680 
the market, screening the seed beds pays 
very well and appears practical, in fact, 
whenever the crop is valuable. From the 
fragmentary data at hand, it appears that 
the period of the seedling growth checks 
up very closely with the time when the 
early emerging adults of the cabbage 
maggot commence their egg deposition. 
The usual method is to construct about 
the bed a frame of six to ten-inch boards 
placed on edge, well supported and 
braced, and with cross wires extending 
over the top to hold up the cloth. Over 
this frame is stretched cheesecloth, pref- 
erably a grade of about 20 threads to the 
inch. These frames may be used for sev- 
eral years. The following facts are es- 
tablished concerning their use for cab- 
bage seed beds. 
1. If the cheesecloth is carefully at- 
tached and the frame is tight, injuries by 
the maggot may be entirely prevented. 
2. The work of the flea beetles can be 
prevented partially or wholly, depending 
on the grade of cheesecloth employed. 
3. The sereen conserves the moisture 
and prevents baking of the soil between 
seeding time and that period when plants 
may be cultivated. 
4. Plants raised under cloth grow 
faster during moist seasons and attain 
the size desirable for transplanting about 
ten days or two weeks sooner than plants 
grown in the open. 
5. The extra cost of screening plants 
ranges from six to 20 cents per 1,000. In 
the opinion of many this cost is met in 
the first saving of seed. 
6. The screened plants are more ten- 
der than those not screened, but if the 
cover is removed a week before trans- 
planting the seedlings will become suffi- 
ciently hardened. 
The seed bed should by all means be 
located on a fertile, well drained soil 
where there can be no accumulation of 
water or washing under the frames by 
rain. Ags it is considerable work to re- 
move the frame to cultivate, see to it 
that the soil is in good condition and free 
from weed seed. 
Hand Picking—While a laborious un- 
dertaking, is often employed on small 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
fields of cabbage. The plants are simply 
pulled up, the roots examined carefully 
for eggs or maggots, and the plant reset. 
This practice may often be employed to 
advantage when seedlings are transferred 
to the field. This method is not practical 
for radishes or turnips. 
The Tarred Felt Discs. —The tarred felt 
discs are used for the protection of cab- 
bage and cauliflower only, the idea here 
being to prevent the adult female fly from 
depositing eggs. No better description of 
the discs or their use can be given than 
is found in the original description by 
W. H. Goff, who perfected this treatment 
in 1898. The description is transcribed 
from Circular 63 of the Bureau of En- 
tomology. 
The cards are cut in a hexagonal form 
in order to better economize the material 
and a thinner grade of tarred paper than 
the ordinary roofing felt is used, as it is 
not only cheaper, but being more flexible, 
the cards made from it are more readily 
placed about the plant without being 
torn. 
The blade of the tool, which should be 
made by an expert blacksmith, is formed 
from a band of steel, bent in the form of 
a half hexagon, and then taking an acute 
angle, reaches nearly to the center. The 
part making the star-shaped cut is formed 
from a separate piece of steel, so attached 
to the handle as to make a close joint 
with the blade. The latter is beveled from 
the outside all around, so that by remov- 
ing the part making the star-shaped cut, 
the edge may be ground on a grindstone. 
It is important that the angles in the 
blade be made perfect, and that its out- 
line represents an exact half hexagon. 
To use the tool, place the tarred paper 
on the end of a section of a log or piece 
of timber and first cut the lower edge 
into notches, using only one angle of the 
tool. Then commence at the left side, and 
place the blade as indicated by the dotted 
lines, and strike at the end of the handle 
with a light mallet and a complete card 
is made. Continue in this manner across 
the paper. The first cut of every alternate 
course will make an imperfect card, and 
the last cut In any course may be imper- 
fect. but the other cuts will make perfect 
ecards if the tool is correctly made and 
proverly used. 
The cards should be placed about the 
plants at the time of transplanting. To 
place the card bend it slightly to open 
the slit, then slip it on the center, the 
stem entering the slit, after which spread 
the card out flat and press the points 
