Circular No. ^S. February, 1914 



HASSACHUSETT8 fiGRICULTORAL EXPERIMENT STATION, 



AMHERST. 



CABBAGE, CAULIFLOWER, TURNIP, RAPE, AND OTHER 



CRUCIFERS. 

 William P. Brooks. 



The crops in this group thrive in quite a variety 

 Soils, of soils, but none will do well if water be near 



the surface or the soil inclined to be wet. Well 

 tilled loams in good fertility should be selected, the lighter for Eng- 

 lish turnips and Swedes or for early cabbage, and medium loams for 

 cauliflower. Under irrigation success is possible on very light soils 

 if highly manured or fertilized. With deficient drainage or over-wet 

 soils these crops are peculiarly liable to the disease known as club- 

 foot. These crops should not be grown two successive years on the 

 same land nor come into any rotation more frequently than one year 

 in four or five. 



These crops will fail or do poorly in any soil 

 Lime Necessary, which is sour in marked degree. If blue litmus 



paper in contact with the moist soil turns red it 

 should receive an application of lime. The rate of application must, 

 of course, be varied to suit different conditions, but in general for the 

 lighter soils which are sour the application of about one ton per acre 

 of air-slaked lime or marl, or one and one-half tons of fine ground 

 limestone is desirable, while for the heavier soils about fifteen hun- 

 dred pounds of hydrated (water-slaked) lime is likely to be beneficial.* 



The disease known as clubfoot (root) or some- 

 Prevention of times " fingers and toes," is due to the growth 

 Clubfoot. of a fungus in the cells of the roots. It causes 



the distorted root swellings, often of enormous 

 size, familiar to most who have grown these crops. No cure or cer- 

 tain prevention when soil has become infected is known. Rotation of 

 crops, no one of this group to be put upon any given field oftener 



* For fuller discussion of use of Lime see Bulletin No. 137. 



