The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-12-14
FARM CORRESPONDENCE.
vEXAS BOIL WEEVIL,

! Mr. p. B. Rhodes. Crawfordvilie. Ga,
says IN regard to the wecvi!: 1T Is Ger
! tainly disastrous and should De checked
as soon rs possible. 1t can be done 40
not know how long 1T Will take sec
come one wants to quarantine against
Texas cotton seed and hay. mat is all
Texas seed as any. The idea of the
| mother weevll depositing on the cotton
after 1t opens is foolish She deposits
some time after the bloom drops, just
under the shuck on the boil. between
Apri, and July. owing 20 seasons c
might well quarantine against Eun-
combe cabbage seed as Texas cotton
seed. 1t is 4 hy that deposits the egg ana
there is Il different iy for every diIefeNe
plant and al different seasons OF the year
they make their deposit. The potato bug,
the tomato, the cabbage bug; III fact All
garden vegetables are damtsed more or
| less every year by such Insects say
can catch them They do their work at
night, they hate the light as bad rs a
rogtsh negro does. Anything that uAVeis
at nigh; IS troublesome.
Comment--I thought on reading the Arst
few lines of MIR. RS letter that he was
going 20 tell us something Ioout II"
habits and he history of the Texas hoh
weevil, from actual experience and "b-
scryatton But It seems that he never saw
ono and has never been in hundred
miles Of one unless he has been IN Texas
Stree tho wecvN put III is appearance
there IN the frsi place the weevii Is
not ny at all. bu; is q beetle and is
about as much like = ny as d Jay otEd IS
like 4 spriAg chicken.
The United States depaI tment OF agri-
culture has had expert men IN the Held.
III Texas and in Cuba, for 4 year or
more aud is spending and preparing TO
sncnd many thousands of dollars In the
effort to discover some means - check
ing She advance Of thlS terrible pest Inc
president in his late message TO congress
has called attention to the eVn. the
United states department has issued Il
bulletin on the subject in when II Is saio;
although the insect dNs not, except
accidentally, hibernate within the hun OF
the seed, every seed house attached to q
Kin in the infested territory harhors any
that nre brought In from the fields IN tho
seed cotton They crawl into the seed
bins as they would crawl anywhere for
protection, All danger would be avoided
.,g 1umigatlng the seed or by leaving 1t
stacked in storag- rooms isolated from
:acw cotton for a year previous TO SNIP
lncnt'
IN another place the bulletin says; THE
weyl Is remarkably free from parasites
and disea SOS, occupies but fourteen days
from eeg TO adult, and the progeny Of
single pair N a season may reach l3A.-
0oc. 900 o. wceNls."
Talk about there bsiug no danger from
such a prolific and destructive pest AS
hat
advise those who are interested In the
subject to apply to Ron. James Wilson,
secretary Of agriculture Washington, u.
G.. for q coIy ot thar bulletin Oh Texas
toll weevii.
one more extract from the bulletin
shows anat the Louisiana exp riment
station thinks Of the past, how thorouShly
ana regardless OF expense it, director
took measures for its destruction, az fol-
lows:
TIE weevil has not been found outside
tha. state except III the instance which
occurred in August AT the Louisiana
sugar experiment. station at Audubon
park in the cnvirons OF New 0ri'ans. In
that 90 10 the circumstances hav" led the
Louisiana authorities to he conviction
t,lat the pests were pwposcly placed IN
Me cotton plots by some Interested ls'r-
son. Tie station authorities promptly Dc
! st.Oyed al the cotton Of the expert
mental plots by picking the fallen fruit.
! uprooting and burning the plants. ana
subsequently, plOwed and flooded the land
at. Y il hard been thoroughly sprayed with
! crude petroleum. As there are no cotton
fields witlHn 10 miles Of Audubon park,
and sever.l. examinations by the station
-AtoTnolo@ist failed 10 reveal any wecVllS.
T. is very pro3ahlc that he colony WAS
completely cxferminate