Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-12-22
attisfellansuus 8sadiag.
MEXICAN COTTON BOIL WEEvlL
The Damage II Has Caused This Sea-
son and the Remedy.

/
son and the Remedy.
The most serious menace that the
cotton planters Of the south have ever
been compelled to face Is the Mexican
boil weevil, which Is ravaging the cot
ton fields Of Texas. The weevtl has
not been found outside that state ex-
cept in the instance which occurred In
August at the Louisiana Sugar Exper-
iment station at Audubon Park in the
enyirons Of New Orleans. In that case
the circumstances have led the Louis
lana authorities to the conviction tina,
the pests were purposely placed In the
cotton plots by some interested person
The station authorities promptly de-
stroyed all the cotton Of the expert
mental plots by picking the fallen
fruit, uprooting and burning the plants
and subsequently plowed and flooded
the land after it had been thoroughly
| SPRAYED with crude petroleum. As
there are no cotton fields within ter
miles of Audubon Park, and several ex-
aminatiens by the station entomologist
failed to reveal any weevils, it Is very
| probable that the colony was COM
pletely exterminated.
The difficulties in the way OF con-
trolling the boil weevil lie as much In
It's habits ap5 manner Of work as In
the peculiar Industrial conditions in
Evolved IN the production Of the staple
in the southern States. The weevil
lives in an stages, except the image
within the fruit Of the plant well pro-
tected from any poison that may be
applied, and in that stage takes food
only by inserting It's beak within the
substance of the plant. 1t Is remark
ably free from the attacks Of parasites
and diseases, occupies but fourteen
days for development from egg to
adult, and the progeny Of a single pair
in a season may reach 134,0o0,OOO OF
individuals.
The weevil adapts itself to climatic
conditions to the extent that the egg
stage In November may occupy as
much time as all the immature stages
together in July or August. These
factors combine to make 1t one OF the
most difficult insects to control.
The territory at present affected oy
the boil weevil is entirely in Texas
The nearest approach to the Louisiana
line is in the immediate vicinity OF
Timpson, twenty-flv miles away. The
nearest approach to Shreveport is IN
Wood county, about 100 miles distant
On the north 1t has been found In the
vicinity of Sherman just south OF the
Red river In the region between the
latitude Of Greenville and Red river
the weevil Is only scatteringly present
and has caused no general damage. II
will require nearly two years for 1t to
reach such numbers as to materially
reduce the normal production. AL
though many conditions make 1t very
difficult to reduce to figures the dam
age caused by the weevil, calculations
made in the division Of entomology OF
the U. S. department Of agriculture
based urcn statements showing the
production of cotton In ten leading
counties in Texas when the boil Wee
vii was absent and when it was pres
ent, and showing the increase In the
other counties when the weevil was
absent at both similar periods, appear
to Justify the estimate that the total
damage caused by the insect Is about
so per cent. Upon that basis the Tex
as planters have suffered a loss OF
Sic. .O0O, 900 during the present season.
and this estimate, 1t Is stated, agrees
| with those Of conservative cotton sta
tisticians. AS the normal cotton crop
of the United States is estimated to
represent value Of $500,000,QOO, the
probable ultimate damage. when the
pest has become spread over the en-
tire cotton belt, provided nothing were
| done to check it, would be in the neigh
borhood Of $3.50 100000 annually.
Nevertheless there are conditions al
work that seem to indicate that plant
ers in weevil regions are gradually
| adopting changes in their system OF
producing the staple that have ten
dency to avoid damage.
The work Of the u. S. department OF
agriculture with the boil weevil con-
sists of field experiments and labora-
tory investigations. Mr.. w. D. Hun
ter, Of the division Of entomology. as
sisted by several entomologists, has
charge of the investigations in Texas
and Mr.. E. A. Schwarz Of the division
has conducted studies in Cuba. The
| field comprises tracts Of cotton grown
In such manner as to constitute dem
onstrations of the means necessary ir
order that the staple may be produced
profitably in spite Of the weevil. These
fields are located In six different points
representing the five regions in Texas
which, by reason Of variation In cli-
mate and soil, constitute as many dis
tinct cotton districts. In these fields
every experiment that has been found
to be useful in avoiding damage by
the weevil Is being tried. The work oi
the division of entomology during the
season of 1903 demonstrated that it l:
possible to produce profitably in spite
Of the weevil; the work Of the present
season shows this again under differ.
ent conditions Of climate and soil, ant
in addition furnishes practical demon
strations Of the value Of the recon-
mendations of the division to planter:
at six different points in the state. II
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