The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-06-07 00:00:00

THE TURNIP FLY.

Mr. Fisher Hobbs favoured • recent meeting of the
Royal Agricultural Society with the following statement
of his practical experience in preventing the ravages of
the turnip-fly ;—" Having been requested at the last
meeting of the society to introduce to the notice of the
members my experience of, and mode of treatment for,
preventing the ravages of the turnip-fly, I readily con-
sented to do so. I was induced the more to respond to
this invitation in the hope that it might act as some-
thing of an example for other members, and that the
weekly council uieetinp of the society might become
of sonic interest and service to us all, by affording the
time and place for talking over subjects of passing im-
portance to agriculturalists generally. I have no new
theory to expound, but merely to impress the result of
my practice and the policy of carryir g out certain prin-
ciples which have long been known and admitted ; but
I fear, not aufficiently observed. ifyireniarks on the
cultivation I should here state are intended to apply
more to the swede turnip than to any other varieties
which are generally grown after green crops. but the
great work of destruction by the fly is applicable alike
to both. As prevention is better thau care,' I shall
commence with the preparation of the land, assuming
that this has been thoroughly under-drained wherever
mmisite. lot. I consider that autumnal cultivation is
essentially necessary ; first, by broadsharitig for the de-
struction of weeds and insects, as well as for the aeration
of the soil. 2nd. That deep ploughing should follow,
and aubeoiling if required, and it is frequently my.
practice during the early part of winter to carry on to
the land intended for a root crop the unferniented
inanure direct from the yards or Sliolo, and at once
plough it in, and not a particle must be suffered to be seen
on the surface ; this I believe to be important, for if eot
attended to the nndecayed portion of the menus° becomes
a receptacle, and subsequently a nursery for insects.
3rd. That at the commencement of spring it is most
desirable, as soon as the state of the land will permit, to
Apply the harrown and roll, especially the former. I be-
lieve that more good may be doue towards the destruc-
tion of insect, of various kinds at that period than at
any other throughout the year. Afterwards scarify.
harrow, and roll until the land is in a pulverisei state,
owl for a fortnight or three weeks before the time for
drilling let the land remain like a seeil-beil, so as to at-
tract moisture, to allow vegetation for the seeds of
weeds soil for insects to deposit their lerrie : this is fee-
buenily termed ' purcing' the land. I need not refer to
the conincm lomie of splaying the fermented or partly
rotted brill.ysr I 'failure for the lump crop, except to
otto tlhit it ought at once to be pleughed in, and the
reed dele,ited immediately. itli. That at the time of
dr.Ring the seed it is best for the land to be ploughed
(but some prefer scarifying only), amid the seed to be
immediately deposited. This is no important that I
have frequently 'known total failures from the neglect of
so doing. There is another point which I would strongly
recoiniuend, that is, in dry and sunny weather to plough
and NM early in the m0rn.:.,.. and late in the afternoon,
but never during the heat c: the day. I know an in-
stance where the most signal success lies for several
years attende I this mode of operation, and where the
manager has never failed to secure a plant, although lie
is one of the old school, and still sows the seed broad-
cast with his own hand. This can be oonfinned by
several large fannery in the neighbourhood. who, strange
to bey, notwithstanding theexample thus placed before
them, continue to incur an amount of lees from having
to sow two or three times, simply from the obstinacy
and prejudice with which they continue to adhere to the
customary working hours for their horses and men.
s:h. That at the time of depositing the seed it is my
invariable practice to use some description of artificial
manure, generally superphosphate of lime, and I like-
wise add about 30 bushels of ashes per acre, made from
hedge trimmings. weeds, Ire., collected upon the land
at different penods throughout the year. The teller may
now be used with great advantage, before, and some-
times after the dnlling. In dry weather I strongly
recommend the application of the liquid MMUS* dnlb
6th. That before or immediately the young plants ap-
pear, the horse-hoe should be resorted to for the pur-
pose of destroying the ova or larvae of the insects to pre-
vent their coming to maturity. V. hen ono, the plant
is well up the roller may sometimes be applied with
much benefit, as it tends still further to disturb the in-
sect tribe, as well as to retain moisture for the young
plant, and to consolidate the fanu-yard manure where
lately applied. At this period the plant requires fre-
quent watching throughout the day, and if the enemy
shows itself in any force set to work as quickly as
possible to accomplish its annihilation. Having described
to you briefly any mode of prevention, I will now pro-
em' to give you the cure, which is simply by the appli-
cation of one or more 'top-dressings. I have tried
various experiments, steeping the seed, and top-dress-
ings for upwards of MI years, but though sometimes suc-
cessful I could not depend on any of them until [adopted
iny present system, and 1 think it is only fair that I
should state that I derived the chief features as to the
use of this top-dressing from any late bailiff, Mr. 0.
Hawkins, who came to me some nine years since with an
especial recommendation on this point; in fact, he him-
self engaged to secure the turnip plant from the ravages
of the fly, adding that lie was willing to give up his
situation immediately if he could not do so. I can only
add that for eight years, during the whole time he was
with nie, he fulfilled all he promised in this respect.
The following is Mr. Haerkina's recipe for a top-dress-
ing :-1 bushel of white gas-ashes, fresh from the gas-
house; 1 bushel of fresh lime froni the kiln, tabs. of
sulphur, and 10lbs of soot, well mixed together and got
to as fine a powder as possible, so that it may adhere to
the young plant. The above is sufficient for 2 acres
when drilled at 27 inches. It !should be applied very
early in the morning, when the dew is on the leaf—a
broad-oast machine being the most expeditious mode of '
distributing it, or it may he sprinkled with the hand
carefully over the rows. If the fly contiuties trouble-
some the process should be repeated; by this means
, 2/1./ to 21 acres of turnips, swedes, and rape have been
grown on my farms annually for eight or nine years
eithout a rod of ground losing plants. The above is a
strong dressing to be used when the fly is very numerous.
I and lisa never failed when applied at night. Numerous
experiments have beeu triesl, and amongst them I
recanumend the following in ordinary cases, and intend
to use it during the present season if necessary :-14 lba
of sulphur,! bushel of fresh lime, and 2 bushels of road
scrapings per acre, mixed together for • few days before
it is used, and applied at night, either by immeana of a
small drill, or strewed along the rows by hand. I have
known sulphur mixed with water applied in a liquid
state by means of water-carts during the night, and the
horse-hoe immediately following the water cart. This
has succeeded admirably. In consequence of the dryness
of the climate in my neighbourhood (the rain-fall being
on the average only about 16 inches annually) I usually
sow on the 114 ; but she dressings above-named are
equally applicable to crops sown on the ridge. I would
strongly impress the neceuity of frequently applying

he
iiwwould rather refer ysothao:.
toth.7i.€l::tourirtn,i.tetan.
jouhn,:dei:mactutnoemadrtoinkiettsctern:ir"rthostpula.t7lisia:thtn!
them papers might be reprinted with great advantage
UI • cheep form en somethisig of the same style of p"ii-
pblet as Mr. kliles's Emmy on Boris-hoeing. lam yoga
sure there is no subject of which the fanner has so little
scientific knowledge as entomology, nor is there one
that has bad lam aitimtion paid to it by the acelvtlf•
am induced from these results to conclude that by care
and attention the turnip plant may be as •IfectuallY wed
as certainly freed from the revises a the fly as used
wheat has been for upwards of the last 20 years from
smut and other destructive fungi."