272 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[September, 



fairly to be attributed to climatal causes that in- 

 duce the spread of fungus troubles, of which the 

 " spot " on the leaf is one sure indicator. 



VVe should, therefore, be very loth to accept the 

 proposition that one kind had preference for one 

 soil more than another, unless we were sure that 

 the competing varieties represented plants with an 

 equally sound constitution. ^Ed. G. M.] 



THE CABBAGE WORM. 

 BY MR. CHARLES E. PARNELL. 



No instance of the cabbage maggot troubling 

 the roots of turnips has ever come under my ob- 

 servation, and I am inclined to the opinion that 

 your correspondent is mistaken here. But still, if 

 his turnips are likely to be troubled with anything 

 like this, let him apply a dressing of lime, ashes, 

 or any commercial cabbage or turnip fertihzer, and 

 thoroughly incorporate it with the soil by repeated 

 harrowings before sowing the seed. 



Queens, Long Island. 



In the Gardeners' Monthly for August, 1885, 

 page 239, I see that J. R., of Elizabethtown, N. J., 

 asks for information concerning some maggots 

 that appear to be destroying the roots of his cab- 

 bage and turnip plants, and 1 thmk that I can 

 give him a little information, although it will be of 

 little or no use to hini this season. 



He may rest assured that the maggots are the 

 cause of all his trouble, for they are what we 

 know in this vicinity as the cabbage maggot, and 

 they appear to be remarkably numerous and de- 

 structive this year. 



This pest does not appear to trouble the plants 

 until they are about half-grown, when the leaves 

 begin to turn yellow and droop, and upon a close 

 examination the roots are found to be partially de- 

 cayed and full of little maggots. In this vicinity 

 the cabbage is very extensively grown for the New 

 York markets, and 1 have no recollection of seeing 

 any infested with either the maggot, or with what 

 is known as the club-foot, when grown on land 

 that has been given a good dressing of lime, ashes, 

 or if the crop has been fertilized with bone dust, 

 superphosphate of lime, or any concentrated or 

 chemical manure or fertilizer ; so that I infer that 

 their use is of decided benefit to the crop, and no 

 one in this vicinity would expect to obtain a profit- 

 able crop of cabbage unless some 'chemical cab- 

 bage fertilizer was scattered in each hill. 



The cabbage maggot is troublesome certain 

 seasons only, and 1 think that it is advisable to use 

 a little of any of the above-mentioned fertilizers as 

 a preventive, rather than run the risk of losing the 

 entire crop. 



I do not think that tliere is any remedy that can 

 be applied with benefit to the crop after the leaves 

 of the plants begin to turn yellow. If the maggots 

 are noticed before this occurs, a little lime ashes, 

 or bone dust, scattered around on each hill, close 

 up to the plant, and hoed in, might prove to be 

 beneficial, but I need further experience to enable 

 me to speak with certainty on this pomt. 



A CHEAP TREE DIGGER. 

 BY W. C. STRONG. 



Perhaps I may serve the nursery craft and others 

 by describing a home-made one-horse digger, 

 which has proved a very servjceable tool for my 

 purposes. Taking a worn-out side-hill plough, the 

 swinging mould board and some other appurte- 

 nances were removed, leaving but the thin iron 

 frame under the beam. This frame was left to 

 support a steel sword, or cutter, which was made 

 to be about two feet long, and which went from 

 the beam in front of the frame and extended 

 eighteen inches below it. Any blacksmith can 

 affix such a sword to such a plough at a cost of a 

 dollar or two. One horse is equal to making a 

 cut in ordinary soil from 15 to 20 inches deep. 

 .'Vfter a cut on both sides of a row, most kinds 

 of small trees and shrubs will readily pull without 

 breaking the roots. In some cases it is well to go 

 a second time in the cut, driving the cutter down 

 to its length and inclining the point under the 

 trees. The advantage of this tool over the larger 

 and patented kinds is in its trifling cost, and also 

 in the ease with which it is operated by a single 

 horse in any soil. Of course the large double ma- 

 chine is much better for large trees and extensive 

 nurseries. But for many kinds of digging this 

 smaller cutter will serve the purpose equally well 

 and at less expense in operating. 



Brighton, July soth. 



NEW OR RARE FRUITS. 



Eliserta Peach. — The following note is from 

 Mr. John H. Parnell, West Point, Georgia, under 

 date August ist, — the fruit reaching us in perfect 

 condition on August 4th : 



" I send you a crate of one of our best and new- 

 est variety of peach, the Elberta. It is a seedling 

 of the Chinese cling, but is a freestone peach. 

 They are from my orchards near West Point." 



This is of that excellent class which under the 



