The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-10-19
TIE BOIL W&EVIL.
Prof Chambliss Gives Results Of His
Researches in Texas.

Prof Chambliss Gives Results Of His
Researches in Texas.
Prot. Chamb!iss, Of Clemson Col
lege, has recently spent several weeks
in the state Of Texas where he MADE
a careful study Of the boil weevil, the
best ways of preventing it's spread,
and how to detect its presence on the
cotton plant. Prof. Chambliss says
that the government now has l,S00
acres of land in fifteen diff f-rent sec
tioDs around Victoria under cotton
cultivation, for experimental purpcs
IS. Toe laboratory OF the government
IS also located at Victoria. The results
Of Prot. Cnambliss' investigation were
told a Soartanburg Journal repreSen-
tative Wednesday as follows:
'There is little 70 'sioility OF exser,
minating the Texas boil weevil. The
insect can be held in check, however,
aud confined 10 certain sections and
this is what the experimenters are
trying to do at present. There are
however, other insects in our knowl-
edge which are even barber than the
bill weevil to destroy or to con6ne in
limits. Therefore, the work that we
are undertaking is largely educGtlon
al. We want to teach the farmers
how to know a boil weevil and the
pupa and larva and also to show them
the necessity Of refusing to receive
Texas cotton seed and grain and also
to give them all that we know about
the weevil, so that thay will not cau
for specimens for themselves, thereby
incurring risk of injecting their own
growing cotton.
There have been three facts which
make it evident that something had
to oe done to protect South Carolina, !"
CONTINUED Prof. Chambliss. Zone was
toe fact mentioned above, the others
are the discovery made by US that
somebody had bought lot Of infected
small bolls in Texas, threshed them
out and haG sent the produce to thi,
state, and lastly we recognized the
general danger of the insects being
brought in, in various other ways.
"a law has been passed to aid US
in educating the farmers about the
boil weevil and this we are trying to
do. Shortly there will be issued by
Clemson College, bulletin on the boil
weevil to be distributed generally
throughout the entire state.
The adult weevil prefers the
square to the boil in the 6epcsitingsof
her eggs which are placed in tbs
square OF boil through a hole drilled
by the female by means OF a long
snout with jaws at the end Of it. The
egg in about eight days develops into
the larva which at once begins feeding
on the substance of the plant in which
it is encased. The presence Of an egg
inside the square OF boil may be GER
tainly detected" says Prof. Cham
bliss, ''by the pceserce of a small dark
wart on the outside, where the female
has bored into the plant
As to the dangers OF bringing the
weevil into this state Prof. Chambliss
says that in winter the boil weevil in
habits houses, bins, barns or anywhere
where shelter may be found and hence
the great danger of importing Texas
grain which may contain the Weevils
in large numbers.
Another important fact," says be,
is that the pUpa in it's cell resembles
very closely the cotton seed itself and
the two cannot be distinguished ex-
cspt by trained eyes.
The pupa, which is the intermedi-
ate stage between larva and adult, is
found inbe6ded in the bolls and when
the cotton is ginned these pupae fall
through with the seed without being
hurt in the least and if the seed are
shipped away the pupae go too and
soon we have another infected dis
trict."
On the mount which Prof. Cham
bliss has prepared is striking picture
showing the similarity between cot
ton seed and the pupae cells. The two
are the same size and outward apear
ance and it would be impossible to
clean infected seed after the cells are
once mixed, unless they were picked
out one at a time, which would be al
together out Of the question.