Cabbage 1421 



lings as soon as they appear above ground. Plaster, lime dust or 

 tobacco dust are of some value in keeping them off, but the most 

 practical method is to screen the bed. 



This screening will also control the second of the pests, the 

 cabbage maggot. This enemy is a small, white grub which eats 

 the roots of the seedlings about the time the cabbages are ready 

 to transplant. The adult is a small fly that lays eggs at the sur- 

 face of the ground just beside the stem of the plant. These eggs 

 soon hatch and the young maggot works downward and feeds upon 

 the root system. In many sections it is impossible to get a stand 

 of plants every year unless the bed is screened. The screening 

 consists of setting up boards eight or ten inches high around the 

 seed bed. Over these boards wires are stretched to prevent the 

 screen from sagging. The screen is made of cheese cloth and is 

 stretched over the bed and tacked to the boards. A bed to be 

 screened should be made not over nine feet wide. 



One half pound of seed will produce nearly as many plants 

 under a screen as a whole pound in the open, but one should make 

 the seed bed as large as for a whole pound. Under a screen nearly 

 every seed, will germinate owing to the humid condition. Put it 

 on as soon as the seeds are sown and remove about one week before 

 seedlings are ready to transplant. The plants will be ready to 

 set seven to ten days earlier if raised in this way. 



Sometimes the maggots bother earlier varieties after they are 

 set in the field. A tarred paper pad about two inches square 

 should be placed around each plant. They are made by punching 

 a hole in the center, then cutting a slit from the hole to the edge. 

 This prevents the fly from laying eggs near the stem of the plants. 



Third, is the plant louse. This louse has great power of repro- 

 duction, being capable of rearing from twelve to twenty litters 

 of brood in a single season. In turn the young will multiply 

 when only six days old. They are sucking insects and are there- 

 fore controlled by the use of contract spray. Three-fourths of a 

 pint of Black Leaf 40, four pounds of whale-oil soap and sixty 

 gallons of water are used as a spray solution. Great care must 

 be taken to wet the lice thoroughly; they will be found in the 

 curls. 



