The Cabbage Root Maggot. 



489 



ible portion of the plant. Thus in the case of these crops, unless the maggots 

 occur in large numbers, the presence of the pest may not be discovered in a 

 well-established root until it is pulled up. 



Therefore, how s6on the plant will soon show the presence of 

 the pest will depend upon its size, the number of maggots at 

 work, the amount of quickly available fertility in the soil with 

 which to repair damages, and the conditions of the weather, as 

 amount of rainfall, etc. 



Usually the first indications of the presence of the pest on plants of the 

 cabbage tribe is a noticeable checking of their growth, and a tendency of the 

 leaves to wilt badly under a hot 

 sun. The leaves soon take on 

 a sickly bluish color, a few days 

 later the whole plant wilts, often 

 topples over, and soon dies. If 

 one of these plants be pulled 

 up, the stem and roots often 

 present the appearance shown 

 in the illustration on the front 

 of this bulletin and in figure i, 

 both of which are frr m photo- 

 graphs of specimens pulled up 

 in a Long Island garden. It is 

 not an unusual thing for a gar- 

 dener to suddenly find on some 

 hot day a majority of his plants 

 of cabbages or cauliflowers thus 

 wilted and toppled over where 

 the maggots have been very 

 numerous. It is a sad plight 

 when one realizes how much 

 money and labor has been spent 

 to bring the plants to that 

 stage ; and what is still worse, 



they are then often beyond help even if the maggots were killed at once. So 

 that gardeners should familiarize themselves with the other stages of the insect 

 and when to look for it, thus making it unnecessary to wait until the de- 

 structive period is reached before being able to tell whtther the pest is pres- 

 ent or not, so as to check it if necessary before the crop is ruined. 



In brief, the presence of the pest, where it occtirs in con.sider- 

 able numbers, is indicated by a checking of the growth of the 

 plant, a tendency to wilt badly under a hot sun, and a sickly 

 bluish cast to the foliage. 



Fig. I. — S' ems and roots of cabbage plants 

 that had succumbed to the attacks of 

 the maggot ,• one- half natural size. 



