The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1884-11-08


months of March, April and May,
together with the tendency of er-
ror from nistaking other species
on the part of those who reported
having found either the crysalis
or the moth during the winter
months.
Yet there are many facts which,
as | then stated, led me to believe
that the theory was erroneous and
that, as have already contended,
the insect did hibernate in the
southern portion of the cotton
belt. How difficult it has been to
get absolute aud experimental
proof Of the correctness of this
belief may be gathered from the
fact that / have had competent
agents each winter since that of
lS19.S0 fully instructed to search
for and obtain such evidence, and
that until the present winter it has
never been forthcoming. / am
glad to be able to state, however,
lhat it is now an established fact,
and that during q trip last March
to South Georgia and Florida, /
was able to completely bridge the
gap which had hitherto been sup
posed to exist to the annual cycle
of the insects history. We have,
during the past winter, been able
to obtain the moth, and have
watched them, in fact, until the
early part Of March. We have
found the eggs deposited also in
the early part of March just as the
alternating moth were disappear
ing; and | have found worms of
all sizes on ratt0on cotton during
the latter part of the month. |
received crysalides from this first
brood of worms in the first day of
April, and the fresh moths are
now issuing. This is fully six
weeks to two months earlier than
the first worms were discovered
in the spring of 1879 and 1880.
though we then discovered them
in the latter part of April, or sew
eral weeks earlier than they had
previously been recorded. In
short, there is nothing more
fully established now than that
the moth hibernates principally
under the shelter of rank wire
grass in the more heavily timber
ed portions of the South (; that
these moths begin laying Oh the
ratoon cotton when this is one
inch or so high.
That the first few generations of
worms are rarely noticed and new
particularly injurious is due to the
fact that they are more generally
dispersed the moth appearing to
fy great distances, laying here an
egg and there an egg, instead of
laying hundreds on the same plant
as it does later in the season., few
in numbers, and quite liable to at.
tack other food; also to the less
rapid development during the cool.
er spring months. Aside from the
satisfaction of bridging over so
important gap in natural history
of this destructive insect, the fact
established has this important
economic bearing. Whereas, upon
the theory of annual invasion
from some exotic country there
is now every incentive to such
action as will destroy it, either by
attracting it during the mild winter
weather by sweets, or by burning
the grasses in which it shelters.
1t should be warning to cotton
growers to abandon the slovenly
method of cultivation which leaves
the old cotton stalks standing un-
til the next crop is planted or long
after that event, for many planters
have the habit of planting the seed
in furrow between the old row
of stalks. The most careful recent
researches all tend to confirm the
belief that Gossypium is the only
plant upon which the worm can
feed, SO that in the light of the
facts which have presented there
is all the greater incentive to that
mode of culture which will pre-.
vent the growth of ratoon cotton,
since it is very questionable
whether the moth will survive long
enough to perpetuate itself upon
newly.sown cotton except for the
intervention of the ratoon cotton.
Thirty persons were poisoned
by eating sick wheaton tainted
sansaee-at Dalton. Ga, LEST week.