St. Landry democrat., 1882-08-19
SOUTHERN GLEANINGS.

Some Timely Hints on the Cotton Worm.
AS the cotton worm has lately APP
peared in various localities, the following
extract from Prof. Riley's letter relative to
It's probable ravages in overlooked districts,
published in May last. will be read with in
terest by planters generally:
The idea of first Importance is. that the
poison be applied to the under surfaces of the
foliage, where the young worms start and
grow until large enough to eat through the
leaf and become destructive. where the poison
will remain on and not be washed off by dew
or each shower OF rain. To devise the me
chanical means of accomplishing this on Il
large scale, or in a rapid manner. was the
more battling under the conditions that com
plexity and much expense must ne ;lVolueu
But all the difficult points have been over
come bv cOntrivanceS which are beautifully
simple and practical, and it is to be regretted
that they probably can not be put on the mar,
ket before next season; hence it would notb be
worth while did space perm 1t IN letter
like this, to enter upon det;tled description
of the improved machinery relerta ' 10 ,,aa ,1
The only desirable poiSons that Will be OBJ
tainable in great quantities by the planters
are the various arsen.cal preparations anu
foremost among these Paris green ana . hom,
of sprinkling poison from water p nno,
| or in broadcast sprays from barrel
pumps, about forty gallons OF wa ,, s Ts'h
| tanning one pound of Paris green or tWo-ntth5
of pound of London purple, kept Wen lilA St,
| by stirring or shaking. may be applled 10 ne
acre. When bellows atomlzer rs s u,en 10
diffuse it more finely and more Thoroughly,
| which is much preferable, less than nan tnaI
quantity of poison and water to the acre VIII
give equally good results. In sitting on urs
| poison by such SifterS as are usually en-
| ployed, one pound of the Paris green 10 ID
| pounds Of such mixture of flour ana ashes, OF
| one pound of London purple to a POUNDS OF
| such mixture, are proper proportions TO use:
| The -four is adhesive, holding the poison ias.
to the leaves, ana coating.t the p9lsons 80 that
| they come less in contact with the surfaces OF
the plant. and hence it helps to p event tnelr
| caustic action or burning of the leaves me
| ashes have still greater ameliorative eHect
| in preventing the caustic action, ana on inns
| account it is we'll to use as much as ne-thir'l
| ashes to two thirds flour to form the mixture.
| With this preparation the poison can not De
| too thoroughly mixed. Better devices Tor
mingl ny these homogeneonsly with each oth-
| err are still to be sought. The best now easily
prepared by the planter consists OF a barrel
with a number OF rods put through IL emu.
| driven through its sides to project tar lnto
the cavity. The substances to be mixed are
| put into the barrel through large mole,
| which is then closed. while the barrel is hung
upon an axis and rotated for two or three
hours 1t should be added that in case the
poisons recommended are in any instance not
| obtainable the pure arsenic arsenidte Of soda
| may be resorted to, since these have ben
used to advantage, though not aiways with
stances are cheap, their caustic effect on the
plant is greater. The mixture now most
used consists of 90 grains of arsenlate OF SODA
and 200 grains of deXtrine dissolved IN one
gallon of cold water. Four ounces of this
mixture to 40 gallons of water can be
sprinkled on each acre. The common ar
senic water, which every druggist knows now
to make, will answer we'll To make it from
the white arsenic (arsenlous ac1d) and com
mon carbonate of soda is cheaper than TO
buy the arseniate. although the arsenIate
method of preparation involves less time and
labor. One-fitth of II pound OF sal soda to
| bound of arsenic should be boiled in gallon
| of water until dissolved. rhe solution Is per
manent no stirring or shaking being neces.
sary to keep the poison mixed. One quart OF
the solution to 40 gallons of water is used on
each acre. In applying poison with flowers.
much smaller quantity Of the poison and its
dilutents will be sufficient. and when the
poison is blown onto the under surfaces the
| adhesive element is no longer needed. Both
Paris green and London purple, when not
adulterated and where properly applied: nave
always given satisfactory results. Ihe latter
seems to act Il little slower than the Paris
green: perhaps because the worms do not eat
it so quickly, for they refuse to eat poisonS
until they become very hungry. but it Is much
the cheapest and being a finer powder is sus-
ceptible of much thinner distribution than
it usually gets. II very thinly and evenly APP.
piled it will be eaten sooner, and when USED
in due time will prove equally as effective as
the Paris green. And it is likewise commend
able to administer any poison whatever that
is to be used so early rs to destroy the worms
before they appear on the upper SUI
faces of the leaves. Planters must be
urged to watch carefully the under sur
faces of the foliage throughout the cultl
waiting season. The very young worms are
less easily seen than the small spots OF light
made by their gnawing off little patches from
the lower surfaces of the leaves. AS soon as,
and whenever the young ones have started,
apply the poison immediately beneath the
foliage. The plowman, or '.weed-chopper,'
| should be taught how to see the young worms.
and be carefully trained to find them At the
same time he should have. banging from o,;1 ms
shoulder or pillow, light bellows-a a, nniZer
charged with poison ready for use. 1t must
always be remembered that the worms are ,r,a at
from March until winter; that the killing of
one early insect may prevent thousands OF
future progeny and save hundreds OF dollars.
In the wet country the early worm will prob
ably be found first on the earlier cotton, on
the dryer sandy ridges or higher clay slopes,
while the later worms. which have generally
been the first ones noticed, and only observed
when they appear i'll very destructive num-
bers may to the less careful observer, first
come to view in either the same kinds OF
, "cuts" or in the wet buckshot lands, upon
which they thrive especially we'll in the latter
part of the season.