The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-03-30
Tho Cotton worm.

have read with care and great lhlere'
bulletin No, 0 Of tho chronological commits
zion, by Prof Charles V, lIiley, mud am NJ I
loss TO know how to express ny high Appro
citation Of Il, But without yielding any o.
NY proconceiyel opinions Of tho great mis-
takes 50 often made by tho different depart
monts Of government which must inevitably
result from the overthrow Of our bonsled IN
stItuIoni OF freedom, which ! conceive rs Il,
be paramount To any private or productive
necessity rpgading,n. do, every pr0duc'
live Interest M balunlng u tho poopleln lholT
individual capaoity and not ~ the govern
mont, | shy, with these reservations, that tho
value Of The talent aud learning Of such mon
Ms Prof, Rlley cannot be estimated, nnd That
such mon should DO sought out and
employed In tho great see
tons Of the country In which their services
nro no largely demanded, olthor by lhoso
directly Interested, by associations, or by
some just application Of State authority
Besides ono Of the finest investigating
minds, Professor Riley possesses that very
rare constituent Of judgment, nice ind NC
curalc discrimination. This great faculty
alone has enabled him 10 correct many of the
misconceptions Of men Of learning, and u
lifelong observation Of the habits and char
ac.eristlcs of this terrible insect that IL 30
dcstructiyetO one Of the lending crops Of the
country, and, indeed, the lending crop Of that
section in which II is grown, costing the
growers Of II S80,000000 per Hnnum, Pro-
lessor Riley handles the different depart
ments Of tho subject In n maslerIy
manner, pointing out clearly to the
cotton planters tho characteristics Of the
insect that raynges thier section of It's most
valuable product, and points out It's habits
that they may know now 10 attack " In case
they are able TO devise means.
lie reviews every effort that has been made
to destroy IT, md with the finest porspi 'mty
points out the advantages OF each, the errors
that have been made and the mistaken views
that have been entertained In word he
clears all the rubbish MS he goes md puts up
Il clear and distinct treatise, IN viii III every
cotton planter car find pleasure
md profit Where he has not been nbo to
obtain the necessary information to deter
nine fact with certainty, he leaves IL for
uture development,
In treating of the natural enemies
If tho aletla cotton worm), he Is
n his own highly cultivated
icld, entomology, and he mikes
he description Of the last enumeration OF in
ects that destroy the cotton worm (aletia),
'ither us IN open enemy or parasite most
fascinating chapter for the scientist the stu
lent or the Intelligent reader. Indeed, who
,,er reads it will find IL II high source Of
pleasure
In the many ways he points out for de-
trOying this cotton worm, the gardner and
farmer in every part of the country are in
rested After reviewing all the means that
nave been employed, he points ont clearly |
which is the cheapest ana best, and finally |
suggests the possibility Of better than any |
hat has been used, being grown on the
side by ide with the cotton. For
present use, however, he regards an article
snown as London purple rs the cheapest
md best. This is u refuse of great manu-
acturng Of analine dyes, of very poison
Jus nature and has to be gotten rid Of by
carrying it far out and dumping it into the
iea. 1t may be shipped directly south or put |
IN the market in New York and car be had |
ior the cost Of transportation, perhaps not
over six cents per pound. 1t possesses all tho
poisonous effects. otparis green and is equally |
,s easily managed
But, the Pyrethrum aplant grownin Cali
fornia, and may be grown anywhere in the
cotton region, is equally rs effective rs either
Of the others.
He has placed before the public every ma
.hne and device that has been used for APP
plying poisons to the cotton worm and ia
yors the atomizers, the inventors of which
are j. N. Binkley, of Columbus, Texas;
John Scher, Ellington, Texas, and Bech-
mans improved. These he regards as the
cheapest and the best. The Daughtry ma
chine is of the same order, but too compli-
Gated, costs too much and is too heavy.
The number of letters Of correspondents
while they are from men of learn
ing and observation and very interesting,
serves to show how likely men are to fall
into errors without thorough education IN
the branches they undertake the practice OF,
and ev then without interchange of views
with other scientific men. He publishes tho
very interesting letter of General II. L. Bar,
giving description of the Laguana county,
ia Mexico, for the same reason that | read
it; that is because it describes such singu-
larry interesting place. The whole pamph-
let is not only entertaining but perfectly
fascinating from beginning to end, 1t is in
teresting and profitable for everybody, but
especially should it be in the hands of every
cotton planter.
cannot close this without suggesting to
this great scientist the idea of an effort to 50
change the character of the price of the cot
ton planted ms to make it distastetul to the
aletia and thereby drive il altogether from
the field. | have tried this slightly, and
,ther plants, with some appearance of sue
cess, and would take great pleasure in giving
my experience. With many thanks for
atiording me the pleasure Of perusal of
this fine work, remain truly, etc,
JOHN NJ. CROCKETT.
Letter From Kansas city.