The Savannah morning news., 1903-08-14
MEXICAN BOIL WEEvIL
HAS Crossed the Mississippi, Accord
ing Ia OficiaI Report.

HAS Crossed the mississippi, Accord
ing Ia OmciaI Report.
Washington. Aug 13.-There is no
longer any doubt about the Mexican
cotton boil weevil having crossed the
Mississippi river The identification Of
the insects that have made their APP
pearance in the patch of cotton being
grown at the Audubon Experiment
Station at New Orleans by both Dr.
Howard. the chief entomologist of the
Agricultural Department, and DR.. Nor
gan. the Louisiana state entomologist
has been positive and complete. In
the absence of authenticated reports
of the appearance of the WeeNh on
plantations in the neighborhood of New
Orleans, DR.. Howard does not think
that the appearance of the insect at
the experiment station necessarily
means that il has spread into the cot
ton fields of Louisiana He hopes that
ii willie be found that it has been car
ried into the experiment station IN
some accidental way and has not yet
obtained a foothold in any other pace
outside OF Texas. If this is true he
believes it will be possible to prevent
the experiment station becoming CEN
ter of infection. The station is locat-
ed on the outskirts of the city of New
Orleans and there are no cotton nelds
in it's immediate vicinity. Instructions
have been sent to the superintendent
of the station 10 take every precau-
ton to prevent the spread of the Wee
vii. All of the bolls that have been
stung are to be carefully gathered and
burned, and an effort will be made TO
destroy every one of the insects, so
that none win be left to hibernate ana
reproduce themselves next season.
The appearance of the weeVil in the
experiment station cotton patch is by
far the most serious development of
the season regarding the spread of
this insect. Heretofore it has been
supposed that it had not yet spread
beyond the borders of the state of
Texas. If it is found that its pres
ence in Louisiana is not confined to
the cotton at the experiment station
the situation will be very serious. 1t
had been hoped that some years might
yet efapse before the insect would
cross the Mississippi river, especially
as little cotton is grown in the eastern
part of Texas. If, however, it has
obtained a foothold in Louisiana this
year its advance to the eastward has
been much accelerated and it will be
only a comparatively few years until
it has spread over the entire cotton
belt of the United States.
Assuming that the presence of the
weevil in Louisiana is confined to the
cotton at the eXpe riment station, Or.
Howard is at a loss to know how 1t
was carried there 1t might have been
carried in cotton seed from an infected
region, but DIR. Howard understands
that all of the seed planted at the ex-
pertinent station this year is Northern
seed, from regions where the WeeVlll
has not made its appearance. He
thinks it is barely possible that it may
have been carried to New Orleans in
seed cotton sent there from Texas to
be ginned, or that it may have posi-
bly, been carried to the city in ship
ments of hay from Texas. If it has
been carried in any one of these ways
it is highly probable that its presence
is confined to the agricultural station.
On the other hand it may be possible
that the insect was carried in some
accidental way to some plantation in
the neighborhood of New Orleans last
year but did not develop in sufficient
numbers to attract attention, and that
it has spread to the station from that
plantation during the present season.
OF course if this is true 1t has spread
to other plantations as we'll as to the
| experiment station and has gained
! firm foothold in Louisiana.
| 1t is of great Importance to ascertain
whether the weeVil has made it's ap-
pearance in any of the cotton fields near
| New Orleans. 1t is expected that DR..
| Morgan will at once devote himself to
an investigation for the purpose of as
| certaining whether it has appeared
! anywhere in that locality. DR.. Howard
will have a similar investigation made
on behalf of the Agricultural Depart
/ mr. HnFftar of the aXnArfG
of the department, who is now in Texas,
will be instructed to go to Louisiana
| as soon as he can leave his present
! work He will make a careful exam
! nation of plantations in the neighbour
| hood of New Orleans, and after he has
| concluded, it will be possible to say
with practical certainty whether or not
! the insect has obtained a real foothold
| east of the Mississippi Even if it
should be found that the weevil has
gotten into the plantation cotton IN
Louisiana, there is no reason to believe
that 1t will do much damage TO the
present crop. 1t will not have had
time to multiply and spread sufficiently
| during this season to materially affect
| the yield of the state.
Both the Agricultural Department
| and the state officials in Texas are con-
! tinuing their systematic study of the
weevil, and of methods proposed for
| its determination and for limiting Its
destructiveness. Thus far nothing has
/ been found that can be relied upon for
the determination of the insect, and
it is believed that the planters in re-
gions infected by ii will have to rely
on careful cultivation and on thorough
! ly cleaning up their land in the fall
! to enable them to grow fairly good
crops of cotton in spite of the presence