The progressive farmer and the cotton plant., 1905-02-14
TALKS ON INSECT PESTS.
XXI. The Cotton Boll-Weevil; ?. Cut-Worms;
a. Lme-Sulphur-Salt Wash.
Wilson Co.. N. G.

Z. Lime-Sulphur-Salt Wash.
Messrs. Editors-Just at this time some farm
ers say that they are not concerned about the
cotton boil weeyil-say that it might just as well
spread all over the South as not, as cotton is SO
low. Well, if we want less cotton, all right, but
the farmer who plants fertilizers and cultiyates
a crop, whether it be cotton or anything else,
does not want to see it ruined by insects. There
fore, it is just as important now for our people
to learn about the boil weevil as it has ever been.
We have just issued a special circular which care
fully describes the insect, its life-history, habits,
methods of spread, etc. This circular will be
sent to any farmer in this State for the asking.
1t should be carefully read by those who re-
ceive it..
The boil weevil is not established in this State,
so far as is known. Every report of its appear
ance has proven, ON investigation, to be erroneous.
Tt is liable to be brought in, however, in shipments
of cottonseed or other materials from parts of
Texas and Louisiana where the, insect is abund-
ant. If is to be brought in such shipments it may
appear at any time, but if it is to reach us by
its natural spread alone, we do not expect it to
get to this State until 1910 or later. We might
discuss this matter further in these columns, but
will leave it for those interested to write for the
circular mentioned, which discusses all these
points in some detail.
Cut worms are worse on land Just from sod.
Therefore if you are going to put garden or
truck crops in sod land, it will be best to pillow it
now, so that the freezing and thawing will kill
the cut wormss which are now in the soil. They
pass the winter in a half-grown condition, feeding
on the foots and green stems of grasses In mild
weather, and lying dormant when it is cold. By
Flowing the sod land at this time Cor preferably
earlier than this) their food is d destroyed and they
are also exposed to the weather. Gardens, cab
bage and tobacco fields which are to be put in
land now in sod should be plowed at once.
Orchards that are infested with the San Jose
scale should be sprayed with the lime-sulphur-
salt wash between now and the time the buds
burst. We have just issued a circular on this
wash which will be sent to any one who asks it.
We are recommending that the wash be applied
late this winter to all fruit trees, whether infest-
ed with scale Or not-then when the blooms have
shed. the apple and pear trees should be sprayed
with the bordeaux mixture and Paris green, and
this treatment should be repeated again two weeks
later.
We must spray, that's all there is to it. The
longer we put it off the harder it will be to get
our apple and pear trees in proper shape. With
proper care (by which / mean proper cultivation.
fertilization, pruning and spraying). there is no
reason we should not grow just as good apples as
we ever did. And until we do adopt the practice.
we will have to put up with our little, knotty,
wormy, dwarfed, inferior fruit, and we will con-
tinue to see our own local markets supplied with
sprayed apples from the West and North.
FRANKLIN SHERMAN, JR,
Entomologist, Department of Agriculture, RAJ
leigh, N. G. ]