308 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



inches and may enter potatoes which are not exposed. Their bur- 

 rows in the tubers ruin them and permit of further destruction in 

 field or cellar, as more moths are bred to lay more eggs. There may 

 be three, possibly four, broods in a season. In addition to the sug- 

 gestion given on page 246 the following protective details may be 

 noted : 



Plant as deep as practicable (5 to 6 inches), except in winter 

 planting where much rain is expected and the ground likely to be 

 too wet ; in that case ridge or hill-up to keep tubers well covered. 



Harvest as early as possible, before the potato tops become so 

 dry as to drive the partially grown larvae to descend and work on 

 the tuber. 



In harvesting the sacks should never be covered with potato 

 tops, as the larvae leave these when they wilt and enter the potatoes. 

 The sacks should be sewed as soon as possible and hauled from the 

 field, and dug potatoes should never be left in the field or exposed 

 to the moth over night. All cull potatoes should be gathered up 

 within two weeks and either fed to stock at once or destroyed. 



White Fly. This is a small winged insect, floury white, which 

 has a great liking for beans, but may take to many other vegetables. 

 It attacks the underside of the leaves which first turn yellow in 

 spots and finally all over, and then fall as the insects draw the juices 

 from them. Whenever the plant is touched they rise up almost like 

 smoke and then settle back. They can be killed with kerosene 

 emulsion, properly made without injury to plants. You need a 

 goocj pump and nozzle to make a spray-cloud to dislodge them from 

 the under sides of the leaves and entangle them in air also. 



Other Pests. The gardener will, of course, encounter many 

 other pests, but he must not be dismayed. The treatment will 

 usually be indicated by the character of the injury inflicted, as sug- 

 gested earlier in this chapter, and by the ways of working and 

 fighting the chief pests which we have particularized. Specific pests 

 are also mentioned in the preceding cultural chapters : on beans, 

 page 141; on cabbage, page 164; on corn, page 187; on potatoes, 

 page 246. 



Whenever insects do not yield to the treatments proposed, or 

 whenever the use of these remedies does not seem to be practicable, 

 it is well for the grower to apply to Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion, University of California, Berkeley, sending a specimen of the 

 insect and of its work if possible. An answer embodying the latest 

 information on the subject, will be made without cost to the appli- 

 cant. Useful descriptive publications will also be sent in many cases. 



INJURIOUS FUNGI. 



Molds, mildews and blights seem to be ever on the alert to 

 attack garden plants whenever suitable conditions prevail. Fortu- 

 nately. California is much less subject to these intrusions than 



