THE LAKE REGION.
In the region of the Great Lakes there are many localities having a suitable soil in whichcauliflower may be grown to good advantage. The moist atmosphere, which renders much of this region so well adapted to the cultivation of fruit, favors the growth of the cauliflower. In this region the fall crop is the one mainly grown, and the half-early varieties, such as Early Paris and Early London have been chiefly used, though the earlier Erfurt varieties are now largely grown.
Detroit, Grand Rapids, and other Michigan cities are comparatively well supplied with home-grown cauliflower.
In Western Michigan there is considerable high, rolling land, of a deep loamy character, covered originally with a heavy growth of hard-wood timber. It was on such land as this, in Ottawa County, that the writer grew cauliflower very successfully between the years 1870 and 1884. The land had but recently been cleared of its timber, and it seldom received any other fertilizer than the heavy June-grass sod which was turned under. The method of preparing the ground was the same as for any other farm crop, and the plants, mainly of the Early Paris variety, were set out about the last of June, usually four feet apart each way. They were given good care, and generally began to head in September, at the time of the autumnal equinox, when there is usually a week or two of cool, rainy weather. Following this, early in October, thereare generally a few hard frosts which injure some of the heads if they are not kept well covered and closely cut. The main cauliflower season then comes on, running through October and the first half of November. In a warm, late season nearly all the plants will have headed, and the heads have been sold before cold weather, but when winter comes on early, a portion of the plants will be still undeveloped; these are either gathered and stored, as elsewhere described, or used for feeding stock. My crop was marketed at Grand Rapids and Chicago, and was considered the finest sent to either of those cities. Its excellence was attributed mainly to the deep new fertile soil, which never suffered from drouth under proper cultivation, and to the moist climate, due to the surrounding forests and the proximity to Lake Michigan.
At South Haven, on the immediate shore of Lake Michigan, the upland is mainly too heavy for the best growth of cauliflower. Mr. Sheffer says: (Mich. Ag. Rep. 1888, p. 287) "We have the advantage of cheap lands, cheap transportation to a boundless market, and a moist climate, all making celery and cauliflower desirable crops. For cauliflower, the proper soil is the first essential. If planted on uplands it will fail nine times out of ten, unless set so late as to head up just before winter. But it is better to grow it on low wet soils that can be ditchedas far away as Philadelphia."
In Kent County, with which I am familiar, the cauliflower is successfully cultivated by many gardeners, but, as the air is drier, more care is required there in selecting the soil, the crop being usually grown on bottom lands favorably situated with regard to moisture, and containing an abundance of vegetable matter. It is occasionally grown on muck, but such land is not as reliable as that of a heavier character. On the light, sandy, and gravelly uplands, which abound in this county, the cultivation of the cauliflower is seldom attempted, and always fails, except in unusually wet seasons, although when such land is heavily manured, the cabbage may be grown successfully.
At Duluth, Minnesota, near the western end of Lake Superior, I have seen as fine cauliflowers growing as I ever saw anywhere. The soil was black loamy, upland.
Mr. J. S. Brocklehurst, of Oneota, in the same county, considers his locality unsurpassed for the cauliflower.
In Northern Wisconsin there is considerable territory which is excellent for cauliflower. In 1890, the first, second and third prizes offered by James Vick, for the best heads of Vick's Ideal were all awarded to growers in Eau Clare County, Wisconsin.
The recent introduction of very early varieties is likely to have an important result in extending the cultivation of the cauliflower, in the extreme Northern States and Canada, where the soil and climate are in many places peculiarly adapted to it, but where the seasons are so short that it has not heretofore been successfully grown.
Around Chicago much of the soil is unsurpassed for this vegetable, and large quantities of it are grown, but not enough to supply its local demand.
The most successful cultivators of this vegetable near Chicago are the market gardeners in the Holland settlement south of the city, and the Germans on the north. All are more successful with the late crop than with the early. One of the most successful of these growers sometimes sets his plants as late as the first of August, using seed direct from friends in Holland.
In Mahoning County, Ohio, which may be included, for convenience, in the Lake Region, Mr. Milton, who makes a specialty of the cauliflower, states that it is a good paying crop, but requires high cultivation, and if possible a moist soil. He states that he has tried all the varieties in cultivation, and finds a great difference in seed of the same variety from different growers. For the early crop he one year planted Henderson's Snowball, extra selected Early Erfurt, and Vick's Ideal, and found, owing to adrouth which set in just as the heads began to form, that the last variety was the only one which gave paying heads. For a late crop he generally uses Half-Early Paris, but has had good success with Algiers in a warm season. This variety must be started very early, however, in order to head before winter.
THE PRAIRIE REGION.
Prairie soil is usually well adapted to the cauliflower, and in favorable seasons a good crop is obtained, but such seasons are so little to be depended on in this region that cauliflower culture on a large scale is only profitable here under irrigation, or in restricted localities where the soil is naturally moist.
The gardeners around St. Louis have good success in growing cauliflower on the bottom land. Professor L. R. Taft says, "During two of the years I lived in Missouri it was very hot and dry and on the heavy clay soil of most of the state cauliflower, as a field crop, was a failure. I had good success, however, by planting one foot apart in cold frames from which lettuce had been taken; they were watered as required and during the hottest weather were protected to some extent by means of lath screens."
One disadvantage in this uncertainty of a crop in the West is its effect upon the market. Aproduct which is rarely seen in the market brings a low price when abundant and fails to bring a high price in times of scarcity. Few people use it, and these do not become so accustomed to it as to be willing to pay a high price for it when it is scarce.
Mr. Riche, of Iowa, tells in a report of the Iowa Horticultural Society, how, in 1884, he overstocked the Dubuque market with 8000 heads. A Mr. Smith relates how, a few years previous, he was obliged to sell 4000 heads for a little over one cent per head; yet in this same market more familiar products often bring high prices. Another Iowa gardener grew a field of cauliflower by mistake, having purchased the seed for cabbage, and found himself unable to sell the crop at all!
In the irrigated districts of the West, cauliflower is grown to great perfection. One of the largest cauliflowers on record, four feet three inches in circumference, was grown in Colorado under irrigation in 1881. A moist atmosphere is less important than plenty of water at the root, especially at the time of heading, when it should be supplied, if possible, in small amount every day. The somewhat saline character of the soil in the dry regions also favors the growth of this crop whenever a sufficient supply of water is given.
At the Colorado experiment station sixteen varieties were grown under irrigation in 1888 (seetable under Variety Tests), of which Henderson's Snowball and Extra Early Erfurt gave the best results. At the Arkansas station, the following year, out of twelve varieties these two were the only ones that produced heads. At the South Dakota station, Henderson's Snowball and Haskell's Favorite, a variety apparently identical with it, gave good results.
CAULIFLOWER IN THE SOUTH.
The cauliflower, as a market crop, is but little grown in the South, but there is no good reason why it should not become extensively cultivated there. The chief hindrances to its cultivation in the South have been the lack of high priced local markets, and the liability of the heads to heat during transportation to the North.
The most favorable localities for growing this vegetable in the South are near the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, especially near the mouths of rivers where there is an alluvial soil and a moist atmosphere. The cauliflower is better adapted than the cabbage to a warm climate, but heavier soil is required for it in the South than at the North.
W. F. Massey, of the North Carolina experiment station, says that fall-sown plants are the only ones worth growing in that latitude. The seed should be sown in September. The crop should head not later than March or April, as the heat is too greatafter April for good heads. By forcing, the plants may be headed in the frames in winter. More heat and protection are needed for this than in merely keeping over the plants. When the plants are approaching full size a light dressing of nitrate of soda raked into the soil is used to push them along and check any tendency to button. Lettuce is usually grown in the frames between the plants while small.
Dr. A. Oemler,[A]of Savannah, Georgia, says: "If this most delicate and most valuable member of the Brassica family, would 'carry' more safely at locations suitable for its cultivation, it would be one of the most important crops for the truck farmer. Although so situated, I have abandoned its culture, notwithstanding I have netted as high as $24.75 in New York per barrel for it, and the heads or 'curds' have sold at a gross average of thirty-seven cents each. Sometimes, however, it would continue to arrive in such bad order as not to be worth shipping. For the past two years its culture for the Northern market has been mainly confined to Florida. Coming so much earlier there, it is not exposed to heating in transit. Thebest varieties are Extra Early Dwarf Erfurt, the Snowball, and the very large growing Algiers. It should be marketable in March and April. The seed therefore should be sown in the latitude of Savannah about December first, under glass, and the plants transplanted about January tenth."
Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile, Alabama, writes: "From my own experience I judge that this vegetable does not succeed as well in the southern part of this state as in its central and more northern parts. I have seen it raised of good quality in the gardens of Montgomery, and in the greatest perfection in the highlands of north Alabama at an elevation of about 500 feet above the Gulf—at Cullman, in a somewhat light loamy soil, well supplied with stable manure. In that locality the seeds are sown by the end of February in a cold frame, to allow protection of the young plants from frost, and the plants are transferred to the open land by the middle of March. They arrive at their perfection during the first half of the month of May. Another sowing is made during the first week of March to furnish a crop during the early part of June. In that locality this vegetable is raised only to meet a very limited home demand. My informant at Montgomery, who raises only a supply for his own use, writes: 'I have raised cauliflower here with success for a series of years, someof the heads weighing six to seven pounds. The soil of my garden is a light sandy loam, requiring heavy manuring, and frequent irrigation of the plants toward the time of heading; it cannot be said to be exactly suited to this vegetable. I get my seed (the White Snowball) from Peter Henderson, of New York, sow in December in hot-bed, transplant as soon as large enough to a cold frame, and transplant as soon as danger of frost is over, say about the first part or middle of March, to the open ground, which has been well prepared and manured with stable manure. I cultivate the same as for cabbage, and the crop matures about the first of May.'
"One of the most successful market gardeners and truck farmers in this vicinity [Mobile], says: 'We have cultivated cauliflower for a long series of years, but find it much less profitable than the raising of cabbage; first, on account of its tenderness, making it liable to be injured in transportation to distant markets, and second, by reason of repeated failure of the crop in consequence of the too early advent of spells of hot and dry weather at the opening of the warm season. We sow in November in cold frame, keep well thinned out under glass until about the 20th of January, then transplant to the open ground, cultivating well with frequent watering if the weather should bedry. If the months of April and May are dry and hot the crop results in a failure, from which, in our dry and thirsty soil, no irrigation will save it. In favorable seasons we have fine results, raising heads from ten to sixteen inches in diameter. In the perpetually damp and inexhaustibly fertile soil of the alluvial lands in the Mobile River delta (marshes drained by ditching) the cauliflower is raised in the greatest perfection, and is ready by Christmas time for the home market, bringing fancy prices. In such localities the early varieties, particularly the Early Paris, are used, the seed being sown in August. Outside of these marshes the early varieties are not grown, as they produce only small and meagre heads. Among the later varieties we find Algiers and Lenormand the best, buying the seed from Vilmorin in Paris.'"
Mr. J. N. Whitner, in his work on "Gardening in Florida," recommends Early Snowball, Extra Early Paris, and Extra Early Dwarf Erfurt. The seed is sown in boxes in autumn and protected from beating rains, and if sown before the middle of October the plants are also protected from the direct sun during the middle of the day. The main crop is planted out before the first of November, and harvested the following spring. In the northern portion of the state the plants are sometimes injured by the cold in winter. The crop isnot yet extensively grown in that state. In regard to suitable soil, Mr. Whitner says:
"In this state almost every truck farmer has some low rich spot of bottom, lake or river margin suitable for the production of the cauliflower. It must, however, be well drained land, and no matter how fertile it mayseemto be naturally, a liberal supply of manure will more certainly insure handsome flower heads."
Mr. Frotzer, a New Orleans seedsman, says of the cauliflower:
"This is one of the finest vegetables grown, and succeeds well in the vicinity of New Orleans. Large quantities are raised on the sea-coast in the neighborhood of Barataria Bay. The two Italian varieties are of excellent quality, growing to large size, and are considered hardier than the German and French varieties. I have had specimens brought to my store, raised from seed obtained from me, weighing sixteen pounds. The ground for planting cauliflower should be very rich. They thrive best in rich, sandy soil, and require plenty of moisture during the formation of the head. The Italian varieties should be sown from April till July; the latter month and June is the best time to sow the Early Giant. During August, September and October, the Lenormand, Half Early Paris and Erfurt can be sown. The Half Early Paris is verypopular, but the other varieties are just as good. For spring crop the Italian kinds do not answer, but the Early French and German varieties can be sown at the end of December and during January, in a bed protected from frost, and may be transplanted into the open ground during February and as late as March. If we have a favorable season, and not too dry, they will be very fine; but if the heat sets in soon, the flowers will not attain the same size as those obtained from seeds sown in fall, and which head during December and January."
In theTexas Farm and Ranch, H. M. Stringfellow, of Hitchcock, Galveston County, gives an account of his success with American grown (Puget Sound) seed of Henderson's Snowball cauliflower. He says:
"After two years careful trial, I have found this seed every way superior to the original imported stock, good as that was, for our hot climate. The plants are much more robust, make equally as compact but larger heads, and what is most remarkable, they mature here fully two weeks or more ahead of the imported seed. Nearly every plant will make a marketable head, and they always sell for fully double as much as cabbage.
"These American seeds begin to head about the first of November, and are nearly all gone byChristmas, which gives ample time to get the crop off in any part of Texas.
"The cauliflower is emphatically a fall vegetable and seems to require for its perfect development a gradually decreasing temperature. The seed should be sowed from the first to the fifteenth of July, in a frame. Make the ground very rich, and if you use salt, which I consider almost an essential for this crop, turn it under deeply at the first plowing. In fact, salt and potash had better be deeply worked into the soil always, as it will not do for either to come in contact with the roots of a newly set plant.
"Until recently I have always thought that it would injure a plant to set it in soil to which cottonseed meal had been lately applied. But experiments made in the last few weeks prove that it is not only not injurious, but that cabbage plants grow off with wonderful vigor when the meal was applied the day before the plants were set.
"It will pay to subsoil for cauliflower, in order to give them all the moisture possible, though they will stand a drouth in the fall equally as well as a cabbage."
In this connection may be mentioned the following account of cauliflower growing at Durango, Mexico, sent to theGardener's Chroniclein 1853: The writer says: "Of the culinary vegetables,none excel the cauliflower, which attains such a size that a single head measures 18 inches to 2 feet in diameter, and makes a donkey load. The gigantic cauliflower is not distinct from our European species, but is solely produced by a cultivation which necessity has dictated. Being one of the Northern vegetables that degenerate or bear no seed if not annually procured from Europe, it is propagated by cuttings. After the heads are gathered the stubs are allowed to throw out new shoots, which are again planted and have to grow two years, producing the second, the enormous heads."
The following from Woodrow's "Gardening in India," (4th edition, Bombay, 1888), contains many interesting points of suggestive value for the extreme South:
"Cauliflower, being a delicate plant, always needs great care and attention in its cultivation, but much less care is necessary in this country than in Europe. The soil most suitable is a rich friable loam, such as occurs in the black soil of the Duccan, the alluvial tracts in the basin of the Ganges or Nerbudda. Thorough working of the soil is necessary, and in stations where the market price of cauliflower is usually over four annas per head, as is the case in many parts of Southern India, the crop is well worth extra care in thepreparation of the soil. This process should be begun shortly after the rains, when the soil is easily plowed or dug. It should then be turned up roughly to a depth of a foot or fifteen inches. A month later the clods should be broken with the mallet or clod crusher, and the plow put through the ground a second time. When the soil has weathered a few weeks, the scarifier or cultivator should be run over it once monthly until May. At that time good decayed cow dung or poudrette should be spread one inch deep, and any close growing crop which is not valuable, such assunn,tag,chanamoo, orCrotolaria juncea, should be sown to keep down weeds and encourage the formation of nitric acid in the soil, which has been proved to be effected to a greater extent under a crop than on bare soil. During dry weather in August the crop should be pulled up and the ground plowed or dug and the crop buried in the trenches to act as green manure, and the land prepared for irrigation.
The seed-bed should be prepared by thorough digging and mixing about an inch in depth of old manure; wood ashes and decayed sweepings having a quantity of goat or sheep dung in it is well suited for the seed-bed at this season. Cow dung is apt to have the larva of the dung beetle in it—a very large caterpillar which destroys young plantsby eating through the stem under ground. The bed having been thoroughly watered, the seed may be sown broadcast or in lines, and covered with a quarter of an inch of fine, dry, sandy soil, and shaded from bright sunshine. When the seedlings appear, gradually remove the shade. The most convenient form of bed is not more than four feet in width, the length being sufficient for the ground to be planted. One ounce of seed is sufficient for a bed fifty feet square, which will give sufficient plants for an acre if the seed is good. Sowing should be made once in ten days, from the middle of August till the end of September. If the garden has been neglected, or the district remarkable for the quantity of grubs that yearly come out in August, spread a considerable part of the garden with a thick coating of stable litter or dry leaves and burn it, prepare the seed bed in the middle of the burnt space, and soak two pounds of saltpetre in water for one hundred square feet, and water the bed with it for at least two weeks before sowing the seed. When the seedlings have acquired about five leaves, and the ground to plant is ready, lift the young plants gently on a cloudy day, and plant them out two and one-half feet apart each way. If bright sunshine comes out, shade the newly moved plants with broad leaves, and water them daily with the watering pot for a few days, besidesirrigating sufficiently to keep the soil moist. Afterwards, hoeing, picking grubs and replacing the losses from the seed-bed must be attended to.
The selection of sorts is a serious matter in cauliflower culture, because many sorts grow only to leaves in some climates, and great loss has been met with by some people in consequence of getting the wrong variety. The variety known to English seedsmen as Large Asiatic, has established itself in the Northern Provinces, where a good head of cauliflower is procurable in December for one-half anna. In Bombay the same would cost ten times that sum. The seed of this variety is remarkably cheap in the districts it bears seed in. From Shajehanpore I bought large quantities at Rs. 2 per pound, while the price of seed from England was Rs. 2 per ounce. This sort is perfectly reliable when properly cultivated, but it is considered inferior in flavor and delicacy to English sorts, and its season is very short. It appears to run to seed when January comes, at whatever time it may have been sown, while English varieties come into use from the beginning of December to the end of February according to the date of sowing.
Among European varieties, success will generally be met with by sowing Early London and Walcheren. The different Giant and Mammoth varieties advertised in seedsmen's catalogues shouldbe grown as extras, and if one is found to suit the soil and climate of a particular station, it may be grown more extensively afterwards; my experience with those varieties has not been happy."
THE PACIFIC COAST.
Fine early cauliflowers are grown in California under irrigation, and marketed as far east as Chicago. Oregon and Washington include a large area adapted to cauliflower growing, and this favorable territory extends northward into Alaska. The cool, moist climate of the Upper Pacific coast resembles that of England, where cauliflowers are so extensively grown.
There are few good markets yet in this region, but the rapid growth of the cities which exist affords promise of a large future demand for this vegetable, which is likely to come into more general use as it becomes better known.
Professor E. R. Lake, of the Oregon experiment station, states that some parts of the Oregon coast are well adapted to the cauliflower, but that other interests and lack of transportation facilities have thus far prevented its cultivation for market, the bulk of the crop sold there coming from California. He adds that the Chinese in the vicinity of Portland cultivate this vegetable, but that their peculiar methods are not yet understood.
Some ten years ago experiments were begun by one of our seedsmen in raising cauliflower and cabbage seed on the alluvial tide lands on the shore of Puget Sound. These lands, after being diked and drained, proved to be remarkably well adapted to the growth of the cauliflower and its seed. Others have since engaged in growing these seeds in the same region, and the business is assuming large proportions. An account of this enterprise may be found in the chapter on Seed.
[A]Dr. Oemler is the author of an excellent work entitled "Truck Farming in the South." His farm is on Wilmington Island, in the mouth of the Savannah River.
[A]Dr. Oemler is the author of an excellent work entitled "Truck Farming in the South." His farm is on Wilmington Island, in the mouth of the Savannah River.
The insect enemies of the cauliflower are the same as those which attack the cabbage and other related plants. The four here mentioned require to be specially guarded against. In preparing these notes I am indebted to Mr. L. O. Howard, of the Department of Agriculture, at Washington, for essential aid.
Flea Beetle(Phyllotrea striolata, Fabr).—This insect, also known as the "ground flea" or "Jack," seldom attacks the plants except while growing in the open ground, and is most troublesome in warm, sheltered situations. A safe preventive, therefore, is to grow the plants in beds or frames elevated about three feet from the ground. The objection to this method, aside from the extra labor involved, is the necessity of almost daily attention to see that the soil does not dry out. A supply of water must be conveniently at hand if this method is used, and it is desirable also, to prevent the beds drying out too quickly, to have the earth at least eight inches deep. In hot-beds this insect is seldom troublesome, being probably repelled by the fumes from the manure used. When the seed is sown in theopen ground, as practised by many large growers, an extra quantity should be used to ensure against almost certain loss of some of the plants by the flea beetle. The soil should be rich and fine, so that the plants will pass the critical stage as quickly as possible. Sowing radish seeds with the cauliflower is practised by some, as this seed costs but little, and the radishes, coming up first, are attacked by the fleas, which, to some extent, saves the cauliflowers. When the fleas appear, almost any kind of dust will keep them in check somewhat. Lime and ashes are used, but plaster, which adheres to the leaves better, seems equally good. I have had good success with rancid fish oil, mixed as thoroughly as possible with water and sprayed upon the plants. An emulsion made of the oil, in the same manner as hereafter described for kerosene, would enable it to be used to better advantage. A decoction of tobacco, or fine tobacco dust, are standard remedies for this insect.
Cut Worms.—Cauliflower plants being fully twice as valuable as cabbage plants, and it being of more importance to have them started at the proper time, it is necessary to give greater care to protect them from cut worms. Absolutely clean land contains no cut worms, but such land is seldom used on which to plant cauliflower. Sod land, which is generally used, is nearly always full of cut worms. Amultitude of remedies have been proposed for this pest, but few of them are of much value. The worms are most abundant and destructive in the latitude of New York during the month of May. Fortunately, cauliflowers are usually set out either earlier than this, for the early crop, so that they become well established and out of reach before their depredations seriously begin, or else, for the late crop, they are set toward the last of June, after the worms have begun to pupate, and are no longer troublesome. Until recently, digging and killing the worms by hand seemed to be almost the only practical remedy. Of late years, trapping the worms under bunches of grass or cabbage leaves, scattered over the ground preparatory to setting the plants, has been successfully resorted to. An improvement upon this method, recommended by the Entomologist of the United States Department of Agriculture, is now in use, and gives excellent satisfaction. It consists in poisoning with Paris green the leaves used to trap the worms, so that there is no need to collect and kill the worms by hand. A good way to do this is to spray with Paris green, in the usual way, a patch of young clover, then cut it and scatter it in small bunches over the cauliflower field a day or two before setting the plants. For the protection of a few plants in the garden, an effectual preventive against cutworms is to surround the stem with a cylinder of paper or tin. This need not touch the plant. One should expect to lose some plants, however, by cut worms, and be prepared with good plants to fill the vacancies.
Cabbage Maggot(Anthomya brassicæ, Bouché)—Dr. J. A. Lintner, State Entomologist of New York, says of this insect: "This is probably the most injurious species of theAnthomyiidæ, as its distribution is very extensive, both in Europe and America, and it has shown at times such capacity for multiplication as to cause the entire destruction of cabbage crops. It commences its attack upon the young plants while yet in the seed-bed and continues to infest them, in several successive broods, until they are taken up in the autumn. The larvæ operate by consuming the rootlets of young plants, and by excoriating the surface and eating into the rind of older ones, or even penetrating into the interior of the root. When they abound to the extent of seriously burrowing the stalk the decay of the root frequently follows in wet seasons, and entire fields are thus destroyed."
The same insect attacks the turnip, cauliflower, and probably other plants. A closely related species is very injurious to the radish. The presence of the insect most frequently becomes manifest upon the cauliflower about two weeks after theplants are set out, and is recognized by the plants ceasing to grow, and wilting or assuming a bluish appearance. Such plants should be at once removed, together with the earth immediately surrounding the root, and fresh plants which have been held in reserve set in their places. The only satisfactory remedies are preventive ones. The seed-bed should be composed of soil taken from the woods, or at least from some place where no cabbages or similar plants have been grown. But the most important precaution is to avoid growing the crop year after year upon the same ground, especially after the insect has made its appearance.
The following remedy, given by Francis Brill, in his pamphlet on "Cauliflowers," is worthy of careful trial. Mr. Brill says: "The ravages of the root maggot have made the growing of early cauliflower, and even early cabbages in many sections, almost an impossibility, but there is a remedy, when the maggot has attacked the roots of the plants, which may be known by a tendency of the leaves to wilt and droop in the heat of the day, very much the same as when affected by club root. Dissolve Muriate of Potash (analyzing 45 per cent. actual potash) in water in the proportion of one tablespoonful to the gallon; or double the quantity of Kainit or common potash salts (13 per cent. actual potash). Apply this directly to the roots, about one gill to eachplant, whether seemingly affected or not, for the maggot will have done much harm before the plant will show it, repeating the application as occasion may seem to require. In sections where these maggots have been prevalent it will be well to make a solution of half the above strength, and when the plants are nicely started apply in the same manner as a preventive. Care and judgment must be used not to overdo the matter, thereby killing the plants as well as the maggots. Experiment a little at first."
H. A. March, of Washington, says: "The best thing that I have found for the maggot is apoorgrade of sulphur, sulphur before being purified, thatsmells very strong. Sprinkled over the plants it seems to drive the fly away."
Cabbage Worm(Pieris rapæ, Koch).—The imported cabbage worm, now known all over the country, is the most troublesome enemy which attacks either the cabbage or cauliflower, and the most difficult one with which to deal. It seldom wholly destroys the crop, and is generally a little less destructive after a few years than it is at first, being kept in check by its natural enemies. It never disappears, however, and its numbers cannot be materially diminished for any length of time by artificial means. Among the partial remedies in use are the following:
1. Catch the butterflies with a net when they first appear in spring, before they have laid their eggs. This may keep the insect in check for a year or two when it first makes its appearance, as the butterflies are comparatively slow fliers, and may be caught without much difficulty by a spry boy, especially in the morning when the air is damp.
2. Early in the season keep the young plants excluded from the butterflies, and the whole place free from everything else of the cabbage tribe, except one or more patches of rutabagas or rape, on which the butterflies will lay their eggs. This piece is to be then plowed under.
3. Hand pick the worms from the plants after they are set out, for the first one or two hoeings, or until the worms become very numerous.
4. Spray with kerosene emulsion, made by using two gallons of kerosene, one-half pound of common or whale oil soap, and one gallon of water. Dissolve the soap in the water, and add it, boiling hot, to the kerosene; then churn, while at least warm, for five or ten minutes, by means of a force pump and spraying nozzle, until the mixture loses its oiliness and becomes like butter. When used, dilute one part of the emulsion with about fifteen of water, and spray it upon the plants by means of a force pump and spraying nozzle. This emulsionis also excellent for the cabbage louse and many other insects. In the report of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1883 may be found a description and figure of a suitable spraying apparatus.
5. Pyrethrum, one ounce to four gallons of water; or, better still, mixed one part with about twenty parts of flour and applied while the dew is on, is an effectual remedy.
6. Hot water, at 130° Fah., will kill the cabbage worms and not injure the leaves. Boiling water, placed in sprinkling cans and taken directly to the field, will be about the right temperature by the time it can be applied. Experiments with a few plants may be needed to enable one to get just the right temperature to kill the worms and not injure the plants.
7. Take half a pound of London purple to thirty pounds of finely pulverized dust of any kind, the finer and drier the better; mix thoroughly, passing all through a meal sieve. Dash a small pinch into the heart of the plant, so that it will settle as dust on all the leaves. Repeat after every rain. Half a pound will serve for one application over forty acres. Store any that remains in a very dry place until again wanted.
8. Professor Gillette, of Colorado, finds the best remedy to be Paris green, thoroughly mixed, oneounce with six pounds of flour, and dusted lightly over the plants while the dew is on.
FUNGUS DISEASES.
There are several parasitic fungi which are more or less destructive to the cauliflower at different stages of its growth. The principal diseases of the cauliflower due to fungi are the following:
Stem Rot.—This is an old disease, which attacks the cauliflower, cabbage and other vegetables in wet seasons. It has received various other names, such as "consumption," "humid gangrene," etc. Professor Comes,[B]who has studied this disease in Italy, believes it to be the same as the "humid gangrene" which occurs in Germany, and which is there attributed to the parasitic attack of the fungus known asPleospora Napi. He finds thisand other fungi present, but does not himself consider them the direct cause of the disease, which he attributes solely to the abundance of manure and moisture in the soil, and an excess of water in the plant, at a time when it is subject to sudden changes of temperature. Beyond a doubt, however, the real cause of the disease is the presence of one or more fungi, whose development is favoredby the damp weather. The subject requires further study.
In this country this disease has been reported from Michigan, New York, Maryland and Florida. On Long Island, in 1889,[C]the cauliflower crop was almost entirely destroyed by this disease, which was attributed to the heavy rains at the time the plants were heading. Some fields were a total loss, and from the best fields many of the heads spoiled before they reached the market.
No satisfactory remedy is known for the disease. The avoidance of damp soils and locations would be of some benefit, but is hardly practicable with the cauliflower. Wide planting is practiced on Long Island in order to diminish the tendency to the disease. It undoubtedly has this effect to someextent, by permitting a more free circulation of the air, thus drying up the moisture on the plants and thereby lessening the opportunity for the germination of the spores. The increased distance may also diminish the chance of the spread of the spores from plant to plant. When this disease appears upon the early crop in hot-beds or cold frames it may be kept somewhat in check by giving as much air as possible, and taking care not to apply water to the leaves.
Damping Off.—This is usually due to a species of Pythium (a fungus closely related to that which causes the potato rot), which attacks the young plants soon after they germinate. The remedy is, to give the plants plenty of air until their stems become strong enough to resist its attacks. Anadditional precaution sometimes employed is to grow the plants in pans or small boxes and water them only by setting these in a tank of water of nearly the same depth, allowing the water to soak into the soil, but not touch the plants. The disease is seldom troublesome on plants grown thinly in the open air. If it makes its appearance, water thoroughly, but not too often, and sprinkle dry sand over the seed-bed among the plants.[D]
Black Leg or Mildew.—This is a disease which attacks the stems of young plants which are being wintered over. It is undoubtedly due to one or more species of parasitic fungi, but I do not find that the subject has been studied. Doubtless the rupture of the bark by alternate freezing and thawing gives the fungi an opportunity to attack the plant. The disease is prevented and kept in check by keeping the seed-bed dry. An occasional dressing of sand, lime, wood-ashes or rubbish of any kind, is useful.
[B]Bull. Soc. Bot. France, 1886(Rev. Bib., p. 128). La cancrena del Cavolo Fiore (La gangrene humide du Chou-fleur) par M. le Professor O. Comes (Atti del R. Instituto del incorraggiamento alle Scienzie naturali.—Estratta dal Vol. IV, 3^a serie, degli Atti Academici, 1885). [The Humid Gangrene of the Cauliflower.]"A disease which attacks the crops of cauliflower around Resina and at Torre del Greco, near Naples. The roots of the diseased plants remain sound, or at least appear so, but the subterranean parts of the stem are more or less seriously affected; the bark is disorganized, the wood situated beneath it more or less decomposed, and the pith destroyed for a variable length. Upon microscopic examination the vessels are found filled with gum. M. Comes recognizes in this disease all the symptoms of the affection which has been designated under the name humid gangrene. He thinks that it is the same disease which, by German authors, is attributed to the parasitism ofPleospora Napi, Fuckel, or to its conidiferous form,sporidesmium excitosum, Kuehn. But he considers the presence of these parasites as an accessory phenomenon, as well as that ofCladosporiumandMacrosporium Brassicæ. In his opinion the true cause of the alteration of the cauliflower is the humid gangrene, that is to say, a gummy degeneration and putrid fermentation of the tissues, caused by the abundance of manure in the soil and the excess of water in the plant at a time when it is subject to sudden changes of temperature."This disease is not confined to cauliflowers; it is common in all garden vegetables, and is of the same nature as that which attacks tomatoes and which was described by this author in the same journal in 1884." [This disease is also mentioned by Victor Paquet, in his "Plantes Potagers" (London, 1846, p. 243), where it is attributed to stagnant moisture].
[B]Bull. Soc. Bot. France, 1886(Rev. Bib., p. 128). La cancrena del Cavolo Fiore (La gangrene humide du Chou-fleur) par M. le Professor O. Comes (Atti del R. Instituto del incorraggiamento alle Scienzie naturali.—Estratta dal Vol. IV, 3^a serie, degli Atti Academici, 1885). [The Humid Gangrene of the Cauliflower.]
"A disease which attacks the crops of cauliflower around Resina and at Torre del Greco, near Naples. The roots of the diseased plants remain sound, or at least appear so, but the subterranean parts of the stem are more or less seriously affected; the bark is disorganized, the wood situated beneath it more or less decomposed, and the pith destroyed for a variable length. Upon microscopic examination the vessels are found filled with gum. M. Comes recognizes in this disease all the symptoms of the affection which has been designated under the name humid gangrene. He thinks that it is the same disease which, by German authors, is attributed to the parasitism ofPleospora Napi, Fuckel, or to its conidiferous form,sporidesmium excitosum, Kuehn. But he considers the presence of these parasites as an accessory phenomenon, as well as that ofCladosporiumandMacrosporium Brassicæ. In his opinion the true cause of the alteration of the cauliflower is the humid gangrene, that is to say, a gummy degeneration and putrid fermentation of the tissues, caused by the abundance of manure in the soil and the excess of water in the plant at a time when it is subject to sudden changes of temperature.
"This disease is not confined to cauliflowers; it is common in all garden vegetables, and is of the same nature as that which attacks tomatoes and which was described by this author in the same journal in 1884." [This disease is also mentioned by Victor Paquet, in his "Plantes Potagers" (London, 1846, p. 243), where it is attributed to stagnant moisture].