Imperial Valley press., 1910-03-12

now ana lt IS hoped they VIII soon increase so they will keep this troub- lesome pest in check.
 The cabbage aphis (Aphis Brassica) has been very plentiful in the county for several years. It attacked the barley but never did any serious dam age to it. It nearly destroyed the wild mustard several years. Last year, a considerable acreage of cab bage was planted and they proved very destructive to this crop. I have examined the cabbage patches this season and so far, January 10th, find none on the cabbage, but plenty on the barley around the patches and on the tufts of barley through the cabbage. An effort should be made to get some lady bugs in as soon as possible.
 The insect that is doing the most damage in the County today is the alfalfa worm, larva of the butterfly (Pieris Colias). However, last sea- son a small insect, said to be a leaf hopper, attacked the alfalfa during the latter part of the summer, keeping the growing end of the plant eaten off, so after it reached a height of six or eight inches, it did not grow any more and gradually the leaves insects, it has nearly been impossible to raise seed, making it necessary to ship it in; consequently introduc- ing large quantities of foul seeds.
 We have had the promise of some shipments of the parasite of the cab bage and alfalfa worm from the state insectary. The cabbage worm, while it, is here, has never done any ser ious damage to the cabbage.
 It is quite possible that the most serious pest we have in the county is the thrips. It has appeared on the oranges, and the shy bearing of the Washington navel is attributed by some to the thrips. There is also a thrips that works on the onions and it is supposed that the thrips are here on the pear and and the peach, but there is another insect that worked on these two trees last season. They seem to spin a web around the buds.
 Cut worms and squash bugs always do little damage in the spring but are never serious.
 The dates on the date farm east of Heber, I am informed, have scale On them.
 The rose scale was found in one blackberry patch; they were destroyed.
 CANTALoUPEs
 Cantaloupes were first raised in the valley on a commercial scale in the year 1905. The production increased rapidly until in 1908, nearly two thous- and cars were shipped.
 The successes have been varied, owing to prevailing conditions, but it has been proven that with proper cultivation, cantaloupes will produce wonderfully. The past season, three hundred to four hundred crates to the acre was quite common. While it try cannot be built up on a canta- loupe industry, it now looks as though the industry had come to stay, and if planted in limited acreage and hand led on businesslike lines, would prove profitable.
 The melon aphis (GossypD is the only really bad insect to trouble the cantaloupe. In sections it has proved quite serious, but where burning is resorted to as it appears, it has been kept under control. A few patches we hope with the lady bug to soon begin to keep them in check.
 CABBAGES
 The first acreage of cabbage was planted last winter, 1908-9. Where they had proper care and were not attacked by the aphis (Brassica) they did well, but the aphis was generally very destructive to the crop. About three hundred acres are planted to cabbage this season and are looking fine.
 BEETS
 Beets have never been raised on a commercial scale but experiments have been carried on the past two seasons that have proved very satis- An J troubled them.