1 76 GARDEN FARMING 



independently of stable manure, it may be applied at the rate of 

 from 800 to 1 500 pounds to the acre. 



The time and manner of applying the fertilizer to the late crop 

 has a marked influence upon the yield. If the needs of the suc- 

 ceeding crop are to be considered as well as those of the cabbage, 

 broadcasting is the most desirable method of applying the fertilizer. 

 If, however, the yield of cabbage is the important desideratum, then 

 the hill or drill application will be found most profitable. The best 

 practice is to apply half of the fertilizer broadcast and half in the drill. 



Enemies of the farm crop. Cabbage is beset by four serious 

 insect pests the flea beetle, the cabbage worm, the harlequin 

 cabbage bug, and the cutworm. 



The flea beetle attacks the young seedlings both in seed beds 

 and in the field, as they appear above the surface of the ground, 

 and sometimes defoliates or even destroys the plants before its 

 presence is noticed. Care should be taken to prevent such loss. 

 A good plan is to dust the plants frequently with fine wood ashes, 

 lime, bug death, tobacco dust, or some insecticide which will keep 

 off or destroy the flea beetles without injuring the plants. It is 

 easier to treat the plants for this insect when they are grown in 

 seed beds than when grown in drills in the field. This is one rea- 

 son why many growers prefer the seed-bed system to the field 

 method of growing the seedlings. 



The second important enemy which should be mentioned is the 

 root maggot, which works at the root of the cabbage, cutting it off 

 just below the surface of the ground and causing the plant to wilt 

 and fall over without any apparent cause. This maggot is a small 

 worm which eats the pith out of the stem of the young plant, cut- 

 ting off its food supply from the root. The maggot is the larva of 

 a fly which infests cabbage fields and lays its egg at the surface of 

 the ground on or near the stem of the cabbage. It cannot be 

 treated with an insecticide, but can be satisfactorily held in check 

 by placing a disk or square piece of paper, slit from the edge to a 

 small hole in the center, around the stem of each plant as it is set 

 in the field. A simple device for cutting out these disks was made 

 some years ago by the late Professor Goff of Wisconsin. While 

 this is a satisfactory plan for controlling the maggot in home and 

 market gardens, it is not practicable under field conditions. 



