Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-01-08


Cabbage Growing Hindrance..
THE BUTTERFLY AND OTHER PESTS.
Editor Sdr:-Now that the business OF grow.
Ing strawberries for ~ cents to cents per
quart during the height of the season. and
cabbages at from cents to cents per head
during the most plentiful part of the season
business that should be done "by the SINAI. -
If done at all, for the greater the business the
greater the ruin-haS been stopped By provi.
DENTAL limitation. l would be glad to enlist
the attention-for time-of the cabbage
growers in their O,Un interest.
TO the cabbage grower there are three very
serious drawbacks that are almost ever to q
greater or less degree tnsurmountaole. When
ever he OvercomeS any or all OF these In whole
or In part. II is from the aid he receives In the
exceptional character Of the season, thou III
sometimes 1t may be attributed to local causes
transient In themselves,
The first drawback Is the little black flea
which most always or nearly everywhere
renders the growing OF plants an 1mpossioility.
And then. when the plants are set out they
Will, despite the Efforts and applications OF the
grower generally destroy entirely the plants
This applies more particularly TO early Cabbage
here. aid many growers hereabouts 20 longer
attempt 10 grow early cabbage because OF the
desiluctiveness OF insects.
The second drawback is the hot dry weather
usual 1 at tne plant sett1ng season. This is also
Is tie fact ct the time for the setting for the
late crop. The plants die.
The third is, or has been, the cabbage butter
fly. For the past season there have been 10
localities two other insects that have done verY
serious damage to the cabbage.
Some seedsme in their cataloges last spring
touching cabbage cultivation. say that 1T is no.
meet Ssary 10 borrow any trouble concerning
the CABBAGE butterfly, for 1t Is fast disappear
Ing from the action of parasites which feed on
me chrysalides Prof. Comstock once told me
That from large number OF the butterfly
chry Salides which he collected for the study OF
the butterfly but very small per cent of them
unfoided; that the very. great portion OF them
DO not make the diminut1On OF the butterflies
perceptible in the region round about here The
damage to the cabbage crop last fall was quite
as great as 1t ever has been from the same
source.
nave been observing rather closely this cab.
bage damaging insect for over three years.
From memoranda find that in 1879 the butter
from very early In April until ABOUT the end of
the month. The 1st OF May there were none to
be seen. but they did not seem to have left any
progeny to damage not1ceably the early cab
bage. July Sth saw one butterfly, July 18th
two, and by August 5th they were to be seen
frequently, and by the 18th of same month
were about in great abundance. and continued
SO until the freeze in the first three or four days
OF November, when they apparently all dsap-
peared. For three or four days, during some
mild weather, about the middle OF the month,
eree..trr part Of the cabbage was rendered by
their progeny, the green slugs or worms. almost.
worthless.
=, In 1850 saw the first butterfly on the 221 OF
Malc1, and by the 1st of April they had become
abundant and tlourished greatly through the
month, but did not entirely disappear until
about the middle of May. remaining later than
In 1879, but, as heretofore, did but very little
Damage to early cabbage. The 18th of May all
l sa" -FOUR, the vanguard Of the second appear
ance but no more until the eth OF June. then
tnIee from that date until the first week in
u
through the rest OF the month they were
plentiful, reaching the greatest abundance a
little past the middle of September. Some
heavy frosts on the nights of the tirst two or
three days OF November seemed to have finished
them up On lovely D. M. the 10th OF Novem-
per, however, saw one fitting about, the last
have thus shown for two Seasons the times of
their coming and disappearance AS every
observing grower has seen, thefe are two crops
OF them, so 10 speak, each season. On what
the progeny of the first product In season are
Matched and fed. know not. know that 1t is
on Inc CABBAGE only TO very limited extent
and for that reason is SO destructive to the Gao,
bage The early crop OF cabbage is cut Off by
the CABBAGE flea only, and l know OF no SUBJ
stance that viii destroy this creature. The late
crop OF cabbage. and the principal one, is de-
stroyed by the butterfly progeny, and this can
be prevented. l know. l contrlved a net to
catch the butterflies, thus: | made hoop
about two feet across OF No. annealed wire
bending OH three or four inches OF the wire at
each end OF the formed WIRE and had welded
1or shank. Cut six or seven feet OF q small
Staddle for handle, bored a hole in the end
and drove in the shank; made net of MOSQUITO
bar Ut would have been better OF some stronger
open texturel about three feet long and attach
10 the noop, and the instrument 10 catch but
terflleS was ready. A boy from seven to ten
years OF age can attend TO a cabbage field sue
cessiuliy; II an active one he can take the but.
textiles Ion the fly" but with greater certainty
when the insects are sitting on the plants. /
have caught as many as sixty butterflies Ia
about as many minutes, in a patch OF ABOUT
seven hundred plants, and made the creatures
rather scarce. The net should be thrown over
the insect and brought quickly to the ground
and the insect pinched In the folds of the net
before lifting 1t.
If every grower would put boy into his
fields to make thorough work among the but
tertiies at their spring appearance there would
be but little work to be done during the late
cabbage season. l am quite sure that with a
universal effort among the growers the butter
tiles can be so nearly destroyed that the damage
first years the attempt is made. My experience
IN that direction the past season assures me OF
this When have urged this matter upon the
gT,o%efs occasonay they Invariably have re-
afford the expense OF manuring, preparing the
ground, buying or growing and transplaning
the plants. filling them, and have the labor ali
lost In the Injury done to the cabbage by
the green worms, the butterfly progeny-but
they cannot AFFORD the expense Of q smart boy
at from s. to IS per month, for month or two,
In the cabbage fields and save the crop. It is
very foolish thing to plant cabbage to feed these
worms. It would be wiser. and cost less, to
stop growing cabbage. the butterflies can be
destroyed at comparatively small expense
and marketable cabbage grown, II the growers
only wisely resolve to do it. The question is
win they do this advantageous, wise thing? The
fall frosts soon destroy the butterflies, but the
green worms will survive freezes that stiffen
and seriously damage the cabbage leaves
OTHER CABBAGE DESTROYERs.
The season last past has inflicted on the cab
bage growers two more destructives OF the cab.
bage. One year ago the season just past saw
occasionally caterpillar looking worm of the
size In diameter OF No, IL WIRE perhaps, and
about three quarters OF an ihch long, and Orn.
amented with yellow stripe on either side, on
the cabbage plants. but l did not take particu-
lar notice OF Its operations. This last season
they were so plentiful as to do material dam
age to cabbage II they continue to increase,
they Will soon rival, think, the green worm.
carried some OF these caterpillars to the Agrl-
cultural department to ascertain name etc.,
and was promised an examination OF them.
But another cabbage destructive appeared In
some localities or fields the past season. have
seen none OF them myself, but have heard much
about them. They are described as q short.
thick bug with q terrap1n back. They gather
in considerable numbers on the plants which
willis and dies.
bage growers will have three destructives to
coInteract. If SO, cabbage growing is to be
more difficult and discOurag1ng tnan ever be-
fore. For the determination Of the last two
corners, the manner and the means remain to
ne discovered GRaIcpp