The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1873-06-12
Agricultural.
Fl COTTON WORM.
A Proposition whereby Millions OF Dol
lars may Possibly be saved 10 the Peo-
pie OF the South.
gr PROFESSOR cHAs. V. ArlE7.

gress:
1t was my pleasure, well nigh a year
ago, to be with you at your organiza-
ton in the city from which I hail. Few
things were more characteristic OF that
reunion Of the friends Of Agriculture
from different parts Of our broad land,
than the large representation from the
South, and the mutual goodwill and
the cordial fellowship which reigned
on all sides. There was manifested a
due appreciation Of science in the hon
or paid to one who did much to make
us masters Of the elements, and whom
we all sorrow for az having since left
us for that world which knows no sec
tional strife nor brotherly feud. There
was also manifested a strong desire TO
profit by n another's experiences,
and it is for these reasons that I am
led to offer, to the members Of the
South, q suggestion which may prove
OF little service, or, per contra, Of the
utmost value.
/ gave you last year seme idea Of the
immense sums which the farmers Of
this country lose by insect .depreda-
tions, and it is unnecessary here 10 en-.
large upon the subject. You, as cotton
growers, are wen enough aware Of these
ravages, for in n single fortnight last
summer, one single spccies-the Cot
ton-worm-ate up something like TWEEN
ty million dollars worth Of cotton for
You.
Some Of the Northern States have
been sufficiently wise and proyident as
to appoint officers whose duty it is TO
study these insect pests, and suggest
remedies for tn eir ravages but in the
South, no such officers yet exist. You
are, in consequence, entirely at the
mercy Of this apparently insignificant
worm and it is a matter Of surprise
that, where the losses are 80 heavy,
some efforts have not been made TO get
the mastery over the pest by ~delegating
some individual or commission to make
thorough investigations and expert
ments upon it. Upto the present time,
no really practicable remedy has been
discovered. Manipulating is not whole
sale enough. Fires, lights, and traps
containing attractive but poisonous
sweets, together with all other devices,
intended to allure and destroy the pa
rent moths, are OF little use except
where they can be generally employed
throughout whole districts and this
implies an amount Of Intelligence, or
ganization and unity of purpose rarely,
if ever, found in any farming commune
ty. Carbolic soap has failed to fulfill
the hopes and prophecies Of its adyo-
Gates. Now, it has never been my for
tune to experiment in a cotton field, but
from my experience with insecticides
in other fields, / feel quite assured that
by n proper use of Paris green, the Cot
ton-worm may be mastered.
In the so.callcd Northwestern Statss,
as you are doubtless aware, we have
been sorely troubled, during the past
decade, by the Colorado Potato-beetlc
(Doryphora l0-iineataJ, an insect which
affects the potato very much in the
same way as the Cotton-worm affects
the cotton plant but from which it is
not likely that you Of the South will
ever suffer. We manage to subdue and
defy it by n proper use Of the mineral
mentioned, and from my experience up
on the leaf-devouring worms, many Of
them belonging to the same family "a
your cotton-worm, | am satisfied That
this last will succumb to the mixture ]
propose, even more readily than does
tho Potato beetle.
Paris green, or Scheele's green, con
tains a varied proportion of arsenious
acid, and is a deadly poison; but tho
manner in which it may be used tc
counteract tho Cotton-worm, renders
it perfectly harmless. II the green il
pure, which can generally be ascertain.
cd by the brightness and intensity Of
the color, it may be mixed with 30 parts
Of -four, plaster, Stacked lime, or ashes
and still be thoroughly efIectual. The
least possible busting of this mixture
upon the plants will be the means Of
destroying all tho worms upon them,
without the least injury to the plants
themselves. The green should never
cost more than twenty-five cents per
pound, at wholesale, and thirty pounds
Of the mixture will suffice for several
acres. IT is best busted on to the plants
carly in the morning while they are
moist with dew. II may be busted in
various manners, and some persons, in
fighting the Potato-beetle, have found
an old sleazy sack, such as those used
for table salt, to do good service, when
attached to the end OF a stick. 1t is
most safely applied, however, by aid of
a perforated tin box attached to the end
Of a stick three or four feet long. Such
a box can be made of any desirable
size. The least possible busting suffi-
ces, and by taking the handle Of the
dust-box in the left hand, and then tap
ping the box with another stick held in
the night hand, ona can walk rapidly
nlnnn thn nmn m. -