172 EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



from what was stated that the tests had been made upon but a 

 few rows of onions at most. 



To regard methods of controlling the cabbage maggot as 

 equally applicable to the onion maggot is a rather donbtfnl posi- 

 tion to take. Cabbages are gro\\ai from seed under glass or 

 screens, and when they have arrived at the proper size are trans- 

 planted; and are usually placed about 2 feet apart. Onions 

 (except for "sets ") are planted where they are to remain until 

 gathered, only an inch or two apart, and with the rows from 

 12 to 15 inches distant. Conditions, therefore, are widely differ- 

 ent, especially when a large acreage is concerned. 



With these facts in mind some of the treatments described 

 could immediately be discarded as impracticable under the con- 

 ditions existing, whether reported as of value or not. Others, 

 it seemed, might possibly be made use of, — though the question 

 of their cost for large fields would need to be determined, — 

 while others, still, appeared on their face to be rather promising. 

 A new substance, nicine, which had been received for trial was 

 also included in the list of materials to test. 



Conditions of the Experiment. 



For experimental purposes on a rather small scale, prelim- 

 inary to later, more extended ones, two plots of land were re- 

 served close by where onions had been growing the preceding 

 year, and where the maggots had been very abundant. Each 

 was about 70 by 75 feet in dimensions. The north plot lay 

 somewhat higher than the other, and the soil was somewhat 

 sandy and lighter than that of the south plot, where it was 

 rather heavy. Both plots sloped slightly toward the south, and 

 the two were separated only by a grass roadway. In the north 

 plot the onions were planted in rows about a foot and a half 

 apart, while in the other they were only a little over a foot apart. 

 In both plots the rows ran north and south. 



The " catch " of the seed in neither plot was satisfactory. 

 Gaps often a foot or two in length were frequent in the rows, 

 particularly in the north plot, and this may have had some 

 influence upon the results, as it is claimed that the maggots after 

 destroying a plant may at least in some cases pass to the next 



