PESTS OF THE CABBAGE AND TDRNIP. 265 



the early sown, young wheat, low down in the sheath, among the leaves. 

 The eggs soon hatch and produce small maggots, which suck the sap 

 from the tender plants, and soon cause them to fade and turn yellow. 

 In favorable seasons the stooling of the wheat helps to overcome the 

 damage and save the crop, but too often the plants are so weakened 

 that they cannot resist the rigors of the winter, and in the spring 

 nothing appears but the sere and yellow remains of what was a 

 promising crop. If the crop survives and recovers in the spring, a 

 second brood appears in the early summer, and attacks the stems at 

 the upper leaves, and causes them to break down and wither, and so 

 ruins the crop. Burning the stubble and clean culture of the fields, 

 seem to be the only means of prevention, while the late sowing of the 

 grain, so as to put off the appearance of the braird until after the 

 flies have deposited their eggs elsewhere, and the liberal manuring 

 and fertilizing of the soil to strengthen the plants, are generally 

 effective in avoiding the pest. 



THE CABBAGE BUTTERFLY. 



This pest is exceedingly destructive to the cabbage crop, and some- 

 times by its numbers and voracity entirely ruins it. The damage is 

 done in its larva stage, when the insect is a light green, soft cater- 

 pillar. The parent is a white winged butterfly having one or two 

 small black dots upon each wing, and has only been known upon 

 this side of the Atlantic for a few years, since when it has spread all 

 over the Eastern and central portions of the country. The best pre- 

 ventive is to capture the butterflies with hand nets, which is easily 

 done as they hover over the cabbages seeking places to deposit their 

 eggs, or as they alight upon other plants to sip moisture. Poison 

 cannot be used for obvious reasons, but a strong decoction of red 

 peppers, or a solution of saltpetre sprinkled over the plants, will kill 

 the caterpillars. Where the plantation is not large, hand picking can 

 be used, and to reach the insects a long, slender pair of scissors will 

 do the work much more rapidly than the fingers. 



THE TURNIP BEETLE (JUMPING JACK). 



This insignificant little pest sometimes gives great annoyance to 

 the root grower, wholly destroying the crop, when in its seed leaves. 

 It is a very small steel blue or black beetle, which springs very actively 

 when it is disturbed. An effective remedy against it is to sprinkle 

 the rows of young plants as soon as they break through the ground 



