The Iuka vidette. (Iuka, Miss.) 1894-1912, 1894-12-20
FARMER AND PLANTER
PEAS FOR BOIL WORMS.
JefY Welborn Gives the Results of His Ex-
periments.

periments.
| have JUS read Dick MAYORS" let
ter from Richardson. / am always
glad to see letters from such men. His
letters never fail to be on the subjects
most needing his mastery pen.
He asks for all the light possible ON
the boil worm. Now, as to the cotton
next to the corn being least affected by
the boil worms, this must he acct
dental. The boil worm, doubtless goes
from the corn ground to the cotton
field. That is when they leave roast
ing ears they drop to the ground,
where they bury themselves. When
they come out again as the butterfly
the corn is hard, and they must hunt
food elsewhere. On the prairies and
rich lands of the south the most invit-
ing field is the cotton blooms. When
sucking the blooms they lay the eggs
on some part of the plant.
To find out what time the boil worms
will strike the cotton fields, we only
have to watch the corn for them. If
they are found early in June in the top
of the corn, they will strike cotton err
ly in August ii late in June they will
be late in August. Their time of com
Jag in the cotton seldom varies more
than ten days, from August 10 to Au-
Eust 20. There are some boil worms in
the cotton all the time from June until
the cotton sheds, or is caught by frost
but the Hood of them that does the
harm comes between the above dates.
If N r1lapt IN Ni1ty
just at this time. In 1852, Prof. Riley,
United States cntomologist at the
time, advised us to plant corn in
the cotton for the boil worms. |
was glad to get the remedy, and put
ii into practice that year, but was
disappointed in the corn. | found
Il better remedy by accident in 1880
and 1881. The worms came in
great numbers, and the common ten
ant crops were wrecked. Our success
was so marked this very bad worm
year that we never changed our plan
of freezing them out during the win
ter by deep winter turning over the
land, and planting and working to
beat them and the August drought,
until the overflow of 1890, when We
had to plant over late in May and
June. The current of Red river ran
through the center of our place, MAX
ing sand bar too deep to make cot
ton. We planted this sand bar in
early peas The cotton came up to it
on all sides. When the boil worms
came these peas were full of blooms on
top, while there were good many dry
peas at the bottom. We had some
hands gathering the bottom peas.
About sunset / went out to the pea
field. The boil worm moths were fly
ing up in swarms ahead of the hands
ran to our cotton expecting to see
myriads there, but to my surprise, did
not find a single moth.
After the overflow of 1892, the bot
corn and cotton. When boil worm
time came we were all elated with our
cotton prospect. There was Young
corn of all ages, from waist high to
roastingear, to catch the boil worm,
but we were badly disappointed. Where
we were looking for bale of cotton
per acre, we got a bale to twenty acres.
The worms in some places ruined the
corn also; in Others some corn was
made, but it killed more horses with
blind-staggers than it was worth.
planted some upland cotton after
all was washed up on the bottom, and
planted peas to protect it from the boil
worms. Having read Prof Mally's
bulletin on the boil worms, in which
he said that the worm hid in the vines
during the day, but laid its eggs
on the cotton late IN the evening. |
planted more for shade. My peas were
not in bloom when the moth came, and
failed to protect.
This year l decided to plant cotton
when l dug my spring Irish potatoes,
and try my peas over again, planting
so as to have one patch of vineless land
almost shadeless compared to other
peas peas planted to come into full
bloom, with young pods just forming in
another patch some distance away,
planted in rank whey late pea. Right
the middl. of this vincy patch
| planted one row of cotton. When the
time came for the moth to make it's APP
pearance | called upon Mr.. Young's
liiehu, WI. bryan, anu some Idfmer
to help me examine. Where
the bunch peas were in full bloom the
moths were there in great numbers, as
were all other kinds of insects that suck
flowers. We could not find one in the
cotton, nor did they leave the peas at
night, or any other time, for the cotton
or anything else.
The cotton where the whey peas
were planted. but not in bloom, when
the moth appeared was alive with the
moth, and the row of cotton through
the vines was nearly totally destroyed,
and the cotton joining was cut half,
while the small field near the blooming
peas never lost a square from boil
worms that we could find. Mr.. Bryan
helped me gather the early peas, and
others were called in to examine We
found fully % per cent. of the pods
and in some half dozen
places, and fully half the blooms and
young pods fell off before maturity,
and there was no other cause for their
falling. The moths only stayed three
to four days, and left to return in Oc-
tober in the cotton.