t known
as aphidae, which preys upon it in myriads; when this is the case the
leaves lose their bright green, turn of a bluish cast, the leaf stocks
lose somewhat of their supporting powers, the leaves curl up into
irregular shapes, and the lower layer turns black and drops off, while
the ground under the plant appears covered with the casts or bodies of
the insects as with a white powder. When in this condition the plants
are in a very bad way.

Considering the circumstances under which this insect appears, usually
in a very dry season, I hold that it is rather the product than the
cause of disease, as with the bark louse on our apple-trees; as a remedy
I advocate sprinkling the plants with air-slaked lime, watering, if
possible, and a frequent and thorough stirring of the soil with the
cultivator and hoe. The better the opportunities the cabbage have to
develop themselves through high manuring, sufficient moisture, good
drainage, and thorough cultivation, the less liable they are to be
"lousy." As the season advances there will sometimes be found patches
eaten out of the leaves, leaving nothing but the skeleton of leaf veins;
an examination will show a band of caterpillars of a light green color
at work, who feed in a compact mass, oftentimes a square, with as much
regularity as though under the best of military discipline. The readiest
way to dispose of them is to break off the leaf and crush them under
foot. The common large red caterpillar occasionally preys on the plants,
eating large holes in the leaves, especially about the head. When the
cabbage plot is bordered by grass land, in seasons when grasshoppers are
plenty, they will frequently destroy the outer rows, puncturing the
leaves with small holes, and feeding on them until little besides their
skeletons remain. In isolated locations rabbits and other vegetable
feeders sometimes commit depredations. The snare and the shot-gun are
the remedy for these.

Other insects that prey upon the cabbage tribe, in their caterpillar
state, are the cabbage moth, white-line, brown-eyed moth, large white
garden butterfly, white and green veined butterfly. All of these produce
caterpillars, which can be destroyed either by application of
air-slaked lime, or by removing the leaves infested and crushing the
intruders under foot. The cabbage-fly, father-long-legs, the millipedes,
the blue cabbage-fly, brassy cabbage-flea, and two or three other insect
enemies are mentioned by