128 LATE CABBAGE AND SIMILAR CROPS 



oecome older. It is therefore extremely important in preparing 

 the seed-bed to use only soil in which plants subject to the disease 

 has never been grown. As an additional precaution it would be 

 well to mix a small amount of air-slaked lime with the soil when 

 preparing the seed-bed. 



When setting plants in the field, if any with diseased roots 

 are noticed, they should be discarded; and if very many diseased 

 plants are found, it might be the wiser course to discard the whole 

 bed and procure plants from some other source, or even stay out 

 of the cabbage business that season. Without plants free from 

 disease at the time of setting, it is almost impossible to produce 

 a good crop of cabbage. On the other hand, experiments show 

 that by using plants grown in an uninfected seed-bed it is some- 

 times possible to produce a fair crop of cabbage in a badly infected 

 field, without liming. If, however, diseased plants are set, the 

 crop will be a failure even if the field has been limed. The best 

 plan is to grow the plants in uninfected soil, and set them in an 

 uninfected field or one that has been limed. 



Other diseases of cabbage are the black rot and the wilt. 

 Both of these can best be controlled by careful rotation and by 

 care in avoiding infected soil in the seed-bed. Germs of the black 

 rot may also be carried on the seed. If there is reason to fear 

 this disease, the seed should be soaked for fifteen minutes in a 

 solution of corrosive sublimate or formalin before planting. If 

 corrosive sublimate is used, one ounce of the poison is sufficient 

 to make eight gallons of the solution; and one pint of formalin 

 is enough to make thirty gallons of solution of that material. 

 In making small quantities of these solutions care should be 

 taken to avoid having them too strong. If diseased cabbage plants 

 appear in the seed-bed they should be discarded when trans- 

 planting. 



The black rot and wilt are likely to be especially troublesome 

 to control on bottom lands subject to inundation, for infected 

 soil is readily carried great distances in the flood waters. 



LATE CAULIFLOWER 



As compared with late cabbage, late cauliflower is even more 

 imperative in its demands for coolness and moisture. It is harder 

 to grow in warm climates than early cauliflower, for the young 

 plants are unable to survive the normal heat and drought of July 

 and August, and it is only occasionally that a crop can be produced 



