
it down with a heavy roller. By that means he says he saved his 
crop.”—W. Egan. 
“ Last year I had one marsh, which, about the second week in 
April, they commenced their attack upon in such quantities that they 
appeared to advance in a straight line and positively clear the ground 
as they went. The plant at this time was about four inches high. I 
saw that it was no good trying to save the crops, and on May 4th 
ploughed the marsh (29 acres) up and sowed it with Oats. I think 
this was the means of destroying an immense quantity of beetles, as 
all the under part of the leaves of the Mustard was covered with eggs, 
which, if the plant had been allowed to stand, would undoubtedly have 
been hatched out; when the leaves wilted the eggs perished.”— 
Ernest Smith. 
Use of Tar. 
“ I have just made an unpleasant discovery that 39 acres of 
Turnip and Mangel are infested with the blue beetle, which appeared 
on my Mustard, disappeared, and suddenly reappeared on the Mangel; 
they seem to pass on to the Turnip after rapidly devouring these. We 
tried quicklime, dry lime, and Condy’s fluid ; but to no purpose. The 
headlands, roads, and footpaths are covered; there are millions. The 
Chase, leading to my house, is crawling; they travel from the Mustard 
field. Now the Mustard is cut they seem to have abandoned it for the 
opposite side of the Mangel and Turnip. I am working a shallow 
trench and filling it with cold tar, and I find they get in and cannot 
extricate themselves.”—Per favour of Messrs. Carter & Co., Holborn. 
Notes as to checking Progress by Fire. 
“ I have heard of straw being burnt in front of their line of march 
when the wind lay right for blowing the smoke over them. By 
persevering, this plan has proved partially successful; they retreated 
before the heat and smoke.”— Samuel Egan. 
“ Some years ago I had a piece of Cole, or Eape-seed (sown 
in July), next to a White Mustard field. The beetles went over the 
ditch and cleared every particle of green Cole-seed, just as far as the 
Mustard field extended. I took two loads of short and damp straw and 
spread it in a line just before them (about 150 yards long), and set fire 
to it. It prevented them going any farther.” —Eichard H. Sears. 
“ I have heard of the method of burning damp straw in dull heavy 
weather, when the smoke will keep low on the ground, the fire being 
arranged so that the wind takes the smoke in the right direction, i . e ., 
on to the plants.”— Wm. Abbott. 
