The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-06-10
ABOUT THE BOIL WEEVIL PEST
state Entomologist Has r1ost Important Informal
tion for Cotton Growers of Texas.
To the Editor of The Post,

TO the Editor OF The Post,
Eagle Lake. Texas, June S,--After a Sc
res Of careful studies / have concluded
TO make an appeal to the cotton planters
of the wecvil districts and submit few
Preliminary results and suggestions which
should be offered and urged at this time
During the past week l have personally
visited some ten or fifteen Colorado river
bottom plantations and have had from ten
TO htteen thousand acres OF bottom land
cotton under observation. The remarkable
condition is found to prevail that iOr tho
large acreage in cotton on any given plan
tatton, only limited and frequently iuore
OF less isolated patches OF cotton are IN
tested to any serfegs extent | nave full
notes ON one cotton plantation of $40 acres.
OF which only eight acres have been at
lacked. This is a most important c1ndi-
ton and situation, since it enables toe
planter to direct his first efforts to those
limited areas and by preventing the inst
generation of larvae from maturing and
producing the first generation OF adults,
the fight will be over. From careful COUNTS
OF collections of fallen squares taken from
given area i have found that up TO date
the number of squares infested on the
patches worst attacked range from 100 to
900 per acre This means that many Wee
wills Per ucre within another week or ten
days. and tten It will be a hard and oif
ferent fieht with the chances that you mad
better say good bye cotton, From actually
tabulated data tue expense of Ave pickings
of the cotton is found to be 80 cents per
acre when on wages. Those pickinSs were
at intervals of three days each and during
the progress OF the week it was found that
once a week would be as effectivc, at least
under present conditions. This means
that for Go cents per acre we can give the
cotton one picking the last week IN May
and one picking for each week in June.
This will positively protect the crop until
July !, after which time, If the work has
been carefully done, further plckings Viii
not be necessary. The alternating weevis
come out before and during May and June,
puncture squares, deposit their eggs and
die, and hence II their generation of cggs
and larvae are destroyed there can be no
further attack on the crop except from the
few which may have been overlooked or
escaped from any cause.
The above stated cost of picking Is AZ
cheap as any method OF spraying that
might be suggested at this time. Such be-
ing the case and the further condition
that so small an acreage needs % BIZ over
hauled at this time leads me TO believe
that can not TOO strongly urge lne ColtCu
planters to drop everything else If need lie
and at once begin the work Of collecting
the fallen squares and pick of those which
are following and haring, and burn them.
1t Will be UNNECESSARILY better 10 lose one
cultivation now than to lose the crop later
on. 1t is simply worth the crop o a.cspt
this recommendation and apply T., The
fields should be gone over at cnce, md
every week thereafter, at least during tho
month of June; there is positively nc time
to lose for the reason that this season =
first breed OF worms is partially la the
third and last stage before issuing as adult
weevils, and by another week the weev!ls
will begin making their appearance, II
they are allowed to appear the aicldug
will have to be continued another month
that is, all Of Julyat least. This picking
method handles the weevil problem so Of
fectually and so economically also, that Il
this time | do not care TO give promise Of
any other hope or probability OF subse-
queut relief, and II cotton planters can not
see their own interests enough TO Gpply
this relief which they can so easily COM
mand. then do not think that their claims
for sympathy later on should be well
taken
In travelling through the bottoms in va
rious localities I have often seen many