The Forrest City times., 1893-09-01
TO DESTROY COTTON WORMS.

 Maj. S. A. Duke. of Drew County. Gives His
 Plan for Destroying Cotton Worms by the
 Use of Paris Green.
 The foll owing letter was written by Mai. s. A. Duke, of Drew county, to the Arkansas Cotton Oil Co.,, on the ap- plication of paris green to cotton for the extermination of the cotton worm:
 ''There are many fine devices in- vented by ingenious people for the dis tribution of poison over the cotton crop, some of which I have tried and found very good; but considering the want of intelligence among the people who have to perform the labor, and the great and general fear on the part of the colored people of poisons, l have had great difficulty in getting the poi sons used in any way. While there is no more danger in poisoning cotton with paris green than there is in using it as paint, yet the terror of using an article that produces instant death, even to worms, is hard to overcome among the colored agriculturists. Therefore I have adopted a plan to which the least objection can be made as to danger to the operator. 1t IS slow but sure, and as the poisoning comes when there is little urgent work for either man or mules, it is probably as good as any.
 Paris green and London purple are made in very fine powder and will sift through an Osnaburg sack quite as we'll as will be good for the leaves, for if too much is applied it will scar and destroy the foliage.
 II make a sack of eight ounce Osna- burg, say four inches wide and ten inches long, with twine drawstring at the top long enough to have knotted ends free from sack when open. Then with wooden paddle or large spoon fill the sack say two-thirds full of this poison, taking care not to raise dust by throwing it in. and that the sack is not wet by dew or otherwise, as when once wet the meshes become closed and the sack is useless. When the poison is in. draw the twine and close the sack. then draw the kaotted twines into a split at the end of a pole, which make of small sapling as the butt end will partly balance the longer top end with the sack attached. This pole l have long enough to reach the second row of cotton. Then with gentle mule and as sensible a rider as it is possible to get, Icommence on the lee ward side of the cut or field and ride be- tween the second and third rows, hold ing the sack over the first row, and at the end of the row turn back between the third and fourth rows, which changes hands and rests the rider, and thus proceed until the job is done.
 If the wind changes. mark the last row poisoned and go to the other side, thus always having the wind blow, if it blows at all, from the operator. In this way two men with one mule can go over about ten acres per day, one man filling and fixing the sacks so that the distributor need not dismount no lose time filling sacks.
 It is better to have two poles and two sacks, so that no time need to be wasted in even fixing sacks to the poles. As soon as one sack is emptied another pole and sack is exchanged for it, and thus much time is saved. While this is not the most expeditions. it is a safe and sure way, and quite fast enough if commenced in time.
 'As to the proper tune to apply poi son: It should be remembered always that paris green and london purple act not by contact, but by consumption; that is, it should be applied to the leaves when the caterpillars are eating; hence it would do little good if applied when they were in the chrysalis stage, or ''webbed up," as it is called. Neither would it do much harm, if any. to the moth, for their life seems to be honeymoon taken up with making love. and propagating their species.
 Arkansas Railway Assessment.
 The state railroad assessment board