Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1908-08-28
kRsEssIE OF LEAD DEADLY POISON TO
KExlchH BOIL kEfill.
BGHetin Issued by louisiana
State crep Pest Commission.

State Crop Pest Commission, may
prove TO be the salvation of the
cotton farmers and the solution of
the boil weevil problem is the pos
sibility given in q bulletin issued
by the State Crop Pest Commits
sion, which gives the result of
some experiments made this year
with powdered arsenate of lead.
The bulletin is one of the most
important ever issued by the Crop
Commission and is by Wilmon
Newell and T. P. Barber. After
giving o review Of the use of Paris
green in fighting the boil weevil
and laying stress upon the fact
that while the Paris green was
found to kill the boil weevil ii
also injured the cotton, the bull
letin says:
1.-THE need of a boil weevil
poison which would not iniure the
cotton plant, coupled with the
fact that the price of Paris green
has each year been tending stead
lily upward, suggested arsenate
of lead as the most promis-
ing substitute for Paris green in
the work at hand. Powdered ar
senate was manufactured for use
in 1907, but was found not to
possess the necessary mechanical
properties. The experiments in
its manufacture were, however,
continued aud from time to time
additional material was submitted
for our examination. By March,
1908, the Grassell Chemical Com
pany had succeeded in producing
u powdered arsenate of lend, which
being an impalpable powder SIM
liar to Paris green, seemed to
meet all requirements, and We
immediately took up active ex-
perimental work to determine its
effect alike upon the cotton plant.
"As soon as the powdered arsen-
ate of lead was secured this year
several experiment cages were es-
tablished in Avoyelles parish.
This experiment, as compiled by
the Crop Pest Commission an
.thorities, showed that arsenate Of
lead killed an average of zoos
per cent. of all the weevis in the
cage. Paris green killed an av-
erage of only 34.5 per cent in
experiments made in the same
manner in the spring of 1906.
In the later experiments, all cases
where the Paris. green killed Il
relatively high percentage of vice.
wills injury to the cotton resulted.
1t has been impossible, thus far to
detect any injury to the cotton
plants following reasonable ap-
plications of the powdered ARISEN.
ate of lead.
"When one considers the high
mortality among the boil weevils
resulting from applications of
powdered arsenate and at the
same time considers the natural
mortality which occurred during
the same period the conclusion
seems inevitable that one or two
universal applications of this
poison to the cotton fields just
before the plants begin forming
squares would practically clear
them of over-wintered weeyils
In fact we frankly express the
opinion that it would do this very
thing. The fact that ali of the
weevils do not leave the hiberna-
ton quarters at the same time is
the one serious obstacle to the
succcessful use of poison"
In summing up the results of
the experiment, the bulletin says:
As soon as the most advanced
cotton plants in the neighborhood
of Marksville had reached the So
called budding" stage-that is,
had developed the terminal whorl
of leaves ut the growing tip" of
the plant, in which the adult
weovils feed with avidity, the
cage experiments were commenced
and were conducted in the follow
ing manner:
The powdered arsenate of lead
was busted upon row of cotton
with a champion" dust gun or
dust sprayer, pains being taken
to force the powder down into the
terminal bunch of small leaves
The powder was used at the
strength of from "a of pound,
per acre in some of the expert
ments to strength of l ] pounds
per acre in others. Immediately
after applying the poison vice.
cage was placed over a
section of the poisoned row and
a counted number of the adult
boil weevils, collected in adjacent
fields, placed in it. At the same
time o similar cage was placed
over similar cotton Ito which
mona 0f tho rNowbar boI boo,. -