The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1873-06-06
Agricultural,
THE COTTON WORM
A Proposition whereby Millions of Dol
lars may Possibly be Saved to the Peo-
pie of the South.
By PROFESSOR cHAs. v. RILEY.
IRead at the Second Annual Session of National

IL was my pleasure, we'll 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 as having since left
us for that world which knows no sec
tional strife nor brotherly feud. There
was also manifested strong desire to
profit by one another's experiences,
and it is for these reasons that [ am
! led to offer, to the members Of the
South, suggestion which may prove
of little service, or, per contra, of the
utmost value.
L gave you last year some idea Of the
immense sums which the farmers of
this country lose by insect depreda-
lions, and It IS unnecessary here to en-
large upon the subject. You, as cotton
growers, are well enough aware of these
ravages, for in single fortnight last
summer, one single species-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 provident as
to appoint officers whose duty it is to
study these insect pests, and suggest
remedies for their ravagcs ; 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 matter of surprise
that, where the losses are so heavy
some efforts have not been made to oct
the mastery over the pest by delegating
some individual or commission to make
thorough Investigations and experi-
ments upon it. Up to the present time.
no really practicable remedy has been
discovered. Manipulating is not whole
sale enough. Fires, lights, and trans
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 communi- !
ty. CarbOlic soap has failed to fulfill |
the hopes and prophecies of its advo-
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 a proper use of Paris green, the Cot
ton-worm may be mastered.
In the sO-called Northwestern Statss
as you are doubtless aware, we have
been sOrely troubled, during the past
decade, by the Colorado Potato-beetIe
lDOryl2hOrG 1O-Li1eatG), 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
Iefy 1t by a proper use of the mineral
and from my experience up
IN the leaf-devOuring worms, many of
hem belonging to the same family as
your cOttOn-wOrm, I am satisfied that
,his last will succumb to the mixture I
propose, even more readily than does
he Potato beetle.
ParIs green, or Scheele's green. con
aims varied proportion of arsenious
lcld, and is a deadly poison; but the
manner in which it may be used to
'ounteract the Cotton-worm, renders
t perfectly harmless. If the green is
'ure, which can generally be ascertain
d by the brightness and intensity Of I
he color, it may be mixed with 80 parts t
# flour, plaster, Stacked lime, or ashes.
nd still be thoroughly efIectuaI. The {
east possible busting of this mixture
lpon the plants Will be the means of l
all the worms upon them. 6
Without the least injury to the plants Z
themselves. The green should never 4
ost more than twenty-five cents per G
ound, at wholesale, and thirty pounds Q
f the mixture viii suffice for several 6
cres. It is best busted on to the plants t
arly in the morning while they are
loist with dew. It may be busted in >
arious manners, and some persons, in
Shting the POtatO-beetIe, have found -
n old sleazy sack, such as those used =
n table salt, to do good service, when II
ttached to the end of a stick. It is "
lost safely applied, however, by aid of 7
perforated tin box attached to the end =,
a stick three or four feet long. Such "
box can be made of any desirable
re. The least possible busting sufi- :,
IS, and by taking the handle of the ~
ust-box in the left hand, and then tap j
ing the box with another stick held in "
lie right hand, one can walk rapidly "
onG the rows and regulate the amount
fled. The green can not well be mix .
with the flour or plaster except by ~"
,e aid Of mill, and it is for this rea -
N that those who mix In large quanti- ~
es have the advantage. It is most eff %
ctual when mixed with flour, though - -
aster has the merit of cheapness. Be -
ewing firmly that III this mixture we ",
i've cheap and available antidote to " "
e Cotton-worm plague, I am anxious y
give the suggestion as wide a circu- W
ton as possible, IN order that it may -.