The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-02-14
The Mexican Boil weevil.

Auburn, Ala. Feb. 10. 1904. Editor The Advertiser:
 In The Advertiser of February 10. ap- pears an article that is capable of giving our people needless alarm and of doing great harm when published abroad. The article is headed 1.-The Texas Boil Wee viI,'' and is signed by a party who adds the title. "Secretary Lee County. Ala, Farmers Conference" The principal damaging misstatement in that article cannot be corrected too soon. The writer of that communication states that the boil weevil exists In Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia.
 l would enter an emphatic. protest against this statement The boil weevll has never been found in any of these States and brought to the attention of any person capable of determining the real nature of the insect submitted. Re peatedly insects suspected of being the Texas boil weevil have been sent to me, and to other members of the station staff, In every case the specimen has been some other insect.
 Anyone who has studied the description of the habits of the Texas boil weeVil will find in that article so many errone- ous statements along that line as to con- vince him that its writer Is capable of confounding a Texas boil weevil with a number of other insects. He has evi- boil worm and by possibly other insects or "sharpshooters," with that of the Mexican boil WeeVil.
 Let me repeat that the boil weevil is not known to exist in Alabama, MissIs- sippi or Georgia.
 1t must be admitted that there is @ possibility of the boil weevil being pres ent in small numbers in any of these covered. Every farmer should be on the watch next summer for any insect found about the cotton "farms'' that closely resembles the ordinary corn weevil excep fV1 a HnhtaR difficulty of finding the weevil whon present in small number is expressed by Professor Connell of Texas, by the somewhat exaggerated statement that in such a search one must 'comb the field with a hne-toothed comb"
 The greatest danger lies in the acci- dental introduction of boil weeVil in cot ton bales. cotton seed. cotton seed hulls weevil infested portions of Texas. The weevil has spread so far north in that State that 1t will now be safest to re- gard any shipment from that State as doubt we should prepare to combat a local outbreak of weevil at any point and at any time. Mississippi is apparently preparing to do this, judging from the fact that bill directed against the ill., troduction or spread of the weevil and carrying an appropriation of $25,0O0 has been introduced into the Mississippi Leg lsature.
 It would be premature to suggest heIe what now seems to me to be the best plan of action against the introduction of the boil weevil into Alabama or in the stamping out of isolated outbreaks snould any occur next summer It will nrst be necessary to learn the details of the plan of the National Department of Agriculture so that cooperation shucld be as complete and effective as possible.
 While the boil weevil Is not in Ala abama nor anywhere east of the Mississippi Riv- CT, so far as any entomologist has been able to discover the possibilities of tls entrance or presence in any unexpected quarter are not being overlooked in Ala oama. J. F. Duggaf,
 Director Ala. Experiment station.