Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1898-07-15
FARM AND GARDEN.
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO
ACRICULTURISTS
Some Up-to-Date Hints About Gull
tivation of the Soil and Yields
Observation-Disclosures yiticuIture and
F1oriculture-
A New Cabbage Disease.

, fofd6cS III lHlS country. SlIlcLly speak
ing, the disease is not new. but is 81
designated because previous to thii
time it has not assumed sufficient pro-
: portions to draw to it much attention
} The disease has been already described
, by Prof. Pammel, but as applied to the
rutabaga only. 1t is now known thai
1t attacks equally the rutabaga, cab
bage and caulifiower. The germ that
does the work has been named Bacillus
Campestris. and is scientifically desig-
mated as B. Campestris. Attention has
been recently drawn to it by its raw
ages in southeastern Wisconsin. Some
of the large cabbage fields near Racine
were rendered of no value by the adj
vent of the pest. In some of the fields
the contagion was so rapid and uni
yersal that not a single head of cab
bage was harvested. Investigation
shows that it is really widespread. 1t
was observed in Kentucky in 1889, and
1t has since been reported from nearly
all of the Southern States Reports re-
cetved from Vermont show it prevalent
In that state, and the same would indi-
cate that it must be widely spread
throughout New England. New York,
Ohio. Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa
are known to be subject to it. Without
doubt it is in every state east of the
Rocky Mountains. Whether it has
spread to the Pacific slope is not yet
reported
The disease is in the form of a rot.
1t attacks the cabbage in some place
where there is a scar that permits the
germs to get into the circulation of the
cabbage. Sometimes these points of at
tack are where insects have eaten into
the leaves. The germs work their way
from the edge of the cabbage down the
side veins to the mid-rib. Then they
proceed into the leaf stock, and from
that into the main stem of the plant.
When once the disease has established
itself in the main stem it spreads rap
idly through the entire root. Travel
ing, as the disease does, through the
veins of the plant, it seriously inter-
feres with the channels by which the
water is distributed to the tissues of
the leaf. This, combined with the
actual invasion of the leaf tissue with
the specific germs of the disease, causes
the leaves to wilt, turn yellow, dry up,
and become thin and parchment-like
in texture. One of the greatest times
of loss is during the storage of the cab
bage in the winter. Frequently, too,
this occurs where there are no external |
indications of the rot at the time the |
cabbages are stored in the cellar. In |
such cases the head, when cut open /
vertically, will show a blackened area |
following the course of the leaves of |
the head. The rot spreads from leaf
to leaf within the head until the whole
interior is decayed, while the exterior
remains perfect in appearance 1t is
rot in them will show ii somewhere in
the stem at the time of putting away
for the winter. Therefore the stems
should be inspected that no rot may be
stored with the heads.
The germs seem to spread rapidly in
the field. A single cabbage becomes
and soon its neighbors show
signs of having the disease. This is the
case especially where whole fields have
been destroyed. The remedy then is
quarantine. Destroy every leaf that
shows signs of being affected. Take
away the whole plant, If need be. and
put it where it cannot scatter death
among the other plants. 1t may not be
always advantageous to burn the af-
'ected plants. but they can at least be
buried in the compost heap. This even
night not be safe way to dispose of
hem, unless the manure is to be thor
,ughly rotted. Winds and insects car
y the germs. The latter will also live S
'ver during the coolest winter, as has {
'een demonstrated at some of the ex-
eminent stations. The custom of
eaving the dead leaves on the ground I
hould not be longer followed. as they '
re about sure to do damage the com b
ng year. If cabbages or turnips are b
OF grown on the same land, yet the i
ind and other potencies may carry the k
erms to the fields where the cabbages a
turnips or cauliflowers are Being g
rown. Care also should be taken il
hen the cellar is being cleaned out q
the spring that the dead and per-
APPS infected leaves and stems be not
lrown out where they can be a men T
e to the new crops, or perhaps mixed a
It'll the compost, to be hauled to the n,
cid before being decomposed. v,
Chickens In France. h,