The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1892-10-22
FARMER AND PLANTER.
THE BOIL WORM.
Report of Progress i'm the Investigation of
Its Habits and Ravages
IF. W. Mally in Eulhtin No. 20. U. 5. Depart.
mcnt CT Agriculture. Division Of


! Its Habits and Rayages
IF. W. Mally in Eulhtin No. 20. U. 5. Depart.
mcnt CT Agriculture Division Of
Entomoogv.l
CONCLUDED PROM LAST ISSUE
| REMEDIES CoNTINCED-PLOwING.
Fall blowing, as preventive measure
against boil worm in slightly infested
regions, is not practical as a purely boil
worm measure. In badly infested re-
| gions it is to be done when possible.
The great difficulty with this measure
is that the top crop of cotton is seldom
all picked timely enough to made fall
blowing possible before the rainy,
wintry season begins. Dine to this fact.
it must be urged that blowing be done
in spring, as early as it is possible to
pillow and pulverize the soil. This early
blowing, with the cold, rainy weather
and occasional frosts, which occur as
late as April L. will insure the destruc-
ton of many of the chrysalids. The
after preparation of the soil at planting
time will doubtless destroy a small per-
centage of the surviving pup@.
Early blowing, in addition to being a
boll-worm preventive, has its strong adj
vocates among leading agricultural
men, who insist that it should be fol-
lowed as an improved method or prac-
tice of farming, since larger and better
crops are produced when done.
CORN.
| Corn is beyond doubt the choice food
| plant of the boil worm. From about
the middle of April, when the corn be-
| comes large enough for the boil worm
| to work in it, this worm may be found,
and continuously so on through the
season so long as green corn in suitable
condition for good is found. Until
about the middle of May or the 1st of
June, boil worms are rarely found on
any other plant than young corn. This
being true it is surprising to find
| that the first brood is so small. From
| numerous accurate accounts in Nav and
| early June, at Shreveport, La. it was
found that about two per cent. of the
young corn plants showed signs of boil
of plants by the worms} less than two
per cent. actually contained worms.
At this time there is presented the
first and most important opportunity
| for inaugurating preventive measures,
namely: to cut out the infested plants
and burn them, or simply crush the
bud" of the corn and mash the worm
it contains. The small percentage of
corn which, even by the severest
method, will be destroyed, together
with its absolute certainty in attaining
the desired end, makes this cheap. eff
fectual and practical measure to prac-
tice at this season of the year.
Some advise the application of oil
emulsions to the buds" of the young
corn plants, but the time required to
prepare the emulsions, expense of ma
terial and apparatus for applying prop
erly the liquids or powders used, again
throws it beyond the realm of the prac-
teal There can be no practical advan-
tage gained, since no remedy of this ma
ture can be more satisfactory and expe-
ditious than the practice of crushing or
cutting out and burning of the 'buds''
OF infested plants as already described.
This preventive measure has the adj
vantage of being inaugurated at a time
when labor is not SO much needed for
other purposes. and hence can be done
at lesser cost and sacrifice. 1t can be
utilized, however, only during the fore
part of the season, before the corn tas-
sells, and hence the Importance of early
action on the part of the planters at the
time specified
AS second preventive measure the
cotton field should be so arranged that
four or five rows of corn are planted
for every forty or fifty rows of cotton,
the corn to be planted at such time
as to be in the prime of sillSing and
roasting ears week or ten days after
the July brood of boil worms natures
in the regular crop corn: that is to
say, at the time when the moths of the
destructive August brood which at
tacks cotton begin issuing. Finding
the regular crop corn too near maturi-
ty they arc competed to go to the cot
ton. This occurs from about the first
to the middle of August, depending
more or less upon the locality. The i'm
portant point is to have green corn in
suitable condition for food at the time
when what is called ''the destructive
brood" goes to cotton. This time,
as is well known. varies some in
each locality. and can and must be best
determined by the farmers of their
respective localities. In most cases the
result will be accomplished if the trap
corn spoken of is planted from about
the first to middle of June
BY some dozen experiments with trap
planted corn in various localities its
practicability rs well as efficacy has
been demonstrated. The female un-
questionably selects the trap-planted
corn for egg deposition to the practical
neglect of the surrounding cotton and
all other food plants except cow-peas
The trap-planted corn being reduced to
the minimum quantity. the egg d-posi-
tn IL :; L. LII