The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1902-07-31
COTTON LOUISE ENEMY
O-,e Insect That Proves to Bo
the Planters Friend.

1
the Planters Friend.
TIE ccHvEReENT LADY-BuG
Instead Of Being Injurious to the Cot.
/ ten Plant This Little Bug Is
of Ine5timabie Benefit to
Same.
Every one knows that the cotton, in
| common with nearly all other kinds of
| plants, is subject to the attack of in.
sects. but very few realize the i'm.
/ mense variety of them that depend
more or less upon this staple for food.
| The cotton worm, cotton boil worm,
Mexican cotton boil weevil, cotton
louise, etc, are but a few examples uf
the most common, but fortunately only
few are at all apt to appear in serious
numbers, and these are very variable
in their appearance. Sometimes they
occur in such abundance as to appear
to jeopardise the entire crop in
more or less extended area, while
again their numbers are so insignifi.
cant as to pass unnoticed.
This striking variability is due in
part to great many causes, some OF
them easy to understand, others more
obscure in their nature. Nothing is Of
greater Importance, though, than the
weather conditions at certain seasons OF
the year. Most insects thrive on dry
and warm season, while the opposite
is true of fungous diseases. Last year
the excessive rains and long continued
periods of cloudy weather made tbs
conditions very favorable for the latter
mentioned, and the result was an out.
break, quite serious in some sections,
OF the fungous disease known rs cotton
anthracnose. This season the dry and
hot weather which has continued
throughout May and June, will, unless
July and August are extremely wet,
render a recurrence of this disease
extremely improbable. but it has been
| very favorable to the insects.
Luckily most of the insect pests ara
restricted to few generations per
year, and it will on that account re-
quire more than one favorable season
| for such varieties to increase to alarm.
| Ing numbers. A few are, however, DIFF.
fere1t IN their nature, producing a new
! generation every ten days or two
weeks, and these sorts will, unless
some other natural cause intervenes,
| Increase many thousand fold in the
course of a favorable season.
The cotton louise belongs to the lat.
ter class. This insect only requires
about ten days to develop from new.
| ly born young to an adult capable of
| producing young on it's own account
| and the rate of increase would be al
most beyond computation did not ma.
ural causes intervene and prevent
such a disaster. It is very safe TO
say that without such intervention
! this insect alone would practically
ruin the cotton crop the first season
that it was allowed free sweep.
But nature takes care of her own,
both plants and insects, and such a
calamity as that just mentioned will
probably never take place. So sure as
an insect passes the bounds pre-.
scribed for it, and threatens serious
| obstruction of the varieties Of plants
| which serve as it's food, some OBJ.
stacle arises which prevents further
increase, usually in the form of some
predacious enemy or more commonly
yet, of some dread contagious disease
| which sweeps through the insect ar.
| mics and leaves hardly survivors
enoughh to continue the race It is
| only by some action of mankind that
the balance of nature rs destroyed. as
when some pernicious insect is intro.
duced into a new country, or large
areas of land are made to produce
| crops not eminently fitted for Just that
| locality.
| very good illustration of a natr.
raj check to the too rapid increase Of
noxious insect has been called to the
attention of the State CHRONOLOGICAL
| Departmnt several times of late. The
season has been especially favorable
| for the cotton louise, and many com.
| plants have been received concerning
1t, Recently, nearly every mail has
brought in descriptions or specimens
of new insect which the planters are
| finding in numbers on their cotton.
and which they fear is going to work
them further mischief. Most Of these
inquiries have been from the middle
tier of counties; Washington, Jeffer.
son, Twiggs, Houston, Schhley, Monroe
and Marion. but other sendings were
from further south. 1t is with a great
NJ deal of pleasure that
~ we are enabled to as.
4$xSs2RR sure our cOrrespOu.
WssNSrl dents that for once
S ~ there is no harm to