26 CABBAGE. 



The maggots of these flies injure the Cabbage-crop by eating 

 passages in the stem and roots, and sometimes destroying 

 whole fields of Cabbage by consequent disease, or decay in 

 wet weather, of the roots and the lower part of the stalk. 

 They are also injurious to Turnips. The maggots may be 

 found in hollows of the swollen Cabbage-roots. They are 

 whitish, cylindrical, and legless, tapering to the head, and 

 blunt at the tail, Avhicli has short teeth on the lower margin 

 and two brown tubercles in the middle ; and when full-grown 

 they are about the third of an inch long. They then leave 

 the plants and turn, in the earth, to pupa; (that is, their skins 

 harden into oval red-brown cases), with a few black spots at 

 the head, and short teeth at the tail, inside which the flies 

 form and come out in about a fortnight or three weeks. These 

 flies are on the wing throughout the summer, and successive 

 generations of maggots are kept up till November ; after that 

 time the pupa3 lie in the ground unhatched till spring or early 

 summer. The fly is ashy grey, and smaller than the Onion 

 Fly, which it much resembles. The male, however, is of a 

 darker grey, and has a short black stripe along the back 

 between the wings, with a curved one on each side of it, and 

 one black stripe along the abdomen. The female is much 

 smaller than that of the Onion Fly, otherwise is very like it. — 

 (' Farm Insects,' ' Gard. Chron. and Ag. Gazette.') 



Prevention and Eemedies.— Cabbage and Turnip maggots 

 are to be found in dung, as well as at the plant roots ; and 

 reports show particularly bad attack being connected with 

 planting or drilling on good supply of farm-manure, especially 

 if this was in new, rank state. In one instance, where twelve 

 to fourteen loads per acre of farm-manure, with three cwt. of 

 burnt ashes and artificial manure was given, and the seed 

 drilled immediately, maggot attack was bad ; whilst the head- 

 lands, treated only with burnt ashes and artificial manure, 

 continued free of attack. Similarly, in a twelve-acre field 

 dressed with three tons of fresh-burned lime to the acre, with 

 the exception of a strip eighteen yards wide down the centre 

 of the field, where )w lime was given, but well rotted farm- 

 manure at the rate of fifteen tons the acre, the Turnips on the 

 limed part were " free from mark of insect or grub of any 

 kind ; whilst the part that had been manured was far from 

 being so satisfactory." Other accounts confirm prevalence of 

 maggot presence after the application of much dung.* 



To grow Cabbage well without a good supply of strong 

 forcing manure appears an impossibility ; but accompanying 



* For special observations on Cabbage and Turnip root maggot, see p. 10 — 17 

 of 'lleport on Injurious Insects' for ISH'd pub. 18S4, by Ed. 



