The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-07-04
IwEEvIL AND WORMS.
Iresting Letter i'm Regard to
Cotton Pests.

restfng Letter fn Regard to
Cotton Pests.
ditor OF The Post.
Ron, Texas, July IL have read
erest Prof. Mally's suggestion In
with reference to planting June
1otton fields as trap crop for boil
to heartily indorse the advice OF
komologist Mally and add some Of
NATIONS in this line. In September,
as sent out by Slayden, Clarkson
.ns of San Antonio to review crops
Srt any damage. The first serious
8by boil worms was near Waco
ptember IL. went out into the
a found the plants stripped of all
by fruit. but the pest had ceased
ktions in August and good top
maturing.
tarro county near Corsicana /
same condition prevailed ia some
Kinney Mr.. w. f. Tri1chari, a
wn cotton buyer from New Or
pve out with me through some Of
country in Collin county. IN
Ids we found the crop ruined by
ms. The Collin county damage
WORST had ever seen. We net
one of these fields who told us
4 worms and the caterpillar found
q ears were the same. | noted
That the corn crop of Collin coun-
in acres and heavy IN
xwas not satisfied with the farm
k4le statement about the worms,
III and determined to either verify
~ his theory by actual experiment.
Ss4his | had difficulty to find the
f6otton and corn contemporaneous
~ corn usually dried up before the
IN appeared in cotton fields. To
Ills result / planted some corn in
tsmade roasting ears in July ana AT
lSttime | had twenty-ac field OF
infested with boil worms. The cat
] were placed side by side and
| transferred some from
ectton hollis and they cut into the
ID soon Quilted them of young seeds
ton. l found, as Prof. Mally states,
W preferred green corn to cotton.
int generation this caterpillar APP
rs the bud worm" and damages
fore it tassels by eating the bud in
Is. The next generation appears in
ID ears of corn in June. The third
Ion makes its appearance as the
rih. If il is showery in July and
N to their propagation, the boil
6ometlmes ruin the crop before
65ct much attention. Their voracity
|1fful A single specimen ] placed
$1ty literally Quilted ten green bolls
&before attaining its growth. This
tfthe fact that the farmer cften
isvain to find worm in perforated
BY placing in captivity few
out of green corn or cotton bolls,
@them their natural diet till they
rough the complete metamorphosis
to such insects, true specimens OF
cot as a pupa and image may be
d. If every farmer would mako
81 of the moths or files of cotton
boil worms, web worms and kim
sts, when a strange moth appears
1eld. by capturing q specimen and
ing IT, he could easily determine
lracter of the stranger, and if il
An enemy, he could declare war in
Iasave his crop. Such cabinet of
could be easily grown by placins
IrTae in captivity till fully devel-
[Abelieve the old scheme of placing
nsthe cotton fields in time to catch
~ moths would, If carefully fol-
lp, give the cotton planter COM
immunity from boil worms. think
d of planting occasional rows of
] euggested by Prof. Mally, would
the crop If the corn was planted
nnugh to attract the moths by the
~ July. feel deep interest in
|Ally's work and believe it will re-
freat good to the agricultural and
ltural interests. Respectfully,
s Baylis j. Fletcher.