34 CABBAGE. 



As far as is known, these Snowy Flies breed in winter as 

 well as in summer. 



The female lays her eggs in a patch on a leaf ; these hatch 

 in about twelve days, and the young spread themselves on 

 the leaf and shortly become covered with a scale, white, with 

 two yellow spots. In this state they much resemble the 

 common Scale Insect, and they stick fast to the leaf, which 

 they pierce with their sucker. In about ten days they turn 

 (beneath this scale) to a pale chrysalis, w^ith red eyes, and in 

 about four days more the perfect insect comes out through 

 the scale. This is very small, only about the eighth of an 

 inch in the spread of the wdngs, and is covered with a white 

 powder. The head and the body between the wungs are 

 black, variegated with j^ellow ; the abdomen is yellow or rosy, 

 and the four wings are white and mealy, the upper pair 

 having a dusky spot in the middle and towards the tip. The 

 head has a rostrum or sucking-tube with which it draws 

 away the juice of the leaf. — (' G. Chron.,' and ' Ag. Gazette,' 

 1846.) 



Prevention and Eemedies. — Cabbage infested by these 

 Snowy Flies may be known by the unhealthy look of the 

 leaves, which are sometimes withered, but more commonly 

 marked with whitish or yellowish patches; and there is the un- 

 usual inconvenience that the creatures are to be found doing 

 mischief all the year through. They have been observed to 

 withstand rain and cold, and have been found in all stages in 

 the middle of the winter. As the attack is mainly beneath 

 the foliage, there is great difficulty in bringing any kind of 

 dressing to bear on the insects ; but dusting the plants with 

 soot, or ashes sprinkled with tar, or if possible giving a good 

 syringing with tobacco-water, or soft soap, might be of 

 service. The best treatment, however, appears to be cutting 

 off the infested Cabbage leaves and destroying them. This 

 should be thoroughly done, and at once, as, if the leaves are 

 only thrown to a rubbish-heap, they will remain fresh enough 

 for some days to support many of the grubs up to the stage 

 in which they turn to the chrysalis. Throwing the leaves to 

 be trampled in farm-manure gets rid of them thoroughly, or 

 burning amongst rubbish would answer better. 



The Snowy Flies shelter in any convenient nooks on the 

 surface of the ground, or under leaves ; therefore, digging in- 

 fested ground, or top-dressing with caustic lime would be of 

 service. 



