Chafer, Cock-chafer, May-beetle, Jeffry Cock, or, in Norfolk, Dor, the Scarabaeus Melo/ontha, L. is an insect belonging to a genus, which comprises eighty-seven species. It has, like all the rest, a pair of cases to its wings, of a red-dish, brown colour, sprinkled with a whitish dust, which is easily se-parated. The necks of these in-are, in some years, covered with a red plate ; in others, with a black; but they are distinct varieties. Their fore legs are very short, and thus better calculated for burrowing in the ground, to which they instinctively retreat.

Chafers are well known by the buzzing noise they make, in th evening, when rising in the air; but particularly for the irreparable mischief they occasion to the industrious cultivator; having been found, in some seasons, so numerous, as to consume every vegetable production. These pernicious vermin are generated from eggs, which the females usually deposit, about six inches deep in the ground. Three months after, the inclosed insects begin to break the shells, and crawl forth, in the form of small grubs, or maggots, which feed upon the roots of what-ever vegetables they meet with. In this worm state, they continue for more than three or four years, devouring the roots of every plant they approach, and burrowing under the ground with the utmost celerity for food. At length, they exceed a walnut in size, being large, white, thick maggots, with red heads, which are most frequently found in newly turned earth, and are much sought after by every species of birds. When largest, they are an inch and a half long, of a whitish, yellow colour, with bodies composed of twelve segments, or joints, on each side of which there are nine breathing holes, and three red feet. The head is larger in proportion to the body; of a reddish colour, with a forceps, or pincer before, and a semi-circular lip, with which 1' cut the roots of plants, and suck out their moisture. They have Da eves, but are furnished with two feelers, which serve t6 direct their motions under ground.

At the expiration of four years, these destructive insects prepare to emerge from their subterraneous abode. About the latter end of autumn, the grubs begin to per- ceive their transformation ap-proaching; when they bury them- selves deeper in the earth, some-times even six feet below the surface, where they form capacious apartments, the walls of which become very smooth and shining, by the excretions of their bodies. Soon after, they begin to shorten themselves, to swell, and burst their last skin, preparatory to their change into a chrysalis. This appears at first to be of a yellowish colour, which gradually heightens, till at length it becomes almost Ted. Its external figure clearly displays the characters of the future winged insect, all the foreparts being distinctly seen; while, behind, the animal seems as if wrapped in swaddling clothes.

In this state, tire young Cockchafer, or May-bug, continues for about three months longer; when, towards the beginning of January, the aurelia divests itself of all its impediments, and becomes a complete, winged insect. But it has not attained its natural health, strength, and appetite: unlike all other insects, which arrive at their state of perfection as soon as they become flies, the cock-chafer continues feeble and sickly. Its colour is much brighter than in the perfect animal; all its parts are soft, and its voracious nature appears suspended. In this state, it is frequently found, and is erroneous-ly supposed by those who are ig-norant of its real history, to be an old one, of the former season, which has buried itself during the winter, in order to re-visit the sun, the ensuing summer. The fact is, the old one never survives the season, but perishes, in the same manner as every other species of insects, from the severity of the cold, during winter.

Towards the latter end of May, these, insects burst from the earth, the first mild evening that invites them abroad; after having lived from four to five years under ground. They are then seen to emerge from their close confine-ment, no longer to live on roots, and imbibe only the moisture of the earth, but to choose the sweetest vegetables for their food, and to sip the evening dew. An attentive observer will, at that time of the year, see every path-way strewed with them; and, in warm evenings of May, myriads of them are buzzing along, flapping against every thing that impedes their flight. The heat of the mid-day sun, how-ever, seems to be too powerful for their constitution; they, there-fore, conceal themselves in clusters, under the foliage of shady trees, but particularly of the willow, which appears to be their most favourite food, and which they seldom quit, till they have consumed all its verdure. In seasons favourable to their propagation, they are seen in an evening, in considerable swarms; their duration, however, is but short, as they never survive the summer. They begin to pair, soon after they have emerged from their subterraneous prison; and the female then care-fully bores a hole in the ground, with an instrument for that purpose, with which she is furnish ed at her tail, and deposits her eggs there, generally to the num-ber of sixty.

Destructive as these insects, in their worm state, are to vegetation, they would be still more so, were they not destroyed by birds, and more especially rooks, which devour them in great numbers. Half a century ago, they were so exceedingly numerous in the county of Norfolk, that they destroyed not only the verdure of the fields, but even the roots of vegetables. One farmer, in particular, was so much injured by them, in the year 1/51, that he was unable to pay his rent. Many crops in that county, were then almost ruined by the devastations these insects committed, in their worm state; and, when they took wing the next season, trees and hedges were, in many parishes, completely stripped of their leaves. At first, the people brushed them down with poles, swept them up, and burnt them. James Ebden, a Norfolk farmer, made oath, that he gathered eighty bushels; but their number did not seem much diminished, except in his own fields. Neither the severest frosts in our climate, nor even water, will kill them; as, on being exposed to the sun and air, for a few hours, they will recover, and resume their former lively state. One of the best methods to be adopted for preventing their transformation, is, to plough up the land in thin fur-rows, to employ children to pack them up in baskets ; and then to strew salt and quick-lime on the ground, and harrow it in.

We have but an imperfect knowledge of the nature and history of the insect, called by the French Vinaigrieur, and of other scarabi-vorous animals, to avail ourselves of their labours. This, however, is clear, that if such insects as devour grubs, should take possession of the soil where cock-chafers abound, they must, in a short time, destroy immense numbers of the latter; and as they have five successive seasons to prey on them, till they attain their perfect state, they may be entirely extirpated, before one fly can be produced.

It is a circumstance well known, that the whole of the corvus, or crow, and pie-tribes, are exceed-ingly fond of chafers, and particu-larly at a season when grain is scarce (i. e. from the end of seed-time to the beginning of harvest); they search for them with the utmost avidity. These sagacious birds, having observed that the leaves of such plants as are attacked by the grub, appear withered or drooping, during the day, they fly to them, dig for it with their strong bills, to the very root; and, if they do not find it, pull the plant itself out of the ground. It also frequently happens, that they mis-take the drooping leaves of plants newly set, for those injured by grubs, and seize upon these; thus finding no prey, they strike their bills into the ground, at their roots, pull them up one after another, and, if not watched, do great mis-chief. Strawberries are particularly liable to the depredations of the grub: hence, sometimes, whole fields of strawberry-plants are spoil-ed by the rooks, immediately after they have been set. To prevent such devastation, it is necessary to guard them, till their leaves assume an upright position.

This damage, however, is but trivial, when compared with the real benefit occasioned by the rooks picking these vermin out of both,

1 i 2 grass grass and corn land. Great care ought, therefore, to be taken not to disturb these birds, especially as in fallowed lands, where grubs ge-nerally abound, they are of infinite service. In this rase, the land should be stirred with the plough as often as the weather will permit ; for, if the rooks once rind their way thither, they will not abandon the plough, unless driven away by violence ; and each time the land is stirred, they will de-stroy multitudes of these vermin. Were this the only advantage to be derived from their destruction, it would amply compensate the farmer for the labour and expence bestowed upon it. Independently of the beneficial effect, which this management produces on the fertility of fallow-land, it may fre-quently be attended with the de-struction of a whole race of grubs, in the adjacent fields.

But, as this method is impracti-cable in gardens, recourse ought to be had to other expedients. Gardeners have observed that cabbages, cauliflowers, strawberries, and especially lettuces, are the favourite food of the grub. In order to destroy that pernicious insect, they plant a row of lettuces between the rows of strawberries, in which case the insect will prefera-bly attack the former. Hence, they carefully examine the plants every day, walking along the rows with rowel: wherever they observe leaves falling, they know their enemy is on the spot; immediately dig it up, and thus destroy the grub.

The whole race of these insects may probably be extirpated in stiff soils, by long continued rains, during the winter. For at that time, they having descended deep into the ground, the passage must be in some measure left open, so as to allow the water, if in abundance, to soak down to the bottom of their hole ; which, in a retentive soil, it will fill, and, if continued a sufficient time, infallibly drown them. Wherever irrigation is employed for other purposes, the extermination of the grub may be effected by this method; and there are many situations, in which water may be commanded in quantities adequate to this important purpose. It is highly probable that, if a stream of water could be spread over the surface of a grass-field, only for a few days, during any of the winter or spring months, all the grubs might be drowned in their holes : and as water is most abundant in that season, a very small stream might be so conducted, in different directions, as to inundate a large tract of ground. The benefit of one irrigation, thus managed, would be felt for five years. We there-fore venture, with Dr. Anderson, to recommend this mode of de-stroying grubs, to those who have grass-lands infested with them ; especially when they are intended to be converted into corn-land; for the injury done by grubs to the first crop, is often severely felt. It might even be safely applied to orchards, and wood-lands, provid-ed that the water were not conti-nued longer than is necessary to effect the destruction of the worms. Having thus given a succin6t analysis of the different methods of exterminating the cock-chafer, in its earlier stages of existence, sug-gested by native writers, we proceed to lay before our readers the latest discoveries made on the Continent, relative to this important subject.

The Hamburgh Society for the Encouragement of the Arts and Useful Trades, has published the following methods of destroying this voracious insect:, as communi-cated by different authors :

1. In order to prevent the worm from changing into a chafer, it is advisable to intersect the fields with ditches : as this insect is con-tinually creeping about, it pene-trates through the sides of those trenches, falls into the water which they generally contain, and cannot extricate itself from that situation ; but it is necessary to collect the worms every day ; for they will serve as an excellent food for swine and poultry.

2. Take two ounces of oil (it is not stated what kind of oil) to every pailful of water, and sprinkle it on such places as are visited by the worm: or bury twenty small pots, at equal distances, from 8 to 10 inches deep, and each contain-ing from 20 to 30 drops of sulphu-rated oil, or thick balsam of sul-phur, the exhalation of which ex-pels the insects.—This expedient, however, can be practised only in gardens.

3. Another correspondent sug-gests the frequent hoeing of plants, or ploughing of the soil in the months of June and July, in order to bruise the insect, or to expose it for the prey of birds. He also ad-vises to pour boiling water on those less productive, or barren spots of meadows, which may be easily distinguished from others : this re-medy, however, appears to us ex-ceptionable ; because hot water would at the same time injure the vegetating roots of grasses.

4. Previous to a shower of rain, the following powder strewed on the land has been found of great service: namely, two parts of pulverized quick-lime, two parts of sifted wood-ashes, and one part of pounded sulphur : the hepatic vapour disengaged from this mixture, on being moistened, is affirmed to be effectual in destroying that pernicious grub.

5. The Rev. J. F. Mayer, an aged German clergyman, has, in a separate essay on this subject(1786) published the following method extirpating the cock-chafer: he-found from long experience, that irrigation of the fields towards the latter end of May, or in June ; al-ternate manuring of land with marl, street-dung, acrid and cor-rosive matters, such as quick-lime, gypsum, nitre, the ley of wood-ashes, and of tanners' waste, etc. are the only practicable means of destroying that insect in a grub-state ; besides which, he advises to drive a flock of sheep frequently such land as has been much perforated by this insect; to wa-ter the meadows in spring; to sow red clover early in March, or (in Germany), as soon as the snow is melted on the soil ; then to har-111 the seed, to cover it thinly with a mellow dung, and to repeat the sowing in the first three or four years, as occasion may require.

In the Memoirs of the Agricultu-ral Society of Paris (for 1787, vol. iii.) the Marquis de Gouffiebr has suggested a very simple, but, as he asserts, effectual remedy for preventing the depredations of this injurious grub, and consequently its progressive transformation into a chafer. He observed, namely, that turf or peat ashes, strewed on the fields, produced that desirable effect.

Uses of the Cock-chafer. Al- though this numerous and voraci-ous insect is by no means calculated to compensate the hundredth part of the injury it inflicts on ve-getables ; yet we are inclined to think that, especially in a grub state, it might be more fre-quently employed for the feeding of poultry, than it is at present. Nor does it appear to us impracti-cable, to feed and fatten great num-bers of swine with these chafers, if they were previously bruised, and mixed with such vegetables chop-ped, or cut small, as are eagerly eaten by hogs.

We shall farther communicate, to artists, a curious fact lately pub-lished by M. Busch, a German writer. He informs us, that an uncommonly beautiful brown co-lour, of a reddish shade, for paint-ing, may be easily obtained from the cock-chafer : this colour is said to be of superior lustre and de-licacy to every other water-paint hitherto discovered. The colour-ing matter is found in the throat and stomach of the winged insect, and probably consist. - of its food, when changed into chyle. separating the posterior part of the body, there appears to be a thin, white canal, or duct, which should be carefully opened, the juice oozing out, collected on a fine painter's pencil, and then deposited on a shell. Each chafer a fiords at least three drops of this juice, which may be employed without any farther preparation ; and is not liable to fade, or spoil, by long keeping. The most proper time for performing this operation, is the evening, and before the chafers begin to swarm ; because they will then be replete with nourishment.

Chafer. - This pernicious family of inserts may be effectually destroyed, while in the state of grubs, by encouraging the propagation of moles. For the discovery of this important fact, we are indebted to EdwaRd Jones, Esq. who relates it in the l9th vol. of the " Transactions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, " etc. He observes that, by protecting the race of moles, the cock-chafers have gradually decreased in his neighbourhood, so that they are now rarely seen on his estate ; because the grubs afford a favourite food to those subterraneous little quadrupeds.