The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1877-10-30 00:00:00

YEOVIL.

COARGE OF STEALINO HALF-a-CROWN.—Before the
Mayor (Mr. John Curtis) and Mr. W. F. Tomkins, on
Saturday, a little boy named George Harribridge, was
charged with stealing 2s. gd. from John Martin, a shoe-
maker, of Yeovil. It appeared that the prosecutor met
the soy in the street and sent him to clean boots. On his
return he found the boy had been there, and that half-a-
crown was missing from a basin in the bedroom, where is.
had been left. The boy was subsequently found in the
Market-house, and gave up the money. It appeared,
further, that the prosecutor bore a bad character and co-
habited with the little boy's mother, who herself brought
her son to the police-station to be locked up. As the ser-
geant refused to do this she went away, and returned
ag MI with the prosecutor, who insisted upon the boy
being locked up. The Mayor, after a reference to the
reprehensible conduct of the prosemter, discharged the
boy with a caution.

SHERBORNE.
INDIAN FAUfm: Ft:sm.—ln answer to the earnest appeal
of the Vicar at the Abbey Church .015 oild were collected
af tei the services, which has been forwarded to the
Mansion House. —LL odd have also beets collected at the
Sherhorne School for the same object.
A RIFLE NArcn took place at the butts, Yeovil Marsh,
on Thursday, between ten members of the 7th tyr,v..,
and ten nf the lfith D.R.V. The shooting resulted in •
Itie; but so the Sherborne men made the highest number
THE FARMERS' FORS. . at the WO yards' range, they were declared to be the
A meeting of the members ~f the Illandfo winners.
rd Farmers'
('lob was hold at the Crown Hotel on Saturday evening. ! CONgintisrtox.—The Bishop of the Diocese held a con-
under the presidency of Mr. C. Cox-Bartlett. The other firmation service in the Abbey Church on Tuesday morn-
memhers present were Messrs. It. Lewis.. J. Ford, , jug last, when upwards of I:11, Hoist of them boys and girls,
Galpin, H. Senior, 0. C. Richards, H. Fookes, 11. Barrett. presented thou-elves for esntirmation. His Lordship
('. Pope, E. Lock. Herbert Senior. .1. 0. Fowler, W. ' delivered an impressive exhort ition to them during the
Young. W. Coate, F. Davis, G. W. Danioll, G. J. Grove% I service.
C. H. Flower, .1. Friend. J. Keynes, J. T. H. Scutt, .1.0. I CitsYng og 31ixts—Ilefore Major Falwasser at the police
Bortt. W. Fifett, and E. 0. Richards (hon. sec ) I court on 3londay, a youth named Henry Greg, living at
Mr. Fooggs said his old friend Mr. John Ford had I Hen-tridge, attended for the purpose of withdrawing his
requested him to state that, owing to continued illness, , remise from the enlisting sergeant. It appeared that he
be wished to resign the vice-ehairmanship of the club, ail enlisted to serve in the Royal Artillery, but after the
Mr. Fookes expreemd his regret at losing Mr. Ford's fun of wearing the ribbons was over, he altered his mind.
services, a. did also the Chairman. , Ordered to pay .CI its. ld., which will act ma a caution to
Mr. Daxiess. proposed, and Mr. Fowtaw. &erronded, that . him in the future.
the Rev. D'Oyley Snow, of Down Wood, be elected •
ri
Dec POISONING has re-appeared among us again, and
member of the chili. dung the put week several valuable curs have been
Mr. FLowgit moved as an amendment that Mr. S I
now I found dead, an examination of then, fully confirming that
be not accepted as a memlier on the ground that he had I they have been the victims of mine cowardly miscreant
not been a friend to farmers in the past and was not Bits of meat have also been picked up in several parts of
likely to he in the future. the town with strychnine sufficient to kill two or three
Mr. Fetrtn seconded the amemlinent, which was dims. Great indignation has again been aroused, and if
carried with but a few dissentient, the police happen to alight on the offender be will be
Mr. William Short Of Rlamlforlk Mr. Trench (rff : rigidly dealt with.
Milton Abbey). Anil Mr. Keene (of Littleton), were I MAKING A FALaE STATEMENT.— William Underwood, who
unanitunusly elected members of the doh. I described himself as an old sailor, was brought up in
The CII4IIIIMN announced that the serretary had custody at the police-court on Monday charged with
reeeived 'toeing the year L9O in dmatiolt.. CIO from giving a false statement to Mr. Superintendent Florence
members.' subsointions, and 1:12 was expected from other 1 when applying for relief. Prisoner said he was on the
mune:, which, with a balance of kV from last year, made 1 road to Bristol to join a ship; be was sorry for the offence,
a total of .tilfft. Of this LIIS was to ts. given in prizes at and hoped the magistrate would deal leniently with him.
the show, leaving a very g,,,1, worki,, ),alguee. The i major Falwasser administered &suitable caution, and sent
Chairman then called upon Mr. G Galnin, of Tarrant hirti for a week's hard labour.
Keynstone, to read a paper on " The Farmers' Foes," fa Re JAIITE CILIFITILI, CLERK IN HOLT ORDERS.—The
which he had kindly prepared at very short notice. Rev. J. Griffiths passed his puhlic examination at the
Mr. GaLrIE conimemed by saying that he am not mean Yeovil County Court on Thursday last, before His Honour
to call the attention of the club to any politics' question, ' Hr. T. E P. Lefroy. Mr. Davies appeared for the majority
nor to enquire whether the men who advocated the repeal 1 of the creditors, and informed the judge that the liabilities
of the corn laws, or those who stock out for protection, amounted to about .000, and the assets to tri). The
were the farmers' friends or foes. Neither would he wish , debtor is head-master of Footer's School, in this town, and
to call their attention to certain persons who ICO about the ' the debts have all leen incurred during the two ycars and
country setting clam against class and endeavouring to 1 nine months he has been in Sherborne. Mr. Davies said
cause dissensions between employers and the employed. , some of the hills revealed extravagance of the most
lie thought the time would soon come when both parties . flagrant description: but his lionour was of a contrary
would see it was their common interest to pull together, i opinion, an.l favoured the debtor. Mr. Griffiths's furni-
and that the well-being of the one would reflect itself on ; tore was brought to the auctioneer's hammer on Friday
the other. But farmers found they liad plenty of foes to I last.
. ... .. . .. • .. . . . .. —__

contend with, or, if not exactly foes, they had in their
daily occupations conditions to contend against, whether
it be of climate or of slisseases, of blight and mildew, or
the depredations of noxious animals and insects. Without
going far from home, they knew that farmers were con-
sidered to possess in an eminent degree the great
characteristic of an Englishman—that of grumbling.
Cowper in describing the farmers at a tithe audit says—
" One talks of moulder and of frost,
And one of storms of hail,
And one of pigs that he has lost
By maggots at the tail"
But who had a greater right to grumble than the farmers.
He had been with • party bent on a pleasure excursion,
and a little rain had spoilt their fun. 06, what sore
grumblings hail he heard. And yet what was it! Only •
little pleasure delayed ; whereas • day or two's rain
sometimes caused a farmer lose to the extent of .ClO4l or
VAC But he thought that by introducine this subject
they ought to get a lively discussion. for it was one in
which they were all interested. and each one could speak
from his own experience. He proposed, then, to call
their attention to some of the insects which infested
their crops and he would begin with the turnip crops.
After no end of ploughing, rolling. ant harrowing, the
application of artificial manures. and other expenses, no
sooner did the young turnip plants appear above the
ground than there was an enemy waiting to attack them
and carry them oft. Everyone knew what the turnin fly
wag, lie was indebted to "Curtiss Farm Insects" for
any observations as to the economy of these insects, an 4
he would strongly advise any farmer who had not thie
work to get it, ass it was a most valuable contribution to
entomology, and had besides the great recommendation
of being • practical work, written by a scientific and
practical man in language specially adapted to practical
men. Curtis Rays the female beetle, after hybernating
through the winter, lays its eggs on the under side of
leaver. These eggs hatch out into little maggots in about
ten days; the maggots live about six days, and then turn
to chrysalides. in which state they remain about 14 days,
and hatch out into beetle* so that it tikes about 30 days
to complete the round of nature, and thus one pair of
insects may produce five or six broods in a season, and as
it is in the beetle stage that these insects do the mischief,
this will account for the fact that at certain periods
during the summer they are more numerous and do more
mischief than at others. Now, then, how to destroy
these pests Curtis gives any amount of remedies derived
from practical experience of farmers, but none of them are
more than partially successful. He recommends the
destruction of charlock and hedge mustard, and all
cruciferous weeds in hedges, sic.. as by these plant* the
beetles are kept alive till the turnips are ready for them.
From his own experience he had found the fly was
generally most active the latter part of May and first
week in June destroying their early rare, whilst swedes
which had been 'town about the 9th of June had
escaped their ravage.; and again in the last
week of July he had found them very trouble-
some on the late young turnips. He believed they
most look to proper cultivation of the land so as to pro-
duce a good tilth ; the employment of plenty of artificial
manure so as to force the plant out of the reach of insects,
as it is only on the young leaves that the insects prey,
and if they could get the piant in rough leaf it was coin.
paratively Rafe. Be also thought the sowing of a goad
quantity of veed acted as a protective. Although the
tornip might escape its first enemy it had plenty more to
contend with. There were several moths whose cater-
pillars fed on it. some eating the leave* and others biting
off the young root, and he thought for the destruction of
these pests, they most chiefly look to the aid of birds.
Therrook will eat the wire-worm, hut frequently he slid
more harm by pulling op the turnip plant to look for the
wire-worm. He had a field of swedes which was being
eaten up with the caterpillar of the Dart moth. However,
the Pewits fo-ind them out, and so persistently stock to
them, that they eared the crop. He remembered, also,
at the time he was living at Mr. Saunders' a small green
caterpillar was eating the leaves of the young swedes
when a flock of starlings came on the scene and in a short
time cleared them off. But the ravages of the caterpillar
of the turnip saw fly called the black palmer were most
to be dreaded- If they lout their young plants by the
turnip beetle they might he able to sow again, hut this
demon of darkness came when the crop had just arrived
at maturity, after all the labour and trouble bestowed upon
it, and made himself at home and took what did not be-
long to him. The turnip raw fly was of • bright orange
colour, and the female, when about to lay its eggs. selected
• turnip leaf and after separating the cuticle laid its eggs
in the interior. These eggs are hatched in about five or
six days, and the young caterpillars soon begin eating.
They eat no voraciously and grow so fast that their bodies
get too large for their sting, so they cast them off twice
or three times until they are toll grown. Roots would
destroy the caterpillars, and swallows were very useful in
catching the parent fly, but when the caterpillar. were
very numerous he had found ducks very serviceable in
destroying them, only it was necessary to feed the ducks
on some grain as well, as otherwise too many caterpillars
would upset their digestive organs. Mr. Galpin then
trailon to consider one or two insects affecting peas and
after which he said their corn crops were sub-
ject to a number of insect enemies, and prominent
among them were the so ire-worms. These worms he,
believed, lived five year, in the ground before they 'Food depends fur its nutritiveness not only on its cum-
returned to papa, or chrysalis. The purr, were buried in position, but also on its digestibility. Dr. Smith, who was
the earth till they turned into small beetles called skip- a great authority on this subject, declared at the Bath
jacks. He did not know how to get rid of the wire- meeting of the British Association, that the workman's
worms. Just before harvest they sometimes found stalk. preierence of white bread was the result of experience,
become prematurely ripe, se--perhaps, the stalks break and could not be gainsaid. Had he listened to the doctrine
off above the root. This was caused by • fly called the I of the earlier writers on the mere chemistry of bran, to
corn saw fir depositing its eggs in the stalk and the larva I use the doctor's words, "Science and brown braid would
arieing front thee eggs Sete away the interior of the hare been the death of him C—ED.

SCIENCE AND ART.—The winter session of these classes
has just begun, under the mastership of Mr. John Pooley.
The result of the examination held in connectipn with the
Science and Art departments, South Kensington, have
been received. In science A. J. Legg, It. Covington, W.
J. Northover, A. Pollard, and Miss Dyer have excelled
(magnetism and electricity), and will receive Queen's
prizes. H. Eason gained a Science and Art scholarship,
and has had LIU awarded to him by the department In
a class taught in connection with the British School, H.
Senior received a prize.
NOT WORKISII.—John Baker, a tramp, who said he
came from Cornwall, was charged in custody before Major
Falwasser, Tuesday morning with refusing to work in the
Union. The master stated that the prisoner had been
relieved when he applied the previous evening, but
I declined in return, to perform the usual task.—Pnsoner
said he was very sorry, and was sentenced to one month's
hard labour—Ailedt A roaofd, who described himself as
having come from "Town,' was similarly charged.—
Pleading guilty, he was sentenced to a like term of
imprisonment. —On Wednesday another " gentleman '
was .indlarly aommoned.—He gave the name of William'
Bell, of LiverpooL —A week's hard labour in Dorchester
gaol.