112 



CULINARY OR KITCHEN GARDEN. 



lay their own eggs in the bodies of living cater- 

 pillars, and hence cause their . destruction. 

 But of all others, the very numerous family 

 of Ichneumonida? are the greatest destroyers, 

 amounting in species to above 1300, the females 

 of all of which deposit their eggs in the bodies 

 of other insects. Ants, not very troublesome 

 in themselves, destroy aphides in vast numbers, 

 and could we induce them to take up their 

 abode in a border of cauliflower or early cab- 

 bage, the Aphis brassicce would sustain a severe 

 persecution. 



Catching moths and butterflies is a wholesale 

 mode of lessening the number of forthcoming 

 caterpillars. Searching for chrysalides during 

 winter, and dusting the crops infested with 

 caterpillars, are the most rational means of rid- 

 ding our kitchen-gardens of such pests ; and to 

 those means we may add cutting off the infested 

 leaves, pulling up the roots which they have 

 perforated, and consigning them to the flames, 

 which is of vast importance, and, if persevered 

 in, would almost clear the ground in a season 

 or two. Trapping by placing slices of turnip, 

 carrot, or potato attached to a skewer, and 

 taking them up every other day and destroying 

 the insects attached, is a most effectual method. 

 But these or any other means, if not persevered 

 in, will be as completely useless as all the nos- 

 trums recommended either in past or present 

 times. Stimulants such as guano assist in rush- 

 ing the plants forward, and hence enable them 

 better to withstand the attacks of insects. 

 Spirit of tar mixed with the soil destroys them 

 by insinuating its penetrating poison through 

 their hardest covering ; and rape-cake has been 

 found efficacious in a more extraordinary man- 

 ner, the pupa feeding kinds devouring it until 

 they die of repletion. Any or all of these may 

 be tried with effect in the preservation of brassi- 

 caceous crops, but, we repeat, they must be ap- 

 plied in sufficient quantity and persevered in. 



The cabbage moth {Mamestra brassicce, or Noc- 

 tua brassica? of some entomologists.) — During the 

 evenings about the latter part of May, the moth 

 in its perfect state may be seen flying about in 

 the neighbourhood of cabbage-beds, and in July, 

 August, and September, in its caterpillar state, 

 will be found committing sad havoc in the heart 

 of the full-growing cabbages, as well as on the 

 leaves of those less farther advanced. "The 

 moth measures about lf-inch from tip to tip of 

 the fore-wings, which are dusky brown, clouded 

 with darker shades, and marked with pairs of 

 dark spots on their front edge ; from these 

 spots proceed the streaks which mark the wings 

 across; there are various spots on the wings, 

 some yellowish, and those in the middle sur- 

 rounded with white, the kidney-shaped one 

 with a whitish grey crescent around it, and 

 blackish beyond ; the wings have a grey yellow- 

 ish-striped fringe, and near this, at the point 

 farthest from the body, they have a row of 

 black triangular marks; the hind wings are 

 light-brownish grey, with dark veins ; the body 

 and head are of various shades of blackish grey, 

 with a darker stripe of the same colour down 

 the centre of the back. The caterpillar is green, 

 variously marked with grey or black, with a 



dark stripe down the back, and a dirty-yellow 

 one down each side. The (spiracles) breath- 

 ing-holes are white, surrounded with black, and 



CABBAGE MOTH AND CATERPILLAR. 



close above the yellow stripe. They bury them- 

 selves underground, and remain in the pupa 

 or chrysalis state all winter." — Cottage Gardener, 

 vol. ii. p. 83. 



Fig. 41 shows the perfect moth and the grub. 



The white line brown- eyed moth, Mamestra 

 or Noctua oleracea } is another enemy of the 

 cabbage tribe. For figure and description, see 

 section Turnip. 



Aphis brassicce (common cabbage-louse), fig. 

 42, the winged male, and 43, wingless female, is 



Fig. 42. 



CABBAGE APHIS, WINGED MALE. 



injurious in dry seasons. Dusting the plants 

 with black hellebore, Scotch snuff, caustic lime in 

 powder, are the usual 



remedies. They usually 

 appear in greatest num- 

 bers from the middle of 

 July to the end of No- 

 vember, and are found 

 generally on the under 

 sides of the leaves, the 

 females being surround- 

 ed with their young 

 broods, while the males 

 are to be seen wander- 

 ing about, no doubt in 

 search of mates. The 

 male is pea-green ; the 

 head, collar, and back of 



Fig. 43. 



CABBAGE APHIS, 

 WINGLESS FEMALE. 



