The Tupelo journal., 1904-05-20
The Boil weevii Fight.

cusslng the boil weevll light, says:
Work has already begun. under the
direction of the field agents of the d.
vision of entomology of the bureau Of
plant industry of the department of
agriculture. seeking means for fight
ing the cotton boil weevil. Congress
realized the danger to the cotton in
dustry in this pest when the appropria-
ton of $500, 900 was made for the pur-
pose Of fighting it.
Fifteen stations have been selected
in Texas, where cotton will be culti-
waited under the direction of the spe-
cial men in the employ of the depart
ment, and the work of the weevii with
the growth of the cotton plant will be
closely watched and recorded. In the
meantime investigation is being made
into the origin of the insect in Mex
leo to ascertain. If possible, whether
it has a natural enemy which may be
introduced into Texas. The discover
les of the investigation so far ad-
vance little hope for its ultimate de-
%struction.
There is in press now, however a
bulletin of 116 pages, dealing entirely
with the weevil. 1t will be issued
soon and distributed to the growers
and planters in the infested area. 1t
is prepared under the direction OF
Field Agents w. e. Hunter and w. D.
Kinds, and is said to be a most COM
plete treatise. The following extract
from the bulletin relating to the pros
poets of the spread of the insect is
believed to be of special interest at
this time.
That. the great cotton growing Sec
ton of Mississippi may not escape in
vasion is a serious question to contem-
plate. The extract referred to reads
as follows:
THE Investigations of the life his
tory of the weevil have indicated chat
the most important elements in limit
ing the spread of the insect-namely,
winter temperatures-in this case Of
fer no assurance that the pest will
soon be checked. For the past ten
years, except where local unfavorable
conditions have interfered, it has ad-
vanced annually a distance OF about
fifty miles. The insect is undoubtedly
changing it's habits and adapting itself
to climate conditions in new regions
that it is invading. 1t is undoubted-
ly true that it has acquired an ability
to withstand more severe frosts than
occurred in the vicinity OF San An
tonic in 1895. Except in a few partic-
uiar regions, however, it does not
seem that the continued spread will
be as rapid as it has been. The coun-
try between Gonzales county and the
Red river is practically a continuous
cotton field, and the prevailing winds
have undoubtedly favored the north
ward spread of the insect. Similar
conditions will now favor a rapid ex-
tension into the Red river valley in
Louisiana, and likewise there seems
no doubt that the spread will be rapid
in the Yazoo valley in Mississippi,
but in most other situations through
out the belt the cotton fields are
smaller and more isolated than is the
case in Texas; consequently it is to be
| supposed that the spread OF the pest
| will be retarded somewhat.
>"Basing estimates on a careful study
of the distance the boil weevil has
travelled each year, as well as upon
some attention that has been paid to
the means whereby it reaches new ter
ritory, it seems safe to predict that in
from fifteen to eighteen years the pest
will be found throughout b cotton
belt. During the time it has been in
Texas there has been no tendency
toward dying out, and in South Texas
the pest is practically as troublesome,
except in so far as 1t is affected by
changes in managing the crop, as it
was in 1895. In Mexico, where it has
existed for a much longer period, it is
apparently as plentiful as ever. Care
full attention which has been paid to the
study of parasites and diseases, as
we'll as temperatures unfavorable to
the insect, has failed to reveal any
prospect that it will ever be much less
troublesome than now. There will,
nevertheless, be seasons from time
to time in which the damage will be
much less than normal. Climatic con-
ditions will undoubtedly cause tenn
porary diminution of. the numbers OF
the pest in certain localities. In Texas
these conditions have given rise al
most every year to the supposition on
the part of the planters that the in
sects have died out. Whenever a Sc
ries of years of scanty rainfall IS fol
lowed by one of normal precipitation
the weevil will temporarily be com
paratively unimportant. The most
| disastrous seasons will be those in
which the rainfall is excessive and
planting unavoidably thrown late.
"The fact that the insect Is rather
rapidly adapting itself to conditions
in the United States that are quite
diverse from those of it's native home
leads to the supposition that it would
experience but little difficulty in
adapting itself to climate conditions
wherever cotton may be grown. This
probability of the spread of the weevil
outside of the United States Is in
creased by the fact that cotton seed
for planting purposes is frequently
shipped from the United States to va
rious parts of the globe. There is
nothing whatever to prevent weevils
that may happen to be sacked with
cotton seed from being carried long
distances on %shipboard.
Fine Peach Crop.
Mississippi will have a splendid